News
Here's a great LISTENING site for ADVANCED students. "All Things Considered" is an American news program that looks at the news in much greater detail than most news programs. At this site, you can listen to one of the Special Features on the main page, or you can click on LATEST SHOW to hear the most recent program. You can listen to the complete program, or an individual story. To listen to previous programs, or to do a search of news topics, click on ARCHIVES.
Your Turn:
Try to take some notes when you listen to one of these programs. What is the main idea or theme of the report? Do you think it is a fair and balanced report? Many news reports talk about a problem. What is the problem? What would you do about the problem if you could?
Ananova: Virtual Newscaster
Ananova is the world's first virtual newscaster. She's not a real person, but a computer creation. She has been programmed to read real news in a realistic way. To watch the newscast, just click on her picture. You'll need to have Real Player 8 Basic to watch Ananova. It's free. Just click on "Need help playing video?" under her picture to download the player. What do you think about Ananova? Does she seem like a real newscaster? Check out the links on the site for more information about Ananova.
Your Turn:
Why don't you try to do your own newscast? Just find some news stories on the Internet or the newspaper. Make them shorter by editing any information you don't need. Then sit behind a desk and read it to your class. (If you have a video camera, you can even tape it!)
Animal News Center
Are you an animal lover? At this site, you can read about bullfights, pit bulls, and cloned sheep. In fact, you'll find lots of short news stories about animals. There are stories about pets, wildlife animals, farm animals, and lab animals. The stories have links where you can find more information about the subject.
Your Turn:
Make your own animal news notebook. Look at newspapers and magazines and try to find articles about animals. Put the most interesting ones into a notebook. Add new stories whenever you find them. Be sure to check any vocabulary you're not sure about.
People around the world were shocked when America was attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. Airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Many people were killed and injured. At this site, you can read newspaper headlines from around the world. You will also find more photo essays and stories from TIME magazine.
Your Turn:
1) What was your first feeling when you heard about the attack?
2) What do you think America should do if they find out who was responsible for the attack?
3) What can America do to prevent future attacks?
Do you keep up with current events? Do you read newspapers, watch TV news, or read the news on the Internet? At this site, you'll find 6 questions that will test your current events knowledge. You can play by yourself or against a friend. The quiz changes weekly.
Your Turn:
After you take this quiz, write your own current events quiz for your class- mates. Check the Internet or a newspaper for some ideas, and make sure you know the correct answers. Don't make the questions too hard, but don't make them too easy, either.
This is a great place to practice your reading and improve your vocabulary. First choose a news story from the Story Archives. Then choose a story level. Now you can read the story, listen to an audio, or watch a video. When you're finished, try one (or more) of the activities. You'll also find some related web sites.
Easy English News Stories
Reading a newspaper is a great way to improve your English. At this site, you'll find lots of interesting news stories written in EASY English. First, click on a story that you want to read. Then you can read the story or an outline of the story. Click on HEAR to listen to the story.
Your Turn:
After you finish reading and listening, check your understanding by doing the lessons (quizzes). There are 6 different kinds of quizzes. Just click on MENU to start.
News Directory
At NewsDirectory.com, you can quickly find more than 7,900 online English-language newspapers and magazines from all over the world! To find a newspaper, just choose a country. To find a magazine, choose a subject that you think is interesting. (You can also search by title.)
There's a lot of very important news happening these days, but sometimes it's hard to read the news in English. At Pencil News (from MSNBC), you can read the top news and sports stories written in EASY English.
Your Turn:
Use these stories to increase your vocabulary. Every time you find a word that you're not sure about, add it to your vocabulary notebook. Try to figure out the meaning from the context of the story before you use your dictionary.
Here's a great site from the BBC where you can keep up on the news and increase your vocabulary. First, choose a story from the archive. Then you can read and/or listen to the story. Each story has a vocabulary guide to help you understand the story. Archives are available for the last 3 years.
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