English Newspaper Readings & Discussion

Chap1:

Improve your English via the English Newspaper

1)    News English-a source of up-to-date(contemporary)English

2)    Contemporary English--vocabulary+sentence structures

3)    Newspaper is easily available

4)    Journalistic English is one core dimension of “English for Mass Communications.”

5)    Reading or listening to journalistic English keeps us informed with current domestic or international events.

6)    By means of journalistic English, L2 learners have stronger motivation to trigger oral communication with native speakers of English over social affairs or international affairs.

7)    Tips of Reading English Newspapers

a.    Make newspaper-reading a daily habit

b.    Start with news articles whose topic familiar to us. Or clips out articles are interesting, enjoyable.

c.     Have a contemporary dictionary ready.

d.    Familiarize sentence-structures and grammar use of journalistic English.

e.    Listen to the broadcasts before you read the same stories in the newspaper.

f.      Clip out articles that are particularly enjoyable and useful.

g.    Use notebooks to copy those important or useful words, idioms phrases, and sentences. And, review them.

Chap 2:

Contents (Elements) of a newspaper

The four main elements of Newspaper

1.    News articles

2.    Editorials

3.    Columns

4.    Commentaries

*Commercials-Advertisements

1.    News articles

A)   The mail body of an newspaper

B)   Mail element-Timing, Particularity, Interest, & faithfulness

C)   Four criteria to choose a news event (by程之行)

1.    Immediacy

2.    Proximity

3.    Prominence

4.    Consequence

D)   Differentiate a news from editorial (or column) opinion.

1.    John is 12 years old.>(a fact)

John is a good boy.>(an opinion)

2.    Peter does not smoke.>(a fact)

Peter should not smoke>(an advice)

3.    Iraq must realize that the current situation and all its problems stem from its illegal invasion of Kuwait(an opinion)

2.    Editorials

A)   Not a simple news articles(=give a detailed information to a news story or event)

B)   Elaborated discussion, comments, or critique to certain news story with editor’s or news agency’s own viewpoint or political stand (position, opinion).

C)   Convince, persuade, or influence the reader to accept the news agency's political claim or value judgment.

D)   Written by fixed or invited writers, commentators, or scholars.

3.    Columns

A)   Like editorials, column express opinions.

B)   A feature or article that regularly appear in a newspaper-daily, weekly, or monthly.

C)   This is usually accompanied by the writer’s byline and sometimes his or her picture.

D)   Create professional prestige-easy to become well-known and influential.

4.    Commentaries

A)   Give detailed comments or in-depth critique to a news story.

B)   Add more personal opinions

C)   Columnists or contracted writers, or any respondents on Reader’s Section

Chap3:

Acquaintg yourself with these terms

1.    Ad.>Advertisement

2.    Article

3.    Banner

4.    Byline

5.    City editor

6.    Column

7.    Columnist

8.    Comic strip