Are you thinking about incorporating English news into your studies? If you are an English learner who can understand basic English to some extent, studying English through the latest news is one of the effective study methods.
This time, I would like to introduce the benefits and important points of studying English using the news, as well as news apps and news sites that are recommended for studying English.
Studying with English news has many advantages. Here are the key benefits.
1. Experience real English 2. Become familiar with world affairs 3. Always learn new English 4. Quickly grasp important information
Let's take a closer look.
The first merit is that you can touch real English. Unlike English learning materials, the voices heard in the news do not limit vocabulary and grammar according to the learner's level. Also, since it is assumed that the listener is a native English speaker, the voice that is read aloud is not spoken slowly, and you can experience English at the speed that a native speaker speaks. As a result, you can acquire more practical listening skills and study various vocabulary from actual news.
By studying English news, you will gain a deeper knowledge of world affairs. Overseas news such as racial issues and conflicts do not have many opportunities to be widely reported in Japan.
For example, in 2020, the news about the incident in which a white police officer assaulted a black man in the United States had few opportunities to be reported in detail in the Japanese media. The news about the demonstrations and the movement against black discrimination was flowing almost every day.
By studying current affairs through English news, you will be able to access information that cannot be gathered from Japanese reports alone, and you will become more knowledgeable about world affairs.
In addition, it becomes easier to keep up with the other party's topics related to news in chats with local people, and you will be able to communicate with the news as a topic. You can also grasp the opening of the story in preparation for situations such as expressing opinions on current affairs.
The third merit is that you can study with the latest English. Depending on the events and circumstances at that time, the English that flows in the news is constantly updated. This is particularly noticeable in English news that can be accessed online, so it can be said to be an advantage over commercial English learning materials that do not change the published English text.
By studying through English news every day, you can come into contact with fresh English sentences every day.
The fourth advantage is that you can quickly grasp important information. News and press releases that move the global economy and management tend to be reported in English rather than in Japanese.
One example taken by Kyoko Kimura, editorial board member of Nihon Keizai Shimbun, is the news that Apple will make all iPhones released in 2022 compatible with 5G. This news came to light for the first time through a reporter from Taiwan's "Nikkei Asia" who interviewed a related factory in Taipei. After being reported in English, it seems that it was finally reported in Japanese the next day.
Studying English news can also help you get quicker access to the world's big news.
Let's introduce three points that you should keep in mind when studying with English news.
The first point is to check the same news on multiple news media in different countries, regions, positions, and bases. Even events that occurred in Japan may be portrayed in different ways depending on whether the news is reported from a Japanese standpoint or from an overseas standpoint. It is possible to acquire a broad perspective by looking at the news from a multifaceted standpoint rather than a one-sided standpoint.
You can also learn how to paraphrase (paraphrase expressions) by comparing multiple news stories to see how they express the same content. By being conscious of paraphrases, when words do not come out of your mouth immediately, you can paraphrase them into simple expressions, making it easier to communicate smoothly.
The next point is to follow the news media on your own SNS. You can easily access the latest articles by following accounts of news media with many topics of your interest and media reporting news related to your business.
The third point is to write your own opinions and comments about the article in English. Reading articles and writing your own opinions in English will help you practice your output. It is especially recommended to use SNS because you can easily comment on it. If you get a positive response from other readers, it will give you confidence because it will prove that you are writing English that they can understand.
You can use any SNS, but Twitter has a character limit of 280 characters (half-width English), so you don't have to write long sentences, so it's recommended for practicing writing more compact English sentences.
Keep these three points in mind and study English news.
Apps are convenient for studying English using news. You can study casually in your free time, so you want to make good use of it. Here are some news apps that are especially recommended for studying English.
"Reuters News" (iOS/Android) is a smartphone app operated by Reuters, an international news agency. We deliver video news, and you can check news from all over the world through video.
We have a wide variety of news genres such as international, business, technology, sports, and lifestyle. By tapping the video icon, you can study while watching the latest news in the video. It can be used to practice "shadowing", repeating a word or two behind the audio without looking at anything. If you turn on the English subtitle display, it will also be useful for practicing "overlapping", where you pronounce the sound from the beginning to the end exactly on top of each other. Furthermore, if you use the news save function, you can also see the news collectively only in the fields you are interested in.
You may be familiar with “Smart News” (iOS/Android) as a free app that summarizes various news. Did you know that you can study English with this app? To use, just tap the gear-shaped "Settings" on the profile screen and set the notation to "English".
It is convenient to be able to browse various news media collectively in one app. With "Smart News", you can study various genres such as top news, sports, entertainment, international affairs, and business.
"Newsela Student" (iOS/Android) is one of the recommended apps for those who want to study English reading with news. The feature is that you can adjust the level of vocabulary in most articles. Although it is a machine voice, it also has an automatic reading function.
At the lowest level, the length of each sentence is short and easy words are used. Let's study so that you can read at a higher level when you get used to it.
Google News (iOS/Android) is an app that displays news that matches your interests. Customized news articles are displayed at the top based on your interests, interests, favorite news media settings, keywords used in Google searches, and videos viewed in the past on YouTube. You can also hide topics and media that are of little interest to you.
If you want to study English news with your favorite topics and media, please try it.
Recommended news sites for studying English: "overseas news sites," "Japan-related news sites," and "business and economy-related news sites." categorized into three.
Studying on overseas news sites not only improves your English skills, but also has the advantage of allowing you to quickly grasp the world situation in detail. Let's take a look at some of the most popular international news sites.
"CNN (The Cable News Network)" is a news site of the world-famous news channel of the same name. You can study English with various genres of news such as American politics, economy, business, and sports.
If you want to study news related to the United States, select "CNN US", and if you want to study news dealing with international affairs, select "CNN International".
There is also "CNN 10", which summarizes the news of the day that happened in the world in 10 minutes. It uses simpler English than regular news, and is recommended for those who want to study using CNN in their spare time, or for those who find the real news on CNN a bit too difficult.
"NPR (National Public Radio)" is a news site operated by the American non-profit public radio network NPR. It is available free of charge and allows you to practice reading using news scripts broadcast on the radio, and listening by listening to audio files included in some news articles.
"BBC News" is a news media operated by the British public broadcasting station "BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)". You can study not only the situation in the UK, but also various news such as the situation in Asia, technology, and business from a British perspective. If you click "Video" on the website, short news videos are summarized, which is effective for studying in your spare time.
"BBC News" has an official Japanese site, so you can study by first reading the article in Japanese and then reading the article in English.
News that report on the situation in Japan in English are easy to understand compared to overseas news because there is background knowledge to understand the content. Below is a list of popular news sites.
"The Japan Times" is the official news site of the English-language newspaper The Japan Times, which publishes news related to the world situation and Asian countries from a Japanese perspective in English. You can read editorials and comments as well as news.
There is also a news site for the weekly newspaper "The Japan Times Alpha" for English learners. If you register as a free member, you can view Top News updated every Friday and up to 5 news articles in English per month. It is possible to.
"NHK WORLD-JAPAN" is a free news site where NHK disseminates Japan-related information in foreign languages, including English. You can study with live videos in addition to news articles and short historical news videos.
If you access the official website of NHK Radio's language program, "Eigojutsu in News," you can check the English and Japanese versions of the news on "NHK WORLD-JAPAN" that has been broadcast for a certain period of time. It is updated one by one every week from Monday to Friday.
"Japan Today" is another news site that publishes news from around the world, focusing on the situation in Japan, in English from a Japanese perspective. It covers a wide variety of news genres, including politics, international issues, crime, and entertainment.
"News on Japan" is a news site that summarizes Japan-related news in English. You can check the news articles reported by each news media such as social issues, business, and politics. English articles are often posted along with the news that was actually reported in Japan, so it will be easier to grasp the English content if you quickly understand the content from the video and then read the English content. The length of the news articles is relatively short, so it is effective for studying reading in a limited amount of time.
If you want to improve your vocabulary related to business and economics, and if you want to quickly grasp the world's business trends and economic trends, studying using English news sites that specialize in business and economics is essential. Let's take a look at some popular news sites.
"Nikkei Asia" is a news site where you can study reading through market trends and economic news in Japan and other Asian countries. In the free version, you can view the lead sentence of each news (a sentence that briefly summarizes the general content of the news at the beginning of the article), but if you subscribe, you can access the full article and it is open only to subscribers. You will be able to browse exclusive articles (*).
*Digital version is $17.99/month (approximately ¥2,073). 41.99 US dollars (about 4,840 yen) for 3 months. 119.99 US dollars (about 13,832 yen) for one year. Rates as of January 11, 2022.
"Bloomberg" is a news site specializing in finance, technology, and business around the world. You can study the vocabulary and expressions necessary to understand management and economics, and you can also collect important information related to business. By subscribing, you can read full articles, watch live videos, and watch audio files (*).
*The digital version is usually 34.99 USD (about 4,033 yen) per month. 415 US dollars (about 47,842 yen) for one year. Promotional discounts may apply. Rates as of January 11, 2022.
"CNN Business" is a news site specializing in economy and business distributed by the news channel CNN. It is possible to study reading using the latest news on management and economics, and to study listening using short videos linked to articles. You can access related articles by clicking a keyword in the article, so you can read while comparing multiple articles.
"The Economist" is a news site of a British economic newspaper that has a good reputation for international politics and economic news. You can study reading using feature articles on business and economics in various regions, including Japan. If you subscribe (the digital version is usually 10,490 yen for 3 months, 38,640 yen for 1 year; there is a discount for the first time), you can read all articles and listen to audio files in the app and on the official website.
Use these news sites to help you study English.
Don't you wish you could study English news efficiently? In fact, there is a web service that allows you to easily study English on your smartphone. Its name is ENGLISH COMPANY MOBILE!
Using the news articles of "The Japan Times Alpha" introduced in the "Japan-related news site" chapter and "Nikkei Asia" introduced in the "Business and economics-related news site" chapter, "Vocabulary learning ”, ”chunk reading”, ”site translation”, ”reading aloud”, ”reciting”, and ”shadowing”. If you continue to train, you will be able to read English from your head, and you will be able to dramatically improve your reading speed and listening skills. Vocabulary that is important for understanding the news will also become easier to acquire.
Check out the details below. You should be able to acquire the correct English study method while using English news.
***By studying English news, you can not only expect to improve your vocabulary, reading and listening skills, but you will also be able to collect information on world events and trends more quickly. Please use the apps, websites, and web services introduced in this article to improve your English skills in the future!
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