D)
E)
Give our students a few minutes to scan their
newspapers before we start our activities in
class. This will enable them to read about things
that interest them and their attention is less
likely to drift from our planned activities
Only one set of newspapers is given to a group
of students in the classroom. Make sure that the
group should not be more than 5 students. They
can later exchange the features of articles they
read with one another.
Suggested Ways to Adopt Newspapers
It is important that teachers or lecturers should be
able to use newspapers in the correct way. First of
all, they must not try to cover the whole set of
newspapers each day. They must select just one or
two features for a lesson which they think is / are
suitable. Each time they use the newspaper, they
have to select articles which emphasize different
characteristics. This is to avoid students from getting
bored in the classroom. Another important thing to
bear in mind is when they pick any article from the
newspaper; they have to ensure that it suits the level
of students in the classroom. This is particularly
essential in terms of the level of language structure
and vocabulary used in some articles. It cannot be
denied that newspapers cannot replace textbooks. It
must be stressed that the newspaper can be used as
an alternative language activity when the class is dull.
In a study conducted by Smith (1975) on the role of
newspapers in motivating students to learn a
language, he reveals that the use of newspapers is
something supplementary to be used in the
classroom to enhance knowledge and understanding
of the students. Therefore the use of newspapers is
increasingly viewed crucial to be a useful learning
resource.
Suggested Activities Used in the Classroom
Activities which emanate from a newspaper must
have a purpose or theme before they are used in the
classroom. For example, the variety of features that
the daily newspapers include can provide much
insight into the society to which students can adapt
and they can therefore gain knowledge of various
cultures, customs, beliefs and others (Blatchford,
1976).
By exploring with the help of language activities,
teachers/ lecturers should be aware that the texts
chosen must be completely authentic. The articles
and reports thus inevitably contain some challenging
vocabulary but they are mostly written in a direct and
accessible style (Walker, 1994)
The following are some language activities which
range from comprehension and vocabulary to roleplays, matching exercises, jumbled cartoons and
learning of grammar.
1) Locating Information of Importance to You
Students are asked to find information such as compound
nouns, idiomatic expressions, metaphors and pairs of
antonyms or synonyms in the newspaper articles. This
activity is usually held in groups to test the students’
understanding of words or expressions. To motivate the
students to learn the language faster, points may be
awarded to those who can come up with the correct
answers. This will further sustain their interest in reading.
This type of activity can be used to reinforce what the
teacher has taught the students in the classroom and
make the lesson more interesting .
2) Matching Headlines with News
Some short but interesting articles are extracted from the
newspapers and headlines are removed from them.
Students in the classroom are asked to match the
headlines with the articles. It is important for
teachers/lecturers to select those short articles which
require the students to use some language skills to do the
matching. Some content-based articles can be used in the
classroom to suit the need and interest of the students. It is
important to note that the chosen article should suit the
level of students in the classroom. The following are 4
short news stories which should have a two-word headline
– a word from Group A followed by a word from Group B.
Study the news stories and matches the appropriate
headline.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Group A
Hotel
Flat
Racial
Double
1.
2.
3.
4.
Group B
Accord
Trouble
Raid
Blast
A) A John Major lookalike, who tricked a nine-year old girl
of RM 2000, was being sought by police
B) Black and white leaders in South Africa agreed a
blueprint for power-sharing talks.
C) At least 3 people were killed and 20 injured when an
explosion believed to have been caused by gas tore
through a hotel at a ski resort in the Bavarian Alps.
D) Police are hunting the killer of John Smith, 24, whose
body was found at a flat near the city centre.
3) Learning of Passive Structures
There are several points about the use of passive
structures by using the headlines in the newspapers. This
is very important for the students to be aware of. In a
passive structure an agent (doer) may be unknown,
unimportant or already mentioned therefore does not
appear. Students could be asked to identify the agent of
the action; first by guessing, then by reading the text or
extract of the pertinent article. Students can then select
examples of such structures in headlines and present them
to other students asking them to identify agents for the
action. Alternative answers can be provided, allowing
students to discuss and justify the possible answers as in
the following example:
?
Israelis condemned over bomb suicide
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