Conveying the latest news around the globe has become far more convenient these days thanks to the immense and round the clock broadcasting of the latest and greatest occurrences through cable TV, satellites and the internet; however, the significant magnitude of the news material coupled with the short time that regular individuals are willing to spare for viewing them has pushed the media to present the news as efficiently and briefly as possible.
The aforementioned approach is realized through use of literary and journalistic words within a fast-paced frame of presentation. As a result, non-native speakers of English may encounter with difficulty trying to grasp and examine the news.
Boasting the motto “News comprehension, analysis, and discussion”, as well as strikingly positive feedbacks from the participants, Talk Show News can prove to be among the best arenas to practice professional speaking along with understanding and critical thinking.
As for the blueprint of the course, I should say that each class starts with a warm-up via greeting with the students in order to yield a friendly environment that assist learners to embrace English as an international language rather than an alien one. After a brief brain-storming, the news programs from various channels including, but not limited to CBS, NBC, CNN, BBC and so forth are depicted on a large screen for students to witness.
While the students pay heed to the news contents, the teacher takes notes of the unfamiliar and journalistic terms on the board of the class. Upon reaching the conclusion of each section of the news, the video is paused, and the news as well as the accompanying new vocabularies are discussed. Finally the class is divided into separate teams for engaging in analytical pair-works in which the participants discourse the news with each other while under observation, yet not interference of the instructor.
Talk Show News classes are currently held on Sundays/Tuesdays and new classes are available for enrollment.
