Статья «Using massmedia at the lesson»

Massmedia – essay by Valeriya Krylova, the teacher of English

from Saint-Petersburg, school 230

Mass media plays an important role in the life of the modern society. Newspapers, magazines and TV programmes for youth reflect the young people’s hopes and wishes, their leisure and education, their attitudes and opinions. They can also offer young people advice and help them to choose the right course in solving their problems.

Recently the use of newspapers as teaching /learning materials in English language teaching has been receiving attention. It is also something which can be used either sparingly or consistently, responding to the opportunity of a special occasion or as a regular and on-going activity.

Newspapers, magazines and language materials: what can they offer? These range from general education value and cultural information to language change and varieties of English, and from reader interest and reading for pleasure to authentic materials and subject-specific materials. The content of the articles : 1. Is current. There is immediacy about what is presented, and learners become involved in relating to it. 2. Is authentic. It relates to real life. Learners will be dealing with facts and opinions that have a basis in reality and therefore a direct bearing upon their own lives. 3. Has a variety of content. Themes or topics cover a variety of subject matter and culture-related matter ranging from society, politics, economics, science to environment, sports, entertainment and home life. 4. Choosable. The teacher may select material according to pupils’ needs and interests, and it should increase their motivation and desire to learn about the topic through language. 5. Has a variety of linguistic features. It contains a range of language styles, text types, and vocabulary. Learners will develop their reading skills and vocabulary acquisition by engaging with them. 6. Can be used to develop language skills. Learners reading, writing and listening skills can be developed by a number of tasks such as “ learning about something”, “getting information by reading for detail or main ideas”, “drawing materials for argument” and “writing and reviewing reports based on their knowledge of the subject”. Coping with vocabulary identifying technical, field-specific terms from a range of genres among different subject matters may also help learners to improve their language skills. In other words, newspapers, magazines, news on TV can serve not only as “a vehicle for information” but also as “ a linguistic object”. This echoes the goal of content-based instruction, which is “ to provide a meaningful context for language teaching to occur”.

Conclusion: economic, effective, and enjoyable. Newspapers and magazines can be useful tools for many reasons. One, as has been shown above, is that they cover a variety of topics. Another is that the articles are usually written in such a way that ordinary people can understand them. Modern computer technology and recent developments on the internet can not only make these approaches easier to practice but also offer an expanding source of material to work with.

References:

MODERN ENGLISH TEACHER Journal № 2-2003