Times in English. British newspapers
NEWSPAPER - one day bestseller.
Valery Yants
Today we will talk about what kind of newspapers are on English language why you need to read them, how to choose an English newspaper, where you can find newspapers in English online, how often you need to read newspapers and at what level you can start reading newspapers in English.
We will answer all these questions.
Reading newspapers in English is undoubtedly useful, and here's why:
- newspapers reflect the modern vernacular
- it is a source of information about news in the world
- Opportunity to gain knowledge in a particular area
- practical value - can help you find a job, rent a house, etc. in the country where you are going / intend to immigrate
If you regularly read newspapers in English, you can improve your level very well, expand your vocabulary. In addition, you will notice that it will be much easier to build sentences in English if you remember the constructions and phrases from newspapers. Your speech will become closer to native speakers, and not broken-Russian-English - as happens with those who try to translate from Russian into English without reading authentic articles, but only substituting the first words they come across from the dictionary.
And for those who are going to take an international English exam (IELTS / TOEFL / FCE / CAE), examiners especially recommend regular reading of newspapers in English, as articles are found in the Reading and Writing parts (Cambridge exams imply not only understanding, but also the ability to write articles ). Especially for preparation for the Academic Module.
What are the newspapers in English?
Newspapers in English can be divided into those published in Russia and abroad. Foreign newspapers in English are divided into newspapers written for native speakers and for learners of English as a second language (ESL learners). In turn, newspapers for native English speakers are divided into serious publications and for the mass reader. 
Surprisingly, newspapers in English are also published in Russia, although there are few of them.
Foreign newspapers for carriers. It is useful to read them starting from the Upper-Intermediate level.
- - a catalog of online newspapers, sorted by country.
Other:
- - if you are interested in a specific state, you can see the TOP 10 newspapers from this state.
- - the most popular news newspaper for children. Serious news is "chewed" in understandable language for American children. The articles are accompanied by exercises in .pdf format, often with pictures and maps that even adults (learners of English) will be interested in. Exercises are focused on checking the learned information.
Foreign newspapers for English learners.
First of all, those newspapers and websites that I would contribute to " golden list:
Now let's talk about other publications that are also worthy of attention:
- - site about sensational news from Sean Banville with numerous, but not interactive exercises. Pros: The author of the site is a native speaker of British English, an English teacher for foreigners, so the exercises are well thought out methodologically. Minus - all the news is voiced only by Sean Benvil. Some of my students just don't like his pronunciation.
- -news, especially for Upper-Intermediate and Advanced levels. The exercises are in the section to the right of the article (Resources - Student Worksheet). Usually, these are just questions.
- - news from Voice of America for learning English. Pros: all articles are accompanied by an audio recording of different native speakers of American English, among the speakers there are both men and women. Minus - the announcers speak too slowly and stretched, absolutely unnatural. Suitable for Beginner and Elementary levels.
- - very short articles for Beginner and Elementary levels. Cons: no exercises and voiced by only one speaker - Sam Margolis.
Russian newspapers:
Previously, universities were forced to read and translate Moscow News. This was usually explained by the need to know and be able to discuss the news happening in our country. Unfortunately, I still do not see the benefit in reading texts from Russian newspapers, because they were written by Russians, even if they speak English well, but not by native speakers. 
Russian newspapers for English learners:
- - You can read examples of articles, after each given a translation of complex words. It seemed to me that the articles were not serious and "copy-paste" from various sources.
- - This is an appendix to the newspaper "First of September". It will be of interest only to teachers of secondary schools, since articles by Russian teachers about open lessons etc. Only some old articles are available online.
Conclusion: Read newspapers in English written by native speakers.
Students are often interested in how often newspapers should be read, how many articles per day or week. Today I decided to ask our teachers what they think about this.
Hope: " The main thing is to have fun. There are people who like to read newspapers, and there are those for whom two texts a week is already the limit of patience. It seems to me that you can start from the Pre-Intermediate level". Hope advises the site:
- - articles with consecutive translation into Russian and expressions are highlighted.
Anna: " I think it depends on how interesting it is for the student. If you like it, then at least every day, if not, you can not read at all, or sometimes in order to familiarize yourself with newspaper vocabulary».
Aigul: " I think articles should be read depending on the purpose of learning the language, starting, of course, from the appropriate level. It will be useful for English language learners to regularly learn world news, show business news, sports, interesting discoveries of scientists from newspapers and magazines. And poly-lingual sites help us with this. For example, – where you can read the same articles in different languages».
I also interacted with our native teachers.
You can read the opinions of native teachers in English by clicking on the entry below:
Opinions of native speakers in English
The answer to that is dependent on their level. I have low-level students who find it too tremendously difficult so read only occasionally, and then I have high-level students who regularly turn to the NY Times for news. For a pre-int. student… maybe a short article every day or so (Michelle)
I would suggest each day if possible… and as many articles as they have time for starting from intermediate level. (Catherine)
There is no formula. I believe that the more a person reads, the better for him/her. It is important that a student does not read material that is either too easy or too difficult. Material that is too difficult may result in discouraging the student. material that is too easy will have little, if any, effect.
Motivation is also very important. Therefore, I always suggest that my students read about what interests them most. Advanced English learnes should read longer articles and obviously ones that include more advanced vocabulary. Students should gradually increase "the bar", that is go on to a slightly more difficult material once they realize that they have relatively few problems with the level they're at. But - as I mentioned earlier - it really depends and there is no formula regarding how much is enough. The more the better. (Ewa)
I think it depends on their level. For intermediate students an article can take a very long time, so they may only want to try one or two articles a week because it may take them the whole week to finish those. Avery advanced student may want to try to read the whole front page three or four times a week. (erin)
I think they could start with short articles at intermediate level if their vocabulary is ok. I think they should read at least 3 a week. I think reading is very important for getting the feel of a language, as important as learning vocabulary. (Ann Mackay)
Well, I think they should read everyday. I don’t think there is a magic number of essays, but they should read a wide range of different articles from science to literature, etc. (Shelly)
No matter what the student's level is, he/she should be able to find material appropriate to his/her level. Also, they should challenge themselves by reading something a little more difficult than their level but not so difficult that they'll give up. (Shelly)
I would recommend daily for whatever level they are (Carmine)
I present to you the translation of their answers.
Michelle: " It all depends on the level. I have students who find it extremely difficult to read newspapers, so they do it occasionally. On the other hand, my high level students often read the news from . As for the students of the Pre-intermediate level, 1 small article per day will probably be enough for them." Michelle also noted that the article should not have more than 10 new words. If there are more, then you have taken an article that is too complicated for you.
However, most of Michelle's students enjoy watching news videos with English subtitles rather than reading them in newspapers. She gave a link to the site:
- - video in english with subtitles(you need to click "SS" which stands for closed-captioned) on a variety of topics.
Ewa: " There is no set number of articles. I think the more a person reads, the better for him/her. It is important that the student does not read material that is too easy or too difficult. Motivation is also very important. Therefore, I always advise my students to read about what they are interested in. Advanced level students should read longer articles with complex vocabulary. Students should gradually raise the bar by increasing the difficulty. But there is no definite figure on how much to read. The bigger, the better».
Erin: " I think it all depends on the level. Intermediate students spend a lot of time reading an article, so one or two articles per week will be enough for them. Advanced students can read 4-5 newspaper pages».
Ann Mackay: You can start with short articles at the Intermediate level if they have a rich vocabulary. You need to read at least 3 articles a week. I think reading is very important in order to learn to feel the language and learn new words.».
Which newspaper in English should you choose?
Read the newspapers of the region that is of most interest to you. For example, if you are going to immigrate to Australia, read the Australian newspapers.
Read newspapers related to your profession, hobbies or interests.
Remember, reading should be fun.
Most of the popular English and American newspapers at the end of the last century acquired their own websites, which allowed publications not to lose their readers with the appearance of tens and hundreds of alternative sources of information, but rather to increase their audience several times over. Therefore, learning English by reading English newspapers is now quite simple.
Why read newspapers
In addition to the obvious benefits for English learners - replenishing vocabulary with relevant vocabulary - reading newspapers has a number of other benefits:
- This is a good habit and a pleasant morning ritual, even if you prefer to see Russian in the newspapers. A cup of coffee and a fresh newspaper is still a traditional morning pastime in English-speaking countries.
- Newspapers publish the most important news, so you don't have to spend time searching and compiling a picture of the day on your own. Daily reading of newspapers allows you to constantly be aware of the events taking place around you: global and local.
- The information in the newspapers is structured by thematic sections, so it is easy to find what you are interested in: news of politics, sports or culture, opinion columns, interviews, etc.
- In reputable newspapers, each published article is checked for accuracy, so the chance of error or distortion of facts is very low, unlike other sources of information: social networks and blogs.
- Reading newspapers broadens one's horizons and allows one to get acquainted with new interesting topics, learn different points of view, thereby forming one's own independent opinion.
Top 5 English Language Newspapers
The Guardian
The UK produces some of the world's most widely read and respected weekly news papers. Many foreign publications, including Russian newspapers, refer to The Guardian in their publications. This newspaper, founded in 1851 in the city of Manchester, has grown from a regional publication into a major international media outlet over a century and a half of its existence thanks to its responsible and professional approach to journalism. The Guardian site is one of the most visited news sites in the world, and according to this indicator is not inferior even to overseas "giants" - The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.
The Wall Street Journal
This is another weekly newspaper, and now also an English-language portal on the Internet, which traces its history back to the nineteenth century - The Wall Street Journal was founded in 1882 in New York. Since its inception, the publication has been focused on news financial sphere: business, economics and politics. The newspaper publishes professional analytical materials, opinions of authoritative experts, well-known politicians and businessmen, interviews with heads of large companies.
The Times of India
The newspaper, founded in India during the reign of the British Empire in 1838, is today the most widely circulated English-language newspaper in the world, with a circulation of over 3 million copies of the Times of India. According to this indicator, it overtakes even oldest newspapers USA and UK.
The newspaper covers events in India and the rest of the world, business, technology, politics, sports and entertainment. In print, the tone of the newspaper is neutral and rather conservative, but on the website the news is published in a more modern style, taking into account different points of view.
The New York Times
The New York The Times is one of the largest American newspapers, second only to The Wall Street Journal in terms of circulation. It is a daily newspaper that publishes news, opinions, opinion pieces and analytical articles. There are also less serious sections in The New York Times: psychology, travel, entertainment, health, food.
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The newspaper was founded in 1851 and was originally a regional publication covering only New York news. But over time, the newspaper expanded its influence throughout the country, and then went to an international audience. The English-language site of the newspaper is the most visited among the sites of American newspapers.
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a daily newspaper that has been published in the UK since 1896. At the beginning of the last century, it was the most circulated in the country, and today it is second only to another British newspaper, The Sun, in this indicator. In terms of online audience coverage, the Daily Mail's success is even more impressive: about 80 million users per month.
Since its founding, the newspaper has been moderately conservative, focused on middle class. More than half of the Daily Mail readers are women. Despite its long history, the Daily Mail is not considered an authoritative publication: more often than in other publications, there are errors and unverified facts that are regularly refuted.
English language newspapers by country
As you have noticed, the most popular and circulated newspapers in the world are those of the USA and Great Britain, but this does not mean that there are no newspapers in English in other countries. In addition to the former colonies of the British Empire, where English is still spoken - India, Australia, Canada, African countries, etc. - English-language newspapers are published in many other countries. It publishes translations of the local press and author's materials. The circulation of these media is much inferior to the circulation of British and American publications, but they also have their own audience.
| UK newspapers |
|---|
| The Sun |
| Daily Mail |
| Metro |
| Evening Standard |
| Daily Mirror |
| Daily Telegraph |
| The Times |
| Daily Star |
| Daily Express |
| Financial Times |
| The Guardian |
| Daily Record |
| The Independent |
| US newspapers |
|---|
| USA Today |
| The New York Times |
| The Wall Street Journal |
| Los Angeles Times |
| new york post |
| Chicago Tribune |
| The Washington Post |
| Newsday |
| Daily News |
| am New York |
| English newspapers Canada |
|---|
| The Globe and Mail |
| Toronto Star |
| Metro Toronto |
| National Post |
| The Vancouver Sun |
| The Toronto Sun |
| Metro Vancouver |
| New Zealand newspapers |
|---|
| New Zealand Herald |
| Dominion Post |
| Press |
| Waikato Times |
| Otago Daily Times (ODT) |
| Newspapers in Australia |
|---|
| The Age |
| The Australian |
All English newspapers are divided into two main types - entertainment or tabloids (popular) and serious (objective). They have a clearly defined structure, audience, subject matter, as well as a way of presenting information. A serious publication will never allow itself to publish a news item with dubious accuracy of facts, while a tabloid will never publish an analytical note. Such features of the distribution of the press are typical only for the UK, as they are not visible in any other foreign newspapers.
English newspapers. Names and their features
Each newspaper has its own name, as it is an integral part of it. But all names have their own characteristics. Firstly, they are all used with the article, but this article is not always written. For example, “The Times”, “The Observer”, “The Mirror”, “The Daily Express” and others. Second, most newspapers use puns, amplifications, and literary alliteration to make the title interesting and even intriguing. Thirdly, the complete absence These are the rules that the name can only consist of an adjective or a verb. Why this is so is still unknown, but this rule has been observed for several centuries. This can be considered a kind of feature, because other foreign newspapers do not have such a feature.
English sports newspapers
A separate subspecies is the sports press. English sports newspapers are more likely to be serious than entertaining, but still this is clear Some of them allow themselves to publish material from life and gossip about sports stars, which is entertainment, that is, it is the main topic tabloids. Although initially the press with this subject refers to serious publications.
Popularity
English newspapers are among the most popular newspapers in the world, especially the serious press. Some newspapers (mainly "The Times", "The Observer", "The Mirror", "The Daily Express") are published with a circulation of several million and transported to other worlds, mainly to the USA and Canada. In addition to all this, most newspapers have their own electronic versions that are available to the whole world. This makes them not only world famous, but also the most widely read.
Sales features
Usually all the press is sold in kiosks or specialty stores, but there are some nuances. Popular newspapers can on the street. To do this, a box is placed near the pile of publications into which buyers will throw money (the price is two pennies). In this case, the seller may go about his business or not be around at all. People are so used to it that no one even tries to steal newspapers or money.
Summing up
English newspapers are one of the most popular and most widely read press in the world. According to their thematic content, they are divided into popular (tabloids) and serious ones, but there are some newspapers that can be attributed to these two categories.
Reading the news in English is the most natural and surest way to advance in the language. For those who are interested in specific publications or websites, Puzzle English has prepared a selection of British and American newspapers to help you learn the language.
At what level do you start reading?
Teachers usually advise to start reading from the Intermediate level and above. But often the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening develop unevenly, so you need to focus on your own feelings - do you understand the essence of what you read or 80% of words and structures seem incomprehensible to you?If you can’t wait to start reading news in English as soon as possible, but you don’t have enough knowledge, you can practice in the News Review and Words in the News sections on BBC Learning English, which offer short news notes with simple constructions and a dictionary. Another option is a joint project of the British newspaper The Guardian and onestopenglish.com - where articles are rewritten for each level from Elementary to Advanced and there are ready-made studies with control questions for verification. Puzzle English teachers also conduct master classes reading newspaper articles.
Where to look for news in English
News in English from various publications and media companies can be found on Google news (to switch to English, go to the "Language and Region" section and select one of the pairs - English / UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, etc.) or Yahoo News.1. BBC News
One of the world's largest television and radio corporations. The main content is video and audio production, the news site BBC News is an excellent source of international news. Correspondents work all over the world, so on the BBC you can always find detailed information and analytics about events not only in the UK and Europe, but also in other countries.
BBC news texts are well structured and written in easy to understand language. The articles describe not only the essence of the events, but also contain information from direct participants, experts, BBC correspondents in the region. The reader is given not just a short set of facts, but a complete picture of what happened, especially if we are talking about the central topics (Top Stories).
All BBC content is free, including podcasts, the BBC News app (text and audio) and video files. The only negative is the lack of podcast transcripts, but this is compensated by the multimedia content of the site - most of the topics are presented in several formats at once - text, video and audio.
2. Sky News
Private British news channel. The site publishes news notes and short videos, including those with subtitles. But in terms of the variety of materials and the depth of coverage of materials, Sky News is inferior to the BBC.The main content focuses on what is happening in the UK and how it interacts with the world. Like most news media, there is a World section that covers world events. All content is free. Minus - the live broadcast of the channel is not available in Russia.
3 Fox News, CNN
Most of the content of these American media corporations is devoted to global and local events in the United States and related to them. international affairs. There are sections of entertainment and international events.6 Reuters
The world's largest news agency. Unlike its main competitor, it publishes a large number of materials of various kinds in open access. Despite the economic specialization publishes news and articles on general topics. Like most news media, they are sorted into Business, World, Politics, Tech, Life and Video.
In addition, there is a free application.
The news is structured and written in a strict informational style. For language learners, this presentation helps to understand the essence of the event without a dictionary, as well as to learn a lot of useful expressions.
Minus - a somewhat dry style of presentation, business orientation.
For those interested in economics and business, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, where there is a section on the economy and finance of Russia, Bloomberg and The Economist are suitable. They post part of the content on the site, the rest is available by subscription.
7. The Guardian
Great alternative to The New York Times and Reuters. The newspaper is British, but it covers international topics quite widely, there is a special section on the United States. The articles are very lively, interesting and the topics are diverse - from high art to advice on personal life. Sections Languages and English and creative writing have been created especially for language lovers.The style of presentation can be complex, especially when it comes to columns, but in ordinary informational articles- quite understandable language, although more complex than in the BBC or tabloids.
There is a paid subscription, but even the volume that is available for free is quite enough to keep abreast of events. You can install a free application with a nice addition in the form of a weekly selection of exciting longreads.
8. The Daily Telegraph and The Independent
One of the oldest British publications. The main content is about what's happening in the UK, but there are also international news sections.To access The Telegraph articles, you need to register, but you can do this through social networks.
The Independent features a light writing style, an engaging LifeStyle section, and all materials are available free of charge and without registration.
Minus - the articles are aimed at readers living in the UK.
Both newspapers offer supplements, The Independent even has two, a daily and a weekly.
9. The Daily Mail
Popular British tabloids are also called housewife fiction.The slogan of one of them - News, sport, celebrities and gossip - accurately reflects the essence of such newspapers. You should not look for serious news, analytics and articles about art there.
What is there is a light and lively language with numerous phraseological units and even slang, details of scandals from the world of politics and show business, rumors from the life of the British royal family.
Cons - periodically shocking pictures of crime victims, terrible illnesses or mutant people from Indian villages pop up.
Pros - clear presentation and completely free content, including applications.
The Daily Mail highlights a variety of sections from politics to international news (Female, Health, Travel, Science). There is even a section on Russia.
All articles are quite voluminous and oversaturated with photos, videos and social media widgets, but each is preceded by an announcement from a list of short and understandable phrases that describe the essence and most spectacular facts of the material.
In addition to The Daily Mail, the top four British tabloids are
Great Britain proudly bears the title of the most developed publishing country in the world. More than two hundred Sunday and daily newspapers, one thousand three hundred weeklies and almost two thousand local publications are published here.
In terms of statistics, on average, two out of three English people over the age of fifteen read daily papers, and three out of four read Sunday papers. Almost every inhabitant of the country reads the local and regional press.
There are a dozen daily and ten Sunday newspapers in the country, which have gained national status due to their popularity. Depending on the content, it can be a quality or "yellow" press. The first category is designed for verified and detailed information about life in the country; such newspapers often contain political and economic reviews. The "yellow" press of England is more entertaining than informative, it contains a lot of colorful photos and short funny stories.
Many British publications are known all over the world - for example, "The Times" is quite an influential newspaper in the world market, moreover, it is the oldest publication in Britain, which has existed since 1785. The oldest Sunday newspaper in the country and the world is "The Observer" - the first issue was published in 1791. Later, the press market was supplemented by such quality publications as "The Independent" and its Sunday branch, as well as "Today". All these newspapers are relevant and popular.
Since British people are extremely interested in politics, most newspapers have a clear position on the parties and the current government, rarely changing their views. Conservative and right-wing views are supported by the newspapers The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Express. As for the left and liberal parties, they are represented by The Daily Mirror, The Guardian, The Independent and The Scotsman.
If we touch on specialized newspapers, then all kinds of publications for women and dedicated to home life can boast of a large number of subscribers. Separate trade and technical newspapers are also published for large corporations - there are already more than six and a half thousand of them on the market.
The business sector is represented by the daily Financial Times, which has been published since 1888. Political reviews are best read in The Economist, New Statesman & Society, and International Herald Tribune.
Interestingly, many newspapers in the UK produce special supplements that can be completely different from the content of the publication. So, "The Times" releases an educational application, and "The Daily Telegraph" has the most voluminous addition, which includes more than five sections for different ages.
