Breaking News English!

What is Breaking News English?

Breaking News? English? What it is all about? It is all about learning English in a fun and informative way! This is because Breaking News English is a website where you are able to learn something interesting and recent on a daily basis. It makes use of breaking news as the contents of a lesson and offers you various activities about the news on the same day the news break. What is more interesting and attractive for your students other than a lesson on something current and up-to-date? Breaking News English! All lessons offered by this website cover pre-intermediate and intermediate levels which can be done in classroom or independently. And it is free!

How it works?

It is very easy! First of all, go to the website Breaking News English and choose a topic (news title) on the list! For example "World's children care most about education" and select any activity that you want to do! Have fun and gain knowledge about current news and issues! You can also listen to the news recording if you choose to do the listening activities.

This website also offers complete lesson plans and activities that can be carried out in classrooms for example warm- up, pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading activities.

Breaking News English in ELT:

Advantages:

1) This website is specially designed for English language teaching and learning. It offers 26 pages printable activities and handouts for each of the lesson plan and they are free. Besides, there is a new lesson for every two days. So, this website is ideal for a very busy teacher! You can just take the ideas, print the activities, adapt if it is needed and teach your students!

2) Although the lessons offered by this website only cover pre-intermediate and intermediate level, you can always modify the lesson to meet the level of your students. 

3) This website promotes learners autonomy as your students can do all the activities provided at their own free times. Perhaps, you can do one or two activities together with your students in class to familiarize them with the website. 

4) The fact that this lesson is based on the breaking news which is current and up-to-date, it allows your students to enhance their knowledge with recent issues. This in turn, may help them to develop useful points for their writing course.

5) Most of the online activities helps students to improve their listening skill as some activities require them to listen to a recording before answering the questions.

6) Students may also improve their spelling skills and enrich their vocabulary through the activities provided in this websites. 

Disadvantages:

1) Students might cheat while doing the online activities as they can listen to the recording more than one in each activity that required listening.

2) No internet connection.