In the Digital Age the internet has become the primary medium to obtain information about the world around us. But newspapers can still serve a purpose. As language learners they can be a great tool to develop our skills.
Newspapers might have seen a decline in popularity but they can still offer great value to a language learner. Together with serving as reading material, newspapers can be useful in practising speaking and even for writing.
Here are 6 reasons why newspapers can make your language learning journey easier:
The language level is relatively high
If you’re aiming for proficiency it’s likely that the language used in newspapers is of a higher level than what you’re aiming for. This provides a broad range of opportunity for you to develop your language skills. You can be sure to come across grammar that is used appropriately and accurately.
They contain current information
Daily newspapers feature news that is relevant and that pertains to the time. Articles serve as a great source of topics for conversation. Not to mention the wealth of vocabulary they provide.
They are accessible
In many places in the world newspapers are sold at newsstands spread out across the city. Or else they can be found on sale at cafes, corner shops or supermarkets. In airport lounges you might even be offered one complimentarily. Overall it’s relatively easy to get your hands on the latest daily.
There’s a new one every day!
In contrast to other print material like reading books or textbooks, a fresh newspaper is published every day. You’ll never be short of content since even editions that are a few days old can be useful.
You can scribble on them
Assuming it belongs to you of course! You can highlight and underline key words without feeling guilty about it. The margins are also great for making short notes.
Newspapers are reusable
Being made out of paper, newspapers are biodegradable and can be easily recycled. You could even reuse them yourself by using them around the house. One of my personal favorite ways of reusing newspapers is to cover my language notebooks with them. For example you could cover your Spanish notebook with a Spanish newspaper. Not only does it make your notebook easier to identify but it adds a bit of character too.