How to learn English using news and educational programs?

For many English learners, choosing a learning method and suitable materials can be quite a challenge. Besides the obvious options such as learning with a teacher or using various apps, people often look for additional solutions and methods.

In addition, people sometimes lose motivation and enthusiasm because, for adults, learning a language is often an extra obligation on top of a life full of professional and personal commitments. Many adults dream of just one thing – after a full day of work, to sit in front of a screen and finally relax!

But what would you say if we convinced you that you can significantly improve your language skills by watching TV? Yes, you read that right! Television can be a powerful educational tool, and with a few proven methods you can easily combine learning with the pleasure of watching your favorite programs. In this article, we discuss how to use television, news, and programs effectively to learn English.

1) Choose the right programs

The first step is choosing the right programs. Some TV news shows or online programs may be more suitable for English learners than others. News programs such as BBC News or CNN, as well as platforms like TED Talks, offer clear and understandable speech, which makes comprehension easier even for beginners.

An additional advantage of these services is that they often have local versions, meaning we can access different varieties of English and different accents. Understanding English across diverse local accents and pronunciation varieties can be one of the biggest challenges for learners! With local services, we can choose the accent that is easiest for us to understand. Later, we can move on to other variants of English – and maybe even understand the Scottish variety one day. 🙂

But there is no need to limit yourself only to news programs. Television offers many thematic channels that also provide content delivered in clear and relatively easy-to-understand language. A wide selection of documentaries and current affairs programs will certainly expand not only your language skills but also your subject-matter knowledge.

2) Active listening

When watching TV programs, the most important thing is to listen actively and try to understand the message. You can start by watching simple, short programs with English subtitles to follow dialogues more easily and understand the context. Then gradually move to more complex programs, and later turn subtitles off and test your understanding by summarizing or discussing what you watched.

To listen actively, it helps to gather some information about the topic before watching. Of course, this can be difficult with news itself, but if you are watching current affairs programs or documentaries, you can look up background information in advance. Remember: when you know the context, it is easier to understand elements you do not know – you can more easily guess what is being discussed!

3) Notes and revision

Effective language learning cannot happen without some form of note-taking and later revision. That is why, while watching or after watching a program, it is worth reviewing the material. You can take notes of new words, phrases, or grammar structures that appear. Notes can be kept in a notebook or in digital form. Digital notes can then be easily transferred into tools that help you memorize new vocabulary, such as the VOCAbite.

Regular revision of new words and phrases helps закреп them in memory. That is why it is worth setting aside regular time intervals for review and returning to what you have already written down. If you use vocabulary learning apps, you can often benefit from a built-in spaced repetition algorithm. On VOCAbite, the revision algorithm is aligned with the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve. An algorithm that not only suggests which words and phrases you should revise (especially those you find harder to remember), but also does so at scientifically timed intervals, is a true helper for your memory!

4) Exercises using the news

After watching the news or a program, you should do a few exercises to consolidate new vocabulary and language structures. Here are some examples:

• Vocabulary: choose a few words from the program you watched and use them in sentences, keeping the context in which they were used. You can also use the new words in class (if you take English lessons) or in conversations with business partners or colleagues if you communicate in English at work;
• Summarize the content: try to summarize the main points of the program in a short essay, a presentation, or simply an oral summary. You can even talk to yourself – that is perfectly fine!
• Debate a current event: talk to someone about a current event or a topic raised in the program. This exercise will help you use new vocabulary in context and in a real conversation.

There are also dedicated services and websites that offer materials to help you both understand and practice the content and vocabulary from the news.

Here are 4 example services:

1. TED-Ed:

An educational video platform connected to TED Talks. It contains short animations on a wide variety of topics, with comprehension tasks, additional materials for exploration, and a discussion section where you can exchange ideas with other users.

2. News in Levels:

A website that publishes daily news from around the world and presents it at three proficiency levels. You can read the news or listen to it (with an American accent). The site also offers a place to answer a question related to the topic, and an interesting feature – finding a speaking partner to discuss the news!

3. Breaking News English:

A site similar to the previous one, but with many more exercises related to the topic and more levels – as many as six. Not every piece of news appears at every level; content is usually split into easier and more challenging items depending on the topic.

4. BBC Ideas:

The site offers short, informative videos on engaging popular-science topics, including health and wellbeing. Videos are organized into thematic playlists you can browse and choose from.

5) Watch every day

The most important thing is to do all of this regularly. Watching and listening every day, even to short TV segments, will help you steadily develop your language skills. Over time, you will notice that certain words appear more often than others and some set phrases repeat – the viewing itself will become vocabulary revision. You do not need to spend hours in front of the TV; even a short daily session can bring significant benefits.

And if you really do not have time to actively engage in exercises on a given day, even playing the news in the background can help. The brain is a very interesting organ and it picks up certain phrases or the melody of the language even when we are not fully focused on active listening. Of course, we are not suggesting learning this way all the time – we are simply reminding you that consistency matters, and it is worth listening to something even in the background because you will still gain some benefits from it.

The takeaway? Watching TV can be much more than entertainment. For English learners, it can be an effective tool for improving language skills. Choose the right programs, listen actively, revise, and practice regularly, and you will see fast progress in your English. Good luck with your learning!