THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NEWSPAPER IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH TO UNDERGRADUATES

Abstract

The newspaper is known to be an influential tool in the sharing of information and improving the language skills of undergraduates in this vastly developing global village. Newspapers expand the knowledge horizon of undergraduates on a plethora of current events happening around us. The reason to choose the English newspaper as an instrument in the teaching of English is two-fold –the newspaper is a cost-effective, easily accessible, friendly on the wallet textbook that provides the reader with up-to-date knowledge on a vast array of topics, whilst being a language developer which is a simple thesaurus that unconsciously improves the reader’s vocabulary, in many instances. With emphasis being put on the need to improve the English language skills of undergraduates, coupled with the soaring cost of textbooks, the newspaper has stepped in to perform the dual roles of expanding the knowledge bank on a variety of topics in an ever-changing environment and teaching the four language skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking to the younger generation. Although social media has stolen a march over news-dissemination portals in the modern world, globally, the newspaper still remains a stalwart in the industry and, works hand in glove with language teaching to inculcate the reading habit among undergraduates and enrich their knowledge bank whilst simultaneously improving their language skills.Hence this paper aims to bring under the spotlight, the benefits of teaching English by using the English newspaper in the undergraduate ESL classroom.