[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you’re a beginner, no problem: you can watch and read the news online at a level that works for you, then go to more difficult stories at your own speed.<\/p>\n As clearly stated on the front page,\u00a0The Times in Plain English<\/em>\u00a0is about\u00a0“clear writing” for “global reading.” It makes authentic English news articles easier\u00a0to understand for a worldwide audience.<\/strong><\/p>\n This means that beginners can get a daily dose of easy English news without having to pick up their dictionary every five words!<\/p>\n The site takes articles from various publications, including\u00a0The New York Times<\/em>, and rewrites them in short, concise sentences using common vocabulary.<\/strong> Topics include health, education, law, immigration, money and work. You can find a link to the original article, for when you want some more challenging English news reading practice.<\/p>\n The site is easy to navigate and you can also subscribe to a\u00a0newsletter to\u00a0receive new articles straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n With FluentU, you can browse hundreds of authentic English videos, including news broadcasts. There are a few different kinds of news you can find on FluentU, including news segments about current events, special programs about specific topics, debates, sports coverage, discussions of new technology and much more.<\/p>\n FluentU makes every video easy to follow no matter what level you are: Just read along with the accurate subtitles. If you hear a word you don’t know, click on it to see an in-context definition, read example sentences, hear an audio pronunciation<\/strong> and see the word in use in other FluentU videos.<\/p>\n You can also add words to flashcard decks and review them with personalized quizzes. If you’re using the iOS<\/a> or Android<\/a> app, you’ll even get a chance to speak each word thanks to speaking questions.<\/p>\n Plus, after every video on FluentU<\/a>, you can take a quiz to see how well you understood the language in the video.<\/p>\n The Times in Plain English<\/em> is not directly connected to\u00a0The New York Times<\/em>, but this ESL news resource is.<\/p>\n It’s a <\/i>weekly column on\u00a0The New York Times<\/em> Learning Network that’s\u00a0perfect for American English language learners<\/strong>. It features stories that are written in a way you can understand.<\/p>\n After you read, take the quizzes on punctuation and word choice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n And it’s free!<\/p>\n The BBC offers a daily program called “Words in the News” for upper levels of British English learning<\/strong>. The reports show you important words, then show you a news story that includes those words.<\/p>\n The words can be difficult, though. Don\u2019t be surprised if you need to review the words in the quiz that comes with the program.<\/p>\n ESL Video features a range of English videos, including news clips, which are accompanied by content made by teachers.<\/p>\n The site is free and the additional content includes<\/strong> quizzes.<\/strong><\/p>\n The news videos sometimes have transcripts available, so you can read along with what\u2019s being said during the video.<\/p>\n As we mentioned above, not all of their videos are news videos. However, the ones that are can be divided into categories like \u201cscience and technology,\u201d if you want to practice specific vocabulary.<\/p>\n This Canadian news site is geared toward English learners and has plenty of news videos and some audio clips.<\/p>\n The videos are labeled with their English level<\/strong>, so you can choose the one that suits your study needs.<\/p>\n The subjects cover everything from Canadian news to sports to children\u2019s news.<\/p>\n Each video is meant to help you practice English grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation while learning about current events and cultural facts about English-speaking countries.<\/p>\n The site also has an extensive archive of stories<\/strong> from 2017 and earlier, including news interviews and longer stories.<\/p>\n Lots of really mediocre (not so good) content is out on web. When you learn English through news, you want to go for quality.<\/p>\n Seek out authentic (designed for native speakers) English news articles and videos with crisp, clear language. The sentences should be short and declarative<\/strong>, which means they should use a subject-verb-object pattern<\/a>. The writing in the story should be as easy to read as the headline (the title at the top of the story).<\/p>\n Try to find news sites where the staff comes from different cultures. The stories are more likely to give you more than one viewpoint (perspective) on a problem.<\/p>\n There are countless stories on current events, American politics, national news and more. There are even videos covering these topics you can use to improve your listening comprehension.<\/p>\n Although it’s most popular for its news and political articles, USA Today also has several pieces covering money, sports, business and wellness topics, among others.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0is another great source for varied English news stories. Plus, with a click on a tab, you can switch to English language vocabulary and news more suited to Americans<\/a>, Brits<\/a>\u00a0and Aussies<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/em> offers English learners a large collection of English news articles with views on politics, culture, business, lifestyle, travel and more. There are news reports\u00a0and opinion pieces with high-quality writing, which often require an upper-intermediate to advanced level of English<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Guardian’s<\/em> Long Read<\/a> provides\u00a0some exciting additional materials to improve both reading and listening skills.\u00a0The Guardian\u2019s <\/i>Learning English<\/a> section has a crisp, clean writing style as well.<\/p>\n The videos are accompanied by a related article, which makes for excellent,\u00a0relevant reading material. Here’s a neat exercise to take advantage of both:<\/p>\n You may also want to subscribe for full access to The New York Times<\/em><\/a>. As The New York Times<\/em> is of the best-known newspapers in the world, it’s one of the best resources for English news reading practice.<\/p>\n theSkimm is a daily e-newsletter that claims to give you all the most important news you need to start the day. Every morning, you’ll get pithy (short but expressive) summaries and insightful commentaries regarding the day’s\u00a0headlines.<\/strong><\/p>\n The newsletter’s popularity is thanks to the writers’ ability to turn sometimes dull news into something fun and quick to read. Rather than having to visit various sites to get all the important news of the day,\u00a0you can skim it all quickly right in your inbox. It’s a lot more convenient!<\/p>\n As a language learner, you’ll also benefit from the news being shorter and down-to-earth.<\/strong> As humor plays a large part in theSkimm’s style, beginner learners without much exposure to American culture\u00a0might miss a joke or two.<\/p>\n However, you’ll likely still find the newsletter engaging and will be motivated to use it for English news reading practice every day. (I know I am!)<\/p>\n This daily\u00a0podcast\u00a0from BBC World Service<\/em> is ideal for improving your listening skills while commuting or doing chores around the house. On the podcast, a learner can listen to worldwide reporters who have various English accents<\/strong> (including American, British, Australian and Indian) or who speak English as a second language.<\/p>\n That makes valuable listening practice for English learners, because in the real world\u2014the workplace, universities\u00a0or social occasions\u2014not only will you encounter accents from across the Anglophone world,\u00a0but you may also rely on English to communicate with other non-native speakers who don’t share\u00a0your mother tongue.<\/p>\n Previously known as\u00a0The Huffington Post,<\/em> HuffPost offers a more entertaining perspective on news and current events.<\/strong><\/p>\n Depending on the edition, you can read American<\/a>, Canadian<\/a>, British<\/a> and Australian<\/a> coverage of a variety of topics. It is an ideal resource for intermediate English learners.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal\u00a0is another major publication based in New York City that is famous the world over. You will find financial, political and culture news covered in every issue.<\/strong> It is often sold in newspaper kiosks even outside the US.<\/p>\n They\u2019re one of the top American news sites when it comes to political news, and they\u2019re constantly adding new videos to their website.<\/p>\n Politico focuses on\u00a0American politics<\/strong>, so it\u2019s very specific in terms of subject matter. This makes it a great source to use if you\u2019re looking to become more familiar with how the U.S. government works.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a great place to\u00a0learn about American politics and foreign policy<\/strong>, which can affect countries around the world.<\/p>\n Additionally, you can expect to learn a ton of great vocabulary by studying words related to government, economics, policy, etc.<\/p>\n CTV News is a\u00a0Canada-based\u00a0news site<\/strong> that has tons of videos.<\/p>\n Their news videos cover both national and international stories. You\u2019ll have access to just about any type of vocabulary you can think of, as there\u2019s also extensive coverage of lifestyle news, such as pop culture, health and entertainment.<\/p>\n The best thing about this news source is that\u00a0English captions are available with most of the videos<\/strong>. That means that you can check your understanding of pronunciation, learn how to spell a word or use the subtitles to help you know what words to look up in a dictionary.<\/p>\n SBS News is based in\u00a0Australia<\/strong>, exposing English learners to yet another unique English accent.<\/p>\n This is another resource that provides tons of opportunities to expand your vocabulary, as it covers a wide array of topics like small businesses, sports and cultural news.<\/p>\n While many of SBS News\u2019 videos are focused on Australian news, there are tons of them that talk about world news as well.<\/p>\n New videos are added every few hours, so you\u2019ll never run out of stories to watch.<\/p>\n Plus, just about every story is accompanied by a longer summary and additional photographs to provide you with more insight into what\u2019s happening in the video.<\/p>\n While most videos are short, there are occasionally longer options that provide you with a deeper look at a story, which is perfect if you\u2019re looking for a longer English lesson.<\/p>\n Politics isn\u2019t your thing? Plenty of other types of English news are out there.<\/p>\n Finding news on topics you care about will keep you motivated to learn<\/strong>. Plus, it\u2019s just a more interesting way to learn English through news!<\/p>\n Love football\/soccer? You know there are websites for that. If you’re an advanced speaker, ESPN may be a great site for you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n ESPN Soccer\u00a0offers all the soccer coverage you want, including stories about the game in just about every country in the world. You may be able to see some broadcast videos if your cable provider can give you access.<\/p>\n As a beginner, you want to find the right kind of easy English news site that’ll talk about sports in a way you can understand. Lots of sports commentators speak very fast and seem to shout. You also usually don’t get to see the commentator as he or she speaks, which can make it hard to understand.<\/p>\n So instead, pick sources that break information down into smaller pieces. The Midfield Dynamo Football Site<\/a><\/strong> creates all its news in Top 10 lists.<\/strong><\/p>\n The site is great for picking up on British idioms and humor.<\/p>\n Sites designed for younger readers also work well for easy English news and still provide specific information that you find interesting<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For example, travel buffs<\/strong> will love\u00a0National Geographic Kids<\/a><\/em> and science fans<\/strong> will enjoy\u00a0Kids Discover<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0Sports Illustrated for Kids<\/a><\/em> can give beginning and intermediate learners their sports in text and video forms.<\/p>\n How-to stories give information that you care about in a detailed way.<\/strong> How-tos do exactly what the name suggests: tell you how to do something that you want to learn.<\/p>\n InStyle Magazine<\/em> offers instructions on everything from selecting the best lipstick to getting a good fit in petite (small) clothes. InStyle\u2019s<\/em> writing is clear and the words are ones you most likely want to know.<\/p>\n If you like to jog for fitness<\/strong>, Runners World<\/em> gives you lots of how-to information and videos on everything from picking the right shoes to getting ready for a marathon. As with lists, how-to stories put information together in an organized way. That structure helps you find patterns because the information comes in pieces that fit together neatly.<\/p>\n This American Life<\/em> is one of the first podcasts I ever subscribed to and remains my longtime favorite. You’ll hear everything from personal stories to investigative reports, always with\u00a0powerful storytelling. You’ll find\u00a0exciting, heartbreaking and inspiring insights into the lives of American people.<\/p>\n The stories from This American Life<\/em> are ideal materials for advanced English listening practice. You’ll be exposed to natural conversational speech and a range of English accents. You can also test your understanding using episode transcripts available on the website.<\/p>\n If you’ve never heard of This American Life<\/em> and feel overwhelmed by its large archive, I recommend starting with Serial<\/a>, a spinoff podcast that went viral in 2014 and 2015.<\/p>\n Modern Love is a very popular column in The New York Times<\/em>, and it’s perfect for people who are interested in true personal stories<\/strong>.\u00a0It focuses on stories of love, loss and redemption (being saved or making things better) and can stir up emotions that most of us have experienced at some point in our lives.\u00a0The column has beautifully written personal essays, which are engaging and not too difficult to read.<\/p>\n For listening practice, check out the\u00a0Modern Love podcast<\/a>, which turns the stories into theatrical reading performances. There’s also a short interview with the people mentioned in each story in the second half of each episode.<\/p>\n The column and the podcast make a great resource for language learners. You can work on\u00a0reading, listening and even speaking skills.<\/strong> The podcast performances by professional actors\u00a0provide excellent examples of the rhythmic flow of English speaking, which you can practice imitating to perfect your own.<\/p>\n MSN News gathers their news videos from the top U.S. news outlets<\/strong>, such as CNN<\/a>, CBS, the Associated Press (AP), USA Today, The Washington Post and NBC.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll find tons of high-quality videos on world news, U.S. news, politics, technology, etc.<\/p>\n You can use the website for\u00a0free<\/strong>, and you can easily sort through the news by topic.<\/p>\n With such a wide variety of subjects, you can\u00a0easily add new vocabulary<\/a>\u00a0to your repertoire (set of skills). Plus, you\u2019ll never run out of videos to watch since the site\u00a0adds new content daily.<\/strong><\/p>\n They have playlists for related news stories, making it easy to learn about topics you’re interested in.<\/p>\n They have short videos around one to three minutes but also longer documentaries around 25 minutes to give you a fuller, more in-depth English lesson.<\/p>\n Since it’s a YouTube channel, you also won\u2019t have to sort through written news articles to find the videos.<\/p>\n You can expect to watch videos about animals, families and kids.<\/p>\n The Good News Network typically provides more in-depth written summaries with its news videos.<\/strong><\/p>\n In other words, there’s a longer summary of each video to help you understand what\u2019s happening if you have trouble following the story.<\/p>\n Despite being based in Ireland and focusing on local and national news, The Irish Times also supplies plenty of videos covering international news.<\/p>\n Their news covers\u00a0everything from sports to politics to culture<\/strong>, so there\u2019s something for everyone to enjoy.<\/p>\n What makes these videos nice for English learners is that\u00a0each news segment is quite short<\/strong>. Videos can last as little as 30 seconds and typically don\u2019t run much past two minutes.<\/p>\n This makes them a perfect, bite-sized English lesson for learners who have busy schedules.<\/p>\n TechCrunch specializes in international news related to technology, <\/strong>including\u00a0stories about the latest electronics, cars, apps, robotics and startups.<\/p>\n You can easily divide news videos by subject, such as interviews, reviews and gadgets (tech tools).<\/p>\n The best thing is that some of the videos have\u00a0captions available in several languages, not just English.<\/strong><\/p>\n That means that you may be able to find subtitles in your native language, which can be a big help when it comes to understanding the English videos.<\/p>\n Some caption options I\u2019ve seen include Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Japanese.<\/p>\n The show is currently hosted by Trevor Noah and pokes fun at current affairs, politicians and news stories.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll learn a lot about American culture<\/strong> and how U.S. citizens perceive and interpret different news.<\/p>\n The great thing about this site is that there are thousands of shorter video clips to choose from and hundreds of full-length episodes available for free online.<\/p>\n Finally, if you can follow along with the news videos, you will surely have a good laugh!<\/p>\n Instead of just reading words to a story inside your head, read the words out loud. Reading out loud helps you slow down and sort out the words\u2019 meanings<\/strong>. This means you will actively learn English with news, rather than reading or hearing the words and then forgetting them.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t know a word, highlight it or write it down. If the meaning doesn’t become clear later in the paragraph, go back and look it up in a dictionary<\/a>. Reading news is a great way to learn English because the articles tend to be short and the vocabulary tends to stay the same on each topic.<\/p>\n1. Choose English News Learning Sources at Your Level<\/h2>\n
The Times in Plain English<\/em><\/a>
![\"learn-english-news\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-3-1.png\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nFluentU<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/iTunesArtwork@1x.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\nThe New York Times<\/em>\u00a0ESL Articles<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-4\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-4.jpg\")
<\/h3>\n“Words in the News” on BBC Learning English<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-4\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-4-1.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nESL Video<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-5\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-5-3.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nLearning English with CBC<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-5\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-5-2.png\")
<\/a><\/h3>\n2. Add High-quality Authentic English News Sources<\/h2>\n
USA Today<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/USA-Today-150x150.png\")
<\/a>USA Today<\/em> has a lot to offer language learners, because the writing style is very direct.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Guardian<\/em> Newspapers<\/h3>\n
![\"learn-english-news\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-3-7.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe New York Times’<\/em> Times Minute<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/1\/the-new-york-times-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>This video channel\u00a0from The New York Times<\/em> features short current affairs videos. They\u00a0contain\u00a0smart analysis from the Times<\/em> reporters and editors. They don’t take long to watch, as most videos are within two minutes. Basically, they’re short and sweet\u2014ideal for improving your listening skills while you learn English with news.<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
theSkimm<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-4\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-4-2.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nBBC World Service’s Global News Podcast<\/a><\/em>
![\"learn-english-news\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-3-6.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nHuffPost<\/a>
![\"huggpost](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/huffpost-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a><\/h3>\nThe Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/em>
![\"the](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/the-wallstreet-journal-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\nPolitico<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Politico-150x150.png\")
<\/a>Politico is an American newspaper and journalism company dedicated to sharing political news. They\u2019re non-partisan, which means they tend to stick to the facts rather than twisting the story to suit their political beliefs.<\/p>\nCTV News<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-5\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-5-7.png\")
<\/h3>\nSBS News<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-5\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-5-4.jpg\")
<\/h3>\n3. Watch and Read English News That Matches Your Interests<\/h2>\n
ESPN Soccer<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-4\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-4-3.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/h3>\nSports News Lists
![\"learn-english-news-4\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-4-4.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nKids’ News Sites<\/h3>\n
InStyle Magazine<\/a>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/learn-english-news-4-5.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nRunners World<\/em><\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-4\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-4-6.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nThis American Life<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/This-American-Life-150x150.png\")
<\/a>Are you interested in learning more about American cultures and issues? This American Life<\/em> offers fascinating, in-depth stories about life in the U.S.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe New York Times’<\/em> Modern Love<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-4\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-4-7.jpg\")
<\/h3>\n![\"learn-english-news\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-3-2.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMSN News<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-5\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-5-1.png\")
<\/h3>\nBBC News\u2019 YouTube Channel<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"bbc](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/bbc-news-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>The BBC News YouTube channel is updated with new videos every few hours,<\/strong>\u00a0providing learners with plenty of fresh content.<\/p>\nGood News Network<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Good-News-Network-150x150.png\")
<\/a>The Good News Network shares positive, happy news stories from around the globe. Their news categories include happier options, such as \u201cinspiring\u201d and \u201claughs.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Irish Times<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-5\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-5-5.png\")
<\/h3>\nTechCrunch<\/a>
![\"learn-english-news-5\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/learn-english-news-5-6.png\")
<\/h3>\n\u201cThe Daily Show\u201d<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/The-Daily-Show.png\")
<\/a>\u201cThe Daily Show\u201d is an American news TV show that also lets you enjoy American comedy.<\/p>\n4. Read the News Out Loud with a Pen in Hand<\/h2>\n