By Breno Brendan Daly 
July, 2Much has been written about the value of newspapers in education (Aiex 2000, Antepara 2003, 
Chandler 1990, Dycus 1996, Kitao 1996). However, in the context of ESL/EFL instruction one of the 
greatest hindrances to using newspaper articles is their sheer linguistic complexity, even advanced 
students experience difficulties coming to grips with the vocabulary and various conventions employed 
by journalists. For language teachers, the ‘shelf life' of a newspaper article lesson can be quite limited. 
For ESL/EFL students, newspaper texts are among the most difficult they may encounter. Not 
only do ESL/EFL students lack the relative cultural knowledge native speakers bring to bear when 
reading newspapers, there is also the issue of grammatical complexity; newspapers employ a number of 
conventions that are only found in newspapers (Bermejo 2000, Kitao 1996). Swan (1995), for example, 
devotes a couple of pages to only some of the grammatical complexities of newspapers. Moreover, 
newspapers are lexically complex due to a lack of space newspaper articles tend to package as much 
detail as possible into the smallest possible space, which results in a high density of information 
(Bermejo 2000). 
EFL students are inefficient readers (Grundy 1993). They often try to process what they read 
piece by piece and this can greatly inhibit their efforts at getting even a general understanding of a 
newspaper article. They tend to read each sentence, two or three times, in order to process it and this 
approach obviously increases in complexity as they continue reading the article. Each time they 
encounter additional information, it is added to what has already been read, and this brings about a re-
structuring of the whole, which may require the student to return to something they have already read in 
order to clarify the new sentence. 
In addition, ESL/EFL students tend to approach newspapers articles in class from the perspective 
of form -- grammar and vocabulary, rather than the purpose for which it was intended, to inform. 
Students need to be reminded to focus on meaning rather than form. 
These difficulties notwithstanding, there are several solid reasons for exposing ESL/EFL students 
to newspapers. The texts are authentic and compelling (Aiex 2000, Chandler 1990), qualities that 
heighten motivation (Aiex 2000, Bermejo 2000, Antepara 2003, Grundy 1993). They are readily 
available, so they can be used in any ESL/EFL context where English language newspapers exist (Aiex 
20.00, Bermejo 2000, Dycus 1996, Chandler 1990). They are authentic and the focus is on meaning 
rather than form (Bermejo 2000). Moreover, research suggests that reading in general is important to 
general language competence, so the ability to read and understand newspapers can be seen to support 
successful second language acquisition (Antepara 2003, Taiwo 2004). 
Because they are linguistically complex, newspapers present a unique opportunity for building 
vocabulary. Whilst there are times when even native speakers might struggle with an unfamiliar word, a 
buzz word or an unfamiliar technical term, they have an array of strategies they can employ so that they 
can come away from the article with nearly a complete understanding of the main points of the article. 
However, it is not uncommon for ESL/EFL students who struggle with the vast array of journalistic 
conventions, in addition to the unfamiliar vocabulary, to simply give up. 
Altman (2002) describes a quick preliminary activity using Yiddish words to introduce the idea of 
using the words they know around the unknown word to clarify their meaning. I found this to be an 
effective technique, so I decided to make use of a similar technique in my generic lesson plan to help 
students get around unknown words. 
I have found that combing some of the many techniques that exist into a content free newspaper 
article lesson plan to be advantageous. I am able to get through my lesson plan efficiently within my 
forty-minute lesson. The plan has allowed me to better achieve my teaching goals and it helps me to 
prepare newspaper article lessons quickly. Students are motivated and readily take on the challenge that 
reading newspapers present them with.

I found this to be an effective technique, so I decided to make use of a similar technique in my 
generic lesson plan to help students get around unknown words.

They are readily available, so they can be used in any ESL/EFL context where English language 
newspapers exist.

For language teachers, the ‘shelf life' of a newspaper article lesson can be quite limited.

Students need to be reminded to focus on meaning rather than form.

They tend to read each sentence, two or three times, in order to process it.

The texts are authentic and compelling, qualities that heighten motivation.

They are authentic and the focus is on meaning rather than form.

There is also the issue of grammatical complexity.

Questões de Elementos gramaticais