How can you discuss current events and news stories in English? When I was learning Spanish and Portuguese, I always felt lost when I heard people talking about current events. I couldn’t express myself fluently.
Today, I’m going to share three tips with you that will help you learn how to discuss current events in English. This is what I did, and it helped immensely so I could discuss these stories at an advanced level. The stories could be about current events, science, health, or technology. Anything that is of global or local importance to you!
Let’s get started! Here’s Tip Number 1.
Tip #1 – Start reading more news in your native language
I know this might come as a surprise to you. Why am I telling you to read more in your native language so you can improve your English?
I want you to become familiar with the news topics going on around the world. It’s easier in your own language. Start with something that’s easy.
Tip #2 – Find the same news story in English
Next, I want you to search for the same topic in English. Use Google News, or you can search on NPR, NBC, ABC, BBC – these are all English news outlets. There are so many outlets! You can find the same story in many places.
Compare the two stories. What is different? What is the same? Maybe there are some new vocabulary words. They might be very similar to the vocabulary words you use in your native language!
Tip #3 – Write down your thoughts
So let’s recap. First, you read a news story in your own language. Second, read about the same topic in English. Finally, step three is to write down your thoughts. Write a summary; write your opinion about the event.
It does take a little bit of work, but it’s worth it, I promise you! Your fluency will improve if you do this before you start speaking with conversation partners, your class, or your teacher.
Fluent Communication
By the way, we do this three times a week – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, in the Go Natural English course called “Fluent Communication.” During one session, I had a great question from a student who wanted to know how to talk more fluently and with more confidence about current events. That’s why I wanted to share this video with you!
You know that Go Natural English is a free YouTube channel, and we have 2.2 million subscribers! Thank you all so much for watching! You can get free English tips, but did you know about our Fluent Communication course? With this course, you can improve your overall fluency, your conversation skills, and your pronunciation. You do this by improving your listening skills, your vocabulary, your knowledge of phrasal verbs, and more.
It’s all necessary for speaking and understanding English. You’ll be able to practice your speaking skills and get feedback. It’s so essential for improving your English, because you need to know where you are making mistakes so you can improve. That’s really hard to do on your own! It’s important to have a coach, and this course is where YOU can practice and get that feedback from our Go Natural English teacher, Don. You can pre-register and be notified about when the course opens again for new students.
Let’s Review
Do you remember the three easy tips that you can use to discuss current events?
- Read about one current event in your native language
- Read about the same event in English
- Write a summary and your opinion of the event
Then talk about your event with us inside our course, Fluent Communication! This is where you’ll get feedback and learn how to correct your mistakes. Don’t forget that mistakes are actually a good thing! It means you are trying something new, you’re learning, and you’re improving. You are doing a great job just being here watching and reading this right now.
Besides learning English by discussing current events, another great way to learn English is by listening to stories! Click here to listen to teacher Ryan tell two pretty amazing stories. He’ll also teach you some new vocabulary words, so be sure to check it out!
To get on the waiting list for Fluent Communication, and know about the next time the course is opening for new students, click here! It was great to talk with you today! I hope these tips helped you, and I look forward to seeing you again in the next video! Bye for now.
