I bet many of you love to keep up with the latest news and events happening every day. So why not start watching the news in your foreign language that you’re trying to learn, no matter how advanced you are?

In fact, watching TV news on a daily basis can help in learning and understanding a foreign language in general. I used to follow my TV news strategy when learning Spanish. I started with 24Horas Noticias (The link can be found online). At first it was hard just to catch up on all the information. To be honest with you, during the first week, I could barely understand a few words, but as the time went by as my level of knowledge of vocabulary and grammar increased, I was able to understand more.

While watching, we will always hear more than we can truly understand (at least at first). You can deal with it by watching the entire news broadcast and then go back to those hard-to-understand parts to watch again. Don’t give up if news articles appear in fast motion. This is very common for Spanish and Italian news as the presenters tend to talk real fast. If you are just starting to watch the news, try to answer some basic questions, for example, when, where, who, why and how this relates to the news.

Well, world news and events are always broadcast on the major TV news services. In this way, you can first follow the news in your native language to get a general understanding of what is happening around the world. This general knowledge of current events will help you understand more when watching news in your target foreign language and your anxiety level will decrease significantly.

Yes! Finding a news channel of your choice would be the first step. Well, of course you can search your own TV channel and choose any news service you want.

Any benefits of watching TV news? So what’s the use of that for me?

Another good thing is that the following news will allow you to get used to the sounds of foreign languages ​​and different dialects. By following the news, you will usually get many speakers and news anchors who speak with good diction and pronunciation to be followed. Moreover, the news stories provided will give you a good idea of ​​what is happening in the country where you speak the target language of your choice.

Also, television news usually has what are called news tickers (also known as “creepers” or “slides”) that are placed in the lower third of the television screen space on television news networks that are intended to present headlines or news articles. News trends usually vary between television stations. In this case, Sky News always shows a band of black with white text throughout the entire broadcast day. This indicator turns yellow with black text to highlight breaking news.

News tickers can also be a good source of new vocabulary for you, as while watching the news you can take note of all the new words that appear in news articles. TV or radio news broadcasting service. When I started learning English (my first foreign language I wanted to learn) I followed the latest BBC Radio news. The thing about radio news is that it is difficult to follow because there are no visuals (pictures) to support your general understanding of the news that is presented in TV news footage. You’re already exposed to sound – this can also improve your listening comprehension skills, the sounds of a foreign language, and don’t get distracted by images.

Often, broadcast news services also offer podcasts – MP3 files with news that can be downloaded and listened to later. You will then be able to play the downloaded recordings as many times as you want to better understand news that may have been missed.

Don’t have time to follow regular TV news?

Well… there’s an option for you, too. You can install an app that helps you keep up with the latest news on your computer, iPad, or mobile phone (such as breaking news). It is up to you to follow the news in the format you choose.