Tema 8

Unit 8
Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign

Languages
English in Mass Media

and Communication
Technologies
Índice
Scheme 3
Key ideas 4
8.1. How to study this unit 4
© Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)
8.2. English in the media 4

8.3. World Media in English 7
8.4. Media in the EFL classroom 15
8.5. Bibliographical references 21
In depth 24
Test 25
Scheme
Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

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Unit 6. Scheme
Key ideas
8.1. How to study this unit
In order to study this unit, you must read, as mandatory contents, the Key Ideas. In
addition to these contents, other recommended resources have been included to
deepen your knowledge, although they will not be requested in this unit’s test.
English is a very influential language, and this is very visible in the media. Therefore,
in this unit will:
▸ First, talk about the presence of English in the media and their evolution.
▸ Then, we will focus on the different areas of media, such as the press or TV
channels, and we will mention some of the major world media in English.
▸ Finally, we will provide some tips on how to use the media in the EFL classroom.
8.2. English in the media
English is a global language and, as such, it has been very important for the press for
centuries (Crystal, 2003). This fact is closely related to the development of mass
media and new technologies, which mainly too place after the Second World War.
The press, radio, advertising, and especially television, films and series, and the
internet play a very important role in our everyday lives.
In Britain, the first newspapers started to be published at the beginning of the 17th
century, though censorship, taxes, and wars did not allow them to grow very much.
It was in the 19th century when the greatest progress occurred, mainly due to the
development of the new printing technology. It was also the time when a truly

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Unit 8. Key ideas
independent press appeared. The New York Herald (1833) and the New York
Tribune (1841) were the first newspapers of massive circulation.
In the first part of the 19th century the growth of the press in Britain was limited by
new taxation politics, but The Times grew throughout the whole century. By the end
of the 19th century, The Daily Mail (1896) brought Britain in line with America.
In the mid-19th century “The high profile given to English in the popular press was
reinforced by the way techniques of news gathering developed” (Crystal, 2003, p 92).
The major news agencies were created, and Reuters became the most important one
on the continent. Also, with the appearance of the telegraph, most of the information
transmitted through via its wires was in English. Today, the importance of the English
press is unarguable.
Regarding academic journals, the situation is even more evident. According to the
data published in 1990 by the journal Linguistics Abstracts, nearly 70% of the
linguistics journals are in English, and in the area of science this figure may reach 80
% or even more.
Concerning the world of advertisement, English began very early, in 1666, when the
weekly newspapers began to carry items about different products. Towards the end
of the 19th century most of the industrialised countries experienced a remarkable
increase in its use. This was mainly due to the development of mass production, the
growth of consumer purchasing power, and the appearance of new printing
techniques. Most publications dedicated half of their pages to advertisement; in fact,
nowadays, about two-thirds of a modern newspaper may contain advertisements.
Apart from the press, other outdoor advertising media started to be used: Posters,
billboards, electric displays, shop signs, etc. became part of the everyday life. “The
media capitalised on the brevity with which a product could be conveyed to an
audience – even if the people were passing at speed in one of the new methods of

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Unit 8. Key ideas
transportation” (Crystal, 2003, p 94). Due to the growth in international markets and
globalisation, this type of media began to spread all over the world.
Nowadays, outdoor media is one of the most remarkable global manifestations of

English language use, with a predominance of American English.
The growing presence of English is also noticeable in the market of international

travel. In the tourist industry, the leading position is occupied by the USA, although
the presence of English is more than evident in the tourists’ areas all over the world.
For example, English is the most common language in signs in the shop windows,
restaurant menus, tourist information and safety instructions in hotels, safety
instructions on international flights, etc.
The first language to be used for radio transmissions was English (1906) and the first
commercial radio station (KDKA) started to work in 1920 in Pittsburgh, USA. By 1922,
only in the USA, over 500 radio stations had been licensed, and by 1995 their number
reached 5,000. Their main source of support came from advertising revenues.
In the UK, the first broadcasting station, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), was
established in 1922. It had a monopoly on broadcasting until 1954, when the
Independent Television Authority was created. During the 1920s the broadcasting
started as well in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India.
A similar spectacular expansion to that of the radio was later experienced by

television broadcasting. The world’s first television broadcasting was provided by
the BBC in 1936, although the first experimental broadcast was carried out in London
in 1926. In the USA, regular TV service started in 1939 and, a year later, over twenty
TV stations were broadcasting.
The development of television was interrupted by the Second World War, but once
the war was over it became a very important medium for entertainment, advertising
and, quite often, propaganda. In the 1950s, it became part of most homes in many

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Unit 8. Key ideas
different countries. Currently, although other media have become quite influential
as well, it is still difficult to imagine how life would be without a TV set at home.
Regarding cinema, although cinematic technology was developed by the end of the
19th century both in France and the USA, it was the latter that in the end turned out
to be the leading country of this industry in the Western World, although Bollywood
is the world’s largest by number of films and it has a really big influence all over Asia.
Finally, the internet, though considered a meta-medium by some, is also English

dominant due to its history and because of economic and political reasons, as the
USA has become one of the most powerful countries in the world.
8.3. World Media in English
Operating with media in the EFL classroom can be very useful, since it helps provide
many different perspectives on different topics and skills, and it can also be a great
resource to connect the outside world with what is going on in the classroom. Hence,
it is interesting that we pay attention to the different media we can use with our
students.
In this section, we will pay attention to different types of media and we will classify
them according to various parameters. Besides, some ideas and tips on how to use
them in the EFL classroom will be included.

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Unit 8. Key ideas
The press
Time to think:
Which newspapers in English do you know?
How are they different from the Spanish ones (format, use of language…)?
Newspapers are usually divided into two different categories:
▸ Broadsheets: They refer to those newspapers commonly known as ‘quality press’

that are considered intellectual and more serious. The name they receive has to
do with the size which most of them have. Some examples include The Times, The
Independent, The Washington Post, or The Wall Street Journal.
▸ Tabloids: They are the type of press that usually report news related to
celebrities. They are also referred to as ‘yellow press’ or ‘gutter press’. It is
interesting to mention that tabloids can also be subdivided into ‘red tops’, which
are the most sensationalists, and middle-market. In the case of the UK, examples
of the former would be The Sun and The Daily Mirror, and of the latter, the Daily
Express and the Daily Mail.
We will now have a look at some of the major newspapers in English classified
according to their country of origin and their political orientation, as reported in
Media Bias/Fact check (n.d.). Unfortunately, it is impossible to cover all the nations
in which English is spoken, so we will focus on some of them.
This information is relevant for ELF teachers for different reasons. First of all, teachers
should help their students learn English in real contexts, so newspapers are a very
good resource to use in the classroom. The vocabulary and structures used, though
challenging, might be a particularly good way to learn.

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Unit 8. Key ideas
Major broadsheets in English
UK The Republic of USA Canada Australia

Ireland
Nationalist The Irish

Independent
Liberal The Irish Times
The New York

The The Globe and
Left Times
Independent Mail
The Huffington
Toronto Star
Post
The Guardian
The Guardian
Centre-left The Observer The Irish The Economist
The Guardian
Examiner The Washington
Post
Centre- The Daily The The Australian

The Washington
Telegraph Vancouver The Daily
right Times
The Times Sun Telegraph
Right Daily Mail National Post
Table 1. Major broadsheets in English and their political orientation.
Major tabloids in English
UK The Sun, The Daily Mirror, Daily Express and The Daily Mail
The
Republic of The Irish Sun, Irish Daily Mirror, Irish Daily Express, Irish Daily Mail and Irish Daily
Ireland Star.
New York Post, New York Observer, Philadelphia Daily News, Chicago Sun-Time,
USA The Boston Herald and Newsday.
Canada Canada Tabloid, Toronto Sun and The Herald Sun.
Australia The Sun-Herald, NT News, The Courier Mail.
Table 2. Major tabloids in English.

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Unit 8. Key ideas
The radio
Time to think:
Which radio station in English do you know?
How are they different from the Spanish ones?
There are different types of radio stations which broadcast in English; some of them
are general, and others are specialised in music, sports, or news.
In the following table we can see some famous radio stations which broadcast in
English classified geographically. These are just some examples, but there are many
more, and you also need to bear in mind that, for instance, in the cases of the USA
and Australia, due to their geographical size, there are numerous radio stations than
can only be listened to in certain areas, unless you listen to them online.
Major radio Stations
UK BBC Radio, LBC Manx Radio, Capital FM, Planet Rock
Republic of Ireland RTÉ Radio, NT, 4 FM, Today FM
USA FOX News Radio, KFI AM, NPR Radio
Canada CBC Radio, CKNW, CHUC FM
Australia ABC Radio, SBS Radio
Table 3. Major radio Stations.
Cinema, television, and other audio-visual content

The origins of cinema are not as clear cut as those of other media. The first to present
moving pictures to a paying audience were the Lumière Brothers in Paris in 1895,
although there had been and were other attempts, such as Thomas Alva Edison’s
kinetoscope. Film industries were established worldwide, and, at the beginning, the

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Unit 8. Key ideas
European industry was as important as the American one. However, historical events
and cultural and linguistic reasons led to a more powerful development of the film
industry in the USA.
The First World War limited the film industry, especially in Europe. For example, in
France, film production shut down at the beginning of the war because of military
mobilisation, so when it started again it was on a reduced scale, and in Germany, the
war also weakened general film production, although many film makers emigrated
to the United States, such as Ernst Lubitsch, and their works became quite well-
known.
By the 1920s, the American film industry had become the most powerful worldwide,
so at the end of the decade, with the revolution of sound, in 1927, English also
became the main language used in cinema.
By the 1990s, the USA controlled over 85% of the world film market (Robinson,
1995), with American films dominating the box offices all over the world. Still, even
though it is actually India, Bollywood, that really makes more movies a year, its products,
which are developed for a more domestic market, are filmed in several languages such
as Telugu, Tamil or Hindi, rather than a single one, as in the American (or English-
speaking) industry. Hence, we can safely state that English-language films still
dominate the market.
In fact, Hollywood films have always taken over the world of cinema, so it is very rare
to find a blockbuster produced in a language that is not English. “In 2002, according
to the listings in the BFI film and television handbook, over 80 per cent of all feature
films given a theatrical release were in English” (Crystal, 2003, p. 99).
Time to think:
Which TV channels and films in English do you know?
How are they different from the Spanish ones?

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Unit 8. Key ideas
The following table presents some of the main English-speaking television channels
and networks classified by country, including their political orientation.
TV Channels
TV Channel Political orientation
ITV Centre-right
UK BBC Centre
Channel 4
Centre-left
SKY TV
Republic of Ireland RTÉ News Now Centre
CBN Right
USA FOX Centre-right
CNN
Centre-left
NBC
CBC
Centre-left
Canada Global
CTV Centre
ABC
Australia Centre-left
SBS
Table 4. TV Channels.
Besides these TV channels we cannot forget to mention streaming services like

Netflix, HBO, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Vídeo, which are becoming extremely popular
especially among teenagers and young adults.
TV series have become predominantly English-speaking, and most of them are

American productions. Some popular American ones are Game of Thrones, The
Walking Dead, The Handmaid’s Tale, True Blood, Chernobyl, The Americans, Breaking
Bad, Lost, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, The
Simpsons… In the UK, some of the most popular are The Crown, Victoria, Downton
Abbey, Killing Eve, Broadchurch, Torchwood, Doctor Who, or Sherlock, among many
others.

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Unit 8. Key ideas
The music industry
The recording industry is the second major technological industry that came to life at
the end of the 19th century. Since Edison’s invention of the phonograph in 1877, the
most important developments in the music industry (gramophone records, magnetic
tapes, or long-playing discs) took place in the USA. Furthermore, the greatest
recording companies, such as Columbia, HMV, EMI, were born in Britain and in the
USA.
In the 1950s, when pop music arrived, it was almost completely English-speaking.
Most singers and pop bands were mainly from the UK and the USA, such as The
Rolling Stones, The Beatles, or Elvis Presley.
By the 1990s, most of the pop music listened to throughout the world was in English.
Thus, according to The Penguin Encyclopaedia of Popular Music, 99% of the bands
included in the list worked completely or predominantly in English (Clarke, 1999).
Nowadays, it is still the leading language in the music industry. As we have already
seen, English is a global language and, therefore, it is no surprise that so many
musicians decide to make music in this language. An interesting but curious example
of this is its use in Eurovision, an event, which used to celebrate cultural and language
diversity, has gradually become English-language dominant as well.
The Internet and Social Media
The international character of the English language is also evident in the area of
communication. In the case of the Internet, the dominance of the English language is
evident: 80 % of the world’s electronically-stored information is in English, and 64 %

of the Internet hosts are located in the USA (Business Week, 1996).

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Unit 8. Key ideas
The history of the Internet starts with the appearance of Personal Computers in the
1950s and the development of the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
(ARPANET), the first network used for the Internet Protocol. This network appeared
in the 1960s as a network that aimed to link important American academic and
government institutions and that obviously used English to communicate. When the
network was opened to institutions from other countries, the language of
communication continued to be English.
Besides, there were some technical reasons that allowed English to occupy the
leading position in the. The first protocols devised to carry digital data were
developed for the English alphabet. The Unicode system designed later allowed the
representation of more than 50,000 symbols, but even that number was not enough
to include all the languages of the world. That is why most of the browsers nowadays
are not able to handle multilingual data.
The status of English as a major lingua franca on the Internet was also recognised by
the popular media. Thus, according to The New York Times, to take the full advantage
of the Internet one should “learn English, which has more than ever become
America’s greatest and most effective export” (Specter, 1996, as cited in Crystal,
2003, p 117).
Figure 1. Percentage of websites in different languages. Source: Adapted from

https://www.statista.com/chart/14900/two-worlds_-languages-irl-and-online/

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Unit 8. Key ideas
The Internet is also transforming the English language, so we must be prepared to
adapt to the changes created by instant global access. “The extraordinary growth and
speed of cross-cultural online communication, combined with the emergence of
global English varieties, is creating a new dialect of English for the web: let us call it
English 2.0, the unofficial language of the internet” (British Council, 2013, p 6).
Therefore, it is not surprising that Social Media are also English dominant. These
forms of online communication, such as Facebook, Twitter, or even YouTube allow
their users to connect and create networks, and as we have mentioned, English is a
global language, so most people use it to communicate on the internet, especially
when using social media.
8.4. Media in the EFL classroom
Time to think:
Think about how you would use media in the classroom.
Have your teachers ever used media in the EFL classroom? How?
According to Krashen, the affective filter is a particularly important aspect to

consider when teaching, because it is an invisible barrier between us and our
students. This filter needs to be low so that our students are motivated to learn, and
motivation is essential in the EFL classroom, so, unarguably, using resources of
different kinds is extremely helpful.
Besides, personalising education should be one of our main goals, because, by doing
so, we will be able to reach and help every student, regardless of their differences
and their diverse learning styles.

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Unit 8. Key ideas
Nevertheless, we must be careful when choosing this kind of resources and take into
account different factors, such as the age of our students or the topics we want to
deal with in the EFL classroom.
Using newspapers and magazines
The first thing to be taken into account when using newspapers and magazines in the
EFL classroom is that they can be used either as authentic materials or adapted to
the level of our students. In fact, quite often, textbooks provide newspaper or
magazine articles already rewritten.
Nevertheless, even if we use a text book in which we find these resources are already
present, it might also be a good idea to take authentic texts of this kind from time to
time so that our students get the gist of the vocabulary and structures that are
normally used (the key would be to find the appropriate activity to use them,
depending on their level).
Although this might be challenging sometimes, it can be a great way to learn. For
instance, a very interesting way to use the press as a learning resource in the EFL
classroom is by paying attention to headlines. Newspapers, especially tabloids, use
plenty of puns and double entendres that can be very interesting for learners. Also,
reading the same piece of news from different perspectives or knowing what view or
information is presented, can help students in the development of critical thinking.
According to Farmer (2018), in order to select the best article for our EFL lesson we
should first take into account several criteria:
▸ Appropriateness: Is the article adequate for our students’ level an age?

▸ Interest: Will our students find it interesting and motivating?
▸ Length: Is it too long or too short for the purpose?
▸ Language: Is it too complicated? Are the vocabulary and the grammar used in the
article useful to our students?

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Unit 8. Key ideas
▸ Generative potential: Can we use it to do other activities? (discussions,
roleplays…)
Once we have thought about this, we should focus on the structure of the lesson:
warm-up activities, such as questions or quizzes, pre-reading activities, such as story
speculation or vocabulary matching, while-reading tasks, such as comprehension
questions; and follow-up activities, such as roleplays or discussions. Besides, we can
also link the article to activities that require more time; e.g. research projects.
There are several free resources connected to the use of the news in the EFL
classroom:
▸ Lingohack, a news-related series created by BBC Learning English which can be

used to work different skills at the same time because it includes a vídeo with its
transcript, essential vocabulary definitions and a practical exercise.
▸ News Report, another BBC series with radio news instead of vídeo.
▸ Learn with the News (LWN), a website which is specialised in using the news for
EFL and ESL. There are activities of different kinds related to written articles.
Using audio-visual content
Due to their direct connection to culture and identity, films and TV series, as well as
other audio-visual content, are invaluable resources for the EFL classroom.
First of all, we cannot forget that visual texts can be analysed and interpreted in a
similar way a written text would, so we can use them in many diverse ways. We can
work almost anything we want with them (pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar,
listening skills. Cultural awareness…). Furthermore, audio-visual resources are

extremely motivating for students.
As it happens with other media, it is essential to pay attention to the selection of the
right resource for our students and the purpose you have with it.

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Unit 8. Key ideas
In the following unit, we will have a look at specific examples connected to the use of
this kind of content in the EFL classroom.
Using music
Music is another excellent resource for the EFL classroom. We can also work almost
anything with it, from vocabulary to pronunciation. However, what makes music
unique is its universal appeal and its link with culture and language.
Besides, just like audio-visual content, it is also very motivating, so it helps engage
students with further activities as well. Therefore, music is not only a great
complement for other activities carried out in the classroom, but also a powerful
element that can be used to lead entire sessions.
Also, the fact that English is the dominant language in the world of music, plays to
our advantage, since we can find a wide variety of resources and styles that can meet
our students needs and preferences.
Something that usually works very well to connect with teenage students at the
beginning of the course is to make a list with their favourite bands and singers. This
gives you an idea of what their preferences are, so you get to know them better, and
you have a list of songs from which you can select the ones that you think might be
the most interesting depending on what you are working at different moments of the
schoolyear.
The type of activities that can be prepared with music range from the typical fill-in-
the-gap exercises, in which the students are supposed to complete the lyrics, to
analysing them in depth as if they were poems, so we can cover many different topics
and levels.
According to Simpson (2015), the steps to follow for making a song the focus of a
lesson are:

18
Unit 8. Key ideas
▸ Listen to the song: We can show the students the videoclip or simply play the
song for them to listen to it. This first moment is for them to enjoy and warm-up
for what they will be doing afterwards. By doing this, we will start getting their
attention and they will lower down their affective filter, so they will be ready for
the rest of the lesson.
▸ Ask questions about its title: We should connect it to discussion topics or the
reality of the students.
▸ Listen to the song again, but with lyrics: At this point we can use a fill-in-the-gap
activity or simply let them read the lyrics as they listen.
▸ Focus on a particular grammar aspect.
▸ Focus on vocabulary, expressions, and idioms.
▸ Round things of with creativity: We can ask them to write another verse or make
them prepare an alternative videoclip.
Some examples of websites that we can use to include music in the EFL classroom
are:
▸ Lyricsgaps, a website in which there are ready-made fill-in-the-gap activities that

can be customised if necessary.
▸ Lyricstraining, another website with a downloadable app to learn English through
songs and their lyrics.
Using the internet
The Internet is the greatest source to find resources. It gives EFL teachers a myriad
of possibilities. Through the internet we can find almost everything we need to
prepare any lesson we have in mind.
Here is a list with some useful websites and tools for the EFL classroom:

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Unit 8. Key ideas
▸ General: In these websites you will find activities of different kinds for all the
language skills.
∙ LearnEnglish Teens (British Council)
∙ One Stop English
∙ Learning English (BBC)
▸ Spelling and punctuation:

∙ How to spell
▸ Speaking tools:
∙ Blabberize is a website (and iOS app) that students can use to record
themselves speaking, but they can do it by making pictures talk, which gives
it a fun touch for teens to enjoy the experience
∙ Voki allows you to choose a character and make it speak with your voice.
∙ Sounds pronunciation app by Mactmillan to practice even including IPA
sounds.
We can use these tools to identify errors, such as individual sounds or intonation,
and help them improve their speaking skills.
▸ Reading and writing:

∙ Read write think provides free materials and access to quality practices in
reading and language arts instruction.
▸ Listening:
∙ Ello
∙ LearningEnglish
∙ BBC
∙ Lyricstraining
▸ Games:
∙ Kahoot
∙ Educaplay

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Unit 8. Key ideas
∙ Scratch
▸ Other:
∙ Edpuzzle: You can insert questions in vídeos and check if your students have
watched the vídeo and how they answered the questions.
∙ Google forms: You can create forms to check the progress of your students
online.
∙ Screencastify: With this tool you can easily record your screen so, for example,
you can use it to flip your classroom.
∙ Classdojo: Helps you make your classroom open to families.
∙ Edmodo: is another way to share everything with your students and their
families.
∙ Corubrics: is a complement for Google spreadsheets that allows you to create
rubrics.
8.5. Bibliographical references
Business Week. (April 1st, 1996). A World Wide Web for tout le monde. Business
Week.
Clarke, D. (1999). The Penguin Encyclopaedia of Popular Music. Puffin.
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global Language. University Cambridge.

http://culturaldiplomacy.org/academy/pdf/research/books/nation_branding/Englis
h_As_A_Global_Language_-_David_Crystal.pdf
Dyja, E. (2001). BFI film and television handbook: 2002. British Film Institute.

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Unit 8. Key ideas
Encinas Berg, I., Hurtado Santón, M. T., & González López, M. (1992). Anglicismos en
la prensa española. Ensayos: Revista De La Facultad De Educación De Albacete, (7),
67-82.
https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo;jsessionid=297A09BEEDE06D9EF20F79C9
5F28E78F.dialnet02?codigo=2281650
Encyclopaedia Britannica (2002). Britannica Book of the Year. Encyclopaedia

Britannica.
Farmer, J.A. (2008). How to Effectively Use News Articles in the EFL Classroom. The
Internet TESL journal, 14(12). http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Farmer-News.html
García, C. L. (2013). The English Language and Anglo-American Culture. Its Impact on
Spanish Language and Society. Revista española de lingüística aplicada, 26, 505-509.
https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=6115300
Labrador Piquer, M.J. and Warburton, S. (2004) Anglicismos en los medios de

comunicación. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia y Centro San Pedro Pascual. XXXIX
Congreso El español, puente de comunicación. Segovia.
https://cvc.cervantes.es/ensenanza/biblioteca_ele/aepe/pdf/congreso_39/congres
o_39_06.pdf
Media Bias/Fact check (n.d.) Media Bias/Fast check: The Most Comprehensive Media
Bias Resource. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/
Simpson, A.J. (2015). How to use songs in the English language classroom. British
Council Voices Magazine.
Specter, M., (1996, April 14). Computer Speak; World, Wide, Web: three English
words. The New York Times.

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Unit 8. Key ideas
Vázquez-Amador, M. (2014). Los anglicismos en la lengua española a través de la
prensa de la primera mitad del siglo XIX. Revista De Investigación Lingüística, (17),
221-241. https://revistas.um.es/ril/article/view/224031/174471
Vázquez-Amador, M., & Lario-de-Oñate, M. C. (2015). Anglicismos en la prensa

deportiva de principios del siglo XX y XXI: estudio contrastivo. Epos, (31), 359-374.
https://doi.org/10.5944/epos.31.2015.17371
Wallechinsky, D., Wallace, I., & Wallace, A. (1977). The book of lists. Cassell.
Westall, D. (2015). Gaming, glamour and other American realities in Spanish

obesogenic news. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 173, 259-263.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.062

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Unit 8. Key ideas
In depth
British Press online
British Media Online (1996-2020). British Media Online.

http://www.wrx.zen.co.uk/britnews.htm
In this website you can find direct links to most British newspapers, both national and
regional newspaper published online: dailies, weeklies and monthly magazines as
well as broadcast media.
How the Media Uses Language to Manipulate You
Adams, K. (2014, November 21) How the Media Uses Language to Manipulate. Writers
Cook Book. https://www.writerscookbook.com/media-uses-language-manipulate/
In this post, the blogger Kristina Adams, gives us her opinion about how language is
used in the media to manipulate the reader.

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Unit 8. In depth
Test
1. When did the first newspapers appear in Britain?
A. In the 15th century.
B. In the 16th century.
C. In the 17th century.
D. In the 18th century.
2. Which were the first newspapers of massive circulation?

A. The New York Herald and the New York Tribune.
B. The New York Herald and the New York Times.
C. The New York Herald and the Daily Mail.
D. The New York Times and the Daily Mail.
3. What is Reuters?
A. A popular tabloid in the UK.
B. A popular broadsheet in the UK.
C. A popular academic journal.
D. An important news agency.
4. Who provided the first television broadcasting?

A. The NBC.
B. The ABC.
C. Reuters.
D. The BBC.

25
Unit 8. Test
5. What is a broadsheet?
A. A TV channel that reports world news.
B. A popular newspaper.
C. A newspaper that reports news related to celebrities.
D. A more serious and intellectual newspaper that is usually referred to as
‘quality press’.
6. Which of the following newspapers is an example of tabloid or ‘yellow press’?

A. The New York Times.
B. The New York Herald.
C. The Independent.
D. The Daily Mirror.
7. Which of the following newspapers is considered politically left-wing oriented?

A. The Times.
B. The Daily Telegraph.
C. The Independent.
D. None of the answers is correct.
8. Which of the following American TV Channels is considered politically right-wing

oriented?
A. NBC.
B. CBN.
C. CNN.
9. Why is it important to consider using media in the EFL classroom?

A. Because our students will probably be more motivated.

B. Because media can be used to work different topics and aspects of the
English language.
C. Because media are connected to culture.
D. All the answers are correct.

26
Unit 8. Test
10. Which criteria should we consider in order to select the best article for an EFL
lesson?
A. Appropriateness, interest, length, language and generative potential.
B. Appropriateness, topic, interest, length and language.
C. Appropriateness, interest, length, language and grammatical simplicity.

27
Unit 8. Test

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Unit 8

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign

English in Mass Media

8.2. English in the media 4

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

8.1. How to study this unit

8.2. English in the media

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Nowadays, outdoor media is one of the most remarkable global manifestations of

The growing presence of English is also noticeable in the market of international

A similar spectacular expansion to that of the radio was later experienced by

TV stations were broadcasting.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Finally, the internet, though considered a meta-medium by some, is also English

8.3. World Media in English

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Newspapers are usually divided into two different categories:

▸ Broadsheets: They refer to those newspapers commonly known as ‘quality press’

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

UK The Republic of USA Canada Australia

Nationalist The Irish

Liberal The Irish Times

The New York

Centre- The Daily The The Australian

Right Daily Mail National Post

Table 1. Major broadsheets in English and their political orientation.

Major tabloids in English

Canada Canada Tabloid, Toronto Sun and The Herald Sun.

Australia The Sun-Herald, NT News, The Courier Mail.

Table 2. Major tabloids in English.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Major radio Stations

UK BBC Radio, LBC Manx Radio, Capital FM, Planet Rock

Republic of Ireland RTÉ Radio, NT, 4 FM, Today FM

USA FOX News Radio, KFI AM, NPR Radio

Canada CBC Radio, CKNW, CHUC FM

Australia ABC Radio, SBS Radio

Table 3. Major radio Stations.

Cinema, television, and other audio-visual content

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

TV Channel Political orientation

Republic of Ireland RTÉ News Now Centre

Besides these TV channels we cannot forget to mention streaming services like

TV series have become predominantly English-speaking, and most of them are

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

The Internet and Social Media

evident: 80 % of the world’s electronically-stored information is in English, and 64 %

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Figure 1. Percentage of websites in different languages. Source: Adapted from

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

8.4. Media in the EFL classroom

According to Krashen, the affective filter is a particularly important aspect to

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Using newspapers and magazines

▸ Appropriateness: Is the article adequate for our students’ level an age?

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages