Teaching the News: A Great Site for Everyone

From time to time, I worry that I might run out of topics for these posts. It happened today, and then I remembered a great site that I use with my students called News in Levels. News in Levels is a site with the tagline “News for students of English,” and that’s exactly what it is.

When you visit the site, you’ll notice that there is no need to register and that all materials, except for premade exercises, are absolutely free. There are currently three full levels with a level zero for very beginners still being developed.

Click on any title that appeals to you and you’ll see that a short news clip about the topic is available at three different English levels. Levels one and two have audio tracks with transcriptions, while level three has videos with transcriptions. All three levels include definitions for challenging vocabulary. It really is a teacher’s dream come true.

Since I teach adults in an intensive English program, my favorite thing about the site is that even though the level may be low, the material is still appropriate for adult learners because of the topics. Additionally, materials are already sorted by English level, and the audio clips are transcribed, which saves me a lot of time when I’m looking for supplementary reading or listening materials. In my academic listening class, I have students listen to a clip, take simple notes, and then discuss the topic. The clips are really short, but it is an easy way to break free from our textbooks and classroom routines.

There are so many other ways to use News in Levels, too. If you have a mixed level class, students can work with materials at their level but still be included in group activities because the topic is the same. You could have students choose different material to listen to at home and then present it to the class. There is also a page for teachers on the site to give you even more ideas.

News in Levels is a great site for English language learners and I highly recommend it as a resource for teachers. How would you use the site for your English learners?