Reading English News on the Internet

The purpose of this book is to help Japanese ESL learners at the intermediate level with the potentially confusing turns of phrase common to English articles online, in magazines and in newspapers. ESL veterans will appreciate that while many books cover English grammar and vocabulary, there are precious few dealing specifically with idioms, “quirky” verbs, and other compound constructs from a practical perspective. My goal has been to create a workbook systematic enough to integrate easily into any classroom situation, and with sufficient explanation in Japanese to make the learning experience as efficient and painless as possible.

The concept for the book originated in my experience as a Japanese translator. Working at an agency in Hiroshima, I was struck by the number of questions I was fielding from coworkers trying to make sense of English newspaper articles and other challenging documents. On closer inspection, most of the difficulties seemed to involve idioms (”on the loose”, “public outcry”)-constructs that are poorly covered in many textbooks and are difficult to look up due to their compound nature. In discussing this issue with friends and teachers it became apparent that related grammar elements such as connectors (“as…as a…”) and verbs of one type or another (“to show promise”) present similar problems for non-native speakers. I began collecting examples of the most commonly-misunderstood “offenders”, and ultimately put together the manuscript over the course of about two years.

Applications: On one level, the book functions as a simple bilingual reference to the meanings of nearly 200 connectors, phrasal verbs, idiomatic verb-phrases, and expressions. Individual sections can also be introduced a few pages at a time into almost any classroom context, gradually building English comprehension. To develop full lessons of 40 minutes or more, I would recommend supplementation with materials on mass-media, the internet, and current events. The “tips” sections on website content deals with the typical structure of online articles, and is best covered as part of a writing class with internet access. The mini-quizzes at the end of each unit provide immediate feedback about the progress of the students, and can also serve as a template for the creation of your own tests and exams.