MEDIA AND JOURNALISM VOCABULARY
At the end of this lesson, you will know how to use essential vocabulary for talking about the Media and Journalism in general. There are four steps that you have to go through. We recommend that you do one step a day for better results.
You can download the following material for this lesson:
- Vocabulary: Media and Journalism, Learn English With Africa, October 2016 (Pdf)
- Pronunciation: Media and Journalism Vocabulary, Learn English With Africa, October 2016 (Pdf)
- Vocabulary: Different Types of Journalism, Learn English With Africa, October 2016 (Pdf)
- Pronunciation: Different Types of Journalism, Learn English With Africa, October 2016 (Pdf)
- Vocabulary: Adjectives for Describing Newspapers, Learn English With Africa, October 2016 (Pdf)
- Vocabulary: Adjectives for Describing the News, Learn English With Africa, October 2016 (Pdf)
- Word Search: Adjectives for Describing Newspapers, Learn English With Africa, October 2016 (Pdf)
STEP ONE: Quiz about Media and Journalism vocabulary
You can now study the picture below about Media and Journalism vocabulary. Use a dictionary to define the words you do not know.
What are your favourite words in the list? Which words are you likely to use again? Which words are you unlikely to use again? Why?
If you want to know how these words are pronounced, listen to the recording below. Make sure to repeat the words aloud-PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. You can also do the pronunciation exercise as often as possible in order to obtain long-lasting results.
Fantastic job! Hard work pays off. Try to use the words you have just learned in real life situations too.
Let us now move on to our first CHALLENGE.
CHALLENGE ONE:
Question 1: There is a word in the list below that was not in the Media and Journalism Vocabulary worksheet. What is it?
COVERAGE | SCOOP | HEADLINE |
ARTICLE | BROADCASTING | THE PRESS |
FEATURE | BYLINE | ONLINE |
ADVERTISING | DEADLINE | SOCIAL MEDIA |
ETHICS | REPORTING | DEFAMATION |
MASS MEDIA |
(The answer to CHALLENGE QUESTION ONE is at the beginning of CHALLENGE QUESTION TWO)
You have finished STEP ONE. Good job!
STEP TWO: Different types of Journalism
Look at the vocabulary below and pick out five words you would love to use in a conversation or in an essay. What sentences could you make from those five special words?
Our choice is:
- Freelance: He used to work as a freelance journalist.
- Fashion: I like talking about fashion because it is one of my passions.
- Investigative: Investigative journalism is fascinating.
- Print: The print media cannot be replaced by digital platforms.
- Online: They like working online because it is practical.
You can now listen to the pronunciation of all the words in the Different types of Journalism worksheet by clicking on the link below:
Well done! You can also try to memorise the words and see which ones you remember the most.
CHALLENGE TWO:
(The answer to CHALLENGE QUESTION ONE is ‘ONLINE’)
Question 2: There is one word that is missing from the Different Types of Journalism worksheet. What is it?
SPORTS | FINANCIAL | POLITICAL |
DIGITAL | FREELANCE | FOOD |
BROADCAST | CELEBRITY | |
PHOTO | ONLINE | CITIZEN |
FASHION | ENVIRONMENTAL |
(The answer to CHALLENGE QUESTION TWO is at the beginning of CHALLENGE QUESTION THREE)
You have finished STEP TWO. Excellent!
STEP THREE: Adjectives for describing newspapers
The picture below contains different Adjectives that you can use to describe newspapers.
Pick out at least five words that you can also find in the previous worksheets. You can also define the words you do not know with the help of a dictionary. Knowing the pronunciation of those words is equally important too.
When you have finished, you can try to make 10 sentences with some of the vocabulary. (Sorry, the lesson is getting tougher but we know you will make it!)
Here are our own 10 sentences for inspiration. You can make your sentences longer if you wish.
- Bi-monthly: A bi-monthly newspaper is published twice a month.
- Influential: Mainstream newspapers are influential because they often have large audiences.
- Scientific: You will read about science discoveries in scientific newspapers.
- School: School newspapers are an excellent way of teaching and learning creative writing.
- Corporate: Major companies have corporate newspapers to showcase their successes.
- National: National newspapers cover stories of national interest.
- Popular: Popular newspapers sell like hot cakes.
- Travel: Travel journalists are passionate about their work.
- Lifestyle: Articles about lifestyle can mostly be found online.
- Powerful: Powerful newspapers are often rich and influential.
Afterwards, you can do the following Words Search that you already downloaded at the beginning of the lesson. This exercise is optional, i.e. you do not have to do it.
CHALLENGE THREE:
(The answer to CHALLENGE QUESTION TWO is ‘INVESTIGATIVE’)
Question 3: Find all the words that end with ‘AL’ in the Adjectives for Describing Newspapers worksheet. What do they mean?
(The answer to CHALLENGE QUESTION THREE is at the beginning of CHALLENGE QUESTION FOUR)
You have finished STEP THREE. WOW! Keep learning!
STEP FOUR: Adjectives for describing the news
This is the last step of this Media and Journalism vocabulary lesson. We are going to look at the different words you can use to describe the news you hear or read every day.
Which words do you recognise or know? Are there any words you do not understand? Use a dictionary to help you define these words. What are the words you would readily use in an essay? Choose at least 16.
INFORMATIVE | SERIOUS | RIDICULOUS |
DESCRIPTIVE | RELIABLE | ETHICAL |
SCANDALOUS | DAMAGING | PARTIAL |
OBJECTIVE | BIASED | FACTUAL |
UNBIASED | SLANDEROUS | MISLEADING |
IMPARTIAL |
Here is our pick:
Example of a paragraph in which we used all the 16 words above:
Objective newspaper articles are often informative, factual, serious, unbiased and often reliable. The general public is drawn to such content because it is rarely partial, misleading or at worst slanderous. People do not want to read scandalous pieces of writing that can be extremely damaging for the concerned parties. In any case, writing such material is ridiculous and unethical. In consequence, journalists are encouraged to be as impartial and descriptive as they can when they cover a subject to avoid being overtly biased.
You can now try to write the same type of paragraph. Observe how the sentences have been linked together. It would also be great if you could avoid repeating words for a more successful outcome. Keep practising until you are satisfied with your writing.
CHALLENGE FOUR:
(The answer to CHALLENGE QUESTION THREE is:
INFLUENTIAL | FINANCIAL |
CULTURAL | ENVIRONMENTAL |
POLITICAL | TRIMESTRIAL |
NATIONAL | REGIONAL |
DIGITAL | LIBERAL |
SEMESTRIAL |
Question 4: There is a word that means ‘opening a new era in human history, thought, or knowledge’ in the Adjectives for Describing the News worksheet. What is it?
(The answer to CHALLENGE QUESTION FOUR is ‘EPOCH-MAKING‘)
Once you have finished all the steps, you can reward yourself with your favourite treat. There were many things you had to do in this Media and Journalism vocabulary lesson so you really deserve to pamper yourself!
Until later!
Further Exploration: (Media and Journalism vocabulary)
Read:
Watch:
- Different aspects of Journalism (You will hear most of the words that you have learnt. It is a wonderful video for Listening Comprehension practice)
Shop:
About the Author
Thandi Ngwira Gatignol is the founder of Learn English With Africa. She was born on June 11th, 1981 in Blantyre, Malawi. When she was 19, she left her country of birth for France. She currently lives with her two daughters and husband in Poland.
Thandi holds a Bachelor’s degree in English studies obtained at the Université Paris X Nanterre in France and a Certificate in Journalism from Malawi. She has taught English as a French Ministry of Education certified teacher both in France and in Poland. She speaks six languages fluently, including French, Polish and Italian. She is now learning Kiswahili, German and Spanish. Salt No More is her debut novel and you can find her other books here on the website or on Amazon.
Course Title: Media and Journalism Vocabulary, Level B1-B2 (with detailed and meaningful examples!)© Learn English With Africa, May 2019