Importance Of Newspaper In Reading

To quote the words of Arthur Baer “a newspaper is a circulating library with high blood pressure.” Newspaper has been one of the root lines of education. It empowers the readers with day to day happenings and also shapes the language of learners. It inculcates the reading habit among the adults. The adorable element of newspaper is that it never loses its charm and stays afresh every morning. It has been called the living text book and it is worthy to record that newspaper is a living text book for all seasons and for all reasons. In his famous essay “On Books and Reading”, Charles Lamb writes, “Newspapers always excite curiosity.” Unlike text books, the newspaper gets a special attention and focus from the learners irrespective of their age

Newspaper based activities inside the classroom can pave way for a significant progress in Reading, Writing, and Speaking skills. Besides, newspaper develops thinking skills, makes learning fun, cost-effective, provides a real-time material for language learning and provides a better model for classroom activities. The versatility of newspaper administers the scope for critical thinking and language acquisition. Some of the significant researches have been made on the usage of newspaper in classrooms. In an article titled, “The National Newspaper as a Tool for Educational Empowerment: Origins and Rationale”, John N. Gardner and Betty L. Sullivan wrote, “National newspapers help learners develop vocabulary. A significantly greater vocabulary is required to read with comprehension, let alone appreciation, a national newspaper like The New York Times than virtually any local paper published anywhere in the United States. The level of vocabulary used in national newspapers assumes a more intelligent, educated, professional, and influential readership than the level of writing and word choice used in many local newspapers. Certainly then, this is another important reason for using national newspapers in the college