Voice of America News

Learn more

• Learn more about Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Central America, current events, diverse learners, English language learners, global education, journalism, listening comprehension, Middle East, North America, and South America.

Legal

Voice of America News provides audio and print access to the news. Current stories and breaking news, both national and international, are available in 44 languages and cover topics from agriculture to American culture.

Voice of America News provides a variety of instuctional opportunities for teachers. The current stories and breaking news, both national and international, are available in 44 languages and cover topics from agriculture to American culture.

For the second language teacher, simply select the target language upon entering the Voice of America News site and you will have the option of listening to the news in French, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, or other languages. Go directly to the page to locate the programs available for broadcast. In some cases, both transcripts and audio of the stories are available in the target language, so reading and listening can occur simultaneously.

Another useful option for using Voice of America News in the classroom is the Special English option. Designed for non-native English speakers, Special English uses a slower audio delivery (2/3 normal speed) and a limited vocabulary to report news and events. Written stories have simple sentences and avoid idioms. The daily broadcast begins with ten minutes of the latest news then a feature story about science, development, agriculture and environment, and on the weekend, about news events and American idioms. There are also programs about American culture, history, science medicine, space, important people or short stories.

Also for English Language Learners, the Pronunciation Guide and breaks the words down by syllable. Words included in the guide include people and places, as well as other terms currently in the news. The guide is searchable. English as a Second Language (ESL), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), and Limited English Proficient (LEP) students would all benefit from the Special English and pronunciation resources.

Begun as a propaganda tool for promoting US viewpoints behind the Iron Curtain, the news service from Voice of America continues to provide the “Americentric” views one would expect from a government news agency. About Voice of America, quoted from the site:

The Voice of America (VOA) is an international multimedia broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government. VOA broadcasts over 1,000 hours of news, informational, educational, and cultural programs every week to an audience of some 94 million worldwide. VOA programs are produced and broadcast in more than 50 languages through radio, satellite television, and the Internet.

Though the perspective may not be global, the languages of broadcast are, and so the resource can play an important role in reading and listening skill development in second language, social studies, and LEP or ESL classes.