Selected Reading of English Newspapers
Course Code:
Teaching Hours: 38
Teaching Language: English
Course Description and Objectives
Selected Reading of English Newspapers is an English course for medium to advanced learners
who major in international journalism. This course is designed to familiarize students with major
linguistic features of English newspapers, enlarge students’ knowledge of the English language
and culture and develop their reading and academic writing skills. This course presents in-depth
discussions of a broad range of topics, providing rich and diversified language input, and offers a
variety of activities and assignments to check students’ comprehension and enhance their ability to
acquire information efficiently through reading and to use English for effective communication.
This course aims to:
(1) expand students’ vocabulary of various topics commonly covered in English newspapers;
(2) promote students’ understanding of important linguistic and structural features of newspaper
articles;
(3) improve students’ ability to read and analyze newspaper articles of greater length;
(4) further develop students’ productive skills in English;
(5) prepare students for classroom learning in an English-speaking country.
Learning Outcomes
After taking this course, students are expected to:
(1) have a fair knowledge of the common vocabulary used in English newspapers;
(2) display a good understanding of the key features of newspaper articles;
(3) be able to quickly get the main idea of a newspaper article of a given length and find specific
information in the article;
(4) be able to summarize and paraphrase a given newspaper article on one of the topics presented
in the textbook;
(5) get well prepared for future learning in an English classroom.
Module Core Books
英语报刊阅读教程(English Journalistic Readings: A Coursebook), 总主编：胡正茂. 武汉大学
出版社.
Module Assessment
Assessment
Weighting
Attendance and assignments
20%
Mid-term
30%
examination/Presentation
Final examination
50%
Total
100%
For this semester, there is a mark for attendance, assignments and in-class performance (35%), and
a two-hour examination in the middle (15%) of the semester and at the end (50%) respectively.
Note: there may be some variations if necessary.
Learning Schedule & Content
Week
Learning content
Required reading
1
International Relations and Politics
Unit 1
2
International Relations and Politics
Unit 1
3
International Economics and Business
Unit 2
4
International Economics and Business
Unit 2
5
Science and Technology
Unit 3
6
Science and Technology
Unit 3
7
Culture and Society(immigration)
Unit 4
8
Culture and Society (health care reform)
Unit 4
9
Mid-term
10
Education (reform)
Unit 5
11
Education (higher education)
Unit 5
12
Environment
Unit 6
13
Environment
Unit 6
14
Entertainment and Leisure
Unit 7
15
Entertainment and Leisure
Unit 7
16
Health Care
Unit 8
17
Health Care
Unit 8
18
Final exam
Unit 12