Vol. 1. No. 2 A-3 August 1994
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Using Newspapers on CD-ROM as a Resource

Paul Seedhouse
York University Norwegian Study Centre
<PKS3@vax.york.ac.uk >

Abstract

While most areas within the broad spectrum of ELT now boast a wealth of published materials, two fields in which locating suitable course materials can still be a problem are British or American Civilisation/ current affairs and English for Specific Purposes. This article proposes that newspapers on CD-ROM can be used as an effective resource for materials production in both areas, at a price which is affordable to many institutions. CD-ROM software can conduct sophisticated searches for articles and instantly locate large amounts of detailed and up-to-date information even on specialised areas. This article provides ideas for using the newspaper articles as a basis for materials design, language learning exercises, project work, CALL exercises and conversation classes. Practical advice is given on how to obtain newspapers on CD-ROM in Europe and the U.S.A.

Keywords: Newspapers, CD-ROM, British/American Civilisation, English for Specific Purposes

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