NEWSCASTER0:

As a student learning English, I'm sure people are always telling you to listen to the radio, watch TV and surf the Internet in English to improve your listening, reading and vocabulary. This isn't always easy, however. Have you ever started watching or listening to a news broadcast in English, only to lose the thread of what the presenter's saying due to how fast they're talking and the difficulty of their language? Believe me even native speakers sometimes have trouble following complex ideas, delivered in long, quickly spoken sentences. Wouldn't it be nice if there were a news broadcaster that took their time and delivered the news in clear, simple English?

As a student learning English, I'm sure people are always telling you to listen to the radio, watch TV and surf the Internet in English to improve your listening, reading and vocabulary. This isn't always easy, however. Have you ever started watching or listening to a news broadcast in English, only to lose the thread of what the presenter's saying due to how fast they're talking and the difficulty of their language? Believe me even native speakers sometimes have trouble following complex ideas, delivered in long, quickly spoken sentences. Wouldn't it be nice if there were a news broadcaster that took their time and delivered the news in clear, simple English?
NEWSCASTER1:

Well, there is. The Voice of America, or VOA, first came on the air in 1942,, and its mission was to deliver reliable news to war torn countries around the world. Today, through the mediums of radio, television and the Internet, VOA broadcasts around 1,250 hours of news every week to around 134 million people internationally, in more than fourty different languages. In 1959,, VOA broadcast its first 'Special English'' news show, and these broadcasts went on to become the most popular of them all. 'Special English'' broadcasts are 'special'' in that they use a style of clear, simple English. The writers use a stock of only 1500 core vocabulary.

Well, there is. The Voice of America, or VOA, first came on the air in 1942, and its mission was to deliver reliable news to war torn countries around the world. Today, through the mediums of radio, television and the Internet, VOA broadcasts around 1,250 hours of news every week to around 134 million people internationally, in more than fourty different languages. In 1959, VOA broadcast its first 'Special English' news show, and these broadcasts went on to become the most popular of them all. 'Special English' broadcasts are 'special' in that they use a style of clear, simple English. The writers use a stock of only 1500 core vocabulary.
NEWSCASTER2:

The sentences are kept short, with only one subject, with no idioms, and delivered at two thirds of the natural speed of a native speaker. Furthermore, the active, not the passive, tense is used. So, for example, you won't hear a sentence like this: 'It is believed by some that the senator had been involved in the events which, it has been suggested, are the major factors behind his indictment. In VOA 'Special English', it would sound more like this: 'People believe that the senator took part in the events that led to his indictment. Much easier, huh?

The sentences are kept short, with only one subject, with no idioms, and delivered at two thirds of the natural speed of a native speaker. Furthermore, the active, not the passive, tense is used. So, for example, you won't hear a sentence like this: 'It is believed by some that the senator had been involved in the events which, it has been suggested, are the major factors behind his indictment. In VOA 'Special English', it would sound more like this: 'People believe that the senator took part in the events that led to his indictment. Much easier, huh?
NEWSCASTER3:

But it's not about 'dumbing down'' English, or simplifying it unnecessarily. What 'Special English'' does is deliver the news in as clear and comprehensible way as possible. This makes it accessible to millions of people around the world who might not generally listen to the news in English, and it also makes it a fun, interesting and up to the minute way to learn the language.

But it's not about 'dumbing down' English, or simplifying it unnecessarily. What 'Special English' does is deliver the news in as clear and comprehensible way as possible. This makes it accessible to millions of people around the world who might not generally listen to the news in English, and it also makes it a fun, interesting and up to the minute way to learn the language.