Duration of the online course: 3 hours and 47 minutes
4.93
(15)
Strong journalism depends on two essentials: trustworthy reporting and clear language. This free online course helps you develop both by combining professional journalism practice with practical English skills you can use immediately. You will learn how journalists find and evaluate sources, shape information into a complete story, and make reporting that matters to the public. Along the way, you will strengthen the grammar and vocabulary choices that make your writing accurate, readable, and credible.
You will explore how to gather information responsibly, verify what you hear, and decide what belongs in a story. Then you will focus on turning facts into strong narratives by choosing the right details, organizing them effectively, and writing with clarity and purpose. To support your writing, the course revisits key language tools such as the simple past and past progressive, helping you describe events precisely, keep timelines clear, and avoid ambiguity that can confuse readers.
Modern journalists also need to understand how audiences engage with media and why media literacy matters. You will practice expressing opinions carefully using modals to signal certainty or possibility, a crucial skill when presenting developing stories or discussing claims that still require confirmation. These language choices help you stay fair, transparent, and professional.
Another major focus is recognizing and reducing bias. You will examine common forms such as bias by placement, omission, spin, and the subtle influence of denotation versus connotation. By learning how word choice and structure can shift meaning, you will be better prepared to edit your own work, question assumptions, and create more balanced reporting.
Finally, you will gain confidence in developing story ideas from a broad topic, researching effectively, and pitching to different formats, including print and radio. You will also practice forming strong WH questions for interviews, and learn how to use quotes and reporting verbs to attribute information clearly. By the end, you will have a sharper journalistic mindset and more effective English for real reporting tasks, whether you are aiming to publish, study journalism, or expand your professional communication skills.
Video class: Module 1 Principles of Journalism 1 - Overview and Gathering Sources
06m
Exercise: _What are the first two principles that journalists need to remember when they are finding their sources or information?
Video class: Module 1 Principles of Journalism 2 - Telling the Story
05m
Exercise: What is a principle of journalism crucial for ensuring articles tell the complete story?
Video class: Module 1 Language Focus – Simple Past and Past Progressive
05m
Exercise: _What is the difference between the simple past and the past progressive tense?
Video class: Module 1 Principles of Journalism 3 - Making an Impact
06m
Exercise: Which principle of journalism involves giving a voice to the powerless?
Video class: Module 2 William Cowen Interview
06m
Exercise: _What affects the amount of time people spend interacting with media?
Video class: Module 2 What is Media Literacy?
03m
Exercise: What does being media literate involve?
Video class: Module 2 Expressing opinions with modals 1
03m
Exercise: _What is the order of modals that express possibility from the strongest to the weakest?
Video class: Module 2 Expressing opinions with modals 2
03m
Exercise: How to correctly use modals in a sentence?
Video class: Module 3 Bias by Placement
05m
Exercise: _What is bias by placement?
Video class: Module 3 Bias by Omission
05m
Exercise: What is bias by omission in media reporting?
Video class: Module 3 Connotation vs Denotation
04m
Exercise: _What is the difference between denotation and connotation?
Video class: Module 3 Bias by Spin
04m
Exercise: What is bias by spin in media?
Video class: Module 3 Overcoming Bias
04m
Exercise: _What is the first step in overcoming bias by omission in media messages?
Video class: Module 4 Choosing a Topic
04m
Exercise: How can a journalist narrow down a large topic into a specific idea?
Video class: Module 4 Researching an Idea
04m
Exercise: _What is the difference between a news story and investigative journalism?
Video class: Module 4 Pitching a Story to Newspapers and Magazines
03m
Exercise: What is crucial when pitching a story to an editor?
Video class: Module 4 Pitching a Story for Radio
05m
Exercise: _What are the two things that a journalist needs to think about when pitching a radio script?
Video class: Module 1 Language Focus Word Families
06m
Exercise: What is a derivational suffix?
Video class: Module 4 Interviewing Sources Wh questions
04m
Exercise: _What is the word order for WH questions?
Video class: Module 5 Language Focus Quoting Sources and Reporting Verbs
04m
Exercise: Why do journalists use quotes in their articles?
3 hours and 47 minutes of online video course
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Course comments: English for Journalism
Students praised the free course as clear, informative, and easy to understand, with good audio, examples, and useful notes. Many said they learned a lot and enjoyed it, though a few noted some videos were missing.
Rosemary Okafor
This is the only app I know you can learn professional course for free, without paying a dime
Robert Kilingisu
it's one of the greatest understandable great teacher great audio I love it
Md Hasanujamal
Thanks you so much
MOATASEM MUSAED AHMED SALEH AL-SHARGI
I'lovet
Lilia Bach
Great introduction to journalism. Explains the basics thereof simply with examples and definitions. My only complaint is that some videos are missing.
Muawiya Yushau Abdulkarim
I learn a lot from the platform,thank you so much !
Heirla Castro
the course is very informative.
salyse w.
good for notes, thank you.
foudhelx1@gmail.com
Very good