Listen to News with Tara Benwell - Instructions:
1. Preview the vocabulary and read the gapfill text.
2. Play the news report and try to fill in the blanks.
3. Answer the comprehension questions by writing full sentences.
4. Use the discussion question to write an essay or discuss the story with other students.
5. Click "show Answers" to see the full text.
6. Pretend to be a news anchor by reading each story out loud.
dateline: 24 November 2015
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Tears of Joy Emoji is Word of the Year (2015)
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
- emoji: a digital icon that expresses an emotion or idea; also called a pictograph
- statistic: numerical data
- preoccupation: something that you think or worry about often
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Tears of Joy Emoji is Word of the Year (2015)
Comprehension Questions
- What is Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year for 2015?
- Why did Oxford Dictionaries choose this particular pictograph?
- What reason do critics have for disliking this year’s choice?
Discussion Questions: Do you use emojis? If yes, look through your messages to see which one you used most often this year. Why do you think this was your emoji of choice for 2015? If you don’t use emojis, explain your reason for not communicating this way.
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Tears of Joy Emoji is Word of the Year (2015)
Oxford Dictionaries has announced that the Word of the Year for 2015 is an emoji rather than a word. The Tears of Joy emoji was the most frequently used emoji this year in the US and the UK according to mobile technology statistics. Oxford Dictionaries says that this emoji was chosen because it best represents people’s moods and preoccupations of 2015. While critics say that the Word of the Year should actually be a word, Oxford defended its choice saying that people are communicating in new ways due to mobile devices and social media.
- Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year for 2015 is actually an emoji that means Tears of Joy.
- Oxford Dictionaries chose this particular pictograph because it represents the moods and preoccupations of people in 2015. (It was the most commonly used emoji in the US and the UK in 2015.)
- Critics dislike this year’s choice because an emoji is a picture not a word.
Written and recorded by Tara Benwell for EnglishClub
Tara Benwell is a Canadian freelance writer and editor who specializes in materials and articles for the ELT industry.
