Ultimate List Of Articles to Read to Improve Your English
English is well spoken in the entire world. It is spoken across almost 60 countries in the world. Of course, each country has its pronunciations and way of speaking. Today we will list the articles to read to improve your overall English vocabulary and speaking skills.
Let me elaborate on why having a good command of English is important.
1. The English language is accepted globally
As mentioned earlier, English is spoken in over 60 countries as the main language. And perhaps, English is commonly accepted as a common language for communication.
So wherever you travel, English makes it easier for you.
2. It is a common language for business
Business around the globe is very diverse and required to be connected from one country to another. And English plays a great role in connecting multiple businesses. It makes communication and trades easy for traders.
3. You get to connect with people all across the globe
No doubt, social media has taken over the world, and you can make friends and great connections on your phone. Hence, people who have different languages across the countries can connect with you through this language.
4. It makes travel easy
English being the common language, you can communicate with people easily.
5. Communication over the internet is vastly done in the English language.
Although there are numerous languages that Google provides, but are not very accurate. Hence the majority of internet replies in the English language for communication.
Now that you know why English is important for you, I would suggest some tips and some good articles to read so that you can improve your English.
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Newspapers are a great way to improve English and catch up with current affairs as well.
They have different columns for current affairs, what’s trending, personal life & relationships, stock market, sports, and whatnot.
Being updated on every news gives us some knowledge of what’s happening in the world. Especially in today’s world, where at some point in time, we all kept track of the rising number of coronavirus cases almost every four-five hours.
Reading newspapers also build up your knowledge, and it is always nice to have a good conversation with people, rather than sitting like a fool, right?
When I was a little kid, my parents got a subscription for Hitvada, which used to be the famous newspaper of Nagpur. And since I am from a small town, newspapers such as Deccan Chronicle or The Economic Times used to arrive two days late. Hence Hitvada was the choice left. I remember I used to love the section of the mind-tree where they tell you about Life choices, how to be a better person, and philosophical stuff.
I was left with limited options back then. But now the time has evolved, and so did connectivity. Nowadays it is easy to find good newspapers even in a small town. However, if you are not able to find a newspaper in your city, then what has the internet done over the years right? Internet is always to the rescue.
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Below is the list of 13 newspapers which is regarded as the best when it comes to their language and editing.
- The New York Times
- The Wall Street Journal
- The Hindu
- Deccan Chronicle
- Deccan Herald
- Economic Times
- Mint
- Reader’s Digest
- India Today
- In the
- Economical & Political Weekly
- The Indian Express
Let me guide you through the details of each newspaper.
1. Articles to read – The New York Times
The New York Times is one of the oldest newspapers in America which was founded on September 18th, 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and former banker George Jones. The New York Times was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. Their mission is to seek the truth and help people understand the world better. Their main strength lies in their editorial excellence, and they have never been the largest newspaper in terms of circulation. The original thought of starting this newspaper was to avoid sensationalism and to focus the news in a restrained and objective fashion. In the year 1896, Adolf Simon Ochs bought the company since The New York Times was facing a $1000 loss per week.
He then focused on improving the reporting of the newspaper and hired publishers from all over the world. They emphasized more on the important news coverage of the country and removed the fiction column. They then introduced a Sunday column and reduced the paper’s price back to a penny. In 2016, The New York Times instituted a subscription plan that allows people to subscribe for its content and people can access free of cost.
2. Articles to read – The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English language daily-based newspaper in New York City which publishes articles related to the corporate sector, and the newspaper’s international editions are also available in Chinese and Japanese. The journal is published 6 days a week by Dow Jones & Company, which is a division of News Corporation. The newspaper publishing company was established on July 8, 1889, by Charles Dow, Edward Jones, Charles Bergstresser. The Wall Street Journal is one of the largest newspapers in terms of circulation in the United States of America with a circulation of about 2.834 copies. The newspaper publishing company has won 37 Pulitzer prizes. The journal pages are typically conservative in their position.
The newspaper focuses its articles mainly on the articles related to business and stock markets, and they claim that they have seen the births and deaths of thousands of businesses. Although, they also have diversification in their articles and they also write about politics and economic opinions, readers’ letters, and reviews of the art.
3. Articles to read – The Guardian
The Guardian is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in the Manchester Guardian and later got its name changed to “The Guardian” in the year 1959. The Guardian media group is among the world’s leading media organizations having a global and progressive audience. Their main business is “Guardian News & Media” which is the publisher of theguardian.com, and it is one of the largest English-speaking quality news websites in the world.
The Guardian is mostly known for its in-depth journalism, its rational discussion of issues, and its coverage of literary and artistic fields, and its criticism. The paper is owned by Scott Trust, who is also the owner of Guardian Media Group. The newspaper is backed by the income of the group and it helps in remaining financially secured. The trust ownership has prevented a buyout of the newspaper by larger media houses.
4. Articles to read – The Hindu
The Hindu is an English language daily newspaper in India which is owned by The Hindu Group and the same was founded in 1878 by G. Subramaniam Iyer in the year 1878. Its headquarters is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The newspaper is published from 21 different locations across 11 states of India.
Do you know that The Hindu was the first Indian website that went digital? Interesting, isn’t it? In the year 1995, The Hindu launched its first website.
Also, in the year 1965, The Times listed The Hindu as one of the world’s 10 best newspapers.
Although over the years, their language and editorial skills have gone down. But still, it is recommended to read The Hindu to improve the English language.
5. Articles to read – Deccan Herald
Deccan Herald is an English language daily newspaper which is published in Karnataka by the Printers Private Limited. It is a family business owned by the Nettakallappa family. The newspaper has seven additions printed from Bengaluru, Hubbali, Hospet, Mysore, Mangalore, and Kalburgi.
Launched on June 17th, 1948, by K.N. Guruswamy, the main intention of the founder was to open a movie theatre, (two theatres being on either side, plaza, and liberty). It was then, after buying a dance club, to turn it into a movie theatre, was decided to launch a newspaper, despite having zero experience in this field.
Deccan Herald re-launched its newspaper with a revamped look to attract a younger audience. Deccan Herald was recognized as the eighth largest English language daily in India.
6. Articles To read – Deccan Chronicle
Deccan Chronicle is an English language daily newspaper founded in the year 1930 by RajagopalMudaliar and is currently owned by SREI. This journal is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL). The name is derived from its originating place, the Deccan regions of India. Deccan Chronicle holds eight publications in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and they also publish from Chennai and Bangalore.
The Indian Premier League cricket franchise of the Deccan Charges is owned by the Deccan Chronicle, and the Hyderabad city in the IPL was represented by the Deccan Chronicle.
7. Articles to read – The Economic Times
The Economic Times is an English language business newspaper which was founded in the year 1961, by the Times Group. It is the second most widely read business newspaper in the world, after The Wall Street Journal, with a readership of over 8 lakhs. Its main content is based on the Indian economy, share prices, commodities, international finance, as well as all the other matter related to finance. P.S. Hariharan was the editor when the newspaper was founded in the year 1961.
The current editor of the newspaper is Bodhisattva Ganguli. The newspaper is published in 14 different cities: Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Indore, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahemdabad, Nagpur Chandigarh, Pune, and Bhopal. The Economic Times is sold in all the major cities in India, and in June 2019, they launched their news channel called ET Now.
8. Articles to read – Mint
Mint is an English language daily newspaper that covers finance-related articles, and the same is published by HT Media, a Delhi-based media group that is controlled by the KK Birla family and also publishes Hindustan Times. Starting in 2007, the newspapers’ target audiences are those who are into the finance and stock sector.
Mint and economic times are targeting the same audience, Mint is good for those who don’t understand the jargon of the securities market, or for the beginners of the stock market. Hence, it is always recommended to start with Mint when one wants to start learning about the stock market.
9. Articles to read – Reader’s Digest
Reader’s Digest is an American general family magazine and is now headquartered in Midtown, Manhattan. Founded in 1922, Reader’s Digest is one of the bestselling consumer magazines in The United States. The magazine is also published in Braille.
10. Articles to read – Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times was first published in the year 1924 by Mahatma Gandhi, and it proved to be of a great independent role in the Indian economy as a nationalist newspaper, and then later turned to pro-Congress daily. Currently, the newspaper is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It is a publication of HT Media, an entity owned entirely by the KK Birla family.
11. Articles To read – India Today
India Today is an English language news magazine which is published by Living Media India Limited. The magazine was established in the year 1975 by Vidya Vilas Purie.
India Today is the most widely circulated magazine in India.
12. Articles to read – Economical & Political Weekly
Economical & Political Weekly is a weekly academic journal that covers all the social sciences and the same is published by Sameeksha Trust. It was first published in 1949 as an economic weekly and then in the year 1966, it was published as Economical & Political Weekly.
13. The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an English language daily newspaper, which is published by the Indian Express Group. It is a popular and one of the most recommended newspapers among the UPSE CSE aspirants along with The Hindu.
You can start by reading the newspapers whose language is simple and easy to understand, such as Hindustan Times and Mint, and then later move on to the newspapers such as The Indian Express and The Economic Times.
Apart from the newspaper, reading books also helps you in improving your English skills.
Books play a great role in improving English and personality as a whole. Each book and each author has a unique feature.
Let me tell you the benefits of reading a book.
- You get to learn new words, and hence it increases your vocabulary.
- Your grammar gets strong.
- You get to know different stories.
- You can experience different countries and locations by just sitting comfortably at your home.
- Reading books gains your knowledge.
Since you have found out why reading is important, and what benefits it does to you, below are a few book recommendations for a beginner which you can start. Some are books, and some are categorized as authors.
1. 1984 by George Orwell
1984 is a dystopian social fiction novel published on 8th June 1949. This book unleashes a unique plot as No one is safe or free. No place is safe even for hiding away from big political leaders. It must be tough to grasp the language but it is all worth the read.
2. Emma by Jane Austen
Emma is all about romantic misunderstandings. The novel is set in the fictional country village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls, and Donwell Abby. The story is about relationships among small families. It is a much read for every literature reader.
3. The Diary of a Young Girl
The novel is about a 14-year-old Anne Frank( who is also the author of the book), who along with her family was in hiding for 2 years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
It is the written collection of the actual diary of Anne Frank who used to write when she is hiding and is a remarkable book that everyone much read.
4. Any novels of Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton’s series is for teenagers. His novels include a group of friends who solves a mystery. It used to be my favorite in school, and I am sure many of us have grown up reading his books.
5. Three Thousand Stitches by Sudha Murthy
It is a beautiful collection of Mrs. Sudha Murthy, wife of Narayan Murthy, and is also the chairperson of Infosys. She has described her childhood and little anecdotes of her life.
6. Murder in the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
A murder took place on a train in the middle of the night. And is Poirot’s last case. It is a classic murder mystery novel for all those who are interested in suspense.
7. The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi
It is an absolutely beautiful book written by Amish Tripathi, who has magnificently described the journey of how Shiva becomes God, and how he found his true love Sati. The book is the first sequel to the trilogy, and the rest of the two beings; The Secret of the Nagas, and The Oath of the Vayuputras. The language is simple, elegant, and the story is quite engaging. You would be compelled to read all three parts of the book.
You can try out other books by Amish Tripathi as well, such as Legend of Sulhedev: The King Who Saved India, which also, along with the Trilogy, is a work of fiction.
If you are interested in non-fiction, then you can read his Immortal India, which is a collection of many short stories.
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This novel was published in 1960 by Harper Lee and it got instant success soon after it got released. It is widely in schools as part of the curriculum plan. Also, it has become a classic of modern American literature, by winning the Pulitzer Prize.
9. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari written by Robin Sharma
This novel is a classic self-help book describing the story of a fictional lawyer Julian Mantle, who sold his Ferrari to study the seven virtues of the Sages of Sivana in the Himalayan Mountains. A must-read classic novel for all of us, the journey teaches us a lot about how to deal with difficult stages of life.
10. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone written by J.K. Rowling
I don’t need to tell you what this book is about, right? We have all grown up watching Harry Potter and his friends. Purely a work of fiction, this book would leave you spell-bound. The book offers much more than the movie. So make sure to make it on your reading list.
Above are some of the books that are highly recommended by most readers. If you are a beginner and have never read a book before, then you can start by reading basic books of Indian Author such as 3 mistakes of my life, or any other similar novel.
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Concluding thoughts on Articles to read
Reading is the best way you can improve your English, be it reading newspapers, magazines, journals, or novels. They will not only improve your vocabulary, but they increase your general knowledge as well. There are many websites where you can read articles on various topics. Medium is one of them. You can write your articles on the topic you like as well.
Other than reading, you can watch English news channels as well such as ET now. You can also watch a good English web series and movies. It has two added advantages, number one, you would learn the right pronunciations. The only backdrop of reading is you can’t know the actual pronunciation of the word until you Google it. Hence, it gives an added advantage. And secondly, watching movies and series is fun, isn’t it? Who doesn’t like to watch movies!
There are many ways in which you can learn English. You can always try talking to yourself in front of the mirror. It gives you the confidence to talk to people.
It’s the digital world and you can interact with people online. There are many websites where you can make friends online. You can join communities and forums as well where you can interact with people having similar interests.
There are numerous ways where you can improve your English, you just have to start learning. And once you start, it is an ongoing process for life. There would always be new words to learn, new books, and news articles. You can always learn something new. So just start learning, and make reading a habit.
Happy Learning!
