Zapp! English Vocabulary 3.22: News, Headlines & Word Stress

"I will neither confirm nor deny that this is true." Donnie remembers that line from Bill Clinton, and it turns out to be a neat way into the language of news, because two of the most useful verbs in journalism are sitting right there in it. In this Level 3 episode we recorded two conversations about newspapers, politicians and censorship, then pulled out fifteen words that turn up again and again in headlines and reports — and worked on saying them properly.

What you'll hear in this episode

The first conversation is Katie and Donnie on the verbs that fill political reporting. Katie starts with quit, and asks what the most common reason for politicians quitting actually is. Donnie's answer: they always say "I'm quitting to spend more time with my family", but "often the real reason is something…something more sordid maybe". From there they get to imply — Donnie explains it as "you're not spelling it out, you're not saying it concretely" — and Katie points out the very practical reason newspapers prefer it: say something directly and "you could end up getting sued or taken to court".

Then deny. Katie's theory is that "the more somebody denies something, on TV or in a newspaper, the surer you can be" that it's true, which is where Clinton comes in twice over, including "I did not have sexual relations with that woman". They finish on censorship, and the difference between a government suppressing a story and a media group quietly self-censoring one.

The second conversation is Tom and Katie on newspapers themselves: tabloids versus broadsheets, why the papers with the worst reputations have the biggest circulations, and how "their editors become celebrities as well". There's a genuinely awkward moment when Tom suggests the classifieds are for finding an escort — "Well I probably wouldn't be looking for an escort Thomas!" — and a small vocabulary gift when Katie describes the scrolling line of breaking news and Tom supplies the word: "Ticker. A news ticker."

Quick facts

Episode	Zapp! English Vocabulary & Pronunciation 3.22 – News
Episode number	3.22
Pack	Vocabulary and Pronunciation 3
Level	3
Duration	19 minutes 20 seconds
New words and phrases	15
Workbook	Included in the all-in-one pack (€39)

What you'll learn

Two things at once: the vocabulary of news, and how to say it without sounding like you've only ever read it.

Word stress does most of the work here. The verbs split neatly: confirm, imply, deny and accuse all take stress on the second syllable, while censor, tabloid and broadsheet take it on the first. Circulation has four syllables with the stress on the third. Get that wrong and the word can stop being recognisable altogether.

Then the schwa — the most common sound in English. The -or ending of censor and editor is not "or", it's /ə/, and the teaching sections drill exactly that. You'll also hear that column has a silent n, so the last sound is /m/, and that in current affairs the /t/ of current joins straight onto the /ə/ of affairs.

There's grammar hiding in the vocabulary too. Accuse takes of: he accused the government of lying. Current affairs is always plural. And listening to Katie and Donnie use imply, accuse and deny in sequence shows you how a news story is actually built out of these verbs, one denial at a time.

The words

to imply – to suggest that something is true, but to do so indirectly. The verb Katie says newspapers reach for when saying it outright would be risky.
to accuse – to say that you think someone has done something wrong.
to deny – to say that you did not do something bad that someone said you did.
to confirm – to tell people that something they thought was true, is definitely true.
to censor – to remove parts of information before they become public because you don't want people to see them, perhaps for political or moral reasons.
to quit – to leave your job voluntarily.
a tabloid – a newspaper with smaller pages and lower quality which includes news on celebrities, scandals etc.
broadsheet – a more serious newspaper with higher quality journalism, often with bigger pages.
circulation – the number of copies a newspaper or magazine sells.
classifieds – private adverts in a newspaper, usually for things like apartment rental or selling a car.
coverage – news about a particular subject in the media.

What's in the workbook

The workbook for 3.22 gives you the full transcript of both conversations, so you can go back and see exactly where Donnie hesitates and how Katie builds her sentences. The glossary lists all sixteen entries with phonemic transcription and a plain definition.

Then three practice sections. Practice 1 is an eight-sentence gap-fill with the first letter given — There's very little c___ of the Australian election in the news — which forces you to choose between words that all start with the same letter: coverage, censor, circulation, claims, classifieds. Practice 2 is error correction, five sentences with mistakes we hear learners make constantly, including the tabloid/broadsheet mix-up and current affair for current affairs. Practice 3 sorts ten words into three stress patterns, so the pronunciation work from the audio gets written down and fixed. Full answers follow.

The workbook is part of the Zapp! English all-in-one pack — every episode, every level, €39 once.

Get the complete courseAll workbooks and audio — €39

Common questions

Is the audio scripted?

The conversations are completely unscripted — Katie, Tom and Donnie were just talking. The teaching sections that set up the tasks and give the answers are scripted, so the instructions stay clear.

What level is this episode?

Level 3, from the Vocabulary and Pronunciation 3 pack.

How long does it take?

The episode runs 19 minutes 20 seconds. Add the workbook practice and you're looking at roughly half an hour.

What's the difference between a tabloid and a broadsheet?

Size and seriousness. Tabloids have smaller pages and cover celebrities and scandals; broadsheets are bigger and carry higher quality journalism. Katie and Tom discuss why the tabloids sell more.

Can I use the audio without the workbook?

Yes — the audio is free and complete on its own. The workbook adds the transcript, the glossary and the written practice.

Get this episode

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