Talk is Golden by KanTalk.com

Several magazines claim their targeted readers are “thought leaders”. It’s another way to say that their articles are usually long and that the topics are always serious. The Atlantic, short for The Atlantic Monthly, is one of them.

Let the “thought leaders” read the Atlantic’s long and serious articles. The English learners have a better deal: the Multimedia section of the magazine’s website, where it puts out the videos, audio and slideshows. You are welcome to join “thought leaders” to watch Donald Rumsfeld: The Change Agent; or just be yourself watching How to Hunt for Termites.

And there are a lot more interesting materials in between, too.

Here is a prediction: Ten years from now, no one will watch TV from a box called television set; instead, computer will be the new box. Even that timeline is too pessimistic, if you ask Steve Jobs of Apple.

Thanks to many online TV startups, which mushroomed after the YouTube’s success, the language learners can watch a lot of TV programs today, anytime, anywhere, and almost in any language. Besides the bigger sites like Hulu.com and Joost.com, you should also check out a few small ones, such as Beelinetv, MyeasyTV, and FreeTVonline.

Say Bye-bye to the boring textbooks, ten years ahead of time.

Going all the way back to the 19th century (1843 in Britain), The Economist has earned its editorial reputation of advocating free market economy and its journalism style of concise and consistent writing. Its reporting goes well beyond economy and business issues; the world affairs and politics get a lion share, too.

The magazine claims that it only reaches those readers who are “educated”. Let the snobs define what exactly the educated mounts to. But for those who want to become well-educated in English language, read the magazine often. Or better, to speak the British-accented English well, visit the video/audio section of the magazine’s website and immerse in those audio/video clips it offers.

In North America, speaking with a British accent alone can be taken as one trait of “the educated”. No wonder over the half of The Economist’s readership are in the other side of Atlantic ocean.

According to the Effortless English, the top 5 mistakes English learners make are:

1. Focusing On Grammar

2. Forcing Speech

3. Learning Only Formal Textbook English

4. Trying To Be Perfect

5. Relying On English Schools

For the details, you can read this blog posting.

Vanity Fair is a magazine that covers, well, vanity. But it does with a style, as its angle usually comes from literature touch, not tabloid sensation. Most of its stories are milked out of celebrities from Hollywood and politicians in high status, the two species that tend to exude unusual amount of vanity than the rest species combined.

Whether or not its treatments to the celebrities and the politicians are fair, the magazine’s video reporting is fascinating. Curious about how Angelina Jolie transformed into a glamorous star, or why Hillary Clinton failed in her presidential pursuit? Visit the video sections at the magazine’s website and delight your curiosity.

And your appetite for the English language, too.