• To develop students’ comprehension skills and reading strategies, by using authentic texts published by British/American media and other information sources;
• To develop students’ cultural awareness and expand their lexical knowledge related to frequent hard news topics (politics, international relations, global economics, media and society);
• To improve students’ oral skills by asking them to give short oral presentations to stimulate self-confidence and create an awareness of their summarizing and self-monitoring skills;
• To develop students’ writing skills through summary and summary-analysis, paraphrasing and/or other writing activities.