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Learner Reviews & Feedback for English for Journalism by University of Pennsylvania

4.8
stars
2,763 ratings

About the Course

Welcome to English for Journalism, a course created by the University of Pennsylvania, and funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs. To enroll in this course for free, click on “Enroll now” and then select "Full Course. No certificate." This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are interested in developing the skills needed for a career in modern journalism. In this course, you will explore print and digital media through authentic readings and video lectures, while expanding your vocabulary and increasing your ability to read, research, and develop local and global news stories. Unit 1 will provide an introduction to the history and principles of journalism. In unit 2, you will learn how to research, pitch, and interview. The next unit in the course will focus on the language needed to write newspaper and magazine articles, while unit 4 will cover the basics of broadcasting the news. In the final unit of the course, you will analyze the growth, impact, and challenges of digital news, while completing a reflection assignment that allows you to think about and discuss the recent changes to the field of journalism. Unless otherwise noted, all course materials are available for re-use, repurposing and free distribution under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution license. Supplemental reading materials were provided by Newsela, which publishes daily news articles at a level that's just right for each English language learner....

Top reviews

CS

Jul 12, 2020

I'm grateful for this course because I've gained different essential skills especially about journalism. Thank you Coursera and University of Pennsylvania for this great and unforgettable opportunity.

MA

Feb 18, 2020

I have found this course quite informative about the knowhow of journalism. Now I've come to know the principles of journalism and what are the skills needed for writing or broadcasting news stories.

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776 - 800 of 887 Reviews for English for Journalism

By muhammad a a

May 3, 2017

t

By Abou S L

Sep 27, 2016

5

By Adi R

Sep 29, 2020

The course was great and I learned many valuable things. Its layout is easy to understand and the instructors never leave a thing unexplained. They are encouraging and know how to define terms and words that the students may not know.

Yet having every word explained to me is tiring - and I am not only talking about new terms that relate to journalism; no, simple words that are commonly known or easy to find the meanings of through any dictionary. I didn't come here to expand my vocabulary. I think it unnecessary, except, of course, when it is truly a term specific for journalism and uncommon in everyday language.

The way the instructors talked bothered me as well, the slow speed and use of short and simple words don't fit a MOOC of such a university. It could have been done better, in my opinion.

By Momoh M

Jul 26, 2020

This a very thorough introduction to the discipline of journalism. The 10 principles are a part I would love to go through every month, looking at new material each time of course. The delivery of principles of journalism and grammar rules stick very easily. This course is sharp on that.

Phone compatibility is pretty good. The user interface is well adapted to the smartphone platform.

One critique is that the course material is ageing, and maybe hasn't been reviewed in a while. And in one instance, the quiz marked the answer to a multiple choice question wrong, though it appeared in the readings for the quiz. All in all, this course has worthy takeaways for both native and foreign speakers of the language of English.

By Irene S

Jun 7, 2020

This course managed to deliver the introduction to journalism in the most comprehensive way within a short period of time (5 weeks). It gives us an understanding about the roles of journalists, types of journalism, and information about how to write a good article. My only feedback for this course is for the course to provide a chance to practice writing their own articles with their own topic of choice to be assessed by others. This would give a chance for students to both implement and measure their understanding about journalism not only theoretically but also practically.

By zonda b

Mar 17, 2023

I have worked with journalism and social media for a long time and I did apreciate taking this course. I checked my skills in english and also had the chance to go 'back to classroom' for some weeks. At this time, It is very important that 'English for Journalism' could be uptodated, specially the units related to Digital Age.Things are changing very fast in that feild and some contents produced in the last decade, for example, sound a bit 'naive' by now. I would like to thank the efforts of the university staff to develop the course - and Coursera for offer it for free!

By Elvi R

Mar 25, 2017

El curso es excelente y muy interesante, con un buen balance de textos y videos. Las asignaciones en video resultan desafiantes y es parte del buen aprendizaje. Sólo podría agregar un comentario que puede servir para mejorar, no estuve de acuerdo con la evaluación de los compañeros en una de las tareas de la unidad 2. Una de las personas que me evaluó tomo su decisión en función de si le gustaba o no mi propuesta y el objetivo no era ese sino si era o no noticioso. Por su evaluación bajó mi promedio y eso me desanimó bastante. Del resto, todo es positivo.

By Ilia T

Aug 21, 2019

Really good course, especially for absolute beginners in journalism and people with modest English language knowledge. It is a nice reminder of the basics for everyone who hasn't practiced journalism lately and a great refresh of very basic journalistic lingo and grammar even for more advanced people. To be honest, I was left with the impression that the course will tackle a bit more complicated topics, which is the reason I don't give it the top score.

By Autumn J

Apr 24, 2020

Very informational and helpful. I learned so many new ways to express myself and about the world of journalism. There are a few things that bugged me though. On a few of the videos the color of the wording was a bright neon yellow and I found it extremely difficult to read what was there. I wish you had the option to write the message rather do a video recording almost every time. Journalism isn't solely about video, it's about the writing as well.

By Petronio P

Sep 10, 2016

Well, I enjoyed very much taking part of this course. In my opinion the contents were just grate and according to my English level. Nevertheless, what I would like to have is the amount of hours dedicated to the course writen on the certificate. For this reazon, in my case, this will be my first but also my last of the on-line courses through coursera.

Greetings,

MSc. Petronio A. Piedra.

By AVIK G G 1

Jun 26, 2021

This course really has given me a lot of knowledge with which so many people can benefit. My only concern is the speed with which the lecturers were talking but if it was for purposes such as proper and clear communication and giving time for students to take down notes, then I am okay with it. This course is the base and it needs to be taught everywhere.

By Kawaiisquishy • 9 y a

Aug 17, 2016

This course good for people who have intermediate level in English language, also it is very useful to gain double outcome or result which is your get more for English language skill and you know about jurnalism. Anyway thanks to AE and UPENN to provide this course for foreigners, also special thanks to people who involved making this course.

By Sirirak N

Jul 3, 2024

This course develops my critical thinking skills and improves my vocabulary. I practised my witting and reading effectively. Unfortunately, writing assessment feedback can not be reliable if I want feedback of my grammar and writing style. Still, it is good to practise and share ideas with peers. I enjoyed this course. Thank you

By S.Sabpreet K

Jun 11, 2020

Easy access,flexible working hours, high video qualities and the facility to reset deadlines really encouraged me to work harder and harder to the complete the course so as to emerge as the best of me.i am really satisfied. GOAL ACHIEVED.

-honed skills.

-knowledge acquired,with better understanding of language.

THANK YOU.

By Vladislav V

Sep 17, 2016

It's a course of very good quality, but personally I wanted something more challenging. I believe that since there are advanced version of texts, there should also be advanced version of tests in order to make people like me work harder. I would also like to see more peer-reviewed assignments, these are very good.

By Wilfredo V

Sep 23, 2016

I Want to get the certification by Pensilvania University, but I don't have a credit card, is there any other mean to pay it, please, on the other hand thank you very much for the sessions, all of them

were excellent Congratulations Wilfredo Villegas/journalist

my e-mail is willyvillegas@hotmail.com

By Mughavi A T

May 20, 2020

Excellent course for beginners wanting to know about Journalism and its English usage. It is a crash course without details but a fine introduction to various forms of journalism. On a personal note - good feedback would have added more value to this course. Overall, it is a good course.

By Raquel M

Aug 25, 2017

It was really insightful into the basics of journalism in English. Would have liked a bit more challenge on the assessments and that the teachers intervened on the grading process, being all peer graded might not be the best option to continue to learn and correct mistakes.

By Dai P

Sep 17, 2021

This is really good course which help me improve my english skill and also understand approach method on Journalist.

One more thing is the course share the latest updating on Journal area.

Thanks all lecturer :) Hope you are safe during covid pandemic.

By CRISTINA B

Aug 24, 2020

Relevant material, well planned course, linguistically fitted for different levels of English .

The assignments are challenging but it would have been appropriate also to receive a final evaluation by an academic, in particular in article writing.

By Лапина М М

Nov 14, 2016

The course will be interesting for those who don`t have specific knowledge about journalism. The vocabulary is rather useful, but sometimes very simple. The teachers are great - I didn`t have any problems with understanding! Thanks a lot!

By Deepa N

Dec 2, 2016

Through this course, I was able to learn the basics of Journalism and apply it in my job as well. The professors explain everything clearly with good examples. The course is easy and understandable. Thank you all for a great course!

By Aldo R

May 31, 2020

Very helpful course to learn the basics of Journalism.

I personally already know and speak English, but I found it very friendly for non-English speakers.

Thank you to both teachers and everyone behind the course.

By avac c

Jul 6, 2020

I enjoyed being apart of this learning experience. Thank you for my opportunity and I can say that this was a stepping stone in my life. This had made the door to my future open up a bit more. Thank you.

By Abdulrahman A

May 19, 2019

I really enjoyed this little course despite my Arabic tongue. It's very recommended for smoothing your communication skills (Printed or Broadcasting) and get chance to learn new journalism features.