What to Teach? A Critical Linguistic Perspective on News Reporting

This study aims to probe for ideological construction within the linguistic structure of newspaper reporting. The study focuses on news reports relating the issue of new IOC chairman election in English version of four mainstream newspaper published in Korea: The Donga Daily News, The Jungang Daily News, The Chosun Daily News, and The Korea Times. The analysis of these reports adheres to the analytic paradigm of critical linguistic analysis and shows how the newspaper articulate conflicting ideological positions in their reports of new IOC chairman election. The analysis demonstrates how the event of new IOC chairman election is naturalized in racist accounts. This study is important for understanding the constructive nature of language practices. The study concludes with a discussion to explain the need for critical awareness in choosing right teaching material, considering that news reports are widely accepted as an authentic material for English education.