Learn · How to learn
Four sources per language.
Textbooks and novels teach a polished, often older form of a language. To hear how it is spoken and written today, read and listen to living media: a broadcaster, newspapers from more than one side, and a voice from culture or everyday life.
Read the language, not just the opinion
When you learn a language from the media, you also take in its perspectives. That is unavoidable, so do it on purpose. Each source below says who runs it and where it leans, and we pair outlets from different sides where a country’s press divides that way.
Our own lens is simple: people come first. Coverage of migrants, minorities or any group that does not treat them as human first and foremost is incomplete, however critical it sounds. Read it for the language, notice the framing, and do not let it do your thinking.
How to use them: one short piece a day. Read or listen once for the gist, once with a dictionary, then read a paragraph aloud like a newsreader. Save five new words to your review cards.
French
| RFI | Radio | French public radio for the world, with deep Africa coverage |
| Le Monde | Newspaper | France, centre-left |
| Le Figaro | Newspaper | France, centre-right |
| Jeune Afrique | Magazine | Pan-African, in French |
Spanish
| RTVE | TV and radio | Spain’s public broadcaster |
| El País | Newspaper | Spain, centre-left; Latin America editions |
| El Mundo | Newspaper | Spain, centre-right |
| Radio Ambulante | Podcast | Long-form stories from across Latin America |
Arabic
News is in Modern Standard Arabic; everyday speech is in regional varieties (Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Maghrebi), which you will hear on talk shows and social media.
Chinese
Mainland media is state-controlled; reading Taiwan and independent outlets beside it shows you two scripts, simplified and traditional, and very different framings.
Korean
| KBS | TV and radio | Korea’s public broadcaster |
| The Hankyoreh | Newspaper | Korea, progressive |
| Chosun Ilbo | Newspaper | Korea, conservative |
| Yonhap | News agency | Korea’s national news agency |
Igbo
Igbo news media is smaller than the others, so we are still choosing; tell us what you listen to.
| BBC News Ìgbò | Online | BBC’s Igbo service, digital since 2022 |
| Radio Nigeria (FRCN) | Radio | Federal radio, with Igbo-language programmes |
| NTA Enugu | TV | Public TV in Enugu, with Igbo-language news; confirm the current schedule |
| Igbo Wikipedia | Encyclopedia | Written by Igbo speakers |
Yoruba
| BBC News Yorùbá | Online | BBC’s Yoruba service, digital since 2022 |
| Alaroye | Newspaper | Weekly Yoruba-language newspaper |
| Yoruba Wikipedia | Encyclopedia | Written by Yoruba speakers |
| Yoruba-language films | Film | Nollywood’s Yoruba films, widely on YouTube: everyday speech, proverbs, tone |
Wolof
Much of Wolof media lives in speech, on radio, TV and social video, more than in print.
| TFM: Xibaar yi | TV | Senegalese TV news in Wolof |
| Journal Rappé | Video | News rapped in French and Wolof by Xuman and Keyti, on YouTube since 2013 |
| Wolof Wikipedia | Encyclopedia | Written by Wolof speakers |
| Senegalese talk radio | Radio | Most private stations talk in Wolof; we are still choosing one |
Leanings are the commonly cited ones and outlets change; corrections and suggestions are welcome at hello@agbalumolove.com. We will add a fifth slot for a creator or social video account per language.
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