ABC TV on iView

The ABC is Australia's public broadcaster. It airs a number of TV programs that are valuable to you as learners of English. I have made a list of the "best" programs. There are many more, but this are my recommendations.

News/Current Affairs:

Compass

Foreign Correspondant

Four Corners

Landline

Lateline

Media Watch

Q&A

The 7:30 Report

Australian/Aboriginal Topics:

Australian Story
Message Stick

Science:

Catalyst

The New Inventors

Entertainment:

At the Movies
The Bill

All of these programs can be viewed on ABC1 or ABC2. You can also stream them on the internet at iView.

Going swimming this weekend?: Watch this!

How's the weather?

It's hot!!!

Many of you may be thinking about going swimming this weekend. Here is a very informative video for you.

Please note: this only applies to beaches outside Melbourne city.

When Dangerous Dogs Attack

There have been many dog attacks on young children recently. Sometimes the young children have died. Who is responsible for the attacks? The dog? The dog owners? The parents?

Many members of the public are calling for Australian dog laws to be reviewed. This report is from the 7:30 Report (ABC). Click on one of the movies in the column on the right.

What do you think? Should the laws change?

Keeping up with the News

As an ESL learner it is very important that you keep up to date with the world around you. How can you do this? Let's look at a few different resources you can use.

Newspapers- you don't have to buy them. You can read them for free on the internet.

The Age- my favourite local newspaper.
Hearld Sun- not my favourite, but it will give you some alternative opinions to The Age.

The Australian- as above, it is owned by the same media group.

The Independant- a great newspaper from England.

The New York Times- a well respected newspaper.

Radio- you can listen to these stations on the internet if you don't have a radio.

ABC National (621AM)- this station has lots of news and currecnt affairs.

ABC Melbourne (774AM)- lots of local news.

TV- if you don't have a TV, you can watch news updates on the internet for free.

ABC (Channel 2)- lots of Australian news plus some international news.

SBS (The channel number depends on your TV)- this station broadcasts lots of international news.

Channel 7 - commercial news.

Channel 9

Channel 10

Try to watch, listen or read the news at least once a day. You can change to different sources so you can practice different skills.

Good luck.

Is Australian TV racist?

Soap Operas are popular in many countries throughout the world. Australia is no exception. Neighbours and Home and Away the two most popular enjoying success not ony in Australia but also the United Kingdom.

However, this article brings up an interesting issue about Australian soap operas. Are they too white? Most of the characters are white Australians and this does not reflect Australia's multicultural society.

Is Australian TV racist? What do you think?

Neighbours airs weeknight (Monday to Friday) at 6:30pm on channel 10.

Home and Away airs weeknights at 7pm on channel 7.

The Best Show on Australian TV

I think that Australian Story is the best program on Australian TV. Every week they interview real Australians about their experiences in life. Some of them are very famous but some are average Australians. All of them have extraordinary tales to tell.

My favourite story is about John Marsden. He is an Australian writer. I grew up reading his books and I always enjoyed them. I had an even deeper respect for him after seeing this episode.

Australian Story is televised on ABC-TV (Channel 2) Mondays at 8.00 pm and repeated on Saturdays at 12.30 pm.

Enjoy