When Manjot Singh moved from India to California two years ago, English-language news felt almost impossible to follow.
“There were many hard words I didn’t understand,” he said. “So I wrote them in my notebook and looked them up on Google. After two or three years, I got used to it.”
For Singh, a kinesiology major, learning English meant more than speaking it; it meant learning how to read the world.
Understanding news in another language can be difficult even for advanced learners. Tone, slang, and cultural references often carry meanings that don’t translate directly, making it harder to tell what’s true, what’s biased and what’s satire.
Across the country, more than 67 million people speak a language other than English at home, and 25 million report speaking English “less than very well,” according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau data. For these readers, the challenge of separating fact from misinformation can be even greater.
A 2024 Pew Research Center study found that the share of U.S. adults who say “inaccuracy” is the aspect of news they dislike most on social media has risen from 31 percent five years ago to 40 percent today.
At Delta College, English as Second Language teacher Amber Wolak said that one of the biggest challenges for English learners is shifting from memorization to analysis. She said many ESL students come from educational systems where they were taught to memorize and trust written sources without question.
“I want my students to question everything they read and hear, and I love when they start asking critical questions,” Wolak said.
Instructors work to shift that mindset and encourage students to start asking critical questions. Wolak said ESL classes at Delta emphasize prereading strategies that encourage students to slow down and think before engaging with a text.
“We want students to think about the title, author, and source of a text before they start reading,” she said. “Additionally, ESL classes help students learn how to skim for the overall gist of the reading and scan for important information before reading more deeply.”
That approach, she said, doesn’t just improve comprehension but also builds media literacy skills.
“Many native English speakers have stopped questioning where information comes from,” Wolak said. “On the other hand, people who aren’t yet fluent in English are more mindful of what they are reading because the process takes so much longer. If they know how to properly identify good sources, they can focus on reading those in more detail.”
Alondra Soto, an instructional support assistant who coordinates Delta’s ESL Tutoring Center, said she sees many students rely heavily on their phones as their main source of news. “They’re busy with classes and family responsibilities,” she said. “Most of what they see comes through social media or apps.”
That constant stream of information makes it harder to pause and question what’s accurate.
“We try to promote English use and comprehension,” Soto said, “but also teach them to look for reliable sources.”
Dreamers Center resource specialist Tina Leal said misinformation is something she sees often among immigrant and multilingual students. “It’s important for them to know what’s going on,” she said. “They need information that’s clear and accurate, and sometimes that means having it explained in both English and Spanish.”
Through digital guides and community outreach, The Collegian’s Media Decoded project breaks down how misinformation spreads and how headlines, images, and wording can influence what audiences believe. The project, funded with an Impact Grant from the California Teachers Association Institute for Teaching, was created out of a necessity to “make media literacy accessible to all students,” offering step-by-step tools for analyzing information across platforms, according to Collegian’s website.
Media Decoded advisor Tara Cuslidge-Staiano said the program’s framework is built around four simple actions: examine, question, interpret, and explain.
“We designed it so anyone can use it, even if English isn’t their first language,” Cuslidge-Staiano explained. “You don’t have to remember a full guide, just those four steps. If you can do that, you’re already practicing media literacy.”
She noted that translation tools often miss tone or cultural meaning, which can make it harder for multilingual readers to detect misinformation.
“If you don’t have the context, it’s harder to say, ‘This doesn’t make sense,’” she said. “That’s why slowing down and asking questions is so important.”
Her advice to English learners mirrors the project’s message: stay curious.
“If you have a question, ask it,” Cuslidge-Staiano said. “I’d rather you take a moment and be vulnerable and get the right information than just believe everything you see.”
For many English learners, that process of examining and questioning happens naturally. Because they translate and interpret every day, they tend to read more carefully and think more critically, turning language learning into a form of media literacy itself.
Singh said he still takes notes when reading or watching the news in English every now and then.
“After two or three years, I got used to it and can understand the news easily now,” he said.
