Reading is one of the BEST things you can do when learning a foreign language. It's not only a great way to build up your vocabulary, but it can also be tailored to your interests! Francophile sports lovers will love L'Équipe, while Spanish learners with a penchant for poetry will love las odas de Pablo Neruda.
And NYC news junkies, you're in luck! New York City is the center of not only ethnic diversity, but linguistic diversity as well: up to 800 unique languages are spoken in the five boroughs. Here are a few of the best foreign language newspapers in New York:
With over 250,000 copies of El Especialito being circulated every week, this Spanish-language newspaper prides itself on being the most popular newspaper among Latinx New Yorkers. In fact, it's also the most widely read Spanish paper in the United States! Interested readers can find El Especialito online, or in one of the ubiquitous yellow boxes on the NYC sidewalks.
El Diario is the oldest Spanish daily newspaper in the United States. The paper attracts hundreds of thousands of readers each week and has reached over 800,000 followers on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. El Diario focuses on pressing topics within the Latinx community, be it immigration laws domestically or crises in Latin American countries abroad.
French Morning was launched by journalist Emmanuel Saint-Martin in 2007 as an outlet for French expats living in NYC. The newspaper has since expanded to other locations across the country, including Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Miami! Popular articles include spotlights of French cultural events, from new exhibits by French artists to upcoming concerts by French musicians.
Though SinoVision doesn't exactly print newspapers, it is still the largest media source within NYC's Chinese community! SinoVision was founded in 1990 as a news station for the Chinese diaspora, but they are more than just the nightly news—they also promote cultural literacy through specials on the Chinese language and Chinese customs.
NYC's 200,000 native Russian speakers are served by Russian Bazaar. Established in 1996, Russian Bazaar is New York City's most prominent Russian news source. The newspaper is available online every Thursday and is definitely THE go-to for information relevant to the Eastern European community.
Finding reading material in your target language can be a difficult task, but these 5 newspapers are a constant and free source. You can improve your reading abilities while also staying informed on the world around you—talk about killing two birds with one stone!
Learning a language in NYC? Make sure to create a free account on Lexody to practice your conversation skills! And if you come across any interesting articles, feel free to bring them up during your next lex—I'm sure your partner will be impressed!