Don Bosco Degree College Golaghat

This study examines the integration of current world affairs into the English Language Teaching (ELT) curriculum at the foundation level through a structured needs analysis conducted among Level 3 students at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Nizwa. The research is grounded in the observed difficulty students face in completing a News Review task, which requires engagement with authentic news texts despite limited exposure to current affairs and English-language newspapers. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the study employs a pre-test, a post-test, and a questionnaire to investigate students’ knowledge, attitudes, and challenges related to current affairs.The intervention involves guided exposure to online English newspapers over four weeks, focusing on thematic categories such as national, international, business, and entertainment news. Quantitative findings indicate a measurable improvement in students’ performance, as evidenced by post-test scores, particularly in vocabulary acquisition and comprehension. Qualitative data from the questionnaire reveal a shift in learners’ attitudes, with increased interest, confidence, and perceived relevance of current affairs to their academic and professional communication.The study argues that integrating current world affairs into the ELT curriculum enhances not only linguistic competence but also critical awareness and global engagement. It challenges traditional textbook-driven pedagogies by advocating for the inclusion of authentic, dynamic content that aligns with real-world communicative demands. The findings have significant implications for curriculum design in foundation programs, particularly within the Omani higher education context, where fostering globally aware and communicatively competent graduates is a key educational objective.

Keywords: Current World Affairs Integration; Newspaper-Based Learning; Authentic Materials in ELT; Foundation-Level English Learners; Reading Comprehension Development