Sahar from Iran asks: how can I underestand the head of news? There are many difficult words in news

CA: Hi Sahar - I think you mean headlines which are the first things you hear when the news bulletin starts. And yes you're right - it's a challenge to write the news in a way which is easy for people to take in, but still manages to carry quite complex ideas and events. We try hard to avoid using words which might be difficult for people who speak English as a second language.

But sometimes we have to admit 'jargon' creeps in. We try not to use words like 'blaze', 'crisis', 'death toll'. But at the same time we know we have a duty to keep our audience informed. Do you ever look at the Words in the News website on the Learning English pages? Sahar, I think the best thing for learning any language is to listen as much as we can as I do for learning Spanish. And hopefully you'll get used to the conventions, the customs of the news.

Kekli Mourad from Tunisia asks: Would you give me some idioms that we can use in the news?

CA: Well Kekli, we're supposed to avoid idioms in the news! But again they do creep in. Yesterday I saw some expressions like 'fighters laying down their arms' which if it was true would make it very hard for them to hold their weapons! Another one was 'a blow to German prosecutors' and they really should be treated nicely!

Cliches and idioms take away from the power of radio as a communication tool. We want the news to be both powerful and easy to follow. I think that you'll see lots of idioms in tabloid newspapers. The BBC aims to always strive to use a high standard of English which can be easily understood by people all around the world.

Sheng Chai asks: What is the role of the mass media today? It seems like there are some news that are not true.

CA: We could talk about this one for a long time! I often say to people that while journalists have a big responsibility to ensure their reports are correct, we also rely on people to be honest and truthful in the information they give us. But of course people have their own interests and the challenge for us as journalists is to find out just what IS the truth.

But you raise a good point - the mass media is important. I'm personally motivated by the belief that if we can give people information to make choices about their lives that's a very valuable thing.

David from France asks: What happens if a story is wrong?

CA: Hello - David. thanks for your question. We move as quickly as we can to find the correct information and make the correction. But really David a lot of our efforts go to getting it right the first time. This is why the BBC is not always first with the news. But, it has earned a reputation for accuracy.

Aye asks: What's special about the language of the news?

CA: Both the language and the structure of a news story are carefully crafted. Writing to people listening to the radio is quite different to writing for a newspaper. We try to write in plain English, using short sentences and simple grammar. We use strong verbs and a logical order of ideas. We are very conscious that we are telling a story so a news piece is all these things and hopefully interesting!

Dominique asks: How do you simplify complicated events for listeners?

CA: Hello Dominique - one of the most useful formulas which I learned as cadet journalist in Melbourne, Australia was to order events in time, chronologcially. That doesn't always work because the general rule of writing a news story is to put the NEW development first. So it can take a little bit of fiddling around.

We try and make things accessible for our listeners by using a variety of tools. For example, we combine the journalist talking with perhaps some sound from the event and perhaps what we call a 'clip' of a person speaking - perhaps an eye witness. So we break it up into managable chunks of ideas and facts.

Sheng Chai asks: How is experience working in Vietnam? How you deal with the people there?

CA: Sheng Chai - the ruling Communist Party is slowly allowing the country to open up to the outside world. But people are still getting used to the idea of even dealing with foreign media. So working there as a correspondent is both challenging and rewarding. I worked with a translator in Vietnam because not a lot of people speak a high level of English. Some people are more comfortable being interviewed in their own language. Often people who are being interviewed are following strict rules about what they can say.

What I used to find was that once people met me and I hope gained a sense that I was genuinely looking for their view and to explore the facts as they saw them, they would relax a little and be more willing to answer unscripted questions.

As a BBC correspondent, my days were always busy. They always start with checking the local papers - and seeing what was making World News on the BBC Internet site. My office was in my house - but I spent a lot of time visiting people in their offices and sitting in coffee shops hoping to bump into somebody with a good story. And often I did! It is very rewarding - perhaps not so much financially.... but it is an experience I'll never forget.

Sheng Chai asks: What's your big satisfaction from being a correspondent?

CA: Probably two things - an amazing opportunity to live in a part of the world which I love. And the second thing is an opportunity to contribute to Vietnam as it develops in the modern world by doing my little bit as a BBC correspondent to report on what is happening there. And this helps to bring Vietnamese people as well as people outside the country accurate and balanced information about what is really happening.

Alex from France asks: is it difficult if you don't speak the language of the country you are reporting from?

CA: There are some foreign journalists in Hanoi who speak Vietnamese, but unfortunately I wasn't one of them. Most of us, rely on our translators and Vietnamese friends to keep us in touch with what is happening. We also rely very heavily on people who speak English - which of course tend to be foreigners. So we get a lot of information from diplomats, people working for charities and businesswomen and men.

Servais Koumako asks: Do you think that someone in Togo, my country, will understand the same words as someone in China?

CA: his again is what we're talking about when we say we are trying to write the news for everybody. We assume that people have a reasonable grasp of the language. But we also know that when we are listening to the radio - you might be doing something else - driving, preparing food and so on. So even for people who speak fluent English the language of radio has to be clear and easy to follow.

Gaby Buenrostro from Mexico asks: I did hear a lot about some "ways" to write for newspapers, AP (Associated Press) method or NYT (New York Times) method, but I am not sure what it is about. Does the BBC have a similar method?

CA: Hi Gaby, firstly writing for radio is quite different to writing for newspapers because our audience is listening not reading. Unless of course they're on the internet. So when we write for radio, we try to use natural English - quite conversational. But our stories still have to be well researched, clearly sourced to give them authority and fair. This means we have to carefully choose our words and sentence structure.

News agencies like AP who you've mentioned Gaby, and the New York Times will have what we call their own 'House Style'. It's usually a book or a manual which sets out their agreed ways of doing things. It includes spelling, banned words, for example at the BBC we're very careful with words like 'crisis' or 'terrorist'. And style is also set out here. Again, at the BBC our style with honorifics is not to use them in the first reference so we describe you as Gaby Buenrostro the first time, and Mr or Ms Buenrostro after that.

Jan from Poland asks: Writing for television and writing for radio, are they the same

CA: Hello Jan - that's a good question because there is a difference and a very important one. TV has pictures so when we write TV script we try to let the pictures tell much of the story. In radio we create a picture for the listener with words. A good TV script uses the words to compliment the pictures. In a radio script we rely much more on a combination of words, sound and the words of the people that we've recorded.

Tom from Canada asks: How did you become a journalist?

CA: After studying politics at University in Australia I worked as a volunteer at a community radio station. Like many journalists in those 'olden' days, getting experience as a volunteer was often the best way of breaking in - i.e. getting into the industry. I didn't do a formal course in journalism but trained on the job, learning shorthand and going to training sessions on subjects such as court reporting.

Looking back after 20 years, I think journalists need to have a combination of skills in researching, writing, using equipment and a good general knowledge of the world. But it's just as important to be committed to the truth, to have passion for information and a genuine desire to communicate.

Hamide from Egypt: Which words are usually avoided by the BBC?

CA: We avoid words which over-dramatise the situation, which might require a very high level of English. Even on a lighter note we avoid phrases such as those which use a lot of alliteration because they sound pleasing to the ear. We avoid jargon, cliches, foreign phrases such as 'per capita' which is Latin. When talking about numbers or statistics we tend to round them up to make it easier for the listener to understand the information.

Cristina from Argentina asks: Where does the information for a news story come from?

CA: In the World Service Newsroom here in London we rely on a large network of correspondents around the world who report in by telephone satellite, and the internet. We also are a client of news agencies such as Reuters and we have more than 40 language services and a network of journalists around the world who file in many languages.

When News Agency material is filed into our news room through our computer network, teams of journalists in the newsroom cross-check the information between agencies. If two agencies or more agree on the facts we'll add that information into our output. This means the material we are broadcasting or putting on the internet.

Hussain, Emirates: I am working in a news agency but I have difficulty writing reports in English. How can you help me in this case?

CA: Hussain - it would be interesting to know which agency you are writing for, but I presume you are not writing in English now. I suggest that people improve their English by listening to the language, as I do in Spanish. There are also some BBC websites you might find useful: Learning English, look for Words in the News.

Aurore from France asks: Do you have a standard interview technique?

CA: The answer is no. I change the language and the tone of my questions depending on the person I'm interviewing and the subject. In Cambodia I interviewed two fourteen year old girls who had been rescued from prostitution. Of course my approach to them was very different to the way I would interview an experienced politician talking about a controversial policy.

With a politician I would use very direct language and strong words. If they spoke English I could use quite complicated sentence structures. And if the politician was avoiding my questions I would change my tone to become more insistent, using imperatives such as 'Tell me exactly what you mean'.

This has been a great opportunity to talk to some of the BBC's audience. I hope you found it helpful.