主播大秀

Africa, Asia, Antarctica, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. There are seven continents, and 主播大秀 Learning English has audiences in six of them - perhaps, by the end of reading this blog, all seven.

It was 75 years ago that the 主播大秀 created a learning English department, known then as English By Radio, or ExR. Originally conceived as shortwave radio broadcasts on the World Service’s forerunner, 主播大秀 Overseas Service, English By Radio then became involved in print publication and television with productions such as the massively popular series for adult learners , followed by, among others, hundreds of millions of people in China.

In 1996, a new technology arrived and the department, now called 主播大秀 English and soon to be called 主播大秀 Learning English, launched its very own website. For the 10th anniversary of the , the department recreated a selection of its older pages and groundbreaking flashing, spinning, brightly coloured images. You can see these images and the website launch series, a text-only news product called Words, Words, Words, .

The internet became a brilliant tool for 主播大秀 Learning English with its ability to offer immediate interaction with language learners. As the technology developed, the internet also provided new distribution mechanisms for audio and video alongside the shortwave broadcasting and new, growing network of FM rebroadcasters.

主播大秀 Learning English launched forums, message boards and discussion lists. Podcasts became a mainstay of its output, and one of them, the three-minute The English We Speak has been, for many years, one of the 主播大秀's most popular weekly podcasts with almost 2 million downloads a month.

Naturally, 主播大秀 Learning English also embraced social media and now has its own , , and channels. In the last 12 months it has also launched nine bilingual services and introduced some shortwave services to African countries as well as North Korea, funded by the . 

This year, as we mark our 75th anniversary, we have produced our first app. It brings together our audiences' favourite lessons and presenters in one simple-to-use package. The 主播大秀 Learning English app currently contains 12 series and is updated on a daily basis. Learners can use the app to study grammar, improve their pronunciation, develop their English through topical news stories, improve their business English with an animated drama or simply learn the latest phrases to use in their everyday conversations.

And the fun doesn't stop there. While the app is constantly being updated, we also plan to add new interactive features, new functionality and new content later this year.

Users of the app can also join us on our 'App around the world' campaign. All they need to do is download the app and then email us a photo of the location where they're using the app with their name and location details to learningenglish@bbc.co.uk. We can then include it in our 'App around the world' map. Who knows, perhaps we will finally get proof that 主播大秀 Learning English is being used in Antarctica as well, making us truly global.

You can download the 主播大秀 Learning English app on or .