Tag Archives: practise English

How to download BBC World Service?

For most people in China, listening to international radio programs ( BBC, VOA, CNN etc. )  is one of the most effect ways to improve their abilities of English-listening. For example, when I was preparing for the IELTS last month, BBC radio programs were the most appropriate material for me.

The easiest way of access is buying a short-wave radio and following BBC's schedule ( link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmeguide/). However, because of the governmental limitation and disturbing, the quality is very bad and it is hard to recognize what they are speaking.

The alternative and free way is to download records through the Internet. Thanks to BBC's Podcast (http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice), it is easy to select different kinds of programs. But please remember, there are only the latest 7-days programs available. Meanwhile, if you would like to listening the live programs, you can visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/audioconsole/?stream=live.

If you are used to RSS readers like Google reader, here is a list of the most popular programs' subscriptions:

You can find the RSS icon on every program's  webpage.

But if you want to record the TV programs, some software may be helpful ( since BBC uses RTMP agreement with FLV ). My choice is FLVRecorder. After installing, open the online-watch window and this software will record every thing. You may open different programs at the same time and FLVRecorder will automatically distinguish them.

For more details, please visit: http://www.flvrecorder.com/

Notice: BBC online TV programs are only available within UK. Use proxy to access.