And now he has been retained by China's Olympic Organizing Committee to teach China's army of Olympic support personnel to speak as much English as possible by the time the guests arrive. And he intends to make that happen. In the article linked below, the New Yorker chronicles Li's unlikely entrepreneurial ascendancy, his ambition and fortuitous timing, and the unique ESL teaching empire he's built "out of his country's deepening devotion to a language it once derided as the tongue of barbarians and capitalists." Although, just how effective his unorthodox methods are is still questioned by some, he is already looking past the Beijing Olympics to the possibilities for his ever-expanding business. The article relates the following interview with Li:
Li turned one of our interviews into a lecture for his employees, who crowded around to listen. (Someone recorded it on a video camera.) “How can we make Crazy English more successful?” he asked me, his voice rising. “We know that people are not going to be persistent, so we give them ten sentences a month, or one article a month, and then, when they master this, we give them a huge award, a big ceremony. Celebrate! Then we have them pay again, and we make money again.” He turned toward the assembled employees and switched to Chinese: “The secret of success is to have them continuously paying—that’s the conclusion I’ve reached.” Then back to English: “How can we make them pay again and again and again?”
China may have a stunted understanding of democracy and civil rights, but Chinese entrepreneurs are learning fast about markets, selling and profits. First things, first, I suppose--but do they really believe that is the best we have to offer?
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/28/080428fa_fact_osnos
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