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David Smith, from London, chose to settle down in Shenzhen after traveling around several Asian countries.

 

In May, he started his own business providing English training for local learners as the city has a large number of English learners.

 

"Their will to learn a foreign language did give me a culture shock when I gave my first lecture," Smith said, adding that he had never seen such attentive students in any other part of the world.

 

"Maybe that's because studying is a way for them to change their career," he said.

 

"Training centers usually provide general business English courses for all students, but what a salesman needs is different from those who work in the customer services," he added. "We'll ask our students 'what do you want to learn' and tailor-made courses to individuals."

 

On Sunday, Smith gave a free lecture about the booming Chinese stock market to potential students. He said he wanted to teach them practical English.

 

While many local learners believe memorizing a dictionary is the best way to expand their vocabulary, Smith is against it.

 

"The dictionary doesn't teach you how to use the word. Say, many people know the world 'settle,' but they may not understand when hearing the sentence 'settle the bill,'" Smith said.

 

He said he believes an effective learner shouldn't rely on a single method. "Listening, speaking, reading and writing are different aspects of a language, and there are various ways to improve them. That's why simply reciting a dictionary or listening to English radio programs didn't work," he said

 

Smith said he uses an innovative way to promote his training center.

 

"Rather than trying to grab money as much as possible from new customers, I told them to sign up for only 24 lessons," he said. "They will then have a trial period to see whether they are totally satisfied with the teachers, the way of teaching and curriculum."

 

"Quality is the best advertisement. Students will bring you long-term business once they enjoy the courses," he added.

 

Currently, Smith's center has eight trainers, all native English speakers from Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the US. Smith said he wanted to make sure his students were trained in authentic English, and therefore had not hired any Chinese.

 

"But most of the foreign teachers can speak basic Mandarin, in case beginners can't understand them," said Smith.

 

(Shenzhen Daily July 17, 2007)