Li Yang (Crazy English)

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Li.

Li Yang (simplified Chinese: 李阳; traditional Chinese: 李陽; pinyin: Lǐ Yáng; born 1969 in Changzhou, Jiangsu) is the Chinese creator of Crazy English, an unorthodox method of teaching English. He claimed to have taught English to more than 20 million people in a decade.

General Experiences

As a child, Li Yang was very introverted. He entered Lanzhou University in 1986. It was during his time in that University when he invented Crazy English. He graduated in 1990 and went on to work for the Northwest Electronic Equipment Institute in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. He continued to practice English using this method, often standing on top of the office building where he worked and shouting English.

He began promoting his method on a large scale until 1994 when he founded Li Yang Cliz English Promotion Studio. Today, his method has gained a very large amount of popularity in China, even attaining celebrity status. He lectures to crowds of 20 to 30,000, and visits an average of 15 cities a month. The proceeds from a single lecture can gross a million yuan. His company, Stone-Clitz, profits from the series of Crazy English books.

His philosophy in language-teaching can be political. He believes that English learning is the most important step to making China the world's most powerful nation. His personal motto is "stimulating patriotism, advocating national spirits, conquering English, revitalizing China." He is critical of the Chinese educational system and how it gives children a lack of confidence.

The 1999 documentary Crazy English by director Zhang Yuan followed Li on some of his travels. Li dislikes the film and believes it misrepresents him. Zhang Yuan claims that the film is neutral and portrays him fairly.

In September 2011 Li was accused of domestic violence by his American wife, Kim Lee. He admitted the accusations were true. On September 20th, 2011, in an interview with Jiang Ying Shuang (姜英爽), a reporter, regarding his domestic violence incident, along with admitting that he had beaten his wife on a number of occasions, Li Yang said the following to Jiang: "At the time (of wife beating), I wanted to kill her"; "Learning western culture doesn't mean western culture is right. I feel Bin Laden's 9.11 bombing is a job well done. 9.11 has been the cheapest war the world ever had. With the least casualties, (it) has drastically changed the world history. This is my point of view. Americans certainly would not agree (with me)" Later in the interview, he said: "The (Chinese) society is a giant brothel. Why businessmen have gatherings? Have sex with prostitutes"; Jiang: "Did you participate ( in prostitution)?" Li: "I have done it a few times"

On Oct. 27, 2011, Xinhua News reported that Li and Lee were filing for divorce.

Education

Jul. 1990~Sep. 1986 engineering mechanics in Lanzhou University, Jul. 1986~Sep. 1980 Xinjiang Experimental Middle School

Career

2006 took the position as president in Beijing Patriot Educational Science and Technology Limited Company(part-time) 2006~1994 established the Li Yang Cultural Educational Development Limited Company and is the president until today 1994~1993 as the special invited translator in American Consulate General in Guangzhou and completed a series of important tasks 1993 English broadcaster and host in Guangzhou TV station 1992 entered the English Station in Guangdong Republic Broadcasting Station 1992~Jul. 1990 graduated and was assigned to Xi’an Electronic Equipment Research Institution

External links

• A New Yorker article covering Li Yang
• City Weekend profile
• Beijing 2008 Foreign Languages Festival featuring Li Yang
• Li Yang at the Internet Movie Database

Note: Some of the items on the IMDb listing seem to refer to another person by the same name.