Crazy English () is a non-traditional method of English language instruction in mainland China with a heavy emphasis on loud oral practice and the slogan, "by shouting out loud, you learn." Crazy English was created by Li Yang, who felt that English instruction in China was ineffective. It also includes techniques like repetition and recitation that are more traditional in Chinese education. Some school administrators in China have disapproved of Crazy English due to their belief that it goes against the cultural values of modesty and restraint.
History
By 2008, for over a decade China had been gripped by the “English Fever” phenomenon as the country increasingly associated English language skills with success in the business world. Though China states that it has the largest number, 300 million, of English speakers in the world, the number of people who translate their reading and writing skills to spoken word decreases substantially. This issue with students not being comfortable or confident in speaking English opened the door for Li Yang's Crazy English method of teaching.
Yang, like many others, struggled with speaking in English. In preparation for his TEM 4 English exam, Yang found that while practicing English he would often time find himself shouting English passages and class exercises aloud; this made him more confident. After only four months of using his new method of studying Yang placed second in his class on the exam.
After graduating Yang started to work as an electrical engineer but also taught English in his spare time using his method of teaching English as a “shouted language”. He later quit his job in 1994 to start his own English teaching company “Li Yang English Promotion Studio" to promote his technique" which he named “Crazy English”.
One major contribution to Crazy English's rise to fame was director Zhang Yuan's 1999 documentary Fengkuang Yingyu (“Crazy English”) which gained Crazy English attention, especially in the Western world. Li believes that most Chinese are brought up with modesty and a lack of confidence—that they are afraid of losing face in front of family, friends, educators, and even strangers. Common English teaching methods in China reflect this fear of failure and accommodate students by allowing them to learn English without practicing speaking, preparing dialogues, or giving individual oral presentations. Another opposer comments that Li does not spend effort on structuring any cohesion between vocabulary or sentences; he assumes that students get enough of that in the classroom. Instead, he uses “crazy” sentences shouted at high decibels and funny hand movements to engage his audience in participation. In additional challenger also notes that students rarely – if ever – are presented with a situation in which they need just to parrot a native speaker. Another argues that because of Crazy English many students have come to believe that English has no standards which results in their English not sounding American or British.