English - Disney or Oxford?

I was chatting with a freelance Canadian English teacher in a bar on Saturday whilst watching Wales beat Scotland in the 6 Nations. He told me how he had to hold the line on Oxford English in his lessons as students were picking up American spellings. There is a massive demand for English teachers in China and even the official market results show the market has doubled in the last five years. The FT recently captured the spirit for English in the caption: "English craze speaks volumes about Chinese aspirations" (FT 20 Jan 2010). But, which English? There is a battle on between Oxford English and US English. The influence of Hong Kong and the presence of Australians in education has maintained the line so far. At CEIBS (China Europe International Business School), Oxford English and the "correct" spelling of "Centre" prevails. The China Daily largely holds the Oxford line (but not entirely) and my new Canadian friend feels that the Commonwealth is putting up a good fight for Oxford.

However, recent strategies by the Disney corporation are moving swiftly in attracting young children enticed by Mickey to speak English his way. We recently called into Disney English in Shanghai and were amazed to find them taking in children as young as two years old. Keen parents crowd into a small room whilst their little ones are taught English the Disney way after normal school. But 22 year-olds are also desperate to learn. The FT quotes 22 year old Yang Qian, a recent computer sciences graduate, who attends English classes. "This is something I have to do. If I want to have the sort of job that I am looking for, I need to be better at speaking English, " says Mr Yang.

Entrepreneurial English language businesses are rife led by New Oriental and Crazy English whose motto is "Conquering English - Revitalising China". Should be a doddle for the Chinese: 26 letters instead of 25,000 characters.