When the answer finally came to him, he quit his job at an IT company and went into business himself.

Xu's new company is offering English training over the telephone, and a growing number of locals are signing up for lessons.

Since Xu, 39, began placing ads in local newspapers three months ago, some 600 people have called for information about the classes and about 100 -- mainly office workers -- have begun taking lessons.

With the number of students increasing 40 percent every month, Xu's idea is definitely showing promise, although he does have his critics.

"There are a great number of locals that wish to upgrade their spoken English in the city, but according to my survey many are too busy to go to night schools," Xu explained. "So, I come up with this idea. It's very convenient."

Currently, students pay 750 yuan (US$90) for a one-year membership in the program, which allows them to call the telephone teachers as often as they want between 1 pm and 9 pm during the week. The course will soon be expanded to weekends to account for growing demand, although prices are also expected to rise.

Xu recruited five graduates from either college or university English programs to work the phones, helping students with their pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar as well as just giving them an opportunity to practice their English.

"I will recruit more high-level English professionals if the business keeps increasing during the second half of this year," said Xu.

While some education professionals have questioned the value of teaching English by phone, Xu said his customers know what to expect and are pleased with the service they receive.

"Because we make it clear what kind of instructors we have and what kind of instruction is available, most participants are satisfied," he said. "Only four have quit."

When a customer first calls, instructors do a short assessment of their language skills and start a file on the student so other teachers know what to expect when the client calls again.

The system has some advantages over classroom learning, according to instructor Han Ye. She said many students are embarrassed to talk in classes because their speaking skills are poor, but they aren't afraid to talk on the phone as no one can see them.

The students get to pick their own topics of conversation, said Han, noting that discussions cover every-thing from movies to business negotiations.

Despite Xu's optimism, his program still incurs questions.

"Telephone chatting is only an auxiliary method to improve one's spoken English unless it can be developed based on a more mature training theory," said Chai Mingjiong, an English professor at Shanghai International Studies University.

Chai also worries about the quality of Xu's teachers.

"If a trainee's English level is higher than the teacher's, such training won't have any effect. Besides, only professional trainers would know how to upgrade a student's ability step by step." said Chai.

(Eastday.com June 24, 2003)