The ‘Crazy English’ Movement is Even Crazier Than English Itself
Validating all compulsive public shouters trying to learn English
Imagine. It’s 1999. It’s China. There is a lot of global uncertainty. Will all global bank accounts crash when January 1, 2000 rolls forward? Will time just stop altogether at the turn of the century?
Fast forward….nope. All good.
But one thing was for certain even in 1999; English was a ticket on a one-way train to internationalization.
And, in the overlap between the uncertainty of the times and the allure for English was born the strangest phenomenon, which at some point became comparable to a cult. And, hundreds of my university English students from China were part of it and have told me about it first-hand.
To illustrate, let’s imagine a more specific experience.
Imagine walking in the most luscious Chinese gardens while inhaling peace and Zen. Imagine this peace being rudely interrupted by a stranger yelling at the top of their lungs “THE BOOK IS ON THE TABLE” over and over again while flailing her arms in a mad fit of rage.
Imagine the “WTF”s floating around your head like a halo of stars.
This scene was actually happening among millions of people all over China.
This movement, my friends, was so popular that it had its own term: “Crazy English” known to some as “Li Yang Crazy English.” And crazy it was indeed.
It is the language learning lunacy equivalent of burning stacks of cash.
To this day, it is considered one of the most controversial, unorthodox, and popular language-learning methodologies of all time.
Let’s pop a crazy pill and step inside the madness for a few minutes.
The Mad Man
This highly unconventional method of language learning was invented by a man as crazy as his method, Li Yang. For this reason, the method cannot be understood in absence of the man.
When Li first popularized “Crazy English,” he was characterized by his spiky bleach-blond hair, thick steampunk glasses, and mad professor wardrobe such as a black tie with giant yellow smiley emojis.
They say crazy is as crazy does. And boy does this guy “do crazy”.
Why was he shouting random English phrases at the top of his lungs in rapid succession while waving his arms as if he were conducting a symphony?
He attributed his method to being a shy and failed student at school. In one interview, Li said, “I was tofu scum, unworthy to eat even jellyfish.”
He clearly was looking to up-skill his protein and up-shift to eating squid. He must have been angry about his low food chain status, which is when he started shouting about it.
He claims that after only three or four months of practicing his English ‘Tourette’s syndrome’ technique, he felt confident and capable.
This confidence would eventually lead him to become a Chinese Tony Robbins’, or a god of motivational speaking. This confidence would make him a millionaire in a ‘rags to riches’ storytelling jaw-dropper.
His personal success story became the driver for the inspiration and authenticity of the Crazy English movement.
The Mad Method
Li believes that Crazy English breaks down common barriers to language learning for Chinese students, including the fear of “losing face.” In China, the cultural fear of losing face creates considerable anxiety about making mistakes in front of others.
Many students entirely gave up speaking English. Perhaps because of this issue, many English classes in China would focus on reading and writing, rather than listening and speaking.
Although a lot has changed since then, Chinese English students at that time would stereotypically excel at English grammar but demonstrated limited oral fluency.
Crazy English was the solution to gain enough oral confidence to approach native English speakers with small talk. I should hope that this small talk would not involve a bunch of yelling!
A: HI. HOW ARE YOU?
B: Why are you yelling?
A: I’M NOT YELLING. I’M BEING CONFIDENT.
B: Can you be confident a little more quietly?
With today’s advanced knowledge of second language acquisition, the pedagogical and psychological techniques of Crazy English are understood to be questionable and outright dubious.
In my Masters of Applied Linguistics degree, we studied dozens of language learning methodologies with zero mention of the Crazy Engish method. How could this unique method have slipped through the cracks?
Well, there is insufficient evidence that yelling obscure phrases into the wild increases language proficiency or language confidence.
Shocking isn’t it?
The Fan Following
Li Yang, quite quickly into his journey, promoted his crazy method in mass lecture halls all across China. There were motivational speeches to the likes of Tony Robbins, and these speeches attracted crowds as large as Rolling Stone stadium concerts.
He had such a large following that the Chinese government unusually granted him permits to “perform” in the sacred Forbidden City.
There was considerable audience interaction during such ‘performances’ as spectators would recite his slogans and energetically wave their arms in unison.
Li’s most frequently repeated slogan was “CRAZY ENGLISH! CRAZY LIFE! CRAZY WORLD! I LOVE THIS CRAZY GAME, SO LET’S GO!” Adorable, right?
There was music.
There was shouting.
There was mad arm flailing.
It was 1990s gospel China.
The Crazy Result
It is estimated that about 30 million people have attended at least one of the Crazy English lectures. Li has authored over 100 books.
Revenues are driven, even today, with sales from CDs, videos, books, and computer programs. At one point, Li Yang’s materials were the most popular pirated materials sold with titles such as “Crack English”.
Li hopes that the Chinese people will use English to “defeat their enemies” economically and restore China’s former position as the leading world power.
This notion and China’s economic acceleration may have even contributed to the success of the program. The people who “bought in” did so with the additional hope of helping China rise to a global super-status position.
Looking back, Li Yang was half enthusiastic teacher and half motivational speaker. He was equal parts a performer, a salesman, and likely a fraud. And most oddly, he was a man of the people and a man of the revolution- a revolution that goes beyond English mania.
More recently, Li Yang has dug an even deeper hole for himself in the land of psycho. He was accused of domestic violence against his wife and physical abuse against his children. He publicly admitted to his “problematic” behavior. I will spare you the details. You’re welcome.
Now…. if only I could wave my arms and yell at him, “YOUR ENGLISH METHODS ARE A FRAUD” over and over again.
What? I can dream crazy.
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