Disney English

File:DisneyEnglish.jpg Since the mid-1980s, Disney had licensed its characters out to other English-language training programs.{{cite news|last1=Garrahan|first1=Matthew|last2=Saperstein|first2=Annie|title=Disney to expand language schools in China|url=https://www.ft.com/content/4d6cfd1a-8932-11df-8ecd-00144feab49a?mhq5j=e2|access-date=June 29, 2017|work=Financial Times|date=July 6, 2010}} The first center, located on Maoming Road in Shanghai, China, was opened in September 2008.{{cite news|last1=Thorniley|first1=Tessa|title=Battle intensifies for $2bn English-teaching business in China|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/jul/13/china-english-schools|access-date=June 29, 2017|work=The Guardian|date=July 13, 2010}} By July 2010, the company had 11 schools in 2 cities, eight in Shanghai and three in Beijing. While the English language instruction market had double since 2005 to $3.1 billion, 30,000 organizations or companies offered private classes in 2010. Addition outlets for the curriculum were under consideration in 2010, distance learning program and a retail language training package.

The opening of additional learning centers coincides with the development of the Shanghai Disneyland Park.{{cite web|title=Disney seeks 'cast members' to teach English in China|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2012/01/10/disney-seeks-cast-members-teach-english.html|publisher=L.A. Biz|access-date=18 November 2012|date=January 10, 2012}}{{cite book|last=Jandt|first=Fred E.|title=An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JPb-tb_RmGEC&pg=PA291|access-date=19 November 2012|date=2 February 2012|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-1-4129-9287-9|page=291}} The entry into the English teaching market is expected to provide Disney with additional growth opportunities.{{cite news|last=Yu|first=Howard|title=Rethinking strategy to escape commoditization|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/01/21/rethinking-strategy-escape-commoditization.html|access-date=18 November 2012|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|date=January 21, 2012}}

With the launch of Disney English, several unauthorized schools using the Disney name or characters have been closed.{{cite web |title=Bogus 'Disney' school told to refund parents |publisher=Shanghai Daily |url =http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200902/20090204/article_389809.htm|access-date=2009-03-11}}

In 2011, Disney English was named a finalist in two categories for the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers. The categories included Life Skills and Character Education and The Arts.http://www.aepweb.org/aepweb/index.php/awards/student-journalism-contest/winners/633-2011-student-publishing-winners.html {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}

On June 4, 2012, in Washington DC, Disney English was presented with a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) for Whole Curriculum Programs ELL/ESL.{{Cite web |url=http://www.aepweb.org/daa-winners/2012-daa-supplemental-resources-winners.html |title=2012 DAA Supplemental Resources Winners | Awards | Association of Educational Publishers |access-date=2020-06-23 |archive-date=2013-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102072403/http://www.aepweb.org/daa-winners/2012-daa-supplemental-resources-winners.html |url-status=dead }}

In its Fiscal Year 2013 Annual Report, The Walt Disney Company stated that the company owned and operated 44 learning centers in 11 cities across China.https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/w/NYSE_DIS_2013.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}

On June 22, 2020, Disney English announced the permanent closure of all 26 training centers.{{Cite web|title=Disney English quits China after 12 years|url=https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2006220691/|access-date=2020-06-22|website=SHINE|language=en}}

The program was designed with an advisory board of academics specialized in English language teaching. An advisory panel of 19 international educators and early childhood experts to the program included Dr. Jun Liu, head of the English Department at the University of Arizona and former President of TESOL; Dr. Renee Cherow-O'Leary,{{cite web|url=http://www.disneyenglish.com/en/about-us/#OurPeople |title=Disney English – Passion for English |access-date=2012-11-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113154315/http://www.disneyenglish.com/en/about-us/ |archive-date=2012-11-13 }} Professor, English Education, Teacher's College, Columbia University;{{cite web |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-cherow-o-leary-67b7726/ |title=Renee Cherow-O'Leary |website=LinkedIn}} Dr. Peiya Gu, Professor of English at Soochow University (Suzhou); and Dr. Dilin Liu, Professor of English and Coordinator of the TESOL/Applied Linguistics Program at University of Alabama.

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|quote = The program is not a Western program but rather a global program that gives children a chance to combine what they know locally with the opportunity to see things globally.

|source = -Andrew Sugerman, former General Manager of Disney English

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Disney English used an immersive environment{{cite web|url=http://www.tefllife.com/special-disney-project |title=Special Disney Project | TEFL Jobs in China | TEFL International |access-date=2012-11-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102005950/http://www.tefllife.com/special-disney-project |archive-date=2012-11-02 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.happycatstefl.com/tefl-jobs/disney-english-join-the-adventure/ |title=Disney English… Join the Adventure! |publisher=Happycatstefl.com |date=2012-12-07 |access-date=2013-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116120604/http://www.happycatstefl.com/tefl-jobs/disney-english-join-the-adventure/ |archive-date=2013-01-16 |url-status=dead }} approach that focused on the claims of multiple intelligences and experiential learning and on communication.{{cite web|url=http://www.disneyenglish.com/en/about-us/#Methodology |title=Disney English – Passion for English |access-date=2012-11-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113154315/http://www.disneyenglish.com/en/about-us/ |archive-date=2012-11-13 }} The program incorporated singing, interactive games, role-play and other activities aiming to engage children with the language. Classes averaged only 12{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} with a maximum of 15 and are given 1.5 to 2 hours per week.{{cite journal|author=Michael Wei|author2=Margaret Conley|name-list-style=amp|date=June 9, 2011|title=Some Chinese Kids' First English Word: Mickey|journal=BusinessWeek|issue=June 13–19, 2011|pages=24–25|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_25/b4233024744691.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920025225/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_25/b4233024744691.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 20, 2011}} The program cost about 12,000 yuan for 96 hours of instruction.

Classes were taught by native English speaking foreign trainers and local bilingual assistant trainers. While teaching, Disney English's foreign trainers were trained in TEFL-C.

Each classroom was equipped with an interactive whiteboard, an adjacent projection wall, and a sound system. A typical center had 5 to 10 classrooms, each themed with a specific Disney property. The flagship center on Maoming Road in Shanghai, China had classrooms themed to: Snow White, The Lion King, Cars, Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Winnie The Pooh and Toy Story.

The program had been cited as an effort to establish the Disney brand in China. "US entertainment giant Disney saw this as a unique opportunity to teach English to small children, while at the same time establishing an {{sic|exten|tion}} of its branded products and characters across the country."{{cite web |url=http://umachaka.com/ESL |title=English as a Second Language |publisher=Umachaka.com |access-date=2013-03-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205032500/http://umachaka.com/ESL |archive-date=2013-02-05 }} Shang Yang, chairman of Shangyang Enterprise Management Consulting has stated that "They're [Disney] starting years early, brainwashing Chinese children and cultivating them as potential clients in a very indirect, yet penetrating fashion."{{cite web|author=Michael Wei|author2=Margaret Conley|author3=Bloomberg Businessweek|name-list-style=amp |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Disney-English-small-world-for-Chinese-students-2368292.php |title=Disney English: small world for Chinese students |publisher=SFGate |date=2011-06-13 |access-date=2013-03-29}} Mary Bergstrom, founder of Bergstrom Group, a Shanghai consultancy, stated: "What Disney is doing now in China is growing a future consumer base." As Wang Bing, an analyst at Philip Securities Research in Shanghai puts it, "Being surrounded by all sorts of Disney products and characters, it's almost impossible for parents and their children not to love Disney."

One author stated that Disney English was an example of childhood marketing{{cite book|last1=McLoughlin|first1=Damien|last2=Aaker|first2=David A.|title=Strategic Market Management: Global Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tpW22FvYvn8C&pg=PA218|access-date=10 June 2011|date=24 May 2010|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=978-0-470-68975-2|page=218}}{{cite book|last=Institute|first=Worldwatch|title=State of the world, 2010: transforming cultures : from consumerism to sustainability : a Worldwatch Institute report on progress toward a sustainable society|url=https://archive.org/details/stateofworld201000worl_0|url-access=registration|access-date=10 June 2011|date=11 January 2010|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-33726-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/stateofworld201000worl_0/page/64 64]}} and preceded the development of the Shanghai Disneyland Park.

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| video1 = [https://www.bloomberg.com/video/69624288-m-i-c-k-e-y-teaches-china-to-speak-english-love-disney.html M-I-C-K-E-Y Teaches China to Speak English, Love Disney], Bloomberg

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081119144635/http://disneyenglish.com/ Disney English Official Website]

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Category:Disney Publishing Worldwide

Category:Schools of English as a second or foreign language

Category:Education companies of China

Category:Companies based in Shanghai

Category:Education companies established in 2008

Category:Glendale, California

Category:Language schools in China