Enjoyable lessons

Lin Huihao, who comes from a town in Xiangyang city, Hubei province, spends half his monthly income of 3,000 yuan on learning English. He is enjoying the lessons and is preparing to hold conversations with foreigners, even though he doesn't encounter them often at present.

"I believe learning English can help broaden my horizons and open up opportunities," said Lin, 24, who works in a restaurant and has taken online classes in the language for a year.

He said that during these classes he is asked to answer "yes" or "no" to questions, as long as he can provide a justifiable reason, which is different to his experience of learning English at school.

According to English-language providers, growth in the adult market in lower-tier regions will accelerate in coming years as online education continues to thrive, which will lead to lower tuition fees.

The benefits of online classes include flexible times, no travel costs, and personalized content to match users' professional backgrounds and interests.

Industry insiders said the relatively low cost of such classes compared with those at offline schools has allowed instruction providers to survive in small cities, where people are more price sensitive, the number of learners is relatively low, and there is a shortage of good teachers.

Moreover, the post-1980 and post-1990 generations－the main group of adults learning English－are more accustomed to the internet compared with older people and will more easily embrace online learning.

According to a report published by domestic independent monitoring provider O'Ratings, the number of users of livestreaming－which enables instruction and knowledge-sharing online－who are younger than 40 is significantly higher than for other age groups.

ITutorGroup said new forms of online English-language education products emphasizing the merits of artificial intelligence and physical teachers will be a future trend.

AI will enable content suitable for self-study, while physical teachers will handle in-depth explanations and take questions, it said.