As expats stay?in China?longer, surely they want to do
more than just lunching, going to nightclubs?... right?
American Nick Dido thinks so and now runs the Expat Learning
Center, offering classes like Web design, wine appreciation, and
photography.
Two years ago an American professor sat at home talking to his
wife. He told her that he missed teaching adult English literature
classes in the United States and would like to teach them once
again in Shanghai.
After looking around for a place that offered such a class, he
soon discovered that there were none offered part time.
It was this realization that led Nick Dido to found the Shanghai
Expat Learning Center.
"I came to China about five years ago, because it is the most
exciting place on Earth. China is the new undisputed land of
opportunity, the place where dreams really can come true," says
Dido.
However, in terms of opportunity, one thing that was missing was
the potential for foreigners to pursue their interests and develop
their skills in certain areas.
"I realized that there was no place for expats to take part-time
classes in subjects, such as photography, art, interior design,
fashion design, filmmaking, and so one. These kinds of courses are
typically available at local colleges back in the West, but nothing
was being offered here," explains the New Yorker.
Now the center has filled this void by offering classes in over
30 subjects in English.
They include courses by professionals, including Chinese
traditional medicine, computer basics, world literature, stress
management, personal finance, Web design, fine wine appreciation,
drawing and painting, even practical German.
Dido started his teaching career in summer camps and by coaching
younger children when he was just 15. He was a teacher all his
working life.
After arriving in China, the expat taught kindergarten, courses
in corporate training, and then graduate students at Zhongshan
University in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.
The Expat Learning Center courses are not your typical
textbook-approach to learning, but rather a very hands-on,
workshop-style, he explains.
"All of our classes are taught by foreign instructors who are
professionals working in their respective industry. So our
fashion-design teacher actually works full-time as a fashion
designer and comes to our center to teach part time," he says.
Most of the centers' teachers have been found through word of
mouth. "People are always calling us, proposing new courses and
other wonderful ideas."
The teachers act as a window for the students to look into an
industry or field and get answers to the questions they have about
a subject.
"Many of our students take these intensive introduction courses
in order to see if it is something that they would like to pursue
more seriously, perhaps on a professional level. Several of our
students already started their own small-scale business after
completing one of our courses, for example, as a freelance
photographer or interior designer."
Dido estimates that 60 percent of the students are expat
spouses, and the other 40 percent are working professionals who
want to take classes in their spare time.
Students come from all around the world, six continents; but, of
course, they all have two things in common, they can speak English
and they love to learn.
"I knew that more and more expats were staying longer and longer
in China, and that many of them must surely want to do something
interesting like take a class, instead of just lunching, shopping,
spas, and nightclubs. Well, after almost two years, we have proven
that it is true. Many foreigners really do want to follow their own
dreams, whether they are discovering the budding novelist within
them or perhaps they just want to learn how to design their own
Website."
For more information, please check www.shanghai-classes.com.
(Shanghai Daily April 6, 2007)