Running Head: ESL INVESTMENT IN CHINA

Investment in ESL Education Business in China:
Making Decisions through Comparison Analysis
Karen Ning
University of Delaware

When English has been recognized as the universal language in globalization (Nunan, 2003), English language service has become a lucrative business in Asian emerging markets, especially in China. A large number of professionals have conducted research regarding English language service in nations where students learn English as a Second Language (ESL). However, it appears that research has stopped since investors started making money from the ESL business. Although private ESL courses have been well received by both children and adults in China in the recent decade, entrepreneurs usually prefer to invest their money in one project to test its market potential in the beginning. Hence, businessmen should at least undertake a comparison analysis involving children’s and adults’ courses before investing their capital in the ESL education business in China. According to Jules Dupuit, a famous economist in nineteenth century (Boardman, Greenberg, Vining, & Weimer, 1996), the evaluation before making a sound investment decision involves comparing the total expected cost of each option against the total expected benefits. Without a doubt, cost, sales record, and long-term benefits are vitally important for ESL education business investors in China today. Low cost is crucial for any competing business. It appears that the selling price cannot be set too high to attract consumers. When the selling prices are approximately at the same level, products with low costs may generate a bigger profit. At the beginning of an ESL business, the capital budget will be spent mainly on facilities, such as classrooms, textbooks, hi-tech equipment, realia etc. Young learners may frequently require using realia,