In order to guarantee the reliability and representativeness of the research findings，this book selects the advertisements of the English training organizations on a strict basis of three criteria：

The first is that the organization must be officially registered and have conducted business in English teaching and training for no less than three years.This criterion is adopted due to my observation of the fierce competition of the English training market in China and the difficulty some newcomers confront when trying to survive.It keeps out the possibility that the promotional leaflets of some short-lived and transient English teaching organizations be used as the basis of interpretation of both the genre and the social and cultural implications of this rising industry.

Secondly，the organization must have at least a centre located either in its own independent building or in the office buildings for rent at the time of this research work.This is due to the observation that the offices or centers of some English teaching organizations have been closed when visited.

Thirdly，having its own website is another criterion because it is assumed that a healthy and developing company usually pays attention to the promotion of its brand name and public image through the quickest and most effective media in the information age.These selecting criteria make it possible to check and further explore the research findings in this book.

97 print materials of 14 English language schools in Haidian district，Beijing were collected.These materials include leaflets，company brochures，and flyers.Most of them were taken from the display shelf of propaganda materials at the reception place of these training schools，a few others were picked from the street，bookstore or the promotional desk at the entrance of shopping malls.All of them were collected from the end of 2008 to the end of 2009.Table 3.2 lists the names of the companies whose advertising materials are used in this study and their respective strategies of targeting.

Table 3.2　Companies whose advertising materials are used

The types and quantity of the materials in each of these sources are listed in Table 3.3.

Table 3.3　The sources，types and numbers of the materials