Findlay A. Nicol in class in Jinan, Shandong province. Photo provided to China Daily

Findlay A. Nicol, a 67-year-old Scot, had no intention of living in Jinan, a city he hadn't even heard of about 15 years ago. But he did.

Nicol was teaching Latin and Greek in a Scotland school when he was offered a job to teach in Shandong Economic University for one year in 1997. "Some of my friends who visited China in the early 1980s told me that I needed to bring many things with me because I couldn't buy those things in China."

Even though Nicol had no idea of what kind of city Jinan was, he decided to give it a try, because he thought if things didn't work out he could always return to Scotland in one year.

Things turned out to be totally different than what Nicol had imagined. The result: he has been enjoying the city and his work both for 15 years.

"When I came to Jinan, (I found that) the city was more Western than I expected and China was not as poor as I had imagined," he says, adding that a friendship store which was only for foreigners impressed him deeply.

"I feel I am very lucky. I enjoyed the job very much and I enjoyed Jinan very much. So when I was invited to teach for another year, I said okay."

During his 15 years in Jinan, Nicol has devised his own teaching style. Teaching methods vary according to the targets, he says. He puts emphasis on creating "non-threatening opportunities" for students who want to improve their spoken English to enable them to speak out bravely.

Inviting students to his home has now become a regular affair for him. "They are my guests. When your guests come to visit you, you don't tell them what to speak about. You talk about anything that you are interested in," Nicol says. "In a situation that there are no comments on their English, they will make an effort to speak the language."

This is also why Nicol suggests Chinese teachers change their teaching method by shrinking the size of their classes. "Some of my Chinese colleagues who teach English have a class of around 1,000 students. With such a large class, you can't have a chance to speak English."