Despite government measures to attract and retain more rural teachers - including higher salaries, subsidies and even free college education for trainee teachers who commit to working in rural areas for a certain period - numbers continue to fall.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Education, there were 4.7 million rural teachers in 2010, but the number fell to 3.3 million in 2013.

In response, experts have suggested that online learning could be the answer to the problem.

High ambitions

For Luo Zhifang, Yang's classmate, every minute of the online English class is the highlight of her week. She spends a lot of time preparing before class so she can be the first student to answer the teacher's questions, including role-playing with Yang during class breaks to practice speaking English.

One time, Elizabeth (the teacher from the United States) showed the class a clip from the TV show America's Got Talent of Tan Zhiyun, a 9-year-old Chinese girl with "huge lungs" singing Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On.

Luo was mesmerized. "Elizabeth told me I have a beautiful voice and will become a good singer if I keep practicing," said the 11-year-old, who loves singing and is a good dancer. "Someday, I might become a superstar and tour the world."

The online English program at the school was launched in 2016 by VIPKID, an education provider in Beijing.

According to Zhong Haomei, head of the company's public relations department, by August, the 300-plus foreign teachers on the platform had taught about 3,000 classes at more than 300 rural schools.

A screen is set up in the classroom so the students can see their teacher in real time via the online learning platform, Zhong said, adding that remote tuition is an excellent way of overcoming the teacher shortage in rural schools.