He graduated in 1990 and went on to work for the Northwest Electronic Equipment Institute in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
Today, his method has gained significant popularity in China, and Li himself has attained celebrity status.
The fundamentals of Li Yang's inspirational techniques for remembering English words (shouting the words out loud) were for purely selfish interests, that of allowing Li Yang to preserve some dignity after failing thirteen exams in his first year of study.
In what Li refers to as "tongue muscle training", (a self-devised combination of listening, reading, speaking, writing, and translation, with grammar books put aside), he not only achieved the second highest mark in the school when he took the Level 4 National English Exam for collegie students four months later, but after presenting a lecture to classmates on how to speak good English, he founded what is today, the best known English language program in China.
His personal motto is "stimulating patriotism, advocating national spirits, conquering English, revitalizing China.
While Li Yang at first did not respond to the allegations, he later admitted the accusations were true and apologized via his official microblog to his wife and three children.
The case gained national attention and raised discussions over domestic violence and was subject of a feature presentation on the TV program Legal Report.
Mr Li's statement came more than a week after his wife, Kim Lee, posted photographs of her bloodied and bruised face on the internet, opening her husband to a barrage of criticism."
"Seeing that you were having make-up applied for a TV appearance while I was in hospital hurts more than you slamming my head on the floor," she wrote on Weibo.