Mickey Mouse might not be the most obvious choice as a language teacher but he and Donald Duck are being put to work in China by Walt Disney as part of a rapid expansion of a schools programme aiming to teach English to 150,000 children a year by 2015.

Disney, which has identified Shanghai as the location of its next theme park, is the first western media company to operate schools in China. It owns a handful in Shanghai and recently opened its first in Beijing.

After a successful trial phase Russell Hampton, president of Disney Publishing Worldwide, said the company wanted to expand from 11 to 148 schools across China in five years. “It is a very sizable opportunity, something that can deliver operating earnings of well over $100m in the next five years,” he said in an interview.

The schools are open to children aged one to 11 and use a curriculum featuring Mickey Mouse, the Little Mermaid and other Disney characters.

The growing Chinese middle class means there is no shortage of parents willing to pay $2,200 a year for tuition of two hours a week. But the schools also enable Disney to forge an early bond with a new generation of consumers who may be unaware of the company's characters and stories.

Mr Hampton said Disney had licensed its characters to other English language training schemes for the past 25 years but decided to develop its own programme and run its own schools when it noticed surging demand in China.

“We wouldn't enter this business just to use it as a marketing tool to get Disney in front of people,” he said. “But there's no doubt that a side benefit is broader exposure to Chinese consumers and to build familiarity with the rich heritage of Disney story telling.”

Government media controls and quotas restricting the number of films that can be shown in cinemas have prevented Disney from establishing its brand in China in the way it has in Europe and the US.

The success of the programme has convinced the company to explore other markets. “The next 12 months will be focused on rapid expansion [in China],” said Mr Hampton. But it was also “a very exciting time to invest in Brazil”.

Disney is considering a distance learning scheme based on the curriculum it developed, as well as a language training package that can be bought in retail outlets. “We think the opportunity is broader than 150,000 kids per year,” Mr Hampton said.