It takes Huang Jingu, a Grade 4 primary student, 30 minutes to memorize 80 English words and 44 seconds to read and comprehend a 16-page newspaper. The 9-year-old student of Baiyunlu primary school is not exceptional; she is attending a short private training class that promises outstanding memory and speed-reading skills.

The eight-day course costs almost 4,000 yuan (S$817) and has Huang sitting classes on memory, English, study interests and speed-reading.The school is also not exceptional.

Pan Jianchao, president of Tangtech, a school that focuses on improving the skill set, said Beijing had five training schools like his last year. That number has climbed to 15 this year.

And there is demand to go with supply, with Tangtech receiving more than 300 students this year for summer vacation classes in Beijing and 4,000 nationwide - a 50 and 80 percent increase respectively, compared with last year.

Huang's father Huang Jin'e is pleased with his daughter's performance.

"She remembers things much faster than before. It used to take her forever to memorize a few English words," he said.

"China's education system places a lot of emphasis on recitation, so this method will help a lot."

Rapid memory recall has gained popularity among parents after a primary school girl recited The Book of Family Names at the 2010 Spring Festival Gala.

He said the World Memory Championships, which will be held in Guangzhou this year, also contributes to popularizing the skill.

"Rapid memory recall and speed-reading are ways to save and access details. They are powerful abilities, especially in the era of information explosion," he said.

"Once students grasp these methods, they will benefit for their whole life."