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Archive
#205 Food for strength
Date: 26 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you know what food can help you recover from fatigue quickly?
What food can boost your stamina?
Do you know what food can keep your brain and bones strong and also help your weight control?
#204 Food for the brain
Date: 25 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
Have you ever blamed yourself for not being smart enough?
Do you have any ways to make yourself smarter?
Did you know there are some kinds of food which can improve your brain power?
#203 Food to help you sleep better
Date: 24 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you heard of the famous poet in Song Dynasty China, Li Qingzhao?
Can you sleep well?
If you can’t fall asleep at night, what can you do?
Did you know that there are some kinds of food which can naturally help you sleep better?
#202 Food for body weight control
Date: 23 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Taking about losing weight, most people would think of doing exercises or going on diet. Did you know that we could actually keep our body in good shape and avoid obesity just by eating the right kind of food?
#201 Food for Beauty
Date: 22 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you know how to eat to make yourself look beautiful?
Do you know what food can improve your skin?
#200 Nobel Prize winner – Mo Yan (莫言)
Date: 12 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you heard of the winner of Nobel Prize in Literature 2012 Mo Yan?
Do you know what Mo Yan was strong for in writing?
Did you know he was a French by nationality at the time of receiving the Nobel Prize?
#199 Nobel Prize winner – Gao Xingjian (高行健)
Date: 11 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
Have you heard of the winner of Nobel Prize in Literature 2012 Gai Xingjian
Did you know that Gao was forced to destroy his early writings and sent to a reeducation camp during the Cultural Revolution?
#198 Famous Chinese poet – Li Qingzhao (李清照)
Date: 10 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you heard of the famous poet in Song Dynasty China, Li Qingzhao?
Did you know what is special about Li Qingzhao? She was not just a distinguished poet but a female one in a male-dominated Chinese society at that time.
#197 Bai Juyi (白居易)
Date: 9 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you know the poet by the name of Bai Juyi?
Did you know that Bai Juyi’s
#196 Li Bai (李白)
Date: 8 June 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Everyone has heard of the Chinese poet Li Bai. But do you know where he came from?
Can you recite one of the poems he wrote?
#195 Methods of learning – Memory Improvement Methods
Date: 29 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you ever experienced difficulty in memorizing your lesson materials before the exam?
Did you know there are effective ways to boost your memory power?
Are you aware of some useful ways to remember things quickly?
#194 Methods of learning – By rote memorization
Date: 28 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
Do you like to learn things by memorization?
Many people say that learning by hard memorization is outdated and ineffective. Do you agree?
#193 Method of learning – Active learning
Date: 27 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Are you aware of any effective learning methods which can help you study better?
Have you heard of such fun-based learning methods like mind-mapping/brainstorming, scavenger hunts, role playing, jigsaw learning, flipped classroom and game-based learning?
Did you know that these different kinds of effective methods of learning are all based on the central idea of active learning?
#192 Learning Method: Teaching, writing, spacing, changing, taking a break and sub-dividing
Date: 26 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you know there are six scientifically proven ways to learn faster and retain what you have learned well? Try to find out from the article of this exercise.
#191 Method of learning – Peer Learning
Date: 25 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you heard of “peer learning”?
Do you know how peer learning can help you achieve higher grades in your study?
#190 Winner of the Nobel Prize for mathematician in 2020 Furstensberg
Date: 15 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you know who is the winner of the new Nobel Prize of mathematics?
Do you know what Professor Hillel Furstenberg is famous for?
#189 The great mathematician Al-Khwarizmi
Date: 14 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
Have you heard of the famous Moslem mathematician, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi who lived in the 9th century?
Do you know where the word “algebra” came from?
#188 The great mind, Einstein, and his God Letter
Date: 13 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you know who was Albert Einstein.
Do you know anything about his God Letter?
#187 How powerful is our brain?
Date: 12 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you think the brain or the computer is more powerful?
Have you heard of “neurons”? Do you know what functions they play in your brain?
#186 Fun Facts about the Brain: Interesting facts about the human brain
Date: 11 May 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you know what kind of food can help improve your brain memory?
Do you think dieting harms your brain?
3Do you think stress can kill your brain cells?
#185 Essay Writing Tip – How to make referencing?
Date: 24 April 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you make referencing in your assignments? Did you know that good assignment work should contain proper referencing?
How can we make sure we are making accurate references in our assignments?
How does referencing help you gain marks from your marker?
#184 Essay Writing Tip – How to write a good conclusion?
Date: 23 April 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
Do you feel most relaxed when you come to writing the conclusion of an essay?
Are you aware of the methods for writing a good conclusion?
#183 Essay Writing Tip – How to Write an Introduction?
Date: 22 April 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Did you know the introduction of an essay is very important? It gives the first impression of your essay to the reader?
Do you know how to write an effective introduction?
How to make your introduction short and focused?
#182 Essay Writing Tip – Structuring an Assignment Essay
Date: 21 April 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What are the three common elements which should be included in all different kinds of assignment essays?
What are the six common kinds of essays you are often asked to write?
#181 Essay Writing Tip – Using the Mind Map
Date: 20 April 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What is a mind map?
How is a mind map different from brainstorming?
What are three effective steps for creating a mind map?
#180 Five prestigious awards: the International Indian Film Academy Awards
Date: 27 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
The most famous film industry in the world is indisputably Hollywood in the US, but they are not the largest producer of movies. Where is the largest producer?
If Hollywood is associated with film making, what does “Bollywood” represent?
Where is Bombay? And how it is related to the making of the celebrated Bollywood culture?
A charismatic, funny, talented actor, Aamir Khan has performed in the lead role in many Hindi movies. Have you seen any of those?
#179 Five prestigious awards: the BAFTA Awards
Date: 26 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
“And the Oscar goes to....” Do you remember the SEE U Daily English Practice exercise posted on this site, dated 15 March 2019?
Britain has an award celebrating the cinematic art equivalent to America’s Academy Awards, and they call it the BAFTA Awards. What does BAFTA stand for?
Which BAFTA-winning movie has impressed you most?
#178 Five prestigious awards: The Booker Prize
Date: 25 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Writing, like any other creative process, requires much hard work and great discipline. Some people believe that good writing is simply the result of stroke of inspiration. What are your personal experiences in creative writing?
Some people think that writing is a therapeutic process, and the writer gets rewarded in the very process of writing itself. No external recognition will be sought after. Do you know of any writer like that?
Good writing draws intelligent readers, and it should be properly recognized in terms of monetary rewards or an award. Do you agree with that?
While the Pulitzer Prize is only awarded to an American writer, the Booker Prize is reserved for the British. What do you know about the Booker Prize?
#177 Five prestigious awards: The Pulitzer Prize
Date: 24 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
When you buy a book with “Winner of the Pulitzer Prize” featured on its cover, would that add to your confidence in the quality of the writing?
The Pulitzer Prize is an important recognition for many aspiring writers. What is the Pulitzer Prize?
Can you pronounce the word “Pulitzer” in the Pulitzer Prize? Do you say /ˈpʊlɪtsə/? Or /ˈpju:lɪtsə/? Or /ˈpʌlɪtsə/?
#176 Five prestigious awards: The Nobel Prize
Date: 23 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
In what field do you find yourself most distinguishable?
Have you ever won an award?
Have you ever dreamt one day you might win a Nobel Prize?
Are you excited about who has won the Nobel Prize this year?
#175 Five messages of love and peace: the Holy Qur’an
Date: 20 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Besides the Holy Bible, which other book has been most widely read book in the history of human civilization?
Similarly to how sometimes the Bible is received, why do some people appear resistant to being talked to about the Holy Qur’an?
Do you see any differences among religious faith, organized religion, and politics?
#174 Five messages of love and peace: the Holy Bible
Date: 19 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
The Holy Bible is reputedly known as the most widely read book in the history of human civilization. What makes it such as great book?
Why do some people appear resistant to being talked to about the Holy Bible?
Do you see a difference between religious faith and (organized) religion?
#173 Five messages of love and peace: Tao Te Ching
Date: 18 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Who is Confucius? Who is Laozi?
Why do we respect ancient people so much?
What is a sage?
Who in the modern age do you consider a sage?
#172 Five messages of love and peace: the Heart Sutra
Date: 17 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
“Form is emptiness; emptiness is form.” If this quote sounds familiar to you, can you recall where it comes from?
Today’s highlight is the literary classic the Heart Sutra. There are indeed many such “sutras.” What exactly is a sutra?
In the 21st century, fewer people than before can be seen reading the traditional, paper-based books. Do you still see value in the preservation of the print media?
#171 Five messages of love and peace: the Upanishads
Date: 16 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
How much do you remember from your ancient Chinese texts?
Do you know Latin? Do you Sanskrit?
Would you bother to learn an ancient language?
Living in the 21st century, do you see value in ancient teaching and wisdom as old as 800 – 400 B.C.?
#170 Five types of voluntary work: Helping share knowledge
Date: 13 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What do you usually do with your used books?
When you decide to dump a used book, what exactly goes through your mind?
Is there such a thing as outdated knowledge?
In what ways can we encourage the recycling of used books?
#169 Five types of voluntary work: Helping vulnerable young mothers
Date: 12 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
What does “vulnerable” mean?
In society what kind of people do you think are most in need of help?
How do we help people help themselves, as opposed to offering them one-off assistance?
Who is to blame, in the case of a family with an unwanted pregnancy? Who deserves our help?
#168 Five types of voluntary work: Helping clean up Hong Kong
Date: 11 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
How hard is it for you to quit a bad habit?
Why do people not think much about the polluted environment they live in?
Where can you find the cleanest place on earth?
How much do you rate Hong Kong’s cleanliness levels?
#167 Five types of voluntary work: Helping reduce food waste
Date: 10 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
All jobs have unique advantages: some jobs pay well, other jobs are stable, and some jobs have flexible schedules, but to all intents and purposes, there is no such thing as a perfect job. Do you know of a kind of job that is just about “perfect” to you?
If you are a foodie, and very much into cooking, are you interested in working as a chef?
How can you really help be being a chef?
Have you heard of a charity organization called Food Angel?
#166 Five types of voluntary work: Helping families in need
Date: 9 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing Skills
“The best job in the world is one that pays well.” How much do you agree with that?
Would you be happy doing a job that pays poorly but it is meaningful?
Have you ever done voluntary work, for no pay at all?
Have you heard of Po Leung Kuk?
#165 Five influential Hong Kong families: the Kwok family
Date: 6 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
In Hong Kong, how different are subsidized housing and the private sector?
Are you happy living where you live?
Private housing is a prized possession, but due to insufficient regulation, quality varies. What are some of the common problems associated with Hong Kong’s private housing market?
How would you rate Sun Hung Kai Properties?
#164 Five influential Hong Kong families: the Li Family
Date: 5 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
If you had distinguished parents, would you follow them in their footsteps? Or would you strike out on your own and do something entirely of your own choosing?
A notable Hong Kong family headed by none other than Mr. Li Ka Shing is well known to just about most in Asia. Originating in the same city, another Li family has decedents and their footholds have firmly anchored in Hong Kong society. One such descendent is Arthur Li Kwok Cheung. Does that ring a bell in you?
#163 Five influential Hong Kong families: the Tung Family
Date: 4 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
When was Hong Kong’s sovereignty returned to Mainland China?
When Hong Kong was still under British rule, what did they call its Chief Executive?
What was the name of the first Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region?
How much do you know about the man who was entrusted to lead Hong Kong into the new era?
How much do you know about this man, and, above all, his father before him?
#162 Five influential Hong Kong families: the Hotung family
Date: 3 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
How much do you know about the legendary Hotung family?
Is there a difference between Hotung and Ho? Are these essentially two separate clans?
What do you see that often gets reported by the mass media about the Hotung family today?
#161 Five influential Hong Kong families: the Kadoorie family
Date: 2 March 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Kadoorie Hill, Kadoorie Farm, the Peninsula Hotel…. Do these landmarks strike you? Do you know they have something in common?
In Hong Kong, why do we see so many place names bearing non-Chinese references?
How does an individual’s hard work, achievement, or even luck, pass down the generations and guarantee further success?
#160 Five Child Prodigies: Fu Ming Xia
Date: 28 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you watch the Olympic Games?
Since its first delegate to the Olympic Games in 1952, China has won numerous medals. How many Chinese athletes can you name?
For an athlete of national importance, both selection and training have to start early. How much do you know about the hard work involved?
#159 Five Child Prodigies: Tiger Woods
Date: 27 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
Sports transcend national differences, and they are fun to play or just to watch. How much do you agree with that?
How many international sports players have impressed you most?
Are you into golf? Or do you see it as an exclusive sport belonging to the rich men’s pack of games?
When you see a golf course, do you see an extensive stretch of green pasture, or a sizable supply of land for public housing? If you were a policy-maker, how would you balance such conflicting needs?
#158 Five Child Prodigies: Vivian Yee
Date: 26 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Were you a typical child? Would you describe your former self as naughty, immature, or timid?
While most children growing up behaving like, well, most other children, some do stand out and behave beyond their age. Were you this kind of child?
There is a kind of child prodigy that is close to us. When still young they distinguish themselves in ways only imaginable to most others. Do you consider an eloquent student leader, for example, something of a child prodigy?
#157 Five Child Prodigies: March Tian Boedihardjo
Date: 25 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Are you good at math?
Do you know of anybody who is inherently scared of math?
From time to time we learn about children who are so smart and skilled that they are comparable or even superior to adults. What explains this unusual phenomenon?
Boedihardjo, perhaps better known as “Shum Sze Kwan” (literal translation) to most Hong Kong people, was admitted to Baptist University in 2006 at the tender age of nine. How much do you know about Shum Sze Kwan from the mass media?
#156 Five Child Prodigies: Wong Ka Jeng
Date: 24 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Are you interested in music? Can you play any musical instrument?
Piano lessons are common to many Hong Kong children. Have you ever taken any?
Is Hong Kong culture nurturing musical talent?
Do you know of any music prodigies from Hong Kong?
#155 Five most liveable cities: Huizhou
Date: 14 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Off the top of your head, how many cities brought together into the Greater Bay Area can you name?
Do you know of anybody from Hong Kong who has settled in a Greater Bay Area city for work or study? What do they tell you about life across the border?
If Hong Kong’s housing shortage problem continued to worsen, would you ever consider owning property in a mainland Chinese city?
#154 Five most liveable cities: New Taipei City
Date: 13 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
Have you been to Taiwan, like most Hong Kong people?
Which part of Taiwan do you know much about?
While Taipei, capital of Taiwan, is known to most Hong Kong people, do you know anything about New Taipei City?
#153 Five most liveable cities: San Francisco
Date: 12 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What do immigrants to the US mean when they speak of the “green card”?
Why do we hear so much about the US in the Hong Kong mass media?
Which part of the US are you most familiar with?
#152 Five most liveable cities: Melbourne
Date: 11 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you been to Australia?
Besides the Sydney Opera House, what else can you tell about Australia?
Melbourne has been singled out as a liveable city: what do you know about it?
#151 Five most liveable cities: Vancouver
Date: Date: 10 February 2020
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What qualities do you think a liveable city should have?
What is the Global Liveability Index?
If you could trade with someone for a place to call home, where would it be?
2019-20 Semester A
#150 English and Chinese – a comparison
Date: 13 December 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
How does the main difference in the stress patterns of Chinese and English make it hard for English people to learn the Chinese language?
What are two common ways in which many Chinese speakers of English handle stress in the English language if they are not aware of the differences in the rhythmic patterns between English and Chinese.
Why do native English speakers find Chinese speakers unnatural in their pronunciation of English?
#149 Being toneful in speaking Cantonese
Date: 12 December 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
Are you a Cantonese speaker?
Did you realize how difficult it is for a non-native Cantonese speaker to master tones in Cantonese?
#148 Cantonese Sound System
Date: 11 December 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
How many tones are in common use in modern Cantonese?
How does a tonal language like Cantonese work?
#147 How to speak with the right intonation in English
Date: 10 December 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What did the article writer Fazle Muniem compare intonation to?
What other features of pronunciation can be found in a language other than intonation?
What are two major functions of intonation in English?
#146 How to speak with the right stress in English words
Date: 09 December 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing Skills
What effect will be caused on the attitude of the speaker if he speaks each word with equal stress in English?
What words should be stressed in speaking English?
What are the less important sounds, a,o and u, compressed into in spoken English?
What wrong meanings can be generated in speaking English if we do not compress the less important sounds of a,o and u?
What are typically the American ways of compressing unstressed sounds in the following sequences: “going to” and “want to”?
#145 Five Powerful Women: Oprah Winfrey
Date: 01 November 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
How do you define eloquence? And Charisma?
There is a TV hostess in the US who can talk to anyone: who is Oprah Winfrey?
#144 Five Powerful Women: Angela Merkel
Date: 31 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
For many years now she has been Number 1 on the Forbe’s list of the World’s Most Powerful Women: who is Angela Merkel?
#143 Five Powerful Women: Dong Mingzhu
Date: 30 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
She is no head of a state, princess, or empress: who is Dong Mingzhu?
Where do you often see the brand name “Gree”—that is, “Gree” of Gree Electric Applicances?
#142 Five Powerful Women: Empress Masako
Date: 29 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What do fairy tales tell us about how a princess looks and the kind of life she lives?
If you could marry a prince, would you jump at the opportunity?
What kind of life do you think a real-life princess lives?
#141 Five Powerful Women : Park Geun-hye
Date: 28 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Besides the phenomenal K-pop, what else are you interested in about Korean culture?
Are you interested in Korean politics?
Why do people talk about the two Koreas? Can you tell which is which?
Do you remember Park Geun-hye?
#140 Greatest Frauds in History—Worldcom
Date: 25 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What do you see as the safest investment there is?
Most of us may be too young to recall the dot.com investment bubble at the turn of the millennium. Do you know what the dot.com bubble was?
What is your outlook on the economy?
#139 Greatest Frauds in History—Enron
Date: 24 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
What was your worst experience in losing money?
Do you know of anyone who invests in the stock market?
What do you think explains the stock price of a listed company to plunge from US$90 to US$1?
#138 Greatest Frauds in History—Jordan Belfort
Date: 23 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you seen the movie The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) starring Leonardo DiCarpio?
"Greed is good." Where is this all-familiar line from? Which movie (other than The Wolf of Wall Street)?
Are you aware of the real man portrayed in The Wolf of Wall Street, one by the name of Jordan Belfort?
#137 Greatest Frauds in History—Elizabeth Holmes
Date: 22 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
It takes both good looks and plenty of smooth talking to pull off a deception: does Bernie Madoff impress you as such?
At the end of the day, what do you think really drives a successful deception?
How do smart people get deceived?
#136 Greatest Frauds in History—Bernie Madoff
Date: 21 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What was your bitterest experience of being cheated, lied to, or treated like a fool?
What do you think makes a successful deceiver tick?
Can you warn us against scams that you know of?
#135 Prestigious Universities in the World— Seoul National University
Date: 18 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Private tutoring is an important business in South Korea. Do you know why?
Admission to a top university in South Korea is very competitive. To go to one of the top three is as hard as trying to reach for the sky. “SKY” actually refers to three of the most prestigious universities in South Korea. Do you know what they are?
#134 Prestigious Universities in the World—Cambridge University
Date: 17 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
To you what is the average “Hong Kong Dream”?
Some ambitious parents in Hong Kong have groomed their children for going to a top university. If you were to choose, as some of the most outstanding DSE or IB graduates every year have been given to choose, between Hong Kong University and Cambridge University, which one would you take?
What factors will you consider when you are deciding to study overseas?
#133 Prestigious Universities in the World—Harvard University
Date: 16 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What is the average American Dream?
While in Hong Kong most people are in awe at the mere mention of “Harvard University,” why do you think some Americans are not so keen?
What makes Harvard… well, Harvard?
#132 Prestigious Universities in the World—Tsinghua University
Date: 15 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What does President Xi have in mind when he speaks of his “Chinese Dream”?
What are your own dreams and wishes?
How many Chinese universities you can name off the top of your head? And ask yourself: Which one pops up in your mind first?
#131 Prestigious Universities in the World—the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB)
Date: 14 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you seen the movie Three Idiots (2009)?
Like Shenzhen (of China), India has its own Silicon Valley. Do you know where it is?
Like Hong Kong, and perhaps many parts of the world, entry to a top university in India is competitive. One such university many Indians aspire to is the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB). How much do you know about IIMB?
#130 Kings and Queens in the Present World— Margrethe II of Denmark
Date: 11 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you know where Lego, arguably the world’s favourite toy, is made?
How many Northern European countries can you name off the top of your head?
Did you know that Denmark has a royal family that has a history of a thousand years?
#129 Kings and Queens in the Present World—King Vajiralongkorn
Date: 10 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
What comes to mind when you think of Thailand?
Did you notice just how often you can see a photograph of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, exquisitely framed and revered in almost any Thai restaurant in Hong Kong?
How much do you know about King Bhumibol, and his successor and only son, King Vajiralongkorn?
#128 Kings and Queens in the Present World—Emperor Naruhito
Date: 9 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What comes to mind when you hear about emperors in your study of history?
While most emperors are felt to be aggressive and belligerent, some have proven themselves as peace lovers. Can you name anyone like this?
#127 Kings and Queens in the Present World— King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Date: 8 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you heard of a modern-day king as good-looking as a Korean pop star?
What does it take for a king to become a “people’s king”?
Can you read aloud the name “Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck” when you see it? Or just “Khesar” (to be read with a silent “h”)?
#126 Kings and Queens in the Present World—Queen Elizabeth II
Date: 7 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Can you tell the difference between Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth the Second?
How many names come to your mind when you think of the British royal family?
Some people see a queen or a king as an anachronism. What does “anachronism” mean?
#125 Influential Presidents in the World—Aung San Suu Kyi
Date: 4 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What is a glass ceiling?
In many parts of the world in the past, women's social status has been suppressed. In this day and age, however, do you still see resistance to the rise of women?
What do you think explains the ostensibly low participation rates of women in modern-day politics and government?
#124 Influential Presidents in the World—Ninoy Aquino
Date: 3 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
How much do you know about the fascinating history, culture and people of the Philippines?
Can you name the President of the Philippines?
What do you know about the Philippines' modern-day politics and the U.S. involvement in it?
#123 Most Influential Presidents in the World—Justin Trudeau
Date: 2 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
If you could handpick one political leader, and give him another term of office, who would you pick?
Similarly, imagine being able to pick the child of a bygone leader, and who would you want?
In the history of Canada, there was one such continuity. Do you know who it was?
#122 Influential Presidents in the World—George W. Bush
Date: 1 October 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Like father, like son; or, more generally, like parent, like child. How much do you see in yourself that takes after your parents?
What do other people see in you that reminds them of your parents?
Do you have any influential, powerful parents? How much of their prestige do you think they can pass down to you?
#121 Influential Presidents in the World—Jose Mujica
Date: 30 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
How many political figures can you name, like Nelson Mandela, who had been sent to prison before he got elected President?
How much do you know about Uruguay?
With political power comes great fortune. Do you know of any exception to the rule?
#120 Five Successful Teenage Businessmen— Ma Huateng
Date: 27 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Are you sick and tired of hearing how people say if you can squeeze only one yuan from every Chinese you can become a billionaire?
Can you think of a business model that would allow you to do just that? What would you sell? How can you make just one yuan off every Chinese citizen? Or, perhaps a mere ten cents?
What is the single most popular stock that is currently being sold and bought everyday on the Hong Kong Exchange?
#119 Five Successful Teenage Businessmen— Bill Gates
Date: 26 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
What do you not already know about Bill Gates?
Age discrimination, or, in a word, ageism—Have you ever been discriminated against because of your apparent youth and inexperience?
What do you think Bill Gates means when he says, “I was always worried because people who worked for me were older than me…”?
#118 Five Successful Teenage Businessmen— Ingvar Kamprad
Date: 25 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
When was the last time you went to IKEA? Did you buy food or furniture?
Like UOWCHK, the name of the furniture manufacturer IKEA is an acronym. An acronym is an abbreviation consisting of the first letters of several words in the name of something, pronounced as a word. Did you know what each of the letters in IKEA spells?
IKEA is a company founded in Sweden. What else do most people know about Sweden?
#117 Five Successful Teenage Businessmen— Richard Branson
Date: 24 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you ever boarded a direct flight from Hong Kong to London, with an airline called Virgin Atlantic?
A magazine, a record label, an airline… or even an island off the Pacific: if you could own one of these, which one would it be?
Did you know there is indeed a man who has all of these, plus much, much more?
#116 Five Successful Teenage Businessmen—Warren Buffet
Date: 23 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
What are you most passionate about in life?
Can you name anybody whose passion about making money sprang at the tender age of 14?
Before the age of 16, Warren Buffet managed to make US$53,000—apparently a great fortune current in the 1940s. What advice will you give to a teenager who desires to amass just as much today?
#115 The poor minority in Hong Kong
Date: 20 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you consider yourself rich or poor?
Do you think the poor people form a minority or the majority in Hong Kong?
What is the official definition of being poor in Hong Kong?
How many people in Hong Kong fall under the poverty line?
#114 Muslim minority in Hong Kong
Date: 19 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
Are you aware of a Muslim minority in Hong Kong?
What can we do to help the Muslim minority group mingle well with the rest of society?
#113 Praising someone for his/her good English may cause anger
Date: 18 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Will you feel pleased if somebody says your English is very good?
Can you imagine why someone would feel offended when you praise him/her for speaking good English?
Do you agree that we can’t judge people by the colour of their skin? Some people with Chinese-looking faces are also native English speakers!
#112 Transsexuals in Hong Kong
Date: 17 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Are you aware that some people need to change their gender through medical operation because they are not born with the “right” gender?
Have you heard of Jin Xing? A very popular TV hostess and famous ballerina, she is the first person known to the public to have undergone a transgender operation in China.
Do you have any prejudice against transgender people? Can you treat them just like ordinary people?
#111 The first registered ethnic minority social worker in Hong Kong
Date: 16 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you heard of a social worker in Hong Kong called Jeffrey Andrews?
Why did Jeffrey Andrews experience an identity crisis when he was young?
Why do you think Jeffrey Andrews received a commendation from the Department of Home Affairs?
#110 How to handle stress
Date: 13 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing Skills
Can touching a pet, such as a cat or dog, help you relax?
Laughing obviously helps you relax. Besides improving your mood better, do you know how laughing makes you relaxed physically?
#109 How to learn grammar
Date: 12 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing Skill
What is grammar? Can you find a simple definition from the text quoted below.
How does reading English books help us improve our grammar?
As mentioned by the writer, learning English by doing grammar exercises can be an unhelpful mechanical process. What is the way to make best use of doing grammar exercises?
#108 How to cope with University life
Date: 11 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing Skills
Have you set a target to pursue a university degree when you complete your studies in the Associate Degree programme?
Have you ever imagined how your life will be like when you study at the university?
#107 How to improve memory power for study with physical exercises
Date: 10 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing Skills
Did you know physical exercises can help you study more effectively? Try to find the answer from the text quoted below.
#106 How to study effectively
Date: 9 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing Skills
Do you know what kind of learner you are? In the text, Honey and Mumford identified four types of learners. Who are they?
There are tips for efficient learning and revision. What are those suggested by Kelly Louise Preece?
According to Aaron Hynds, are breaks important in studying?
How can you effectively benefit from learning in a group?
#105 Jet Li (李連杰)
Date: 6 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Did you know that Jet Li is no longer a Chinese citizen? He is now a Singaporean.
What do you think are the characteristics of Jet Li’s Kungfu style?
#104 Jackie Chan (成龍)
Date: 5 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skill
How does Jackie Chan compare with other Kungfu masters in his martial art style?
Which of Jackie Chan’s Kungfu movies do you like most?
Why do you think Jackie Chan has got rich so quickly?
#103 Bruce Lee (李小龍)
Date: 4 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Besides Ip Man, have you heard of another great Wing Chun Kungfu master, Bruce Lee?
Bruce Lee was the idol of millions of people around the world. His popularity is still very strong even nowadays. Do you know of any friend who is one of his fans?
Despite his exceptionally strong physique, Bruce Lee died at a young age of 32. Do you know why?
#102 Ip Man 葉問
Date: 3 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Did you know that the famous Wing Chun master Ip Man used to live in Hong Kong?
Are you aware that Bruce Lee was a student of Ip Man?
#101 Wing Chun Kungfu 詠春
Date: 2 September 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening and Writing Skills
Can you name three big names of Wing Chun masters you have seen in movies?
Are you aware that a woman with Wing Chun skills can overcome a strong man with ease?
Did you know that the Wing Chun Kungfu was not first developed by Ms Yim Wing Chun?
2018-19 Semester B
#100 Can we live on the Moon?
Date: 29 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Do you want to travel to the Moon for sight-seeing or even to live there?
Are you aware of any evidence that the Moon was once suitable for living by human beings?
If the Moon was ever suitable for living, when was that?
#99 Why is China eager to explore a remote part of the Moon?
Date: 28 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
What is the Fermi Paradox?
The moon has a lot of helium. Why doesn’t China or the US bring it back for use on Earth?
#98 The toughest life form on Earth
Date: 27 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
How does the discovery of tardigrades on Earth help scientist make speculations about life in the universe?
Is there any living creature in this world which can survive heating up to 300 degrees and freezing down to -300 degrees Fahrenheit?
#97 The US Government’s search for aliens in the universe
Date: 26 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
Are you aware that the US Government has started a programme to search for the existence of life on other planets in the universe?
Why does the US scientist conduct its search for life in the universe on the basis of environments on Earth instead of another planet like Mars?
Do scientists who believe in the Fermi paradox think that life exists in the universe?
#96 Can we live on Mars?
Date: 25 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
Have you thought of leaving the Earth to live on Mars?
Why is NASA very certain that humans can live on Mars in the future?
Why are scientists interested in exploring putting human beings to live on Mars but not other planets?
Did you know that some forms of life on Earth can live for a very long time?
#95 Population crisis in China
Date: 22 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
Do you think China has too many people and should adopt population control?
China has changed its one-child policy to a two-child policy in recent years. Do you think this has solved the population crisis of the country?
#94 Chinese dating etiquettes
Date: 21 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
It might be reasonable to expect that high-income earning single men receive more attention from single women in China. Is this also true of high-income earning women in China?
Is economic independence of women a factor causing the high rate of divorce in China?
#93 Dating customs around the world
Date: 20 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Have you ever thought of dating with people in a group?
Which places in the world do you think you will find young people commonly practising group-dating?
#92 Falling in love
Date: 19 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
Do you think most people would bad-mouth their ex-lovers online after a break-up?
Which do you think is the most common age at which people in Hong Kong have their first love relationship: below 9 years’ old, 10-12 years’ old, 13-15 years’ old or 16-18 years’ old?
#91 When will you have a son or daughter?
Date: 18 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
When do you expect to have children?
What age do you think is right for people to get married and have babies in Hong Kong?
Are there any factors discouraging people from having babies in Hong Kong?
Is it better or worse for a country to have more or fewer babies in its coming future?
Do you believe that your month of birth can affect your personality?
90# The Qing Dynasty (1644AD – 1911AD)
Date: 15 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
What is a deng?
What are the two symbols of authority embroidered on the Qing Emperor Qian Long’s silk jifu?
#89 The Ming Dynasty (1368AD – 1644AD)
Date: 14 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Do you know why the people of China were so supportive of Zhu Yuanzhang in establishing the Ming Dynasty to replace Yuan Dynasty? Try to find the answer from the main article named below.
#88 The Yuan Dynasty (1271AD – 1368AD)
Date: 13 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Why did the Yuan Dynasty bring an increase in foreign trade to China?
According to the article, what could be one important reason for the short life of the Yuan Dynasty?
#87 The Sung Dynasty (960AD – 1279AD)
Date: 12 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
Can you name the two dynasties immediately preceding and following the Sung?
Do you know why the North Sung Dynasty collapsed? You can find two reasons in reading the main article named below.
#86 The Tang Dynasty (618AD – 960AD)
Date: 11 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing and Listening
How was the status of women during the Tang Dynasty different from the previous dynasties?
What is the literal meaning of Chang’an, the ancient capital of Tang China?
#85 American Fascination with K-pop
Date: 8 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Do you like K-pop?
How much Korean language or culture do you have to have for you to enjoy K-pop? Or do you find it irrelevant?
If you do not like K-pop, what do you think makes other people like it so much?
What do you think about K-pop that Americans like so much?
#84 The Very Funny Joe Wong
Date: 7 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
What makes you laugh?
Who is your favourite comedian?
Have you seen a Chinese immigrant to the US telling jokes in English?
#83 HSBC
Date: 6 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Which bank are you using? What made you choose that one, given a whole host of banks doing business in Hong Kong?
Did you know that to many Hong Kong people of an older generation, HSBC is known as “the Hong Kong Bank,” the bank most representative of Hong Kong?
Can you say HSBC in its full name?
#82 And the Oscar Goes to…
Date: 5 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Do you think the Oscars can always honour the right movies?
Who decides which movie to win an Oscar?
Besides the Oscars, what other movie awards are being given these days?
#81 Little Big Shots
Date: 4 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Do you find small children lovely or a nuisance?
Have you seen small children with big talent?
Do you remember seeing any on TV shows like America’s Got Talent?
#80 Does the Wealthiest Musician in the UK have Worries?
Date: 1 March 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Do you know at least one Beatles’ song? Or are you already a fan?
If you led a band like the Beatles, do you think you would have anything to worry about?
What do you think the legendary Paul McCartney, now aged 76, has to worry about?
#79 Binary Opposition
Date: 28 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Do you tend to think of things in opposite pairs? Like, if you are not a man, you are a woman? Or, if you are not being rational, you are being emotional?
How can we overcome such simplistic ways of thinking, given our understanding that the world is actually more complex than binary pairs?
#78 Google Translate
Date: 27 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
There is Google, and with that, Google Images, Google Maps and Google Scholar…. Have you used Google Translate?
Do you find Google Translate useful?
Did you know that Google Translate does more than translate one language to another?
#77 Me Before You
Date: 26 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
What is your idea of fun learning?
Do you agree with people who say that useful learning requires so much hard work that it can never be fun?
#76 Homo Deus
Date: 25 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
What is homo deus?
Do you know any words that begin with the prefix “homo”?
What does “deus ex machina” mean?
How many Latin expressions still in use today are you aware of?
#75 The Big Mac Index
Date: 22 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
How much part-time work do you have to do for you to buy a burger at McDonald’s? What about an iPhone?
Do you see the value of money in numbers, or in the things or services it can buy you?
#74 Hollister
Date: 21 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Look around you in the classroom you happen to be in, and how many people are wearing Hollister?
What explains the popularity of a certain fashion brand in any given time?
If a famous brand is just that good, why do some eventually fade out?
#73 Stan Smith
Date: 20 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
Who is Stan Smith? Where did you last see this name printed?
Are you a fan of any luxury brands?
#72 Peppa Pig… and Her Discontents
Date: 19 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
What is your idea of fun learning?
Do you agree with people who say that useful learning requires so much hard work that it can never be fun?
#71 The Statue of Liberty
Date: 18 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
The Statue of Liberty: where in the world does it stand?
What difference does it make if the Statue is called “the Statue of freedom”?
Did you notice just how often people confuse the word “statue” with “status”?
#70 Feng Shui
Date: 15 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Does feng shui matter to you?
Off the top of your head, can you describe some feng shui principles?
Do you think the English expression “getting out of bed on the wrong side” (meaning “being in a bad mood all day”) has a certain feng shui principle to it?
#69 Something to Do Every Day
Date: 14 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Is there something you do every day?
Do you prefer doing something in one go to doing it bit by bit?
#68 One Man and His Car
Date: 13 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Do you wish you owned a car? Or do you already have one?
Do you prefer traditional fuel-powered cars or electric cars?
What do you know about Tesla?
#67 E-mail vs. I-mail
Date: 12 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
They call it e-mail (later de-hyphenated to “email), instead of “i-mail”; iPhone, instead of “ePhone.” Which name do you personally prefer?
What does “e” stand for? And “i”?
As a rule, we do not read junk mail, or spam. Did you know what “spam” means?
#66 Professors
Date: 11 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
What were your impressions of university teachers before you came to CityU? What are your impressions now?
Not all professors are the same: did you know some of the university teachers are just part-timers and they do not even have their own office desks?
#65 The Outback
Date: 1 February 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Have you ever been to Outback… Steakhouse Hong Kong?
Have you ever been to the Australian Outback?
Where exactly is the Outback?
#64 Ronald Reagan: His Wit and Wisdom
Date: 31 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Many people learn American English by listening to and studying the speeches made by US presidents. Do you?
Off the top of your head, can you name three American presidents?
Did you say Ronald Reagan?
#63 Genius, Madness, and the Unabomber
Date: 30 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Is there any way these three words can be strung together and make any sense: “university” and “airport” and “bomber”?
It is said that there are three places in any given city where things and people are most international, and they are 1. university campuses, 2. airports, and what do you think the third one is?
#62 Best English in Asia
Date: 29 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Are you impressed with English spoken by your classmates?
Who among your peers speaks the best English? What kind of cultural background do they have?
What can you learn your peers?
#61 One Man and His Dictionary
Date: 28 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Did you know the Chinglish expression “add oil” has just been added to the Oxford English Dictionary?
Is the expression “long time no see” standard English?
How are new words created, and how do they make it to our everyday lives?
#60 Priscilla Chan, a.k.a. Mrs. Zuckerberg
Date: 25 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
How many people by the name of Priscilla Chan do you know?
In Hong Kong, guess how many girls or women go by the name Priscilla Chan.
If you were a Harvard-trained medical doctor AND the wife of a multi-billionaire tech giant, what would you want to do with your life?
#59 What is Déjà Vu
Date: 24 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
What is this odd feeling that you have experienced something before, but, in reality, the experience is brand new?
Déjà vu, or deja vu, (written without the accent markers above the letters “e” and “a”) is, as Cambridge Dictionary defines it, “the strange feeling that in some way you have already experienced what is happening now.” When was the last time you had this feeling?
#58 Go Get Your Daily Fix of Caffeine
Date: 23 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Are you addicted to a certain kind of drink?
What does the term “coffee culture” mean to you?
Is a HK$26 Coffee of the Day worth every dollar it costs?
#57 Maersk
Date: 22 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and speaking
Can you pronounce the word “Maersk”? Do you say “may...” or “mer...”?
Where do you usually see the word “Maersk”? And what does that tell you about the line of work they are in?
#56 The World's English Mania
Date: 21 January 2019
How many languages do you speak?
What do you call a person who can speak several languages?
Why do you think so many people are trying to learn English?
#55 Pop culture in the Arab world
Date: 18 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Listening
What is pop culture? Are you interested in pop culture? What is it?
#54 'Kongish' speaks to hearts of Hong Kongers
Date: 17 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading
How do you define “Kongish”?
#53 How to balance exercise and nutrition to improve your fitness, health, and lifestyle
Date: 16 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading
How can we improve our fitness level?
#52 Who's helping McRefugees?
Date: 15 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading
Have you heard of the term “McRefugees”? What are they?
What problems are homeless people facing in Hong Kong?
#51 How to be happy
Date: 14 January 2019
Skills/ Objectives: Reading
What makes you happy? What can we do to be happy?
2018-19 Semester A
#50 How to Enjoy a Successful Semester Teaching English in Chile
Date: 9 November 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
If you could study abroad, where would you go? For how long?
#49 Dear aspiring overseas volunteer
Date: 8 November 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Speaking
If you could volunteer abroad, where would you go and what would you do? What do you gain you will gain from volunteering abroad?
#48 Influences on intercultural communication
Date: 7 November 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening & Speaking
What is intercultural communication? Is intercultural communication important? Why? Why not?
#47 Global Citizen 3: The Story You Are Shaping
Date: 6 November 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Writing
What is global citizen? What does it mean to you?
#46 Globalization
Date: 5 November 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening
What is globalization? What are the advantages and drawbacks of globalization?
#45 Language and identity
Date: 2 November 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening
What is your identity? What languages do you speak?
Were you misidentified? How did you feel?
#44 Hongkongers mix English and Cantonese into new language, Kongish
Date: 1 November 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening, & Writing
Have you heard of Kongish? Can you think of any examples?
#43 Singlish Is A Language For Our Future, Lah!
Date: 31 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening & Speaking
Do you know what Singlish is? Who speaks Singlish?
#42 Add oil! This popular Hong Kong English term is now in the Oxford English Dictionary
Date: 30 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
What is the meaning of “add oil”? Do you use this term? When? To whom? In what situations?
#41 Why ‘have you eaten?’ means ‘how are you?’ in Hong Kong
Date: 29 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Speaking
How would you respond if (1) your best friend, (2) your teacher, (3) your parents ask “How are you”? Would you respond differently? Why?
#40 Emotional pain worse than physical: Sarah Lee
Date: 26 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading
Do you know who Sarah Lee is? What have you heard about her?
#39 Meet Raymond Poon, Rex Tso's 'successor' and Hong Kong's next big boxing star
Date: 25 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Speaking
Do you have a role model? Who is she/he? How does she or he inspire you?
#38 How playing sports benefits your body ... and your brain
Date: 24 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Writing
Imagine if you needed to encourage a friend of yours to exercise, what would you say to him or her?
Could playing sports enhance our academic performance? If so, how?
#37 How Elite Thai Boxing and Fitness helps troubled youth turn their lives around
Date: 23 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
Do you know what Thai Boxing is? What are the benefits of exercising?
#36 Why more of us are getting fitter together
Date: 22 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Speaking
Do you exercise regularly? How often do you exercise? What kinds of exercise do you do?
Do you exercise by yourself or with someone? Who are they? Do you enjoy exercising alone or with your friends? Why?
#35 Hong Kong Is Running Out Of Space To Bury Its Dead
Date: 19 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Speaking
What are some of the burial customs in Hong Kong?
#34 Longer leave for moms draws closer to reality
Date: 18 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
How long is maternity leave in Hong Kong now?
#33 Inside Hong Kong’s cage homes
Date: 17 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Speaking
Do you know where are the cage homes in Hong Kong?
#32 Why is there a wealth gap in HK? Aid agency Oxfam's ideas to solve the city’s greatest disparity between rich and poor in 45 years
Date: 16 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading
Why is there a wealth gap in Hong Kong?
#31 Healthy Hong Kong future rests on lunchbox choices
Date: 15 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
When you were in high school, where did you have you lunch? What did you have for lunch?
#30 Our brains process irony in emojis, words in the same way
Date: 12 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Speaking
Do you add emojis in your text messages in WhatsApp, WeChat and other social networking sites? Why?
#29 Study skills
Date: 11 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Speaking
How do you feel studying at UOWCHK/CCCU? How does it different from your experience in high school?
Have you adopted any study skills? What are they?
#28 Do you have the right mindset?
Date: 10 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
How do you react when you face a difficult learning situation?
Do you find learning English language challenging? Enjoyable? Fulfilling? In what way?
#27 From hangry to mansplain: spend a little ‘me time’ with the latest OED update
Date: 9 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
Have you heard of the word ‘hangry’? What is the meaning of it? Where did you learn this word? Do you feel hangry? When?
Do you want to have some ‘me time’? In what situations? Why?
#26 Do animals have language?
Date: 8 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening
What are the functions of language? Is language unique to human beings?
Do animals have language?
#25 Why it might actually be a good thing that robots are taking over human jobs
Date: 5 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
Do you think robots can replace humans? Why or why not?
#24 What are you?
Date: 4 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Speaking
What are you made of?
#23 Global warming
Date: 3 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening
How global warming affects us?
#22 What is happening in the ocean?
Date: 2 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
What are the functions of the ocean?
#21 Can we survive the sun's death?
Date: 1 October 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Speaking
What are the functions of the sun? What would happen to us if there were no sun?
#20 Going green to give Hong Kong a better future is easy
Date: 28 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading
We have been learning about different environmental issues this week. Have you thought about how we can save our environment by reducing plastic and food wastes?
#19 Food waste
Date: 27 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Writing
Do you like food? Do you throw away food that is still good to eat? What do you usually do with leftovers?
#18 Why pay for bottled water?
Date: 26 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Speaking
Would you buy bottled drinks? When? How often?
Would you bring your water bottle?
#17 Most Hongkongers support bringing your own box for takeaway food
Date: 25 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
Would you bring your own box for takeaway food? Why or why not?
#16 KFC to ditch plastic straws and drink lids for dine-in customers across HK and Macau
Date: 24 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Speaking
Do you visit fast food restaurants? How often?
How can we reduce our use of single-use plastics in those restaurants?
#15 Are there universal expressions of emotion?
Date: 21 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Speaking
How are you feeling today? How would you describe your feeling?
What does your facial expression look like when you are happy, sad and angry?
Do you think that people from all around the world share the same expressions of happiness, sadness, and anger?
#14 Adulting 101: paralysed by way too many choices? Here's how to streamline your decision-making process
Date: 20 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
Are you good at making decisions? How do you make decisions?
What is your future plan? What do you plan to do when you graduate? In five years?
#13 Try something new for 30 days
Date: 19 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Writing
Do you think you are open to new experiences? Have you tried anything new in the past three months? What were they? For what reason? How did you feel?
What would you like to try? What is on your ‘must-do’ list?
Do you have the habit of keeping a diary or blog?
#12 Should you trust your first impression?
Date: 18 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening
Think of a good friend of you. Who is he/she? When did you meet him/ her? Where? In what situation? What was your first impression of him/ her? Was it positive or negative?
#11 A psychologist’s tips to remembering things quickly, accurately, and more easily
Date: 17 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Speaking
Do you have a good memory? What is your earliest memory?
Spend five minutes to take this memory test: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/iq/memory-test
How is the result? What do you learn about yourself in terms of your memory?
How often do you have to replace passwords (numerical or verbal) because you've forgotten the original one?
#10 Welcome to Hong Kong, where prisoners get more exercise time than students do
Date: 14 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Writing
Do you exercise? How often? What kinds of exercise do you do?
Do you enjoy exercising? Why or why not?
#9 Inside the mind of a master procrastinator
Date: 13 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening and Speaking
Are you a “deadline fighter” or procrastinator in your study? Are you a person who delays doing assignments until very late? Do you wait until the last minute to get things done? Why?
What do you do when you have to work (e.g., writing an assignment) but you do not want to work on it?
#8 Hong Kong pupils who eat breakfast daily ‘18 months ahead of those who skip the meal’
Date: 12 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading and Speaking
Do you eat breakfast every day? What do you have for breakfast?
Do you skip breakfast? If so, why?
What are the benefits of having breakfast?
#7 What would happen if you didn’t sleep?
Date: 11 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Listening
How long do you sleep every day? Do you think you have enough sleep? Why? Why not? How much sleep does an adult need?
How do you feel if you do not have enough sleep? What would you do to keep yourself awake during the day?
#6 Becoming a Vegetarian
Date: 10 September 2018
Skills/ Objectives: Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing
Have you ever thought of being a vegetarian? Would you consider becoming a vegetarian? Why? Why not? What are the benefits of being a vegetarian to yourself as well as to the world?
What are your concerns/worries of being a vegetarian?
How would you feel if you were asked to become a vegetarian for a month?
#5 Parents may worry about China's social media app Tik Tok, but it’s far from a waste of time
Date: 7 September 2018
Skills/Objectives: Reading and Speaking
Have you heard of the social media app Tik Tok (Douyin)? Have you watched any of the videos there? What are they about? Do you enjoy watching them? Why or why not?
Have you made any videos there? Why did you make them?
#4 No Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or slaying selfies: one teenage Hongkonger goes 24 hours without technology
Date: 6 September 2018
Skills/Objectives: Reading and Writing
How important is your smartphone to you? How often do you use your smartphone? Which app(s) do you use the most?
How would you feel if you forgot to bring your smartphone with you?
#3 Do Facebook "Likes" Affect Psychological Well-Being?
Date: 5 September 2018
Skills/Objectives: Reading and Writing
Do you use social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Weibo, Instagram, Flickr)? Which ones do you use? How often do you use?
Do you click “like” when you read someone’s post? Why do you “like” his/ her post?
How do you feel when someone “likes” your posts? How do you feel when no one “likes” your post?
#2 Meet the man who 'invented' the #hashtag
Date: 4 September 2018
Skills/Objectives: Listening and Speaking
Which social networking sites do you use (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Weibo, WeChat, Snapchat)?
Do you post on those social working sites? Do you use hashtags when you post?
What are the hashtags about? Why do you use hashtags?
#1 Word of the Year 2015
Date: 3 September 2018
Skills/Objectives: Reading and Writing
What is your favorite emoji? Which one do you use most often? With whom? In which situations? Why?
, the ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ emoji, was chosen as the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year in 2015.
Do you use this emoji? What does it mean to you?