Learn English: Schools - Courses in Hong Kong, China

Attend our English Courses in Hong Kong and you will not only improve your English language skills, you'll experience one of the world's major business centres and culturally diverse hotspots. Hong Kong offers a great range of contrasts with over 260 outlying islands few of which are inhabited, providing a tranquil alternative to its remarkable energy elsewhere. Hong Kong Island is an eclectic mix of modern skyscrapers, colonial buildings and traditional temples.

On 1 July 1997, Hong Kong became returned to China in arrangement that will last for 50 years. Operating under a 'one country, two systems policy', Hong Kong maintains its own political, social and economic systems. English remains an official language and Hong Kong's border with China still exists. Hong Kong is the place to experience both the ultra modern and the serene and traditional.

Now it is reunited with the mainland, visually stunning Hong Kong offers a warp-speed'shop till you drop' lifestyle combined with enclaves of traditional dance, food, music and arts.

Join our English courses in Hong Kong, a great place to improve your English language skills and ability.

Hong Kong - History

In January 1841, as a result of the defeat of the Ching Dynasty of China in the First Opium War, Hong Kong became a British colony, under the Convention of Chuen Pi. After defeating China in the Second Opium War, the Kowloon Peninsula was ceded to Britain in 1860. In 1898, the New Territories - a rural area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon district - were leased to Britain for 99 years.

In 1984, the Chinese and British Governments signed the Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, giving Hong Kong back to China effective 1 July 1997. Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the Peoples Republic of China. Under the slogan "One Country, Two Systems", Hong Kong remains a capitalist economy without various restrictions that apply in mainland China such as news censorship and foreign exchange controls.

In accordance with the Joint Declaration, a Basic Law was enacted to serve in effect as a constitution for the Hong Kong SAR. In theory, Hong Kong lives by "a high degree of autonomy" in many matters except foreign and defense affairs. In practice, it is more complex than that. Beijing exerts much influence and there are groups pushing for a more democratic regime.

English Courses Hong Kong - Geography

The geography of Hong Kong primarily consists of three main territories: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, and the New Territories. The geography of Hong Kong has great variety and is home to many different physical geographical features.

The name "Hong Kong", which literally means "fragrant harbour", comes from the area surrounding present-day Aberdeen on Hong Kong Island. Here, fragrant wood products and fragrant incense were once traded. The narrow body of water separating Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula, Victoria Harbour is one of the deepest natural maritime ports in the world.

Hong Kong, including its 260 territorial islands, is located in the South China Sea, at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta.

To the south of Boundary Street is the Kowloon Peninsula. This was added to Colonial Hong Kong in 1860. Also added was the New Territories to the north of Hong Kong Island in 1898. The body of water between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula is Victoria Harbour, one of the deepest maritime ports in the world. The landscape of Hong Kong is fairly hilly to mountainous with steep slopes. The highest point in the territory is Tai Mo Shan, at a height of 958 metres. Lowlands exist in the northwestern part of the New Territories.

Of the territory's 1,092 square kilometres, less than 25 percent is developed. The remaining land is reserved as country parks and nature reserves.

English Schools Hong Kong - Economy

Hong Kong has a free market, entrepot economy, highly dependent on international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Gross imports and exports (i.e., including reexports to and from third countries) each exceed GDP in dollar value. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997, it had extensive trade and investment ties with China. Hong Kong has been further integrating its economy with China because China's growing openness to the world economy has made manufacturing in China much more cost effective. Hong Kong's reexport business to and from China is a major driver of growth. Per capita GDP is comparable to that of the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to 2005, but Hong Kong suffered two recessions in the past eight years because of the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998 and the global downturn in 2001-2002. Although the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 also battered Hong Kong's economy, a solid rise in exports, a boom in tourism from the mainland because of China's easing of travel restrictions, and a return of consumer confidence resulted in the resumption of strong growth from late 2003 through 2005.

English Courses Hong Kong - Food

Perhaps the number one highlight of Hong Kong is the cuisine. Not only is it a showcase of traditional and modern Cantonese cuisine, the various regional cuisines from around China, such as Teochew and Sichuan are all well represented. There are also excellent Asian and Western restaurants as well.

People usually eat out a lot more in Hong Kong than other countries. Perhaps because of this eating out can be fairly cheap, as long as you stick to local restaurants, and avoid the often overpriced western counterparts.

Above all, Hong Kong is known for its dim sum, delicately prepared morsels of Cantonese cuisine served from a never ending procession of carts and eaten with tea. Dim sum is usually eaten for breakfast or lunch and is often the focus of family get-togethers on Sundays.

A uniquely Hong Kong-style eatery starting to make waves elsewhere in Asia is the cha chaan teng, literally "tea cafe", but offering fusion fast food that happily mixes Western and Eastern fare: innovations include noodles with Spam, stir-fried spaghetti and baked rice with cheese. Often a variety of drinks is also available, usually including the popular tea-and-coffee mix yuanyang , and some other oddities (to the Western palate) like boiled Coke with ginger or iced coffee with lemon. Orders are usually recorded on a chit at your table and you pay at the cashier as you leave.

For those who wish to eat Hong Kong's famous seafood, there are different locations in Hong Kong's coastal areas where freshly caught seafood is cooked and served. Places like Sai Kung, Po Doi O, Lei Yu Mun, and Lau Fau Shan are good places to find restaurants specialized in seafood. These restaurants have different tanks to keep the seafood alive and will present live seafood specimens to their patrons for them to choose before cooking.

English Schools Hong Kong - Climate

Hong Kong's climate is subtropical and prone to monsoons. It is cooler and dry in the wintertime, which lasts from around December to early March, and is hot, humid and rainy from spring through summer. It is warm, sunny, and dry in autumn. Hong Kong occasionally has tropical cyclones in the summer and early autumn. The ecology of Hong Kong is mostly affected by the results of climatic changes. Hong Kong's climate is seasonal due to the alternating wind directions between winter and summer. Hong Kong has been geologically stable for millions of years, though landslides are common especially after heavy rainstorms. Flora and fauna in Hong Kong are altered by climatic change, sea level alternation and human impact.

The highest recorded temperature in Hong Kong is 36.1° C (97.0° F ) while the lowest recorded temperature is 0.0°C (32.0°F). The average temperature in the coldest month, January, is 16.1°C (61.0°F) while the average temperature in the hottest month, July, is 28.7°C (83.7°F). The territory is situated south of the Tropic of Cancer, which is approximate to Hawaii in latitude. In winter cold winds generate from the north and cool the city; in the summer, the wind's prevailing direction changes and brings the warm and humid air in from the southwest. This climate can support a tropical rainforest.

Hong Kong - Interesting facts

The words Hong Kong mean fragrant harbour.

The emblem for the reunification of Hong Kong with China is Sousa Chinensis (the Chinese White Dolphin) which in fact is pink.

Kowloon, one of Hong Kong's mainland regions, means Nine Dragons.

Hong Kong is very hilly and there are outdoor escalators in the Central district of the Island.

Hong Kong has become one of the world's most densely populated areas. Over six million people live in four hundred and fifteen square miles.

Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China on 1st July 1997. At the time of the transfer, thirty thousand British citizens living in Hong Kong

In Tsim Sha Tsui, the Regent Hotel is designed so that the dragons can pass through and feed at the harbour. There is also a fountain to attract them and huge glass windows to allow them to pass through!

Feng Shui (wind/water beliefs) is always an important consideration in the design of buildings. Geomancers deduce the harmonies of the site and doors, windows and furniture are positioned to balance the 8 elements of nature and the spirit of Yin and Yang.

Feng Shui mirrors are hung in houses, shops and restaurants to stop evil spirits from entering the buildings. The mirrors have eight sides and a concave mirror inside, so when the spirit looks at it he becomes scared of his image and goes away.

Temples always have hills behind them and face the sea for good luck.

The Chinese lucky numbers are 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9. The unlucky numbers are 1, 4 and 7 (4 and 7 sound like the Chinese word for death)

People eat long noodles on their birthday so they may have a long life.

In the past, children often died of malnutrition or disease. Their parents protect them with pictures of the five poisons: the scorpion, lizard, centipede, snake and toad or spider.

During the Chinese New Year festivities, children are rewarded with "Lai see" (lucky money).

Every year between the months of April and May a bun festival takes place on Cheung Chau Island. It is held to appease the hungry ghosts that roam around. Gigantic bun towers are erected and at midnight on the final day, after the ghosts have had their fill, the young men of the village used to compete to see who could be first to reach the highest bun. Unfortunately, someone was injured recently so now buns are distributed in the morning, mainly to women and children.

Songbirds are the favourite pet in many Chinese households. They are enjoyed for their singing abilities, and the people in Hong Kong "walk" their songbirds and take them with them to the teahouses.

The new airport is on Lantau Island and is linked to the mainland by the Tsing Ma Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension bridges.

Learn English Hong Kong - Advice

At our English schools and courses in Hong Kong our advice can really be summed up with one simple word - practice! What kind of study materials you use is not quite as important as how or how often you use them. Your hard work and determination will be one of the biggest factors in successful language learning.

The English school and course you choose in Hong Kong is going to be the core of your English study, so make sure you choose a English language course that gives you structured lessons and lots of opportunity to practice your new language skills. Our English courses at our English schools in Hong Kong, will give you the perfect opportunity to study, learn, and practice English in a supportive, well planned and friendly environments.

You must work at your new English language skills every day. Ideally, you should study English an extra hour or more every day. If you can get at least an extra half-hour of study time, that's pretty good too. Try to at least get a little review and study, learn and practice English every single day.

If you attend one of our English courses in Hong Kong and you learn English everyday, you will have a good basic knowledge of the English language in a reasonable amount of time. Your knowledge and ability will increase and improve depending upon what other tools you use and what kind of experiences you have using the English language.

Grammar book. A good old-fashioned grammar book may be boring but they are a great way to really get to grips with the details of the language.

Phrase Book

These are extremely helpful books that you can carry with you. They can be useful for practicing pronunciation, or for quickly finding a lot of more commonly used phrases, words and idioms. Phrase books are always a nice supplement to learn English and they are convenient and cheap.

Dictionary. Absolutely necessary in the long run. You must have a dictionary if you wish to expand your vocabulary, and you will need one in order to take full advantage of many of the English language learning tips set out here. Make sure you get one that translates both ways e.g. Spanish to English AND English to Spanish. It is also helpful to find a dictionary that contains idioms - the phrases particular to the language which you are studying - as well as phrases that are commonly used in the English language, but may be difficult to translate.

Flashcards

A simple English language learning tip, but a very effective way to review, refresh your memory and expand your vocabulary. There are pre-made flashcards that can be purchased, or for extra help, you can create your own. Keep them with you at all times, in your pocket or in your car, and look at them for a quick review or language lesson at every opportunity. They are very convenient.

Talk to yourself

It may be obvious, but the best way to learn English in Hong Kong is to speak English in Hong Kong ! This convenient method can be use at all times, as you can even talk to yourself. Even if you are in public and don't feel comfortable talking to yourself out loud, you can make it your habit to practice English by thinking English. Throughout the day, think of the English words for everything you pass - objects in your house, things you pass when you are traveling, things you use at work or school, etc. Learn basic English phrases like - ‘it is cold today' or ‘it is sunny today' and use whichever is appropriate when you first look out the window. By putting this tip into use on a regular basis, the vocabulary and phrases will become more routine and automatic.

Practice with friends

Taking it even further than talking to yourself, you can practice with your friends. Even if they don't speak English, talk to the people you know by using your new language. Warn them in advance that you are practicing your new knowledge and they'll know what's coming. Even a simple 'good morning' or'see you later' in English will make those phrases more natural to you. Your friends may even begin to learn a few words and join in the fun too!

Listen to English music. You'll hear the English language used in a real context and this will help you pick out the rhythm and pronunciation even better. This method will also give you a further understanding of, and appreciation for, the culture and customs of the people. Music in English might be easier to find than others, but Amazon or eBay and many other global websites will enable you to find music in English and many different languages.