I believe this is one of the best English learning institutes in Hong Kong. As a matter of that, I…read moredid work there few years ago and I hope I do not sound biased. Learning a foreign language is not easy. It takes so much effort and determination. Though as locals, we start learning English since Kindergarten, for some it still poses a huge challenge for most people here in Hong Kong. Places like this give you a second chance and to remind you that it is never too late to learn. Local schools here rely heavily on teaching the terminologies and grammar items like Gerunds and Infinitives, it seems to have missed the most crucial part - communication. One may be very good at writing and reading in English and yet they cannot utter an English sentence without stuttering. However, what impresses me the most is that the approach this place takes focuses heavily on listening and speaking. Instead of giving you a text to read, it first shows you a clip so that you have to rely on your listening skills; later on learning how to read the new vocabularies; and then you can finally see how the word looks like. It also has quite a few activities (social clubs they call) for you to enjoy yourself while practicing English with your friends and teachers. It strives to create a relaxing and care-free environment so that you can feel free to speak in English with confidence instead of embarrassment. Even though I now no longer work there, I have to say that their pedagogy and ideology are very well-thought. Together with your motivation and determination, mastering English is not really that difficult.

I love ESF Hillside! The principal, Chris Duncan, is great and so are all the teachers. My…read moredaughter attended K1 and K2 there. Every day, she is excited to go to school and loves her classmates and teachers. As part of the IB program, the students here learn in units of inquiries and they get exposed to a lot of topics such as the nature and social responsibility. If you want Chinese program, this is not the place for you. Mandarin is taught only once a week, and about 20 minutes each. The primary language is English. The teachers do an excellent job preparing the kids for Primary. They learn a lot of basic skills and are all confident young individuals when they graduate. I have only great things to say about ESF Hillside!

The English School Foundation (ESF) was formed in 1967 to cater for children of local expatriates,…read morepredominantly English and a lot of them were civil servants working out here at the time. They have developed since then, growing to some 20 -odd schools at all levels at this moment. I was lucky enough to have attended Shatin College for some time and I would say that the ESF is an education body that really does care for its students. Without getting all teary eyed, my school years were filled with opportunities that could not be had if the school was a local one. The ESF invests heavily on extra curriculum activities and it affords its student many different facilities that would simply out of the question if it had not been for the immense resources of the education body (the ESF had been funded by the government during all these years; being withdrawn gradually now). Every year there seems to be more facilities being made available to students and given the British curriculum (as well as the IB now being introduced) being taught, it gives students more time and flexibility to develop their interests and I truly believe that it does provide children with a more dynamic childhood. The fees are being raise every year as government funding is being cut back and understandably there will be heavier burden on parents to chip in where the government had paid the bill before. I believe though (and I'm not the only one given the rumoured 3 year waiting list); that for your child this is still worth it.

I studied "Russian for Beginners" at the RLC's Wanchai site for around 8 months before visiting my…read morefather, who lives in Moscow. I found the Russian Language Center in Hong Kong after a quick Google search, and didn't know what to expect. After only the first month, I was surprised by how quickly my Russian language skills were developing! Dima - or Dmitry - was my teacher, a native Russian speaker who held the twice-weekly lessons in excellent English. He still holds the beginner and intermediate classes at Sheung Wan today. As I was working, I would attend night classes from 7pm to 8.30pm, Mondays and Thursdays. The group was fairly mixed, with around 5 people of a few different ethnicities. I liked how my course was very well suited to my beginner status, and Dima is an excellent teacher, keeping the classes informative, fun, and interactive. All you need to bring with you is a notebook and pen, and they provide you with the Russian textbook that comes with a CD with MP3 recordings of certain exercises. Learning Russian was quite difficult, but the classes were so well-structured that I noticed my speaking and writing improving after only a few months. The best part was that Dima would send 'follow-up' emails after every lesson, informing us of what was written on the whiteboard, extra notes, links, MP3 recordings, documents, and reminders for homework. It was important to get the homework done otherwise you'd feel a little left behind, as the course does move quite swiftly from introduction to quite challenging grammar. For anyone wanting to learn Russian, I would definitely recommend the RLC.

The Maker Bay is a multi disciplinary workshop which provides tools and space for people to come…read moreand work on their own projects, from pure recreation to new startup ideas and companies. I really can't do justice to the place here, it's basically for anybody who wants to do their own projects but as space in Hong Kong is so limited is prohibited. They have tools to work on wood, metal and also have a laser cutter. You rent a space for the day etc, they offer lots of different options. The staff are so friendly and will answer any questions you have. Get creative and go check it out!

If you are new to HK, or even an old hand, you may want to learn a bit of Chinese. Whether it is…read moreMandarin or Cantonese, I would thoroughly recommend that you call Sasha O, quite frankly the best Chinese teacher in HK, in my humble opinion! What makes Sasha great, is not that she is a better Chinese person than anybody else (she is however very lovely and good natured, and learning with her is easy and stress free), but it is because she teaches you what you need, and want, to know. Sure, teaching kids is very structured, and there are prescribed syllabus requirements, all of which Sasha can teach. However, when it comes to adults, do I really need to know how to say, "This is my friend Richard, he likes to skateboard in the park."? The last time I went skateboarding, the bottom of my trousers were much wider than the tops (OK, only oldies like me will get that!). What is great about classes with Sasha, is that you are flexible to learn what is useful to you. For Mrs L, it's about learning a new language from scratch (and being able to ask for the vegetarian menu). For my friend C, it's about learning business lingo in Mando for trips to the mainland. For me, it is all about going "street" and improving my tones and pronunciation, as I am already a Canto speaker - but just a bit ropey. Sasha specialises in 1-to-1 classes, or small groups (i.e. couples, families). This ensures that her teaching is effective and personalised. Also, as a freelance "gun for hire", her charge out rate is very affordable. As she is based in Lamma, Sasha will travel to your location for classes. I currently learn at work in the IFC. You've come all the way to HK, why not learn a bit of the lingo. You should at least try to learn enough to say "Oi, mate, don't take Garden Road, we'll be here all bleeding day!".

my daughter, 13, is taking lessons from Sasha. She loves her. Sasha is very creative. She is…read moreteaching her both Mandarin and Cantonese. We feel fortunate that we found her.

It's really a good place to learn English. The tutor is experienced and patient. Although it has…read morejust started running, the tutor is good enough to make your kids improve and gain knowledge.

My dear dear Alma Mater!!!!…read more I have to say I am who I am today largely because of it. I spent all 7 years in KGV and most friends I have now in Hong Kong, I have either met then, or through people I met there. When I was studying, I really took it for granted, but looking back, it's a great school. Arguably one of the best in Hong Kong I think. I mean, come on! we have a big ass field, basketball courts, tennis courts, pool. Our facilities are one of the top and without the huge price tag or stress. (I'm not sure how DBS boys study so hard AND have time for extra curricular to make use of the facilities?) There were many fun activities throughout the year including dance shows, music competitions, battle of the bands, spring fair, etc. But I think KGV really teaches you (and not just the teachers, but the students) to be humble and well-rounded. We're well off but we're not snooty and know the value of money, even the super rich ones! Also many students come out in all disciplinarians. Many in finance, doctors, law, art, fashion, music, teaching. It's really a wide variety and many didn't get it through connections either =p. Students graduate going to top universities whether it's in UK, US, Oz, Canada, HK, etc. I believe KGV also has a very high average IB score now too! I've had many good and bad times in KGV, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Although once I have kids, I would probably just pick the school most convenient to us, but I will try my very best to put them in an ESF school. The teachers are great too. Many of us are still facebook friends, although I don't really see them anymore. Speaking of which, I should really plan a visit back to school =) *** Tips: Just send your kids here Favourities: Facilities, people, teachers, heritage/traditions Meh: None I can think of right now! When I got scolded I guess? Last words: I would go back if I could!

There is one good thing about Hong Kong being an international city is that it is always easy to…read morefind places to pick up languages, Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish, etc. Since I used to work in one teaching English and also learning German currently, I guess you will not be surprised to know that I also did take some courses on Spanish. (Unfortunately I stopped for a while as too many languages are too overwhelming for me). Spanish currently comes to second to Mandarin regarding to its number of native speakers around the world. And of course I do not need to tell you how useful it is to pick up one extra language. If you are looking for Spanish, I would recommend this one as this is relatively more popular than the others (as the owner used to be a celebrity in Hong Kong and it does not hurt to have that kind of publicity.) As a matter of fact, what I like about this place is the variety of classes they offer. While most language centres (excluding English ones), aims at teaching teens and adults and they deal with more practical stuff like grammar and vocabulary, this one offers playgroup and classes for kids as well and there are some social activities that allow you to fully immerse yourself in the Spanish world. For some reason, Hong Kong parents have been urging their children to learn one extra language as young as possible excluding English and Mandarin; Spanish seems to be a hot pick for all. I totally agree with this as this is the golden age for learning languages. So basically if you study here, you can have a life-long education on Spanish as early as possible. Another good thing about this place is there are at least two teachers who used to teach at my university so I can guarantee you they are really good teacher.