Entrance Scholarship (1200 x 450 px) (1)
Banner_Nicolette
KC3 Web Banner
RDTF_WebBanner
previous arrow
next arrow

News & Events

Shakespeare Drama Competition 2026

The HSUHK Shakespeare Drama Competition 2026 carried out successfully on 28th March.

It was an absolute delight to see these young performers bring Shakespeare’s lines to life with such confidence, emotion and power.

A heartfelt thank you to the adjudicators Prof Kwok-kan Tam, Prof Alexa Alice Joubin, Dr Miriam Lau and Dr Beatrice Ma, and Dr Kristen Murray for the wonderful introductory note on Hamlet 

Congratulations to all participants on their outstanding performances and the winners for their well-deserved awards!

  

Open Group

Champion: Winola Lam Wai-Larm, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. Scene performed: Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2: Juliet’s balcony monologue.

First runner-up: Evan Wang Qihao, Adrianna Liang Tingqian, Casey Yuan Chi, Open Group, The University of Hong Kong. Scene performed: Hamlet, Act 5 Scene 1: Gravedigger, Hamlet, Haratio.      

Second runner-up: Janine Chen Jianing, Sunny Gao Yang, Sylvia Wang Qingyan , Adrianna Liang Tingqian, Casey Yuan Chi, The University of Hong Kong. Scene performed: Hamlet, Act 5 Scene 1: Ophelia’s funeral.       

Merit: So Chi Pang, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. Scene performed: Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1: Hamlet monologue – “To be or not to be”. 

Senior Group (S4-S6) 

Champion: Ingrid Wong Yat Sum, Good Hope School. Scene performed: The Merchant of Venice, Act 2 Scene 2: Launcelot – comic conscience debate.

First runner-up: Hayley Sum Yui Ching, St. Paul’s Convent School. Scene performed: Romeo and Juliet, Act 3 Scene 2: Juliet waiting for nightfall when Romeo will return.

Second runner-up: Muyang Tian, North America International School (Shanghai). Scene performed: The Taming of the Shrew, Act 4 Scene 1: Petruchio – taming strategy monologue.       

Merit:

  • Vanessa Chew Ka Yin, Diocesan Girls’ School. Scene performed: Richard III, Act 1 Scene 2: Lady Anne confronting the villainous Richard.
  • Ben Wong Chi Ping, Lung Kong World Federation School Limited Lau Wong Fat Secondary School. Scene performed: The Merchant of Venice, Act 3 Scene 1: Shylock – “Hath not a Jew eyes?”.
  • Yasmin Sun Yau, Good Hope School. Scene performed: The Merchant of Venice, Act 3 Scene 1: Shylock – “Hath not a Jew eyes?” fuller version.
  • Angela Christine Joy Wong, Senior Group, Shun Tak Fraternal Association Yung Yau College. Scene performed: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3 Scene 2: Robin/Puck – “My mistress with a monster…” monologue.

Junior Group (S1-S3)

Champion: Hugo Poon Lok Hei, Shun Tak Fraternal Association Yung Yau College. Scene performed: Twelfth Night, Act 5 Scene 1: Malvolio – outrage at being gulled.                                 

First Runner-up: Felia Cheng Yee Fay, Diocesan Girls’ School. Scene performed: Richard II, Act 4 Scene 1: King Richard II – mirror monologue.                        

Second Runner-up: Aurora Lau, St. Paul’s Convent School. Scene performed: As You Like It, Act 3 Scene 5.                             

Merit:

  • Sophia Koo Yu Sze, St. Clare’s Girls’ School. Scene performed: King Lear, Act 1 Scene 3: Goneril on controlling “idle old man” Lear.
  • Vinca Cheung Tsz Wan, Diocesan Girls’ School. Scene performed: Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 5: Juliet waiting for the Nurse.
  • Jasmine Chan Wan Sum, St. Paul’s Convent School. Scene performed: The Merchant of Venice, Act 1 Scene 2: Portia on the burdens of choice.
  • Tam Tsz Yan, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Li Ka Shing College. Scene performed: As You Like It, Act 3 Scene 5: Rosalind’s monologue.
  • Sinnie Loo, Ines Ng Cheuk Yiu, St. Paul’s Convent School. Scene performed: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3 Scene 2: Hermia and Helena – quarrel dialogue.

 

We believe these experiences will benefit participants in many ways, fostering their creativity, improving their communication skills, and boosting their confidence. We wish them all a flourishing journey ahead! 

 

Photography by Snyder. 

Read More

Departmental Seminar: When Sleeping Women Wake: A Conversation with Emma Pei Yin

The Department of English cordially invites you to join our departmental seminar, When Sleeping Women Wake: A Conversation with Emma Pei Yin, to be organized on 11 November 2025 (Tuesday).
Date: 
11 November 2025 (Tuesday)
Time: 
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Venue:
CR002 Lecture Hall, G/F, Creative Humanities Hub, HSUHK
Speaker:  
Ms Emma Pei Yin, Author of When Sleeping Women Wake
Registration: 
Complete the online registration form to reserve a seat. Available on a first-come first-served basis.
Remarks:
1 iGPS unit will be awarded to undergraduate students who attend the seminar

Abstract
Emma Pei Yin will discuss her remarkable and harrowing debut novel with Dr Jay Parker. It tells the story of three extraordinary women—a mother, her daughter, and their maid—are each forced on a journey of survival during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World War II.
 
“A lushly romantic and impassioned story of women’s agency and resilience.”—Juhea Kim, internationally bestselling author of Beasts of a Little Land and City of Night Birds
 
At once monumental and intimate, When Sleeping Women Wake powerfully explores how ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, and the unwavering hope that love can carry us through even the darkest of times.
 
Bio
Emma Pei Yin is an Australian Chinese writer and editor. She is the author of When Sleeping Women Wake, a historical novel set during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, exploring resilience, complicity and the cost of survival. The book has been published globally. She is also the founder of yinfluence editorial, an agency that works with PoC, queer and neurodivergent writers, connecting them with editors and mentors who understand the stakes of telling stories from the margins. She has been featured in The Canberra Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Mekong Review and The Hong Kong Review. Emma is working on her second novel with her extremely barky dachshund, Lady, by her side.
 
For enquiries, please feel free to contact us at eng@hsu.edu.hk.

Read More

From Page to Screen: How English Literature Shapes Modern Entertainment

Dr Jay Parker gave a talk, “From Page to Screen: How English Literature Shapes Modern Entertainment”, at Kiangsu-Chekiang College in Sha Tin on 19 September.

The talk described how Mary Shelley’s critical engagement with science through the lens of tragic tropes has evolved in modern cinematic adaptation. It focused on the ways in which the critique of science has changed from one of individual tragic over-reaching, into an engagement with the conflict between the popular and elite. Dr Parker explored how cinema, as a mass-media contrasted with the gothic novel, which emerged as a form of entertainment for the affluent and educated. 

Read More

[ENG] Unpacking the Suitcase: Memory, Migration, and Identity with Olivia De Zilva

What do we carry with us? And what do we leave behind?

The English Language Centre at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong is honoured to host acclaimed Asian-Australian author Olivia De Zilva for a special talk on her poignant and darkly comic debut novel, Plastic Budgie (Pink Shorts Press, 2025).

Date: 9 October 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Venue: Lecture Hall CR002, Creative Humanities Hub

Registration: Complete this online form to reserve a seat. Available on a first-come-first-served basis

Remarks: 1 iGPS unit will be awarded to undergraduate students who attend the author talk

 

Author Talk

Plastic Budgie questions how our memories and families form us in a way that is both unapologetically sentimental and eternally surprising.

Olivia was named after a lycra-clad singer her parents saw on Rage. As a child, she lost the ability to speak and spent a year barking like a dog. Her Gong Gong bought her a yellow bird in a shoebox from the Adelaide Central Markets. Her heart was broken by a guitar teacher after a school disco. She started university and learnt to run and travelled to Guangzhou for her cousin’s wedding.

In her brutally funny, genre-defying debut, Olivia De Zilva collects stories on shelves: neat coming-of-age anecdotes and sitcom characters trapped behind glass. Then she breaks it all apart.

Join us for an afternoon conversation led by Dr. Belle Ling from the Department of English to hear De Zilva’s delving into the interplay between memory and identity, in particular, themes on itching Y2K nostalgia, curses, glimpses of birds, diaspora, and the concept of “home.”

This event is a must for anyone interested in contemporary fiction, cross-cultural narratives, and the stories that shape who we are.

Bio:

Olivia De Zilva is a writer based in Kaurna Yerta (Adelaide). Her novel Plastic Budgie was released in July 2025 by Pink Shorts Press. Her novella Eggshell will be released by Spineless Wonders in November 2025. Her fiction and essays have appeared in The Guardian, SBS, The Saturday Paper, Mascara Literary Review and many other publications. Olivia’s writing has been shortlisted by the Richell Prize, The Kat Muscat Fellowship, The Deborah Cass award and recently, was the inaugural winner of the AAWP Novella Prize.

Author Website: https://oliviadezilva.com/

Read More

[ENG] A Date with the Moon in Me: 我和我的月亮有個約會

The Department of English cordially invites you to join the upcoming workshop, A Date with the Moon in Me: 我和我的月亮有個約會 organized by the English Language Centre, on 2 October 2025 (Thursday).

Date: 2 October 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 4:00pm-6:00pm

Venue: CR219, Creative Humanities Hub
 
Registration: Fill in this form to reserve a place
 
Remarks: 1 iGPS unit will be awarded to undergraduate students who attend the workshop
“The moon weeping says
I want to be an orange”
We live under the same moon, but does the moon see us the same?   
More than 1200 years ago, Li Po imagined the moon and his shadow as his drinking companions. In Hong Kong, Lin Xi responds to the lyrics of Teresa Teng’s legendary love song, “The Moon Represents my Heart” (1977), by rewriting how the moon though “once represented somebody’s heart, the end was the same . . . the moon in the past was transformed overnight into the sun today” —this is sung by Faye Wong in “Once in a Blue Moon” (1999). While Lin Xi’s rendering sounds more sentimental, the “moon” in the poem of Wallace Stevens, an American poet in the 20th century, is more philosophical, that Stevens sees the moon as “a dream of pre-history” which leads to a paralinguistic state. 

What is your moon like? What face do you think it wears?
Join Hong Kong illustrator Little Half to rediscover the moon within you, while Dr. Belle Ling from HSUHK’s Department of English will illuminate how literary art shapes our inner moon. In this workshop, you will be guided using water colouring and literary appreciation skills to explore the texture, temperament, and tonality of your unique moon.
Quota: 20 places, first-come-first-served
Workshop Fee: HKD20 (Payment method details will be provided in the confirmation email.)
*This workshop will be conducted in both English and Cantonese.
 
About Little Half:
Kathy Chan is a local HK illustrator who founded the Little Half Studio in 2016. In 2021, she was selected as one of the 2021 Finalist Illustrators at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy. Kathy’s creative works often revolve around the protagonist “Little Half” — a round-faced, slightly chubby girl transitioning from shyness to courage (Website: https://www.instagram.com/littlehalf602/)

Read More

Professor Kwok kan-Tam Co-Publishes Volume on Chinese Diasporic Writers and Artists

Professor Kwok-kan Tam, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science (SHSS) and Chair Professor of English, recently co-published an edited volume titled Chinese Diasporic Writers and Artists: Reimagining Identity and the Self Beyond and Without China with Lily Li.

This book presents new and original essays that capture the enigmatic and intriguing personal and imagined worlds of Chinese writers and artists in diaspora in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Including chapters on artist-writers such as Gao Xingjian, Dai Sijie, Ha Jin and Hong Ying, Tyrus Wong, and Shen Wei, the book explores personal cross-cultural experiences through their literary and other artistic works, reflecting on their cultural identity, their native home, and their new home, the past and the present. By writing, filming, and painting about their diaspora/diasporic experience, they are writing about their selves and the traumatic experience many of them have gone through in forgetting the past, forgiving the damage, and foreshadowing a future by re-visioning their selves. Their experience represents a generation’s quest for an identity of being Chinese but culturally distanced from China.

As a study of cross-cultural human experience through the lens of literature, film, and other arts, this book will not only appeal to students and scholars of Chinese diaspora studies, it will also appeal to those with an interest in Chinese literature, film, and culture.

For details, please visit: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003622253/chinese-diasporic-writers-artists-kwok-kan-tam-lily-li

Read More

ENG Departmental Seminar – Teaching English with Drama Conventions for School Students

The Department of English cordially invited to join our departmental seminar, Teaching English with Drama Conventions for School Students, to be organized by the Department of English on 18 September 2025 (Thursday).

Date: 18 September 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm

Venue: Martin Ka Shing Lee Innovation Lab (XR Lab), G/F, Creative Humanities Hub (CR)

Guest Speaker: Professor Barry Bai, Associate Professor, the Department of Curriculum, CUHK

Registration: Complete this online form to reserve a seat. 35 quotas only, available on a first-come-first-served basis. A confirmation email will be sent to you upon successful registration.

Remarks: 1 iGPS unit will be awarded to undergraduate students who attend the seminar

 

Abstract

Drama is not merely a performing art but also a powerful pedagogical tool for language teaching. It ignites students’ interest while enhancing their linguistic expressions and intercultural communication skills. This workshop, designed for English teachers in the K–12 context and training institutions, explores how to effectively integrate drama-based methods into English instruction. Through immersive demonstrations and hands-on activities, participants will learn practical drama conventions, such as short scene, role play, teacher narration, teacher-in-role and gossip mill to help students use English in authentic contexts, thereby boosting their speaking proficiency, self-confidence, and creativity.

 

Bio

Barry Bai is an associate professor at the Department of Curriculum and the director of Centre for Language Education and Multiliteracies Research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2023 and 2024, he was recognized as a top 2% most cited researcher in languages and linguistics worldwide by Stanford University. Additionally, he was named a Highly Ranked Scholar (Lifetime – top 0.05%, #20 and Prior 5 Years – top 0.05%, #3) in the specialty of primary school in 2024 by ScholarGPS. Currently, he serves as the president of Hong Kong Association for Applied Linguistics (HAAL) and is an associate editor of European Journal of Education and Asia Pacific Journal of Education. He is a recipient of 2014/2015 Faculty Exemplary Teaching Award and has secured highly competitive research funds, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) Competitive Research Funding Schemes (GRF/ECS) for 2018/2019 and 2022/2023. He has conducted multiple projects on English teachers’ continuing professional development funded by Quality Education Fund (QEF) and Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) of the Hong Kong Education Bureau and the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a total funding amount of over HK$ 35 million. Professor Barry has provided training and professional development support to approximately 646 primary and secondary schools, 4,300 English teachers and 50,000 students (alongside 12,880 parents). Through his projects (e.g., GRF, QEF, and SCOLAR), the participants developed and adopted school-based teaching and learning materials. His work appears in leading education journals, including Computers & Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, Social Psychology of Education, Research Papers in Education, Cambridge Journal of Education, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Studies in Educational Evaluation, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Language Teaching Research, Applied Linguistics Review, TESOL Quarterly and System.

 

Please register early to secure your spot. For enquiries, please feel free to contact us at eng@hsu.edu.hk.

Read More

Revisiting Yi Yi with Dr. Paul Fung: A Post-Screening Dialogue

The Department of English is pleased to share an upcoming event featuring our Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Dr. Paul Fung, in conversation with Edward Lam, Artistic Director of Edward Lam Dance Theatre and director of The Yi Yi Trilogy.

Following the screening of Edward Yang’s acclaimed film Yi Yi, Dr. Fung—who has published research on the film—will offer his insights into its themes of childhood, imitation, and emotional purity, focusing on the character Yang Yang. What does it mean to love purely? How does a child’s way of seeing the world contrast with the adult experience?

Whether you’re a longtime fan of Yi Yi or discovering it for the first time, this conversation promises to spark meaningful reflections and new perspectives.

For more details, please visit broadwaycinematheque.


 

曾撰寫論文研究電影《一一》的馮啟陽,與受《一一》啟發而創作出《一一三部曲》映畫作品的林奕華,於放映後展開對談,分享對心愛電影《一一》的個人見解與欣賞角度。

馮啟陽:「洋洋和成年人的世界觀不同。他喜歡了學校的一位女班長。她喜歡游泳,於是他在浴缸模仿游泳的感覺。他又跳進泳池,希望感受她的世界。洋洋透過模仿來表達愛,相比起成年人談戀愛來得純粹。孩子喜歡模仿,而這種模仿力隨着我們成為大人而漸漸消失。電影中的大人缺少了孩子的純粹,需經歷回憶、遺憾、罪疚感所帶來的傷痛。另一方面,電影中呈現的商業社會充斥着大量生產的複製文化。雖然過程中涉及模仿,但這種模仿傾向把對方的獨特性破壞,最終目的是降低成本,擴大收益。NJ的公司和他的同事便是最好例子。洋洋的模仿力和商業掛帥的台北所帶來的複製文化形成有趣的反差。洋洋的行為令人覺得他頑皮,但他可能是電影中唯一得到快樂的人。他和成年人的『複製觀』有甚麼分別?他的『愛情觀』和婷婷、敏敏和NJ又有什麼不同?他對怠倦的都市人又帶來什麼啟示?當他說他真的老了,意思是他再也不能純粹地愛嗎?」

《一一》映後談
日期:2025年9月6日
時間:7:30pm
地點:油麻地百老匯電影中心1樓
分享嘉賓:馮啟陽博士 (⾹港恒⽣⼤學英⽂系副教授及⼈⽂社會科學學院副院⻑)
主持:林奕華 (「非常林奕華」藝術總監、《一一三部曲》導演)

主題: 從孩子的角度閱讀《一一》的世界

Read More

Dr. Anna Tso Co-Publishes Volume on Educational Technology and AI-Assisted Academic Writing

Dr. Anna Tso, Head and Associate Professor of the Department of English, recently co-published an edited volume titled Transcending Boundaries in the Digital Age with Steven Ng, Tiffany Bai, Noble Lo, and Wendy Chan. This book volume explores educational technology in the digital era, covering hybrid and online learning, equity, emerging technologies, assessment, collaboration, and skills development. It offers research, strategies, and ethical considerations, guiding educators toward inclusive empowerment. 


The chapter “Questioning the Quality of AI-Assisted Academic Essays: From the Perspectives of English Teachers and Postgraduate Students” by Dr. Anna Tso explores postgraduate students’ perceptions and experiences of employing AI in academic writing. The findings highlight that generative AI can only generate academic writing of limited quality. Users of AI are recommended to focus on translating proper names accurately and verifying the credibility of content, in-text citations, and references provided by AI. For details, please visit: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-96-2921-3

Read More

Dr Holly Chung Receives Prestigious Award for Innovative Language Learning Book

The Department of English at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (HSUHK) is pleased to share that Dr Holly Chung, Senior Lecturer, has been recognised at the 5th Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards, receiving a Publishing Award in the “Language Learning” category for her co-authored book Learning Phrasal Verbs through Comics: An Adventure in the Village of Shapes. The book was published by Crown Publishing (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd, with illustrations by a local cartoonist.

 

This award celebrates excellence in publishing across the region, and Dr Chung’s book was selected as one of only ten winners in its category. The title stands out for its creative approach to language education, combining engaging comic-style visuals with practical learning of English phrasal verbs—an area often challenging for learners. The result is a highly accessible and enjoyable resource for students and educators alike.

The Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards have become a hallmark of quality in the Chinese-language book industry. Organised by the Hong Kong Publishing Professionals Society and funded by the CreateSmart Initiative under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Awards are regarded as one of the most authoritative accolades in the Chinese-language publishing world.

The judging process is both rigorous and transparent, conducted over three stages between February and May 2025. The selection begins with a qualification review, followed by initial judging by a representative panel of local publishers, veteran editors, and academic experts. The final stage is conducted by a jury of publishing and cultural professionals from across Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Taiwan.

Dr Chung’s recognition in this year’s awards not only highlights her academic commitment to language learning and pedagogy but also affirms the Department of English’s efforts in promoting creative and impactful educational materials.

As part of the government’s initiative to promote reading, the awarded books will be featured in public library exhibitions, local and cross-border bookstores, and highlighted during “Hong Kong Reading for All Day” held annually on 23 April, in conjunction with World Book Day.

The Department of English sends its warmest congratulations to Dr Chung on this well-deserved honour. Her work is an example of our Department’s commitment to inspirational, effective education and to making learning English more enjoyable and accessible to everyone.

Read More

Contact Us

For further information about the department, our programmes or services, please get in touch.