Folks ask me "Hey Sheng!  How exactly did you learn English?"  To answer that question, I must first state that everyone's got their own way of soaking up a language.  Find what suits you best.

Take my bro for instance, to learn Russian he just picked up his Russian dictionary one day and started memorizing a word, 5 words, 10 words/day.  The grinding type - Relentless fighter who never gives up and always ready to face a dare, a challenge.  Takes after my old man.

Dad?  Oh you could hear him projecting Russian vernacular three halls down as if he's arguing with some poor bystander at the local market, tongue twitching and twisting with saliva dashing across the room.  You are strongly advised to equip yourself with an umbrella when entering his study if to engage a civilized conversation, not to mention a mop to clean up the aftermath.

As with me, I went the easy route.  Took up a single, everyday- hobby I thoroughly enjoyed and combined it with the English language – watching TV, especially movies.  If you turn to a movie channel, just give me 10 seconds and I can name its title.  Doesn't matter if it's a scene of wondrous forests or two lovers yapping at one other, I can near most name them all.  Furthermore, for some films I can even recite the lines spoken by the characters within the movie almost word for word, because I don't just watch movies, I repeatedly study them to memory.  Now, this isn't an art I'm too proud to broadcast to the public because it illustrates how I wash away precious hours either sitting in the pitch dark movie theatre or popping in DVDs.  Some yoga.  Others ballroom dance.  I movie.  And thanks to this strange, unorthdox hobby, I've gained two valuable strengths over the years. 

First, my English speaking and listening skills are well honed.  By watching a movie I like dearly over and over, I start to memorize the lines each character says and, funny enough, utilize them in my daily routine.  Being it a line, a joke, a mark of encouragement at the right moment or simply a series of profanity, hey, whatever works.  You'll be surprised how useful and clever these script writers are.  So, for all those students out there striving to be a linguist or a translator or simply trying to pass their next English or whatever language exam – Watch movies!  And make sure you turn on the subtitles when you're at it.  NO CHINESE!!!  Make learning language a fun thing to do.

The second forte I gathered from watching movies is a refined appreciation for the cinema art.  YOU KNOW YOU WATCED A GOOD MOVIE WHEN YOU LEAVE THE THEATRE STILL THINKING ABOUT IT.  You wonder: “How did the story roll out to that ending?”  “Did I miss some important detail?”  “God, I gotta get that movie on DVD so I can watch it over again, carefully.”  When the above-mentioned questions and thoughts pop up in your head, we have a winner!

So, what's your hobby?