Kai Yu started to learn English when she was a sixth grader in elementary school. Like many other students, Kai-- Yu went to cram schools to improve her English when she was in junior high school (7th to 9th grades) She believed the intensive language classes would help her improve English a lot.
Nevertheless, she reported that she lost her motivation to learn English when she entered senior high school. When she entered the English department at college,
she was very excited about the courses in the department. She became motivated to learn English again. In addition to attending classes, she engaged herself in English-related extracurricular activities such as English storytelling and English songs
competitions. In her own leisure time, Kai Yu sought opportunities to practice her English, such as listening to English radio, seeing movies in English, keeping diaries in English and chatting with friends online.