Memory master shines despite being a poor student of English

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, otorhinolaryngology and pachyderm - just three of 20 random words that Roy Lam Kin-tung memorised in a five-minute display yesterday.

At the recent Welsh Memory Championship he memorised 42 random words in five minutes. Lam is now ranked 31st in the world in the 'five-minute words' category - the highest-ranking Chinese.

In yesterday's demonstration for reporters, Lam memorised 20 words in order, including those listed above, in five minutes. Seven competitors - from Ireland, Britain and Sweden - took part in the Welsh championship. Other categories included memorising poker cards, binary number, dates and names.

Although Lam, director-general of the Hong Kong Memory Study Association, finished last at the Welsh championship, he said he was proud of his efforts since he could memorise more words than many native-English speakers.

'My English has never been good. Unlike native speakers, I do not understand most of the words in the competition,' he said.

Lam, 34, failed all English dictation exercises in school and has never been a top student. 'In the past, I would forget people's names almost as soon as I met them,' he said.