A project on the origins of the English alphabet enhanced this student’s knowledge of the language. He considers Peter Pan, which he read in high school, as a classic.

A PhD student recalls watching Mr Bean videos in secondary school.

Training as an Army Cadet in the UK taught this Social Science major listening and speaking skills. He seldom reads English books.

A teacher said that this Business major could learn a lot from movies and TV shows. She felt excited about watching Harry Potter, her first English movie in secondary school. She finds it difficult to understand books despite knowing the meaning of individual words.

Teachers encouraged public speaking in this Food Safety major’s secondary school. She started reading the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas to learn the meaning behind the story.

Watching TV shows exposed this English major to American accents and culture. She read articles from WeChat and browsed learning websites such as VOA and BBC.

Attending the Book Fair with her friend this year, this Customer Services Officer found some comics that she likes to read.

A secondary school teacher guided this student and her classmates to identify the parts of speech in newspaper articles. Watching a drama performance, also in secondary school, was an enriching experience.

Being an exchange student in Germany exposed this Translation major to different accents. She took part in a project and read the book Pride and Prejudice to blind children.

Watching movies such as Pride and Prejudice and An Inspector Calls in English lessons captivated this Law student. She had many readings related to her major.

This Nutrition major works in a company where she interacts with overseas colleagues. She learns their accents, vocabulary and pronunciation. She read Harry Potter and other books before, but now she focuses on academic material.

Face-to-face communication with native English speakers is more effective than traditional school lessons. Reading Harry Potter helped this Business major get a satisfactory A-level result.

Communicating with people from around the world during a trip to the UK gave this Criminology major a chance to practise her spoken English. She read The Carnival Ghost for the SBA but did not enjoy it. She prefers non-fiction text about topics she finds interesting.

A family trip to New York and Niagara Falls provided an unexpected English cultural exchange for this Banking and Financial Services major as she had to communicate with other tourists. She has read Twilight and prefers to watch movies before starting a book to get more background.

An unkind gesture from her teacher in Nepal marked an unpleasant memory for this English major. The Secret Island by Enid Blyton is the book she has treasured the most because it is the first book she has ever read. She selected it because of its appealing cover during her first trip to a bookstore.

English has been important for this Engineering major since an early age as it was the language for communicating with her family’s domestic helper. She likes books by Mitch Albom.

Being an English ambassador in secondary school led this Nursing major to attend a free enhancement course and organise activities for her classmates. There were weekly reading sessions in primary school.

This Education major participated in a choral speaking competition, and enjoyed learning poems and working with her classmates. She likes reading newspapers more than books.

Reciting and retelling stories every week improved this Business major’s spoken English and his sense of the language. His class loved reading and held sharing sessions. The Great Gatsby is his favourite book.

Travelling put this Civil Engineering major in touch with English speaking people. Reading the South China Morning Post every day improved his English proficiency.

A student who felt frustrated during an English language summer camp practised alone by talking to herself. Most of her reading was past papers for the A-level exam but she now plans to read Gone Girl.

A teacher always punished this Sociology major because her English was poor. She had to do book reports in secondary school. She uses the dictionary and Wikipedia to help her comprehend academic readings.

A private tutor taught pronunciation to this Social Work when he was in primary school. The Great Gatsby is deep and meaningful because the author explores a lot of hidden meanings.

This Geography major had a hard time transitioning from a CMI primary school to an EMI secondary school. She finally understood the book Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? after a few years of university studies.

A university English course related to this Business major’s career goals. He started reading a book about expatriate life while travelling after buying it in an airport shop.

After doing an online quiz, this student signed up for private tutorials which were more fun than secondary school classes. Due to a poor English result in Form Three, she decided to read Dracula to improve.

English learning began in primary school with dictation for this Chinese Language Teaching major. Most of her reading has been passages for academic purposes only.

Discussion is an interactive and effective way for this Finance major to learn English. Talking to native speakers in university also helps her a lot. She read online financial news on Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance.

Eating lunch with his secondary school English teacher gave this student an opportunity to learn more phrases and vocabulary. He read Hamlet and Macbeth in junior secondary and now reads The Economist to help with his BBA studies.

During a one-week school trip to Canada, this Business major used English to speak with foreigners for the first time. She was forced to read long English texts during class.

The comic version of Animal Farm encouraged this science and web technology major to read more English books during Form Three. Nowadays he can only recall reading some Harry Potter and prefers to watch the English news on TVB Pearl.

An English workshop with games in secondary school was an easy and interesting way for this student to learn English. He has read Harry Potter and uses a newspaper to learn more English.

Chatting with the instructor and classmates in university English lessons was a positive difference noted by this Information Systems major. He finds university course material interesting.

Joining the debating team taught this Medical student not to slur his words. He read Harry Potter, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Robinson Crusoe, The Hardy Boys, and his favourite is the Redwall Series. He likes dystopian stories and recommends Agatha Christie to those who want to improve English through reading.

Writing a newspaper article about the death of a movie character let this Science major learn the language used by journalists. J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, such as The Lord of the Rings, kindled his interest in reading.

Primary school is where this Sociology major learnt basic grammar and daily conversation. He was an audience member of a debate competition and went on an exchange in senior secondary. Nowadays, he has gatherings with exchange students in his university.

Due to limited exposure to English, this Chemistry major had to put extra effort into preparing for IELTS. Reading a lot in that time was memorable.

A kindergarten teacher gave this Business major more confidence with his English because he had struggled as a new arrival in the US. He appreciates the moral of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Reality shows like The Amazing Race exposed this Economics and Finance major to real communication between native speakers. Reading financial news and commentaries in Bloomberg and Reuters prepares him for job interviews and improves his English.

A singing contest in secondary school allowed this Science major to have fun listening to her classmates. A teacher recommended Tuesdays with Morrie but she found it difficult to understand.