Using English as a lingua franca during an exchange in Korea allowed this student to communicate with classmates from other countries. She did some reading to prepare for IELTS.

Performing the drama Snow White in Form 6 was amusing for this Science major. Reading articles and journals is boring.

When this Communications graduate attended the lecture for the first time, he couldn’t understand the professor or the suggested readings. He improved after a few months though.

Debating in secondary school has developed this Surveying major’s research, reading, pronunciation, and presentation skills. He was forced to read every day in secondary school. English is important in his field because the laws and contracts are in the language.

Primary and secondary English lessons taught this Creative Media major grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing skills. He uses academic English at university and also gets the chance to speak with more people.

An ESL class in primary school taught this Actuarial Science major grammar and writing, idioms and poetry. She was eager to read children’s book series. Teachers encouraged her to read newspapers and magazines.

An extra-curricular English class in secondary school gave this Computing Science major a chance to learn with teachers and students from different countries. Reading taught him about western culture.

A daily episode of an American TV drama such as Walking Dead, Homeland and Breaking Bad helped this student’s tone of speech and knowledge of slang. Reading an English classic together with the Chinese version improved his reading.

Performing a drama taught by a secondary school NET was fun for this Engineering major. She read Harry Potter in English after completing the Chinese version.

Subtitles in the movie Sherlock Holmes taught this Engineering major slang and difficult words. His favourite book is The Downing Street Years by Margaret Thatcher.

Working part-time in IT while at university meant this Maths major had to read some technical documents in English. He says although English is not that important for his present studies, he’ll need it for his future career.

A Social Science major recalls the fear of chatting with an American NET for the first time. She uses English when travelling and studying. She reads journals.

Watching movies and TV is a convenient way for this student to learn English. He thinks it is more efficient than reading. He uses English in university where he studies mechanical engineering.

A trip to Canada immersed this Arts major in English through daily interactions. She learnt useful vocabulary such as the names of vegetables. She remembers reading Secret Garden in primary school.

A junior secondary school teacher should have provided more guidance according to this Business Administration major. He tried to learn English through the music of Taylor Swift and Usher. He subscribed to the Standard when he was in secondary school.

This Religious Studies major stayed with an American family with whom he watched and discussed movies. He reads the Bible and course material.

Providing speaking practice for junior students on a ‘talk counter’ in the English promotion team in secondary school was helpful to this Social Science major. Reading and discussing books in class was interesting. The Harry Potter movies are more exciting than the books.

Performing Romeo and Juliet in primary school drama lessons exposed this Science major to Shakespearean English. He didn’t have much time to read during secondary school but remembers completing Matilda.

Studying English in university was better than secondary school for this Psychology major. Due to her interest in psychology, she enjoys reading her textbooks and course material.

An interest in learning English helped this Gender Studies major make a lot of progress. She loves Romeo and Juliet. Frankenstein is inspiring. Mary Shelly has an insight into personality and humanity.

In order to get into a good university, this Engineering major worked hard to prepare for the Gaokao in high school. He reads inspiring short passages every day on his phone.

Daily conversation was taught in this Engineering major’s primary school. He attended tutorials for spoken English. He took a core language course in university.

As a punishment in primary school, this Biology major had after-class lessons until he could pass an English test. He also had to repeatedly do dictations until he passed. The school reading scheme aims to motivate students but he preferred to do other things.

Being an exchange student in Chicago enabled this Engineering major to communicate with native speakers. He remembers reading a speech by Emma Watson.

A teacher in primary school helped this Leisure and Tourism Management major with his spelling. Q & A was the first English book he finished. He picked it because there were many pictures in it.

To prepare for DSE, this Engineering major forced himself to learn English on his own for the first time. He read an article about learning vocabulary in the university language centre.

A secondary school teacher played songs and explained the lyrics to this Science major. All the students in his class were given the same book by their teacher.

Shopping for books is an activity friends can do according to this Environmental Science major. If there’s a choice, he prefers to read in Chinese because he does not like using the dictionary for English books.

Starting with A, B, C, and D, this Hotel Management major began learning English in primary school when she first came to Hong Kong. She found Tuesdays with Morrie easy to read and meaningful.

This student realised the importance of English when she was a teenager. She enjoys watching reality shows and documentaries because they demonstrate how people use English.

Being a regular reader, this Clerk attended the Book Fair to get the signature of her favourite writer. She enjoys reading horror novels and the works of J.K. Rowling and Stephen King.

Writing essays in English classes was torture for this Economics and Finance major. She has read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen twice because she was 10 when she first read it but couldn’t understand the book at all.

Jotting down useful expressions while watching TV dramas is this English major’s learning practice. She watched Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries. Reading post-modern literature allowed her to think from different perspectives.

Learning pronunciation and accent from TED Talks improved this Business major’s spoken English. Stephen King is a good horror writer and this student’s favourite is Full Dark, No Stars.

A teacher used different ways, such as group projects, to make this Fitness major’s learning fun. Biographies chosen by teachers were boring.

This Law major watches films and shows, and reads books. She appreciates how words are manipulated and played by writers. She likes Harry Potter, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Sherlock Holmes and Shakespeare.

To prepare for IELTS, this IT Management major learnt a lot of vocabulary. A teacher gave her an English book as a gift, which she totally doesn’t understand the content.

Attending a tutorial class with different games and activities sparked this Arts major’s interest in learning. She read the Twilight series in Secondary 5.

International students shared their experiences in English when they visited this Communications major’s secondary school. She preferred reading books to newspapers.

A university language class taught this Global China Studies major writings skills. He mostly reads for her exams.