A word game in a university English class boosted this Communication major’s creativity and language use. After watching the film One Day, she read the original book and finds that the movie and the book are different.

A school teacher remembers using English with a German businessman during a dinner hosted by her parents. She read Lord of the Flies for a secondary school literature class.

Participating in the Youth Summit placed this Translation major in an all-English environment and motivated her to improve. Reading the non-fiction book David and Goliath was different to reading fiction stories.

Participating in a competition in junior high school improved this Business major’s speaking and academic English. Readings for a philosophy course were more difficult than those directly related to her major.

After listening to heavy metal, this Engineering major finds reading newspapers and books easier due to his expanded vocabulary. He says other students can learn from listening to music.

Joining a programme called Little Star allowed this Marketing major to learn English through fun activities. Performing drama sparked her interest in the language. She read The Great Gatsby for a university course.

Tenses was the learning foci throughout this Engineering major’s primary and secondary education. He was required to do academic writing in university. He also learnt through everyday communication.

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.

Primary and secondary English classes should be more interactive and less drilling. This Product Design major turned to YouTube and dramas to prepare for the DSE but was still unhappy with the result.

As a part-time banquet helper, this Accounting major got an unexpected opportunity to speak English when his customers turned out to be foreigners. He read Harry Potter in English because he could not wait for the Chinese translation to come out.

Watching The Importance of Being Earnest brought the text to life for this Biotechnology major. She analysed Hills Like White Elephants in her English class. She likes Oscar Wilde for his sarcasm.

Doing many exercises in class was useful for exams but not for the daily life according to this Psychology major. Reading Harry Potter in primary school was rewarding.

Playing games created an exciting atmosphere in this Social Work major’s class. She became more eager to read after her teacher gave her an interesting book by Roald Dahl.

School English classes were the only language learning activity for this Finance major. She read the required books in school and textbooks in university.

During secondary school and university, this Accounting and Finance major applied his performance and English skills when participating in the drama club. His English teacher brought books to life during readings.

Hong Kong education needs to shift from being teacher-centred and exam-oriented to interactive according to this Science graduate. In primary school, he liked Roald Dahl’s stories and read Matilda and The Witches.

Learning debate in an extra-curricular environment during Secondary 2 allowed this Business major to develop critical thinking skills. He read passages rather than books.

An English camp let this Accounting and Finance major meet friends from different countries. Harry Potter is her first English book. She only reads textbooks now.

This Visual Arts major received dialogue coaching from teachers while she prepared for a drama competition in Form Four. She prefers to read Chinese books but read English fiction and non-fiction for the SBA.

A tutor in an extra-curricular class told this Design major that grammar does not matter which is the opposite of what she learnt in school. She thinks the passage on the DSE reading paper is very difficult to understand.

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.

An English teacher in secondary school taught this Astronomy major that English was part of his daily life and therefore he needed to do it well. Reading journal articles for the DSE exam was confusing.

Going on an exchange to the US gave this Science major an opportunity to learn the culture and talk with his American room-mate. Although he found reading newspapers such as the South China Morning Post useful, he didn’t enjoy having to do it every day.

English classes were compulsory in secondary school for this Early Childhood Education major. She attended tutorials in primary school. She chose English as a minor in university and has taught in a tutorial school.

Catching up to her secondary school classmates in English learning meant this Corporate Communications major had to memorise new vocabulary. She developed a ‘feeling’ for the language which is extremely important. She frequently uses the dictionary while doing university readings.

Memorising vocabulary has been difficult for this Electrical Engineering major. She has not read much but would buy some books based on movies she had seen.

Watching the movie The Dark Knight Rises expanded this Nursing graduate’s vocabulary. He recalled the first time he had read a journal article and observed how the information was presented differently from newspapers, magazines or textbooks.

Doing past papers for the DSE in her own time improved the English listening skills of this Surveying major. She read newspapers provided by her teacher and was asked to write journals weekly which enriched her vocabulary bank.

During an exchange to Scotland, this Media major noticed the difference in expression across countries. After watching the Harry Potter movie, he read the book in secondary school.

Attending an English cafe workshop let this Arts major share her school life with classmates and teachers. She read fiction books during a dedicated session in secondary school. She likes Twilight.

This Business major‘s speaking skills were improved through presenting his ideas in group discussions. He reads more on the Internet but enjoyed reading about the culture of Iran in a graphic book, Persepolis.

Playing a role in a mock trial in university helped this Arts major gain confidence in speaking. Tess of the d’Urbervilles was the first English classics he read. Works by Thomas Hardy and Oscar Wilde improved his writing.

Doing a two-minute self-introduction in a freshman English class felt like speed-dating for this Politics and Geography major. He skims through a lot of the course reading material as he only focuses on specific points.

A secondary school class enabled this BBA major to meet and chat with people from different countries. He watched the Harry Potter movies and read the books.

Studying grammar made this Computer Engineering major fall asleep during English lessons. He likes watching films in English but Chinese subtitles help him to understand the dialogue. He browses Stack Overflow for programming solutions.

School English classes were the major language input for this Science major. He read Harry Potter in Form 5 after watching the movie.

Being part of a secondary school performance of Titanic improved this Business major’s vocabulary and pronunciation. An interesting cover on The Magic Finger motivated him to read the book.

A university class taught this Economics major how to write a resume and cover letter as well as how to perform in job interviews which she thought would be useful for her future career. She usually reads books related to her major.

Travelling made this Economics and Finance major feel there’s too much emphasis on accent in Hong Kong. He liked the courage and the friendship between the characters in Harry Potter. He also read The Hunger Games, National Geographic and The Economist.

This postgraduate student has been learning and practising English since primary school. She has been on an exchange to London and enjoys self-reading.