Learning English in Canada as part of a university activity was more enjoyable than in Hong Kong because the teachers were more encouraging. This Nursing major read Seventeen magazine and watches make-up videos on YouTube.

This Business major experienced an all English learning environment in primary school in Beijing when a foreign teacher led the class. She read a book of horror stories given to her by her mother.

Reading TIME magazine is a way for this Business major to improve his English. He thinks reading books is important as it is difficult to find structured information on the Internet.

Star Wars was part of this Science major’s English learning experience when he was young. He read some reference books for his studies.

A British Council course with NETs led to a rapid improvement in this student’s level of English. He also uses English while playing rugby. He likes to understand the lyrics to songs by Bruno Mars, Jason Mraz, and Maroon 5.

Watching dramas and movies expanded this Social Work major’s everyday vocabulary but it didn’t help with the formal English requirement of the DSE. She read parts of Twilight.

After hearing Sophie Kinsella’s books are good, this Business major bought the Shopaholic series. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling is her favourite.

TV dramas, such as Heroes, taught this Business major daily conversation. She is interested in astrology and reads about it in English.

Winning a writing competition gave this Chinese Medicine major a chance to go on a study tour in Singapore. She read a story to her schoolmates in a morning assembly at primary school. Her favourite author is Roald Dahl.

Reading the South China Morning Post helps this student learn English.

Performing in a secondary school musical allowed this Social Work major to acquire vocabulary through lyrics and dialogue. She read The Hunger Games series and novels by Cecelia Ahern. Due to a lack of time, she mostly reads Chinese books now.

After studying lyrics in secondary school, this Mechanical Engineering student fell in love with English songs. Her favourite bands are Westlife and My Chemical Romance. She prefers design books but has read some of Shakespeare’s works including Macbeth.

A study tour to England trained this Accounting and Finance major to communicate with foreigners in the language. She read Animal Farm by George Orwell for her literature class.

A tutorial class helped this Business major get great improvement in English within a few months. She does not like reading English because it is dull and difficult for her.

A study tour to Australia improved this Chinese major’s communication skills. Reading The Christmas Carol was inspiring. She did it for a reading scheme in secondary school.

English classes were boring for this Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering major as he was not interested in the subject. His teacher always gave him a lot of articles to read.

An enthusiastic teacher was willing to do extra work for this Nursing major. She read newspapers every day in secondary school to learn new vocabulary.

Using English while travelling in Canada was more comfortable for this Social Science major because it didn’t involve being tested. YouTube videos helped her understand a book on morality.

A Biology major enjoyed watching the movie Alien during a Year 3 university English course. After completing the Chinese version of Harry Potter in junior secondary, he read the English one.

Debates in a Chinese Architecture course required this Science major to spend a lot of time preparing. Extensive reading and speaking exercises in a university English course were stressful but effective in learning.

An extra-curricular class arranged by her mum helped this Management major to expand her vocabulary. Her teachers recommended she read newspaper editorials.

Listening to the BBC and watching a drama helped this student with the DSE. She likes the vampires in the Twilight books. She says there is more detail in text.

Watching movies like Whiplash and listening to songs by Alanis Morissette helped this Nutritional Science major to build her vocabulary in secondary school. She finds English easy to learn but difficult to master. She uses Wikipedia and the dictionary.

This Computer Science major had plenty of opportunities to speak English while staying with relatives in Liverpool (UK). He took a week to comprehend an essay related to his major with the help of a dictionary.

Acting as a translator for an American teacher while shopping in Hangzhou raised this Sociology major’s confidence. She translated a Chinese manuscript to English for a friend.

An interest in English pop music and TV shows helped improve this China Studies major’s language skills. She likes Breaking Bad and Gossip Girl.

Learning grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing and speaking have contributed to this Education major’s English learning. Joining extra-curricular activities was also a source of learning.

A teacher in primary school used puppets to practise everyday English with this Ecology major. She gave up reading Sherlock Holmes midway since it was too difficult and this discouraged her from other fiction.

An interest in English led this Sociology major to improve her language skills through books, movies and university courses. She read Pride and Prejudice and Death of a Salesman for a literature course.

A mother told this student interesting English stories during her childhood. She remembers the pictures and the clothes. In university she socialises with students from Germany and Finland in English.

A family trip to England gave this student a chance to communicate more with native speakers. He reads the BBC news every day and also self-enrichment books. English is also used in his university courses.

Classes in secondary school prepared this Design major for the DSE yet her knowledge of everyday English is limited. She prefers Chinese and reads only English references and online sources if needed.

Volunteering as a teacher in Bangladesh exposed this Engineering major to other varieties of English. His secondary school teachers pushed him to read to improve his vocabulary.

High school English literature class is a favourite of this Economics major. He enjoyed the books assigned by the teacher but prefers to read science fiction, especially movie adaptations.

Singing was a form of punishment used to make quizzes and tests more interesting for this Nursing major and her classmates. She read Odyssey for a course and it was an inspiring read.

Singing and the ABC song and reading story books marked the beginning of this student’s English learning. He learnt grammar primary school, focused on exams in secondary and started to appreciate the language in university.

Learning street dance motivated this English major to watch video tutorials. His friend gave him the book Paper Towns in which he came across the poet Walt Whitman. Aimless Love by Billy Collins is his favourite poetry collection. He also likes In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

This Economics major enjoyed chatting with his university English teacher and also made many friends. He read a book written by Donald Trump in his exchange to the USA.

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

Learning that focuses on reading and people who are hesitate to speak in English are cited as a problem for Hong Kong. Reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest made this Engineering major think about confirming to society’s norms.