It was hard for this student to adjust to an all English curriculum in secondary school. He coped by using Chinese versions of books. He read the Five People You Meet in Heaven. He will use English in the workplace.

Learning English might have been more interesting for this student if the teacher showed movies and played games. She has read TIME and used the Oxford dictionary and Wikipedia. She read Chinese books on a Kindle.

A Chinese teaching major feels there is too much homework to allow time to enjoy language learning through games and conversation. She read National Geographic magazine.

A postgraduate Chinese language teaching student worked hard to pass the IELTS exam. She reads children’s books because she feels her English is poor.

A Maths Teaching major used English while working as a conservation volunteer in Australia. She was happy when she read a few chapters of Harry Potter. She uses Wikipedia for homework and read the South China Morning Post and Young Post in secondary school.

Playing online video games helped this Maths Teaching major make English speaking friends in the US. It has helped him understand different accents. He liked a picture storybook in kindergarten.

Reciting English vocabulary helped this student in the DSE and life in general. Reading is a hobby. He enjoys educational comics.

A strict English only learning environment helped this student’s conversation skills. Her father encouraged her to read Harry Potter in English.

A foreign teacher was fun but this student finds the games and drama did not help. She valued extra-curricular tutorials that focused on exam skills. She has read TIME magazine.

A Geography major in the US had to use English to survive. She knew she mastered the language when she started dreaming in English. She reads the Seattle Times newspaper and course material.

Drama class prompted this student to speak in English but she felt it didn’t help her in the DSE. She feels there should be make-up classes for struggling students. She has no interest in reading in English.

Grammar was challenging for this student because English is different to her mother tongue. She felt there wasn’t enough time for the SBA component of the DSE. She uses English journal articles for homework.

Travelling to the US gave this student the opportunity to use English. She found some course material to be lively. She uses a dictionary when she discovers new words.

English was the lingua franca for this student’s trip to India. She is using English at university and hopes to teach Liberal Studies. Her English reading centres on journals.

Watching a drama in a restaurant was the highlight of this student’s primary school experience. She took part in a book reading scheme in her secondary school. She likes Harry Potter.

During kindergarten, this student’s parents enrolled her in classes with a NET who played games and taught vocabulary. She joined a drama club in secondary school. She bought the Twilight series to improve her English.

A teacher helped this student improve her speech and aural skills by encouraging her to take part in a speaking festival. The same teacher also suggested she read movie subtitles to develop better pronunciation. She also read newspapers.

A student is motivated to practise more with native speakers and tutors because she feels she needs to catch up with other undergraduates. She read Alice in Wonderland.

A student enjoys English quiz games in university. She took part in English day camps during primary school. She did book reports and read the newspaper in secondary school.

Producing a film involved scriptwriting and acting for this ECE major. She says books from England and Hong Kong are different. She also reads some of the books in the tutorial centre where she works part-time.

English speaking days in primary and secondary school became more interesting for this student as they also included drama lessons with NETs. Reading is hard for her but she did a book report for the SBA.

English speaking ambassadors in this student’s secondary school took part in themed activities like Halloween. She read articles posted on the back of the toilet door.

Performing a couple of lines in a secondary school drama encouraged this student. She says her CMI school experience limited her reading but she is trying to finish the Basic Law.

A kindergarten teacher used pictures to help this student build her vocabulary. She had a terrible reading experience and describes her skills as weak.

Tutors in a summer camp showed this student how to learn English through reading, music, and movies. Although she hates English, her parents helped her read A Christmas Carol.

Lunchtime movies and YouTube videos shown by a foreign teacher and the subsequent reflections motivated this student. Nowadays she watches language tutorials on YouTube. She has read Tuesdays with Morrie.

A summer bridge programme which used English to teach a variety of subjects helped this student in the DSE exams. She read passages for school assignments and now looks at websites.

English was used in an NGO programme in this student’s secondary school. She also joined a pair-reading scheme. She says her mobile phone prevents her from reading.

An English Teaching major worked in a group as part of a competition to transform a poem into a video in secondary school. She also read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

A fun teacher made English tutorial classes more enjoyable than school for this student. He doesn’t like reading and there are few chances to read magazines and newspapers. He reads the TV subtitles.

University English tutors and American NETs in secondary school helped this student. She says reading allows you to imagine more than watching movies. She has read The Hunger Games, Twilight, and Harry Potter.

An Australian NET encouraged this Mainland student to speak more during secondary school. She read The Hunger Games after watching the movie. She says students should be proactive and not expect help.

Travelling with an American friend in Japan and playing tour guide in Hong Kong helped develop this student’s language skills. After finishing Can You Keep a Secret, she realised reading would be good for her.

Working with teachers from different backgrounds allowed this student to understand a variety of accents in secondary school. Although she doesn’t like reading, she studied Lord of the Flies in Secondary 4.

A Korean student attended two tutorial classes, one with a native speaker and the other with a Korean who taught grammar. She read book passages for academic purposes.

An English Teaching major entered university after doing a Higher Diploma where she studied the differences between Chinese and English. She later took part in an immersion programme in Australia. She likes books with pictures.

A compulsory immersion in Wollongong, Australia was part of this English Teaching major’s university course. She read Tuesdays with Morrie and attended performance related to the book. Students need more speaking practice.

Listening to Katy Perry’s Firework in secondary school made this student realise that music and videos are effective ways to learn English. He read Martin Luther King’s speech, I Have a Dream but prefers the Internet and YouTube for learning English.

A teacher used the lyrics to Kelly Clarkson’s Because of You in this student’s classes. Nowadays she prefers Cantonese songs. She read an English book for an assignment in junior high school.

A secondary school activity let this Legal Studies major communicate with younger students. He likes reading about Football and will use a printed dictionary at home and his phone when he’s outside. Students should read more newspapers.