Attending a camp in Poland as a teenager gave this Law student a wonderful experience in which she had to use English all the time. She has read Harry Potter and Twilight which she describes as classics.

Role-playing movie characters in class was one of the few chances this Software Engineering major had to practise English while studying on the Mainland. She also read newspapers, magazines and course material to prepare for TOEFL.

Taking part in an English language competition during his bachelor studies motivated this student to practise a lot and seek help from mentors and peers. He finds inspiration in song lyrics such as Katy Perry’s Fireworks.

Websites such as Stack Overflow, Wikipedia and the W3School allow this Computer Engineering major to read and share ideas about programming. He learnt conversational English by watching movies like Momento in secondary school.

A fabulous teacher gave this Business major a lot of advice on how to write better and improve his listening skills. She doesn’t feel as close to English in university although she has to read academic papers and journal articles.

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.

English was used for chatting with students from North America and Europe during an exchange to the US. This Cultural Studies major conducts research in English including reading academic articles.

Taking a university course about literature raised this student’s awareness of poetry. It was different to secondary school because she could appreciate how literature relates to human experience.

Spending a month in Switzerland gave Medical student the courage to chat with foreigners in English. The students held discussions and were encouraged to ask questions. She recently read Inferno by Dan Brown.

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.

Rewriting the lyrics for the Alice in Wonderland musical was the culmination of a class competition that involved watching the film and reading the book. This Nursing major read magazines about the human body in secondary school and now course materials related to her major.

Attending a learning centre made this Social Science major appreciate the tutors from different cultures and learning through games and stories. She has bought a lot of books but has not read them. However, she did complete One Day.

A tutor taught this Social Science major to persevere with English. She couldn’t put down James Patterson’s Kiss the Girls until she finished it. She also enjoys self-help books like Thinking Fast and Slow.

Committing to a weekly study session with a friend while in Form 5 enabled this Social Science major to practise English through games and reading. They read Twilight and used a dictionary to check the vocabulary.

An exchange trip to Taiwan in Form Five made this Social Science major think about different ways to learn English in the classroom. She read Marley and Me for a book report because she liked the movie.

Being in drama during secondary school exposed this Social Science major to new vocabulary and sentence structures. Performing also gave him confidence to speak in front of others. He prefers movies to books.

Buying English storybooks such as Dora is the focus of this mother’s visit to the Book Fair. She would buy books about how to care for children if she had more time.

A friend asked this woman to accompany her to the Book Fair where she could also meet her favourite Chinese author. She has read Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but prefers Chinese books.

The Book Fair is an opportunity for this woman to search for bargains. She likes the Shopaholic series and also romantic novels. She doesn’t like sci-fi because it makes her nervous.

The timing of the Book Fair suits this woman as it is near the summer holidays. She looks for books on beauty and those linked to movies. She has read Gone Girl, The Fault in Our Stars and Game of Thrones.

A Book Fair vendor says he likes sci-fi and will read non-stop until he finishes a book. He says sci-fi is less about learning and more about excitement. He has read Star Trek and Harry Potter.

Communicating with people of different nationalities and tertiary educational background has kept this student’s focus on English. She is comfortable reading journal articles related to her major.

Parents encouraged this student to read library books in primary school and newspapers in secondary school. He did not like newspapers because there were too many words.

Group discussion as an alternative to learning strictly about grammar made senior secondary school English classes more interesting for this student. She read Tuesdays with Morrie in Form Three and considers it a good book.

Working in USA Disney put this student in touch with people from different backgrounds and was an alternative to learning English through studying. She reads English news to build her vocabulary and learn sentence structure.

Taking part in debating in secondary school and university was a very effective language learning experience for this student. He has read Brave New World, 1984, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Interacting with her teacher while practising choral speaking in Form Three helped this student. She felt a sense of accomplishment after completing Lord of the Flies in Form Four because it was a difficult book.

English Week activities helped this student during secondary school. He read Harry Potter in Form Three after watching the film.

Studying in Australia during the Hong Kong school holidays allowed this student to experience a more creative learning environment. She likes the contrasts in William Blake’s poetry.

DSE revision helped this student’s spoken English. He read for the SBA part of the DSE but forgets the name of the book. He also likes science fiction.

Learning grammar and important vocabulary in tutorial classes were useful for this student’s DSE experience. He feels comfortable with his reading ability when using English textbooks at university.

University English lessons and subject-specific articles have helped this student develop the vocabulary of psychology. He has to read a lot of textbooks and one novel during the summer break.

Revisiting what has been taught in primary school English while at university was an interesting experience for this student. He has read the Harry Potter series, including the Order of the Phoenix more than 70 times. J.K. Rowling and Malcolm Gladwell are his favourite authors.

A summer internship in a law firm in the US immersed this student in an all English environment. He also used English during a bike trip after the internship. He read Tuesdays with Morrie for her HKCEE studies.

This student recalls listening to regional accents and learning slang in the north of England. He read material written by Robert Boyle for an assignment. He enjoyed a book on the Byzantine era by John Julius Norwich.

This student was surprised when a teacher said he spoke with a German accent. His reading has focused on Chinese texts, but he appreciated the difference when he was writing an assignment in English.

Taking part in a speech festival made this student feel like he was learning from the new vocabulary and poems. He cannot remember the English classics he has read. He reads journal articles in university.

University English classes have interested this student. She has read The Kite Runner.

Listening to music by Westlife motivated this student to find out the meaning of the lyrics. He reads manuals on the Internet to learn about skills for online games.

Role-playing with her cousins in English exposed this student to new vocabulary when she was little. She read a children’s book by Roald Dahl in early secondary school as she felt her English level was beneath that of general native-speaking kids.