A church leader focused on communication and not grammar while teaching out of a textbook.

This student enjoyed an interactive drama performance with foreign actors while in secondary school. She uses the Internet to read about different attitudes to horoscope.

A secondary school English teacher built-up this Health Education major’s vocabulary. He reads for research purposes. He uses English to learn more about sports such as basketball and football.

Talking about daily life events with friends in an English Corner was a memorable experience for this student. His reading centres on textbooks.

Drama classes in this student’s secondary school involved improvisation. He says it helped improve communication for daily life. He will read something related to his hobbies.

This student describes his English learning experience as “pretty simple”. His English reading mostly centres on textbooks. He says he has learnt English from playing computer games.

University tested this graduate’s English proficiency because it was the medium for instruction and homework. He reads about soccer on the Internet and read a book about North Korea.

Group discussions during the DSE speaking module is enjoyable. This student seldom reads in English except for lecture notes. He uses English to communicate with gamers from other countries.

PhD studies involve writing, reading and presenting in English for this Engineering major. It’s important to have good speaking skills to communicate with scholars from other countries. He reads about psychology as he finds it interesting.

Producing drama in secondary school triggered this Engineering major to research into the area. Reading the South China Morning Post informed him about the world and grammar. Playing online games with foreigners has taught him slang.

The desire to find out more about the movie Twilight Saga triggered this Engineering major to start reading the novel. Reading increases her vocabulary. She realises the importance of precision in academic writing.

Learning French supplemented with English has improved this Nursing graduate student’s English. Choir singing brushes up his knowledge of pronunciation.

Learning English on YouTube is an alternative to regular schooling for this Engineering major. He picked up the IPA, grammar and vocabulary online. Playing computer games with foreign teammates gave him opportunities to communicate in English.

Enthusiasm about astronomy has led this Management major to subscribe to online lectures conducted in English. She also read many relevant articles in TOEFL exam papers. Among her favourite writers are George Orwell and Stephen King.

Working as a summer English tutor has made this student more aware of his use of language. He stays in touch with foreign students in university using text messages. He likes design and architecture books.

Instructional videos on a gamers’ platform called Twitch has exposed this Computer Engineering major to slang and pronunciation. He uses Wikipedia to help him understand some of the subjects he is studying.

Video games with storylines and instructions in English helped this Engineering major’s language learning. He browses English websites and enjoys reading Japanese comics.

Interacting with other gamers online has broadened this Business major’s language skills. He feels comfortable chatting online because he can speak without focusing on grammar. He reads The Economist weekly but may miss the meaning of sentences even with 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.

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.

The Internet is a self-study resource for this Engineering major. He also reads books related to his major such as Core Java and publications by Isaac Newton and da Vinci.

An interest in bands led this student to develop an interest in inversion. While reading 1984, she felt like she became part of the story. She also likes Cloud Atlas.

English was the lingua franca for this student’s university exchange to Moldova. She read about a swimmer in the 2004 Olympics because she liked him.

An English documentary about WWII sparked this student’s interest in history. He is impressed by the journeys described in James Fergusson’s book about the Taliban. He views English as an international language and a focus for employers.

Songs and lyrics boosted this student’s motivation to learn in secondary school. She read One Thousand and One Nights.

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.

Being part of the Umbrella Revolution motivated this BBA major to read more from news media like the BBC and TIME. He feels he needs someone to teach him how to read efficiently.

English was needed by this Engineering major when he interacted with an NBA player in a basketball coaching camp. He also likes reading about basketball, particularly Jeremy Lin.

In a church camp, this Social Science major had daily English lessons with NETs. She read News from Nowhere recommended by her teachers because of her interest in utopia.

Fiction motivated this Social Science major to read English and to understand the sentences and words. She likes Sophie Kinsella and the Shopaholic series.

Story plots and scripts are used in games by this Computer Science major. He felt like he was part of the story when he was reading Harry Potter.

During an exchange to England, a retired professor checked this Environmental Management major’s writing every week. She reads books about self-development and writing skills. Her favourite book is Tuesdays with Morrie.

The English environment in Australia allowed this trainee doctor to learn English faster. The interest in Michael Jordan motivated him to read I Can’t Accept Not Trying. He reads about sports online.

A secondary school teacher used songs to teach this Psychology major grammar and listening skills. The Alchemist talks about personal development, a topic in which she is interested.

Playing computer games with an overseas friend lets this History major speak English. Reading newspapers broadens his vocabulary. He prefers local news with which he is more familiar.

Motivated by his parents, this Social Science major overcome the difficulty of studying in an EMI school. The love of mathematics made him learn the vocabulary in his textbook.

Playing the card game “Magic: The Gathering” expanded this Business major’s vocabulary. He gave up reading The Economist because of the unfamiliar sentence structures and vocabulary.

Preparing for TOEFL involved understanding a lot of subjects and handling all kinds of questions that will appear in the exam according to this Business major. As a debater in school, she read the BBC news to familiarise herself with world affairs.

Car racing commentators taught this Engineering major listening, intonation and grammar. Reading The Citadel was enjoyable. He also read a book about the Titanic.

Playing video games with a dictionary enhanced this Social Work major’s vocabulary. He reads lyrics while listening to English songs.