When reading English text, this retired Teacher prefers shorter works such as National Geographic or weekly magazines.

Newspapers are the preferred English text for this Graphic Designer. She reads to broaden her knowledge and possibly help her get a better job. It is easier to read Chinese books.

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.

Meeting lots of people in Hong Kong and speaking to them in English improved this Engineering major’s language skills. He reads finance news on the BBC website. He reads a bible given to him by a church and started Les Miserable after watching the movie.

Even though this Music major wanted to read more English books in secondary school, she watched more movies instead. She read short articles in the Standard for school assignments. She enjoyed watching a movie about how fast food affects our health.

Drama and games with new friends in university exposed this student to new vocabulary and culture. A textbook provided insight into how different cultures eat. He finds it difficult to listen to native speakers.

A university exchange in New York allowed this Media and Communication major to meet one of her favourite authors, Jodi Picoult. She has read Wild by Cheryl Strayed. She likes TV dramas, movies, rap music and popular magazines.

Winning a class competition for a video in secondary school created a good learning atmosphere for this Engineering major. She reads the South China Morning Post to improve her English.

Despite winning a competition singing an English song, this Management major does not think her interest in music helps her learning. She likes to read fashion magazines.

Studying phonics and taking part in English singing and speech competitions became a habit for this student who now likes western pop music. She uses social media to find interesting articles to read.

Starting from kindergarten, this Creative Media major felt her parents, especially her mum, forced her to learn English. She attended a special English-speaking kindergarten and was forced to watch CNN and the BBC. Reading is difficult because she has to check words in the dictionary.

A university tutor used humour, short movies and western culture in English classes. This Electronics major listened to an audio version of the Fantastic Four and watched the movie.

Newly released English language TV shows were a challenge for this Global China Studies major because they didn’t have subtitles. He reads more now that he is in university. TIME, The Economist, and Wikipedia are good study resources.

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.

An internship in the United States raised this Business major’s confidence in speaking English. She reads TIME, Vogue and National Geographic but also browses websites for articles on human behaviour.

The competitive environment of secondary school motivated this Cultural and Heritage Management major to improve her English by reading more books and learning about grammar. It was compulsory to read the newspaper in her secondary school.

A pre-university course in London enabled this Global China Studies major to interact with classmates from different countries. She likes Twilight because the plot is romantic and uses the dictionary and Wikipedia for learning.

Chatting with native speakers enabled this student to improve his speaking skills. Grammar books were useful for getting good exam results. He read Reader’s Digest and used a Kindle. He enjoys watching the comedian Michael Mclntyre.

Memorising ‘tons’ of vocabulary provided by tutors during secondary school was important for this student’s English writing and reading. He enjoys news articles from The Economist and TIME.

A brilliant secondary school English teacher explained the use of Shakespeare in Chinese writing and prepared this Environmental Science major and her classmates for exams with drills and news clippings. Agatha Christie’s famous detective character Hercule Poirot is funny and made her think about life.

A secondary school English teacher set a high standard for this Music major when he was preparing for the A-levels. One of the exercises was reading the newspaper every day. He now reads course material.

Teaching English to primary student students was unpleasant for this Physics major because it was hard to express himself. The readings in a compulsory university English course contain a lot of unfamiliar vocabulary.

English is the lingua franca for this Religious Studies major when playing football with international students at university. It was compulsory to subscribe to a newspaper and clip stories during secondary school.

After a bad experience in kindergarten, this Accounting major’s mum placed her in a neighbourhood learning group led by an American tutor. She learnt through field trips and everyday activities. She read a lot of Mitch Albom books and also magazines such as TIME and Vogue.

English tutorial classes taught this Chinese Medicine major communications skills. She valued the lessons because she mostly used Cantonese. She has read TIME magazine and thinks the articles are informative.

Chatting with international students at university has helped this Information Engineering major develop English conversation skills. He uses a dictionary when reading the newspaper. He warns that Google Translate is limited.

Attending a summer school in the UK during secondary school immersed this Nursing major in an English speaking environment. She read TIME magazine while preparing for the DSE because it broadened her knowledge of international issues.

A drama competition in secondary school was a welcome break from exams and textbooks for this English major. He was the scriptwriter and used a dictionary to complete the job. The local content in the SCMP is appealing.

Writing research papers and proposals in university has been the most challenging for this Medical and Automation Engineering major. Reading Harry Potter is easier than the SCMP because a book provides more background information than a news article.

Preparing for the GRE, this Chemistry major read books and online materials. She needs to write more papers and read more journals in order to improve her skills. She read The China Daily, The New York Times and one chapter of Harry Potter.

A teacher made secondary school English classes fun with games. This Nursing major read textbooks to prepare for the DSE and also Harry Potter, TIME, user guides, and reference books from library

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.

It took this student courage to converse with native speakers but it is a rewarding experience because she learned about other cultures. She likes fashion magazines because the vocabulary is easier to comprehend.

Writing and acting in a secondary school drama was hard for this China Studies major. She has started many books but not finished them and did book reports by skimming. She finds it difficult to grasp analects and Confucius when taught in English.

A course at Oxford University enabled this System Engineering major to learn English in a more casual way. The trip included visits to museums. He likes to read articles in Business Insider via Facebook.

Despite receiving support on how to improve his English, this Computer Engineering major has negative feelings. His girlfriend encourages him to read newspapers and he asks her to help with new vocabulary.

Transitioning from the Mainland to Hong Kong was made easier for this Accounting major thanks to a NET. The teacher made her develop a passion for learning the language. She has read some news magazines.

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.

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.

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.