After finishing middle school, this student took tutorial classes at the British Council which boosted his confidence and communication skills.

A student recalls a class trip to Central to interview native speakers; she remembers sharing books with her family.

A student sought help from a tutorial class to prepare her for the A-level UE exam. She also enjoyed reading the Kite Runner.

A student who entered the Hong Kong education system in Primary 4 received support from teachers and classmates. She says it was tiring reading Harry Potter because she had to keep looking for meanings in the dictionary.

A graduate explains how she overcame her fear of speaking in English during a trip to Australia. She says students should practise and not be too self-conscious.

A student prepared for the DSE by reading BBC online news in English.

A student remembers how his teacher and mother used videos to help him learn English. He believes that immersion in an English speaking country is the best way to learn.

A student fondly recalls English Week in his secondary school as an opportunity to practise speaking outside the classroom. He enjoys reading autobiographies.

A student feels she improved her English by joining a tutorial centre where they became immersed in the language through playing games and communication. She says school pressure leaves little time to enjoy reading.

A student is motivated to polish her English by listening to YouTube hosts. She also read Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom.

A student decided to attend a tutorial class to prepare for exams. She enjoyed reading Harry Potter.

A student attended a tutorial centre to prepare for the IELTS test. She finds reading boring but enjoyed The Hunger Games.

A student explains how her parents sent her to a tutorial school where she enjoyed learning English because she they played games and sang. Her most memorable book is Twilight.

A homestay experience in Australia inspired this student to improve her English skills. She prepared for the IELTS exam by reading newspapers and magazines such as The Economist and the China Daily.

Studying for the IELTS exam allowed this student to build her spoken English. She seldom reads now as she is studying Chinese.

A student who is ‘crazy about rock music’ learnt more vocabulary while looking for the meaning of lyrics. She thinks the English version of Harry Potter is better than the Chinese translation.

A teacher used the alphabet and pictures to help this student build her vocabulary. She also likes reading Harry Potter.

A student says she gained confidence in speaking English by communicating with a classmate from Germany. She also enjoys reading related to her major, Music.

A student had two overseas English language speaking experiences. The first time in Canada she couldn’t make friends but later in Wales she gained confidence when her new friends were more understanding.

A student who plans to teach Chinese says English will be important to her in the future. She also read Harry Potter, TIME magazine and newspapers.

A student says learning a language allows you to absorb a new culture. Reading materials such as Eat, Pray, Love and TIME magazine help improve her vocabulary.

A teacher encouraged this student to become a school emcee to overcome her pronunciation difficulties. She also enjoyed reading Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

A Chinese teaching major says English would be important if she worked in an international school. She remembers spending a lot of time checking the dictionary while reading Harry Potter.

Reading helped this student to improve his writing skills.

A teacher helped this student by creating an English language exercise involving entrepreneurial skills. He felt reading Shakespeare helped him and he now reads the South China Morning Post.

This student read the Twilight series and then watched the movies to help improve her English.

A trip to Australia helped this student’s English language skills.

A student enjoys learning English by watching movies. He plans to read The Hunger Games series.

A student learns English through news websites.

A student says he used English more in secondary school than university and occasionally read newspapers.

Learning English in university involved night clubbing in Lan Kwai Fong.

A university exchange to the UK helped this student with her conversational skills. She feels she needs to read more.

A trip to Canada raised this student’s awareness about using English to communicate. A dictionary is helpful when reading.

A Chinese major enjoyed the English learning environment in secondary school which included a trip to Taiwan. She perseveres with reading books such as a Steve Jobs biography and Twilight.

This student wrote and performed a play with classmates in secondary school. Reading books such as Harry Potter and The Hunger Games help build vocabulary while it’s easy to understand the English used in video games like Fever and Grand Theft Auto.

English songs, poems and drama are an alternative to grammar and “technical English.” Watching movies such as Harry Potter and The Hunger Games will get you interested in reading the original books.

It was interesting comparing English to Cantonese in secondary school. It’s better to read a book after watching a film because it can help build a mental picture.

A school visit to a university hotel helped build this student’s vocabulary. He read about Coco Chanel during the SBA. He’s an NBA fan and plays video games in English.

Improvised drama may be absurd, but it’s also fun. The novel The Payback provides insight into the real world of criminals and law enforcement.

Preparing for the DSE English exam is a part of life. Students can be encouraged to read by watching movies first, just like Gone Girl. The novel Annie John is different to other books.