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.

Tutors in the university English language centre helped this Information Management major proofread her papers. Some suggested she improve by watching movies and reading newspapers. She also thinks listening to songs helps.

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.

Memorising vocabulary through dictation in P6 was a tough time for this Chemistry major. He read a lot of research papers to prepare for the Chemistry Olympiad. He enjoys Mythbusters and other TV shows about science.

A compulsory English language course in university enabled this Global China Studies major to make friends from different majors and backgrounds. She also enjoyed learning about vampires by reading some classic novels. Her favourite thing about learning English is watching movies and talk shows.

Reading English books in kindergarten made this student like the language. She likes to read romantic novels but does not have the time. She feels the Good Wife TV series is “pretty real”.

Watching movies and online interviews with actors helped develop the vocabulary of this Global China Studies major. She has read the required course materials, also used the dictionary and Wikipedia to help understand jargon in research papers.

Even though learning English may not be interesting, this Cultural Studies major appreciates the focus on preparing for exams as it provides a foundation for future learning. She likes reading Sophia Kinsella and TV dramas such as The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl.

Working in a university English language centre gives this Chinese major lots of practice by interacting with colleagues. She likes to watch movies and then read the book to see if there are any differences.

A miscommunication with a customs officer in Australia created embarrassing moments for this Math major. He had a difficult time understanding the Batman movie without subtitles during a secondary school study tour to the UK.

Watching movies like Whiplash and listening to songs by Alanis Morissette helped this Nutritional Science major to build her vocabulary in secondary school. She finds English easy to learn but difficult to master. She uses Wikipedia and the dictionary.

Watching movies has exposed this Nursing major to different cultures and new vocabulary. Fight Club is one of his favourite movies. The book, Into the Wild, is a story about adventure and survival.

Terminator 2, James Bond and other movies have taught this Computer Engineering major catch phrases, slang, usage, and culture. Harry Potter books were an integral part of his childhood. The best way to encourage learning is to explain the importance of English as a global language.

Learning English in Canada and Hong Kong exposed this Medical student to different curricula. She learned a lot of vocabulary from reading Geronimo Stilton. She felt watching TV dramas like the Mentalist, House, and Once Upon a Time is a better way to learn.

Watching a TV series during undergraduate years developed this student’s understanding of other cultures. She did a lot of reading exercises in high school. Using an e-dictionary saves time.

Unlike her bookish friends, this Nursing student prefers to watch action movies. Reading sends her to sleep. Despite her dislike of reading she did start The Battle Hymn of Tiger Mother.

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.

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.

Learning to debate during university English classes allowed this student to learn speaking and writing skills. He prefers to watch TV shows from the BBC and National Geographic instead of reading.

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

This Nursing major says her English had improved during a nine-day tour to Malaysia. She likes to read the English subtitles when watching movies. She reads English course material.

English media has been the best way for this student to learn the language. She believes English is important for her future work.

Watching TV and seeking help from university teachers have helped this student’s spoken English. He uses websites to search for information and entertainment.

TV programmes such as Hannah Montana and Art Attack allowed this student to learn English without pressure. She read the Harry Potter series and admired her favourite author JK Rowling’s use of the language in writing such a fascinating adventure.

TV shows and movies have entertained this student while he learnt. He has also read some novels. He values English for his future career.

Watching Marvel movies taught this student English he couldn’t learn from a book. He read books on biology, chemistry, and physics in secondary school.

A foreign teacher helped this student to improve his speaking skills in secondary school. He also watches programming on BBC and CNN. He read a lot while preparing for IELTS, and also during a university language course.

This student learnt the hard way that English may not be useful in all parts of Germany. She read The Architecture of Happiness because it was mentioned in the movie, 500 Days of Summer. She prefers to read in Chinese.

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.

This Religious Studies major stayed with an American family with whom he watched and discussed movies. He reads the Bible and course material.

Watching Friends helped this Marketing major learn intonation and speaking. She reads fashion magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan. She also reads books about research and psychology, such as The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker.

This Government and Law major watches and discusses movies and TV dramas with her family. She reads original books such as The Lightning Thief in the Percy Jackson series after watching the movie.

This Law major watches films and shows, and reads books. She appreciates how words are manipulated and played by writers. She likes Harry Potter, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Sherlock Holmes and Shakespeare.

To prepare for the A-levels, this Humanities major read the South China Morning Post and did past papers. He also watched TV series without subtitles. He likes the Harry Potter series.

This Management major has expanded his vocabulary by writing down words when watching TV shows.

A movie event let this Engineering major make friends and learn new vocabulary. To prepare for the DSE, she borrowed storybooks with many poems inside from the library.

In daily life, this Engineering major learns English through films, TV shows and music. He seldom reads English books but has to read articles for his projects and research.

Conversations in movies such as Inception taught this Chemistry major English. In secondary school, she had enjoyed reading newspaper articles on health and lifestyle.

This Biology major prefers to learn English from movies and songs. His secondary school forced him to read newspapers like The Student Standard but the vocabulary was difficult.

A university language course that used songs changed this Chemistry major’s attitude towards learning English. She watched the movie Begin Again and learnt the British accent.