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

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 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 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 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.

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

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.

Secondary school English ambassadors polish their language skills by testing other students and leading activities. Watching Pride and Prejudice led to reading the original Jane Austen book.

Preparing for IELTS was very tiring – working hard every day. English teachers focus on basic language skills and have little time to read more than news websites such as the BBC and The New York Times.

Collaborative writing and presentations in university allow students to develop together.

Choral speaking sparked this student’s interest in literature. Roald Dahl and children’s book are easier to understand because of the simpler language and illustrations.

An accessible NET provides an opportunity for lunch-time chats. The Harry Potter movie created an interest in comics. Playing the violin involves reading English language textbooks.

Watching Titanic in primary school on the Mainland created an interest in the lyrics of the song, “My Heart Will Go On.” The student also watched Harry Potter and Twilight. She briefly looked at the Harry Potter book.

A postgraduate psychology student enjoyed an English camp organised by American tutors on the Mainland during secondary school. Jane Eyre is a really touching book.

Reading can involve preparation for tests such as TOEFL and SAT and can be fiction like The Vampire Diaries. Dictionaries are good for developing vocabulary.

Watching movies and enjoying live Shakespeare during a trip to the UK may have helped this student but she feels there is not enough time in secondary school to learn all that is expected.

English is important for a science and web technology major who enjoys playing the piano. Her secondary school English teacher used songs for writing exercises. She thinks Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is funny.

Watching movies, listening to music, and reading books are recommended by this student who also read the Life of Pi.

Attending an EMI school allowed this student to boost his vocabulary. He feels it is better to learn some science subjects in English. He read Harry Potter because the movie was not very impressive.

A student enjoyed the TV dramas and movies shown by NETs including Sherlock. She also read the first three Harry Potter books after watching the movie. She finds the smartphone dictionary helpful.