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.

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.

A university exchange trip to Australia made this student read more to strengthen her English language skills. She read The Maze Runner to familiarise herself with the story before watching the movie. She reads course material.

A summer programme in England during secondary school gave this student the chance to improve by communicating with locals. He preferred reading the English version of Harry Potter. He also likes Gilgamesh. He reads more now in university.

Using English with peers from other countries in university allows this student to learn about other cultures. She felt her English improved by reading Harry Potter.

Talking with foreign teachers in everyday English in secondary was interesting for this student. She felt a sense of accomplishment when she finished reading The Lord of the Rings series on a second attempt. The Little Prince is her favourite book.

University gave this student the opportunity to become a word detective in a vocabulary game. She likes reading detective stories set in the US and England.

Working as a volunteer in Mainland required this student to use English as the common language to communicate with colleagues. She had a different emotional experience when she read Harry Potter in English.

A summer camp in secondary school allowed this student to play games with a NET. She likes reading novels with interesting content.

Interviewing travellers at the airport during primary school was the first time that this student had spoken to foreigners. Her secondary school teacher asked the class to rewrite the endings of the readers. She enjoys Marvel and DC comics.

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.

A university tutor motivates this Computing major to speak more English. He reads articles about technology and economics. He learns the views from different cultures by reading online columns.

To prepare for GRE and IELTS, this Chemistry major read books and tried to communicate with foreigners. She read Reader’s Digest and New Concept English.

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 Nutrition major works in a company where she interacts with overseas colleagues. She learns their accents, vocabulary and pronunciation. She read Harry Potter and other books before, but now she focuses on academic material.

A tutorial school provided writing and exam-oriented support for this Social Science major. He read passages in his tutorial notes but now he tries to avoid English materials.

Secondary school English classes taught this Psychology major vocabulary and writing from dramas, musicals and role-plays. Her favourite book is Tuesdays with Morrie. She also reads Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim.

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.

In Form Four, this Arts major had fun and gained real-life experience during a study tour to the UK. Her favourite author is Jane Austen. She fell in love with English after reading Pride and Prejudice. Her favourite book is Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

Literature taught in an associate degree course made this Arts major see English differently. Her favourite book is A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka. The book relates her to an unfamiliar society.

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.

Reading grammar books was one of the methods used by this China Studies major who had to retake his A-levels. He also used to read the website BBC Learning English.

In a university course, this Biology major had to make an eight-minute speech. She reads Wikipedia to find information about experiments in her studies.

From kindergarten to secondary school, this Translation major had the same native English tutor with whom she chatted, watched movies, read books, played games and shared feelings. She read Harry Potter.

This Journalism major learnt a lot from a class on pronunciation as she felt her spoken English was weak. Her favourite book is Harry Potter.

This Chemistry major enjoyed the discussion in a supplementary university course. When reading stories, she learns a lot of vocabulary and enjoys letting her imagination run wide.

Shakespeare has been central to this Geography major’s English learning. She watched a Shakespeare movie without subtitles during an exchange trip to the US. She also read Twelfth Night and watched two movie adaptations.

In Form Three, this BBA major had an English lesson in the kitchen and learnt English when cooking food. She reads English recipes and learns food names.

This Education major participated in a choral speaking competition, and enjoyed learning poems and working with her classmates. She likes reading newspapers more than books.

This Communications major remembers his English teacher inviting a friend to the class. His favourite story is The Hunger Games. Movie adaptations make him read the original books.

Listening to English music is a good learning experience for this Communications major. She has bought a lot of English books but finds them too long to read.

A summer course in the British Council provided this Music major with an interactive learning experience. She says Before I Go to Sleep has an exciting plot.

Attending an English pronunciation course made this Chemistry major realise he could do a lot to learn English. He learns a lot of new things by reading TIME.

Talking to an American exchange student was an enjoyable experience for this Maths major. He read TOEFL course material.

To prepare for IELTS, this IT Management major learnt a lot of vocabulary. A teacher gave her an English book as a gift, which she totally doesn’t understand the content.

In a summer debate camp, this English major learnt from new friends who attended international schools. She discovered the role of English as a global language while reading a book on the rule of law. Her favourite book is The Portrait of a Lady in which she can really see how the protagonist’s thoughts evolve.

A teacher spent a lot of time to design a course for this Science major’s class to practise speaking while learning about American culture. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the first English book he read.

Mini games during the university English class helped this Chemistry major memorise vocabulary and sentence patterns. He reads articles related to science or his hobbies like basketball. He finds NBA magazines in the library.