Teachers encouraged public speaking in this Food Safety major’s secondary school. She started reading the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas to learn the meaning behind the story.

Primary school was more fun than secondary for this Fashion major because there were games instead of focusing on exams and the SBA. She reads Cosmopolitan magazine online.

Taking a Cambridge English course exposed this Design major to a NET. He is forced to read course material in English because there are fewer Chinese texts.

An extra-curricular English class entertained this Accounting major in primary school because the teacher was funny. She read Gone with the Wind after watching the movie.

English was used in a primary school fun day that involved cooking for this Social Work major.

Arranging English classes for his son had made this Nursing major more aware of his own language needs. He feels his standard of English has affected his life’s direction.

Performing a drama taught by a secondary school NET was fun for this Engineering major. She read Harry Potter in English after completing the Chinese version.

A Bilingual Studies major used English to explore religious differences during a cultural exchange programme in Israel. She sees The Great Gatsby as a complex love story and The Alchemist as an adventurous story.

English is one of many languages used by this Bilingual Studies major. She likes reading Stephen King because his stories are exciting. She also enjoys 1984 and The Storyteller.

Watching online videos helped this Engineering major’s English pronunciation after her friends said she needed to improve. She loved reading about Steve Jobs.

Watching dramas and movies expanded this Social Work major’s everyday vocabulary but it didn’t help with the formal English requirement of the DSE. She read parts of Twilight.

Studying in foreign countries has helped this Hotel Management major’s English learning. She also developed a daily reading habit after taking part in a compulsory university programme.

A summer English camp in Canada also taught this Science graduate about western culture. He read 12 Years a Slave after watching the movie.

Primary school English classes were fun for this Hotel Management major because she played games and received candy. She had to read the newspaper aloud every morning during secondary school.

Talking with a foreign teacher in secondary school gave this Hotel Management major more confidence for the spoken part of the public exam. She prefers reading about topics related to life.

Forced reading with his mother gave this Engineering major a good foundation in English. He used to read passages aloud and then write them out.

Primary school drama performances were better than focusing on reading and writing in higher learning for this Radiography major. Watching an online video sparked an interest in reading about Philosophy.

Heeding the advice of his primary school teacher, this Fashion major had private tutoring to improve his grammar. He read the Chinese version of Pride and Prejudice to help him with the English version.

English acquired from exam drills in secondary school is inapplicable to this IT major’s university study. He read Harry Potter in school and looks at online resources for assignments or research.

Producing drama in secondary school triggered this Engineering major to research into the area. Reading the South China Morning Post informed him about the world and grammar. Playing online games with foreigners has taught him slang.

After-school tutorials, a summer language programme, and an exchange programme equipped this Business major with everyday English. She reads mostly newspapers and course materials.

Going on an exchange programme to Canada in her childhood pushed this Chinese and Bilingual Studies major to speak English. She studies the Bible and cross-reads both its English and Chinese versions.

Extra-curricular English courses stimulates this Hotel Management major’s interest in the language. He finds the persuasive communication course at the university engaging. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been one of his favourites.

When she was a child, this Translation postgraduate taught herself spoken English by imitating the characters in movies. She reads about economics, English literature as well as poems mainly for study.

Scaffolding sparked this English major’s interest in learning the language. She realises following current news in English gives her an advantage. She was enlightened by the German kindergarten education while reading about the subject.

An energetic lecturer who shouts out keywords or phrases reinforces this English major’s learning. She appreciates that her English teachers in secondary school shared insights with them. She reads about Psychology and Why Men Love Bitches has led her to think about gender differences.

While the writing skills that this Engineering major acquired from secondary school can be transferrable to university, speaking is her weakness. She prefers reading Chinese to avoid looking up English words in the dictionary.

The desire to find out more about the movie Twilight Saga triggered this Engineering major to start reading the novel. Reading increases her vocabulary. She realises the importance of precision in academic writing.

University English classes that include discussions and games improve this Engineering major’s referencing, speaking, debating, and writing skills. She has developed an interest in reading novels since high school and practised English with her Australian neighbour.

One-on-one speaking drills with a school teacher helped this Nursing major to prepare for the DSE. Divergent is the first English book she read. She teaches herself to play the Ukulele with online sources and most of them happen to be in English.

A camp in secondary school organised by students from the University of Cambridge motivated this Chemistry major to learn English through drama and songs. A struggling reader at first, she managed to conquer English novels after going through the first two Harry Potter books with the help of a dictionary.

Learning French supplemented with English has improved this Nursing graduate student’s English. Choir singing brushes up his knowledge of pronunciation.

Despite feeling as if she struggled with the spoken part of IELTS, this Geography major passed on the third attempt. She read the English version of The Little Prince in the hope of getting closer to the author’s thoughts.

Clear instructions by a university English lecturer helped all the students in this Surveying major’s class get good results. She did a book report on The Help after reading it and watching the movie.

A summer course in New Zealand included learning how the host family and others used English to communicate. This Physiotherapy major found the locals friendly and chatty. She read Harry Potter after watching the movie.

The plot and the characters in the Twilight series was entertaining to this Physiotherapy major in Secondary 3. The books assigned by school were really thin. Reading has helped her vocabulary.

Taking part in English speech competitions made up for the lack of speaking opportunities in primary and secondary school for this Physiotherapy major. She has read popular fiction but is also studying the stories of the victims of war.

The approaches that this BBA major has taken to self-study English have prepared him for assessment. He enriched his understanding of the language and believes delving deeper into the language would help bridge cultural gaps.

Staying with a host family in Liverpool for two weeks in Form 5 has had a long-term effect on this Engineering major. He remembers frequently looking up words in the dictionary on his first attempt to read The Hobbit.

Talking to people with special needs in English during community service made this Engineering major realise he was able to apply his language skills. Reading novels such as Harry Potter and The Ring after watching the movies helps him better understand the stories.