Painful memories of vocabulary dictation in primary school has turned out to be something that this Accounting and Finance major appreciates as it boosted his reading and listening skills. He learns about grammar and social issues from newspapers.

Joining the Big Mouth Corner at university provided a chance for this Investment Science major to speak English and meet foreign students. She finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie but prefers Chinese books which are less time-consuming.

An exchange in the UK provided plenty of opportunities to speak the language. Practising English with his father induced this Accounting and Finance major to pick up a particular accent. Though reading the translated version of the French book, La Chambre Claire, is a daunting task, he still values the process.

Coming from a CMI school, this Language major had done extra self-practice to prepare for the DSE. She realises learning back then was particularly productive. Her reading interest ranges from fantasy novels such as Howl’s Moving Castle to romance like One Day.

Enthusiasm about astronomy has led this Management major to subscribe to online lectures conducted in English. She also read many relevant articles in TOEFL exam papers. Among her favourite writers are George Orwell and Stephen King.

Doing past papers for the DSE in her own time improved the English listening skills of this Surveying major. She read newspapers provided by her teacher and was asked to write journals weekly which enriched her vocabulary bank.

No one made fun of this Language major’s mistakes during the class taught by a NET. This gave her the confidence to use English. She read Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.

A complaint by her supervisor motivated this Textiles major to take English writing and speaking classes. She picked up reading and started to like the language because of an encouraging secondary teacher. She enjoyed reading P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern.

Using games to learn English in primary school sparked this Accounting and Finance major’s interest in the language. Even though it wasn’t easy, she enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Preparing for the Gaokao was hard work for this Accounting and Finance major since she feels her English is poor. She didn’t finish Harry Potter after finding it difficult but she would like to read works of Agatha Christie and the Sherlock Holmes series in the future.

Taking an extra-curricular English course improved this Design graduate’s communication with his clients. He reads books for career needs.

Before beginning university in Hong Kong, this Chinese Culture major studied English for the CET exam. She reads emails and websites in English.

Requiring students to speak with teachers in English only provided a natural learning environment for this Occupational Therapy major. She also communicated with her classmates on social media using the language. She likes novels such as Gone Girl, Before I Go to Sleep, and Harry Potter.

Meeting a good tutorial teacher gave this Design student a chance to learn a lot about English. She read Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard.

An internship in Poland provided this Logistics Engineering major with the opportunity to use English in her daily life and improve her fluency. She read novels by Milan Kundera and Franz Kafka.

Speaking with foreign students during university lectures is an opportunity to use English which was rarely found in schools. This Accounting and Finance major read The Hunger Games after watching its movie adaptation.

A friendly English teacher helped this Accounting and Finance major by answering his questions and giving him exercises after-school. He enjoys dystopian fiction such as 1984 and The Giver.

Watching the movie Jumanji made secondary school class fun compared to the homework involving reading articles. This Translation major read The Phantom of the Opera and then watched the movie and the play.

An American primary school teacher developed this Electronic Engineering major’s interest in learning with audio and visual tools. It made him realise that English is for communication rather than academic purposes. He was impressed by the beauty of the language after reading the Harry Potter series.

Watching movies in secondary school was an alternative to listening to teachers and doing past papers for this Bilingual Studies major. She loves reading fantasy novels such as Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Having enjoyed learning the language in secondary school, this Engineering major is disappointed that he has few chances to practise his spoken English. After working and studying, there is little time to enjoy reading.

Games led by his English teacher such as Hangman were fun and educational for this Social Policy Administration major. He feels the games helped him remember vocabulary better than dictation. Tuesdays with Morrie is very meaningful.

Interviewing foreigners in Tsim Sha Tsui during a primary school excursion made this Science major think about the importance of English in communication. She likes reading books that have been made into movies such as The Fault in Our Stars.

A secondary school English teacher helped this Geomatics major to catch up by providing additional classes focusing on reading and comprehension. Her classmate also assisted in translating what the teacher was asking. She enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet with her friends.

English is used when this Product Engineering major works as a part-time retail sales associate. He appreciates the experience as it is the only place he can practise his spoken English since his primary and secondary school provided few opportunities to do so.

English was used by this Science major while leading a tour of Hong Kong for exchange students in a university buddy programme. She also enjoys literary classics by writers such as Jane Austen and George R. R. Martin. Her favourite book is Pride and Prejudice.

Drama lessons in secondary school were helpful for this Engineering major’s public exams and spoken English. The classes also gave her confidence for public speaking. She read Tuesdays with Morrie and recommends other books by Mitch Albom.

After studying lyrics in secondary school, this Mechanical Engineering student fell in love with English songs. Her favourite bands are Westlife and My Chemical Romance. She prefers design books but has read some of Shakespeare’s works including Macbeth.

This Business major’s dad drilled her with English exercises as he felt the schools weren’t doing enough. He also encouraged her to read. She loves romantic novels such as the works of Nicholas Sparks.

This Creative Media major who is not fond of formal education, learnt from movies and reading books. Spending her childhood in books, her all-time favourite is Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar. She also read young adult novels such as The Mortal Instruments and The Hunger Games.

Hong Kong schools do not have enough time to include diverse learning activities according to this Engineering major. She played Scrabble in extra-curricular course. Reading novels by Sophie Kinsella are relaxing because they are not academic.

Starting with A, B, C, and D, this Hotel Management major began learning English in primary school when she first came to Hong Kong. She found Tuesdays with Morrie easy to read and meaningful.

This Biology major improved her spoken English through one-on-one tutorials. She started reading the English version of Harry Potter when she came to Hong Kong.

Working at an amusement park in the US taught this Biology major about the American cash system, food, and everyday English. He’s now reading the English version of Harry Potter after starting with the Chinese translation.

Attending tutorials with a foreign teacher as a toddler made this Computing major nervous. He was able to overcome his fear at a later stage when he studied in an EMI school with more chances to speak English. He reads lecture notes and books about business and investment.

NETs in the kindergarten and primary school of this Computing major used music to teach the language and encouraged her to speak more. She also likes reading English fiction such as Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter and the works of Jeffrey Archer.

This Electrical Engineering major and her high school classmates appreciated that the foreign English teachers had talked about their daily life in Europe and the US. The first English book she read was The Hunger Games and she plans to read more fiction such as The Hobbit.

A university English instructor taught this Psychology major about grammar. Her secondary school teachers only focused on exams skills. She reads books about psychology.

English is very important for this Chinese Culture major as it plays a crucial role in her life, such as job recruitment and communicating with foreigners. She reads the China Daily and The Economist to study English.

Starting at an international school in Form 5 meant this Fashion Design major used English in all classes. She had to read books like Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress and The Handmaid’s Tale during secondary school and found the content to be too explicit for her age.