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 credits his teachers for helping him reach what he calls a satisfactory level of English. He remembers reading Roald Dahl because he had to.

Learning phonics in primary school helped this student with his reading skills.

A postgraduate student praises his middle school teachers and explains he continues to learn English through online open courses and Wikipedia and that all master’s classes are in English.

A student had to catch-up when she transitioned from the Mainland to Hong Kong in Primary Four. She says her reading ability is affected by dyslexia but reads books about classical music to write an essay.

A teacher brought a recipe writing class to life by allowing the students to cook. Number the Stars is a memorable book.

The passion of a recently graduated teacher helps after-school. Reading is difficult for someone who prefers pictures to words.

A Maths Teaching major from the Mainland says his secondary school was different because there were many foreign teachers. He also took part in an English summer camp in Hong Kong. He is now reading and studying in English at university.

An impressive professor used songs and drama in an English class. Reading includes The Hunger Games, Reader’s Digest, and course material.

Teachers helped this student with drama and reading star letters. She also read Twilight and a book by Roald Dahl. English is used as the MOI in university art classes.

A student enjoyed writing poems and playing games in a workshop on Thanksgiving day at university organised by an international tutor. The workshop was different to secondary school because it was interactive. Although reading English books is hard, she was able to finish Matilda. [4CJ093]

A “great” teacher left a good impression with this student. She bought Harry Potter but couldn’t finish it. She also did some reading exercises to prepare for IELTS.

A student from a CMI school appreciates the support from his teacher as he was afraid of facing the DSE exam. He has read a little of Harry Potter. He uses a printed dictionary.

This Politics graduate credits her teacher’s feedback on writing assignments for her great improvements in secondary school. She recalls reading journal articles during her undergraduate studies. She also read the South China Morning Post and listened to BBC radio.

Using the learning materials at the university’s language centre and speaking with foreigners have improved this student’s English and IELTS results. He reads the newspaper and articles to expand his vocabulary. He lacked the exposure to spoken English while attending a CMI school.

Efforts by a Form 6 English teacher helped improve this student’s English. The same teacher also provided newspaper articles to expand students’ vocabulary.

A ‘cute’ university tutor enabled this student to remember grammar rules about clauses. She learnt a lot of new vocabulary while reading The Lord of the Rings. Her favourite author is Nicholas Sparks.

University tutors have motivated this student to become a more active reader and speaker. He read Harry Potter before watching the movie and noticed differences from the text. He likes science fiction but is now reading more academic essays.

A teacher made this student’s learning interesting with stories. He used to read novels at home after supper. He uses a dictionary to learn new vocabulary.

A student learnt a lot from a secondary school teacher with a good accent. She likes watching TV series such as Vampire Diaries, House, and X-Files to improve her spoken English. She was impressed with the theme of racism in The Bluest Eye.

Attending an international school and tutorials with an American teacher made this student happy. He likes reading adventure stories.

A secondary school teacher helped this student who wanted more exercises to improve. She also enjoyed being an emcee at school. Her dad gave her Roald Dahl’s Matilda and also likes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She enjoyed Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie.

Interacting with foreigners, including a secondary school teacher and fellow university students, has motivated this student. His teacher used movies while his university friends taught him slang. He has read a book about North Korea and he likes books on politics and economics.

This student credits a teacher for her happiest time as the teaching helped her achieve a good A-levels result. She reads academic journals.

The presence of a foreign teacher in secondary school encouraged this student to talk more in English. The reading materials for Sociology are very difficult so she has to spend extra time to understand the meaning.

Interactive English drama lessons led by a foreign teacher involved games that allowed this student to communicate with classmates. Reading academic journals in university has raised his political awareness.

This student uses English for communication and learning in university. Rating his English as weak, he reads online newspapers to improve.

Tutorial classes led by a funny teacher who used word games helped this student’s writing and reading skills. He is an Economics major and has to read articles and journals which he describes as boring.

A teacher kept in touch with this student during the summer holidays by chatting with him and his classmates on the phone. He enjoyed reading The Lord of the Rings and watching the film.

Eating lunch with his secondary school English teacher gave this student an opportunity to learn more phrases and vocabulary. He read Hamlet and Macbeth in junior secondary and now reads The Economist to help with his BBA studies.

An advanced reading and writing course helped this student understand inferences and idioms. He likes to read automobile magazines because he is a ‘car maniac’. He prefers news articles to novels.

A teacher motivated this student to work on his composition in secondary school. He has been reading on the Internet and also some journals.

This student has been working with foreign tutors in the language centre in university. He is comfortable with the required readings but would like to improve his speaking and listening skills.

Two secondary school teachers inspired this student to learn English. One teacher used songs and English movies with subtitles while the other emphasised a lifelong need for the language.

Primary school was the most important period of English learning for this student. She consolidated her knowledge in secondary school and uses English for gaining other knowledge during university.

A good primary school teacher motivated this student who did well in dictation. She realised the advantages of being proficient in English and read books to increase her knowledge and ability with the language.

Being told English is beautiful by a Secondary 1 teacher sparked this student’s interest in the language. By studying literature and developing her interests and abilities, she realised the power of words.

A teacher in kindergarten used pictures to illustrate stories for this student. Grammar exercises were dull and exam-oriented secondary education allowed limited room to explore English.

This Translation major tried hard to learn English from teachers and her sister in secondary school. She watches YouTube channels, English movies and TV dramas. She has friends form different countries.

Singing and the ABC song and reading story books marked the beginning of this student’s English learning. He learnt grammar primary school, focused on exams in secondary and started to appreciate the language in university.