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.

An auditor remembers doing a lot of English exercises to communicate with foreigners. He reads books on photography. It’s good to practise with foreigners.

A love for learning English and doing exercises motivated this student to work on his grammar. He prefers to read magazines such as Forbes and BBC Magazines.

Syllabaries in kindergarten marked the beginning of this student’s English learning. In primary, he used pictures to remember vocabulary and did “tons” of grammar exercises.

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.

Learning phonics in tutorial classes during primary school was useful for this student. The interest in English decreased in secondary school as the student was forced to learn for public exams.

This student’s English learning started in kindergarten. He took pronunciation class and tutorial classes in primary school. He studied in an English-medium secondary school and read Animal Farm.

Reciting articles from books in primary school English helped this systems engineer get used to the language. She learnt stress and rhythm of the language by performing in dramas. She read Harry Potter with a dictionary at first.

Revising for the use of English A-level paper was the highlight of this student’s English language learning which also involved reading past papers. His English reading centres on course material.

Reciting English vocabulary helped this student in the DSE and life in general. Reading is a hobby. He enjoys educational comics.

Learning English began with the ABC song in kindergarten for this Maths Teaching major. She did a lot of exercises to prepare for the DSE. Chinese should be used to teach primary school maths.

English learning began in primary school with dictation for this Chinese Language Teaching major. Most of her reading has been passages for academic purposes only.

Preparing for the A-level exam for this student involved being pushed by a teacher to do mock examinations and many exercises. She finds reading English books difficult and was unable to finish Harry Potter.

A lot of exercises, including speech practice helped this student overcome her fears and pass the DSE. She bought the book Warm Bodies after seeing the film version. She prefers to use a printed dictionary.

Secondary school English classes included drama, dictation, reading and watching movies for this student. She prefers to read short books. English is the MOI for her university studies in fashion and textiles.

Reciting irregular verbs in Form Two has stuck in the mind of this student. He is hesitant about what he reads in English. He uses English for about 70% of his higher diploma course and sees English as a lingua franca in the workplace.

Reflecting on his English learning, this student describes it as the same model over the years – grammar, presentation, and some good sharing. He’s a football fan and has read FourFourTwo magazine and checks results on a website called Who Scored.

Being immersed in an environment with English TV would be better than doing lots of exercises including proofreading according to this Computer Science major. She read Pride and Prejudice and thinks youngsters like such love stories.

More interaction is needed in English classes according to this Nursing major. The South China Morning Post was used for grammar exercises in primary school.

Practising spoken English for the DSE with highly-proficient schoolmates improved this Business major’s language skills. He enjoyed reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven for a presentation in secondary school.

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.

A light-hearted teaching approach at university offers this Engineering major an alternative to learning English. Though she picked up the language from drills in secondary school, the training prepared her well for the DSE.

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.

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.

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.

Even though past paper drilling is dull, it’s the only way to prepare for the DSE according to this Mechanical Engineering major. What he has learnt from school helps him grasp the gist when watching TV and movies.

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.

Pursuing a good result in the public exams motivated this Nursing student to study very hard during secondary school. He did past papers, read English texts and practised his spoken English with his friends.

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.

Primary and secondary English classes should be more interactive and less drilling. This Product Design major turned to YouTube and dramas to prepare for the DSE but was still unhappy with the result.

Doing dictation, past papers, and grammar exercises made up most of this Property Management major’s secondary school life. He read The Witches for a book report but doesn’t want to read anymore English books.

Doing past papers is the best way to prepare for the public exams in Hong Kong because the assessment method is similar every year. This Computing major found the English novels in school too difficult.

As the Hong Kong education system is exam-oriented, this Applied Maths major went through a lot of drilling. Past papers, memorization, and repetitive exercises made learning English made learning boring.

Doing past papers took up most of this Mechanical Engineering student’s time in secondary school and she is not particularly fond of English. She found The Five People You Meet in Heaven too difficult and boring.

Other than doing many exercises when preparing for the Gaokao, this Accounting and Finance major also did the TOEFL listening test to improve her English. She enjoys readings books by O. Henry and Agatha Christie.

As a punishment in primary school, this Biology major had after-class lessons until he could pass an English test. He also had to repeatedly do dictations until he passed. The school reading scheme aims to motivate students but he preferred to do other things.

Learning to write under pressure in secondary school has paid off in the workplace as this Engineering major can respond quickly to customer emails. He likes reading detective stories.

Watching the Harry Potter film motivated this Medical student to read the books. She started with the Chinese version but choose to read in English to get closer to the story. She also prepared for the public examination with group work and past papers.

A family trip to New York and Niagara Falls provided an unexpected English cultural exchange for this Banking and Financial Services major as she had to communicate with other tourists. She has read Twilight and prefers to watch movies before starting a book to get more background.

Memorising vocabulary through dictation in P6 was a tough time for this Chemistry major. He read a lot of research papers to prepare for the Chemistry Olympiad. He enjoys Mythbusters and other TV shows about science.