A student recalls a class trip to Central to interview native speakers; she remembers sharing books with her family.

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.

Using English to learn at university improved this graduate’s speaking and writing. Environment and motivation are important for English learning.

A graduate explains how she overcame her fear of speaking in English during a trip to Australia. She says students should practise and not be too self-conscious.

A student recalls how she read the South China Morning Post to improve her vocabulary.

A student prepared for the DSE by reading BBC online news in English.

A student remembers how his teacher and mother used videos to help him learn English. He believes that immersion in an English speaking country is the best way to learn.

A student says secondary school English prepared him for university. He mostly reads for his degree studies.

A student says it was stressful studying for the DSE. Although she has to read more now, she enjoys it because it focuses on her chosen field.

This student explains that learning tenses in English is different to Cantonese and Putonghua. She also believes watching a film adaptation helped her to appreciate A Tale of Two Cities.

A student decided to attend a tutorial class to prepare for exams. She enjoyed reading Harry Potter.

This postgraduate student improved her English during her first degree by attending an English Corner in her university. Her favourite book is The Little Prince.

A student attended a tutorial centre to prepare for the IELTS test. She finds reading boring but enjoyed The Hunger Games.

Studying for the IELTS exam allowed this student to build her spoken English. She seldom reads now as she is studying Chinese.

A student practised with her friends after classes when she was in secondary school. These days she enjoys reading material related to her major, Psychology.

A student says learning a language allows you to absorb a new culture. Reading materials such as Eat, Pray, Love and TIME magazine help improve her vocabulary.

A teacher encouraged this student to become a school emcee to overcome her pronunciation difficulties. She also enjoyed reading Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

A postgraduate student with a bachelor’s degree in English found reading to be boring but feels knowing the language can broaden her opportunities.

A sister-in-law helped this student improve his English. After he improved he felt more comfortable reading books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

A Chinese teaching major says English would be important if she worked in an international school. She remembers spending a lot of time checking the dictionary while reading Harry Potter.

A teacher helped this student by creating an English language exercise involving entrepreneurial skills. He felt reading Shakespeare helped him and he now reads the South China Morning Post.

A foreign domestic worker helped this student learn English.

A student says he used English more in secondary school than university and occasionally read newspapers.

Coming to Hong Kong as a primary school student was the best English language learning experience. Reading includes textbooks.

It was interesting comparing English to Cantonese in secondary school. It’s better to read a book after watching a film because it can help build a mental picture.

Winning competitions can boost your confidence and encourage you to read more. Harry Potter and books by Dan Brown such as the Da Vinci Code are favourites.

Secondary school English ambassadors polish their language skills by testing other students and leading activities. Watching Pride and Prejudice led to reading the original Jane Austen book.

A church leader focused on communication and not grammar while teaching out of a textbook.

Crazy English teaches students to communicate. Preparing for IELTS involves careful reading. She read TIME magazine.

A student needed to answer questions about the book ET as part of an entrance test for a school in Macau. He later moved to Hong Kong and remembers English was used in an activity-filled international summer exchange programme in New Zealand.

Reading can involve preparation for tests such as TOEFL and SAT and can be fiction like The Vampire Diaries. Dictionaries are good for developing vocabulary.

Listening to the BBC and reading online and printed newspapers were part of this student’s A-level preparations. He used a dictionary to check new vocabulary.

A student who read Harry Potter recalls how she did presentations and reviews on books and movies. She feels there’s too much writing in the DSE exam.

Attending an EMI school allowed this student to boost his vocabulary. He feels it is better to learn some science subjects in English. He read Harry Potter because the movie was not very impressive.

A student who felt frustrated during an English language summer camp practised alone by talking to herself. Most of her reading was past papers for the A-level exam but she now plans to read Gone Girl.

IELTS preparation classes are important for this student who wants to join an exchange programme to the UK. The English reading week at her school involved sharing ideas about books with fellow students. She prefers E-books.

A postgraduate student developed her English language skills while working as a teacher in Beijing. She read magazines like TIME to prepare for IELTS.

A student is interested in reading Harry Potter after seeing the movie. She also watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and read the book.

A performing arts competition helped this student in the speaking part of the DSE exam. She also took part in the daily reading scheme during secondary school. She prefers printed books but also uses an e-dictionary.

A working holiday in a relatives’ Chinese restaurant in Nottingham exposed this student to regional accents in the UK. She also learns unique vocabulary while playing rugby. She likes to watch a movie before reading a book.