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

This student read the Twilight series and then watched the movies to help improve her English.

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

This student shares a learning experience that focused on passing exams.

A trip to Canada raised this student’s awareness about using English to communicate. A dictionary is helpful when reading.

Improvised drama may be absurd, but it’s also fun. The novel The Payback provides insight into the real world of criminals and law enforcement.

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.

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.

The comic version of Animal Farm encouraged this science and web technology major to read more English books during Form Three. Nowadays he can only recall reading some Harry Potter and prefers to watch the English news on TVB Pearl.

An English Teaching major enjoyed doing a drama during secondary school but cannot recall the name of the play. She feels students will read more if they understand the context of the material.

An American visitor corrected this student’s table manners and grammar during a family meal. She also describes the book Annie John as creepy. She feels songs and videos will help children learn English.

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.

A university programme with foreigners gave this student the chance to talk freely in English about politics. He says this practice helps to develop communication skills. He has read The Dictator’s Learning Curve.

A secondary school English club gave this student a chance to learn more by interacting with his English teacher. He reads the local news in the newspaper.

Tutorial classes were different to regular school classes because this student could learn exam skills. He checks the dictionary while reading newspapers and academic material.

Reading the South China Morning Post helps this student learn English.

Shakespearean dramas performed by fellow university students interested this student. She once saw her name in the Standard or the South China Morning Post because her Scrabble team won an award.

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

Reading what interests this student in the library has helped his vocabulary and grammar. He uses a dictionary if he does not know the meaning of a word.

Newspapers provide a learning opportunity for this student. As a Business major, she finds some of the readings difficult. She uses a smartphone or the Internet to check new vocabulary.

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.

English is a global language but this student notes that it is not easy to learn.

This English major feels it’s important to master the language. She no longer sees English as a tool.

Copying a grammar book by hand taught this Social Work major important grammar items and sentence structure. Her English teacher motivated her to read English books by showing excerpts from movies.

Drama and stories made learning English fun in primary school for this ECE major. Preparing for the DSE involved learning vocabulary and doing past papers. She reads Wikipedia.

A trip to Korea involved communicating with friends who were from the US and UK. English speaking opportunities were limited in school because students used Chinese.

A teacher stirred this student’s interest in English through activities such as field trips and debating. She also read the Phantom of the Opera.

A Hong Kong-born student learnt vocabulary through games in primary school on the Mainland. She returned to Hong Kong in secondary school. She says Hong Kong schools treasure English.

A teacher helped this student improve her speech and aural skills by encouraging her to take part in a speaking festival. The same teacher also suggested she read movie subtitles to develop better pronunciation. She also read newspapers.

A fun teacher made English tutorial classes more enjoyable than school for this student. He doesn’t like reading and there are few chances to read magazines and newspapers. He reads the TV subtitles.

An eager secondary school English teacher forced this student to read the South China Morning Post. He also watched the news on TVB Pearl. These days he does not read much in English and will use a dictionary or Google Translate to understand new vocabulary.

A Chinese Language Teaching major played a “bad guy” in secondary school English class. She read The Little Prince. She can’t imagine using English much in the future.

Songs and lyrics help this student build her vocabulary. She will read a book if the movie version is interesting. DSE students should immerse themselves in English activities.

A NET from England provided speaking practice opportunities for this student. She did a lot of reading to pass the Gaokao and now reads academic material for her university course.

Group reading of the South China Morning Post and Young Post along with subsequent teacher-led discussions in secondary school contributed to this Nurse’s vocabulary and grammar. These days she reads online news and uses English in the workplace.

Watching movies in English were an alternative to boring textbooks in secondary school for this student. She uses English in her university course.

Songs and computer games were used by this Maths Teaching major’s English teacher. She is confused about the MOI for maths as she learnt the subject in English and is now learning to be a teacher in Chinese. She finds reading difficult.

Preparing for the DSE exams by working with poems and doing the SBA was memorable for this student. Chinese books are easier to read because she is familiar with the vocabulary.

A NET made English fun for this student. He feels NETs are more open-minded. He reads material about the environment and says English is used for formal communication.

Talking about daily life events with friends in an English Corner was a memorable experience for this student. His reading centres on textbooks.