Rehearsing for a speech festival with Secondary 6 classmates left a lasting impression on this Nursing major. She was motivated by her classmates in Form 2 to read The Twilight Saga.

Watching movies with bilingual subtitles is a method of learning English for this Information Engineering major. He read the South China Morning Post once a week during secondary school.

A student says she enjoys studying English drama at university. She enjoyed the English reading scheme in secondary school but seldom reads now.

An Australian NET encouraged this Mainland student to speak more during secondary school. She read The Hunger Games after watching the movie. She says students should be proactive and not expect help.

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.

There have been more English language opportunities in university for this Chemistry major. Reading 1984 and Shakespeare during secondary school sparked his interest in literature. [5TT301]  ...

Having extra classes at the weekend in Secondary 3 helped this student improve a lot. Classes led by a foreign teacher were confusing as it didn’t meet the students’ learning needs.

Encouraging teachers made studying English in Australia enjoyable for this Social Work major. She read academic books and journals for her honours project. She likes a horror story called Red Riding Hood.

Learning languages in order to teach in other countries is this student’s motivation. She will go to a park and practise with foreigners. She reads to improve her vocabulary.

Learning English in university is more interactive and less boring than reviewing DSE past papers for this Science major. She also read the South China Morning Post and discussed the news with her teacher in preparation for the DSE.

A study tour in primary school allowed this Human Resource major to experience teaching styles that are different from those in Hong Kong. She used to read fiction but now prefers other genres. I Am Malala is inspiring.

Watching a video in senior form enhanced this Science major’s knowledge of world affairs and improved her English as well. She read The Landlady in English literature class and described it as a horror story.

An ESL class in primary school taught this Actuarial Science major grammar and writing, idioms and poetry. She was eager to read children’s book series. Teachers encouraged her to read newspapers and magazines.

Although it was hard preparing for the DSE, this Mathematics major enjoyed support from his English teachers. After reading the Chinese version of The Hunger Games, he read the English one.

Heeding the advice of his primary school teacher, this Fashion major had private tutoring to improve his grammar. He read the Chinese version of Pride and Prejudice to help him with the English version.

A NET used stories and drama to spark this Science major’s interest in English. He mostly reads Chinese books because English ones are too hard to understand.

An energetic lecturer who shouts out keywords or phrases reinforces this English major’s learning. She appreciates that her English teachers in secondary school shared insights with them. She reads about Psychology and Why Men Love Bitches has led her to think about gender differences.

Literature which this Tourism and Hospitality major found difficult at first, became fascinating as she developed an understanding. She valued studying the differences between the play and the movie of The History Boys because students don’t normally have the chance to do this.

This Business major‘s speaking skills were improved through presenting his ideas in group discussions. He reads more on the Internet but enjoyed reading about the culture of Iran in a graphic book, Persepolis.

During the English Week at her secondary school, this Occupational Therapy major had to approach teachers and communicate in the language to get stickers. She read Roald Dahl at school and now likes Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey.

Listening to an Irish accent from a video in class was challenging for this English and Education major. She read poetry from Shakespeare for a university literature course.

Reciting sentences from a newspaper was boring and useless for this Business major. It was difficult to do a presentation about Percy Jackson and The Olympians during an English speech exam in Form Three.

Being an English ambassador and having a good teacher made secondary interesting for this Hotel Management major. She skim read Tuesdays with Morrie for a book report.

After a bad experience in kindergarten, this Accounting major’s mum placed her in a neighbourhood learning group led by an American tutor. She learnt through field trips and everyday activities. She read a lot of Mitch Albom books and also magazines such as TIME and Vogue.

Even though this Music major wanted to read more English books in secondary school, she watched more movies instead. She read short articles in the Standard for school assignments. She enjoyed watching a movie about how fast food affects our health.

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

Piano lessons with an American teacher were combined with English learning for this Social Work major. The teacher also used films, pictures and stories.

Getting a good grade on the DSE is about knowing the right formula according to this Product Design major. Apart from learning the formula from her teacher, she prepared by watching YouTube videos and listening to music at home.

A university course used games and role-plays to help this Social Work major practise her spoken English. Having been a Geography undergraduate she enjoys reading National Geographic.

A teacher was able to spark this Accounting major’s interest through humour. As a big fan of Hollywood stars and supermodels, he pushed himself to understand their interviews in fashion magazines.

It was the first time for this Engineering major to learn English through songs as her teacher played the music of Daniel Powter and the Backstreet Boys in secondary school. She also read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Harry Potter.

In order to get a good result on the DSE and secure a place in university, this Civil Engineering major took tutorial classes. He read a book by Frederick Forsyth but didn’t finish because he ran out of time.

A university tutor used humour, short movies and western culture in English classes. This Electronics major listened to an audio version of the Fantastic Four and watched the movie.

Preparing for the GRE test required this Urban Management major to memorise mathematical jargon and read different types of articles. A teacher from primary school asked her to write diaries. She thinks it is easier to understand history books in English than in Chinese.

To prepare for IELTS, this IT Management major learnt a lot of vocabulary. A teacher gave her an English book as a gift, which she totally doesn’t understand the content.

A harsh learning experience involved learning pages of phrasal verbs because this Medical student’s English was not up to standard in Form 1. Even though the Hunger Games was a required reading in secondary school he completed it out of pure interest.

Memorising ‘tons’ of vocabulary provided by tutors during secondary school was important for this student’s English writing and reading. He enjoys news articles from The Economist and TIME.

Playing puzzles in secondary school helped this student improve his English. He doesn’t read much in English.

Reading had been a habit of this English major since primary school until he switched to the Internet. He likes books on fantasy and biology. He dressed up as Tom Sawyer, a character in Mark Twain’s novels for Reading Week in secondary school.

Working as a team in a debate competition was the most enjoyable experience for this Logistics major. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was the first book he read alone. It boosted his interest in English.