A Form One English teacher advised this Engineering major to use a grammar website that starts with the basics and goes step by step to more advanced skills. He found Harry Potter too difficult to read when he was in primary school.

Reading English books in kindergarten made this student like the language. She likes to read romantic novels but does not have the time. She feels the Good Wife TV series is “pretty real”.

Reciting Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, this Computer Science major recalls analysing and writing poems in secondary school. She also read a wide variety of fiction ranging from Enid Blyton and JK Rowling to Ayn Rand. She is starting Games of Thrones and planning to watch the series.

University language classes exposed this student to more vocabulary than when she was preparing for the DSE. She also enjoys learning English through watching videos. The Reader made her think. She is also interested in psychology.

University gives this student more opportunity to speak in English. Secondary school classes were led by a teacher. She likes funny books such as Sophia Kinsella’s Shopaholic.

Watching movies and online interviews with actors helped develop the vocabulary of this Global China Studies major. She has read the required course materials, also used the dictionary and Wikipedia to help understand jargon in research papers.

As English is not her mother tongue, this student feels the language is a challenge for her. She finds it difficult to translate Chinese to English as well as the grammar and sentence structure.

Spending time in Australia and Europe motivated this Finance major to improve her English. The children on a farm in Australia taught her English. She participated in an English reading programme in high school.

Chatting with native speakers enabled this student to improve his speaking skills. Grammar books were useful for getting good exam results. He read Reader’s Digest and used a Kindle. He enjoys watching the comedian Michael Mclntyre.

Hosting a booth for Halloween games in senior secondary required this Civil Engineering major to use English. He reads textbooks and research papers related to his major. He uses Wikipedia for assignments.

Attending an EMI secondary school helped this Civil Engineering major because all the subjects were in English. He feels it is easier to master grammar than vocabulary. He used Wikipedia to look for information.

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.

An active learning environment in university language classes including presentations and discussions enabled this Business major to speak more English. Reading poetry allows him to know more about English culture. Shakespeare is his favourite writer.

A trip to Australia in primary school included working on a social service project that involved a cultural exchange with locals. This Cultural Management major enjoyed reading with her friends in a school programme.

A brilliant secondary school English teacher explained the use of Shakespeare in Chinese writing and prepared this Environmental Science major and her classmates for exams with drills and news clippings. Agatha Christie’s famous detective character Hercule Poirot is funny and made her think about life.

A secondary school English teacher set a high standard for this Music major when he was preparing for the A-levels. One of the exercises was reading the newspaper every day. He now reads course material.

Playing games such as Monopoly was part of the casual learning this Business major undertook in her quest to communicate with English-speaking relatives from Australia. She read the Hunger Games to get a sense of the story before watching the movie.

Getting his English pronunciation right earned this Finance major candy. He enjoys reading Sherlock Holmes even though he needs to refer to a dictionary for some unknown vocabulary.

Studying in the UK and making friends there was a fun experience for this Engineering major. He attended workshops and visited museums while he was there. He read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Maze Runner and Hunger Games.

English is one of the most important languages in this Food and Nutritional Science major’s life. She was the chair of the book club in secondary school and read Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice. She asked teachers and friends when she needed help with her studies.

Studying and performing the works of Shakespeare are the highlights of this English Literature major’s language learning. She likes Much Ado About Nothing for its humour; she acted in King Lear. She also read Fahrenheit 451 and Dubliners.

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.

Teaching English to primary student students was unpleasant for this Physics major because it was hard to express himself. The readings in a compulsory university English course contain a lot of unfamiliar vocabulary.

Interacting with foreign students in university required this Physics major to use English differently to the way that he was taught in secondary school. When speaking in English you need to organise your thoughts quickly and remember the grammar is different to Cantonese.

Joining the debating team taught this Medical student not to slur his words. He read Harry Potter, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Robinson Crusoe, The Hardy Boys, and his favourite is the Redwall Series. He likes dystopian stories and recommends Agatha Christie to those who want to improve English through reading.

English is the lingua franca for this Religious Studies major when playing football with international students at university. It was compulsory to subscribe to a newspaper and clip stories during secondary school.

Secondary school NET teachers from the US used poems, songs and dramas to create an interesting learning environment. This Cultural Studies major learnt a lot through the lyrics of Leona Lewis. She read Twilight and The Hunger Games.

Even though learning English may not be interesting, this Cultural Studies major appreciates the focus on preparing for exams as it provides a foundation for future learning. She likes reading Sophia Kinsella and TV dramas such as The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl.

Growing up in UK meant involved learning English and the culture for this Law student. She was required read a variety of books and analyse them for secondary school English class assignments. She read Shakespeare, The Great Gatsby, The Glass Menagerie, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Despite being shy, this English major used the language to communicate during a homestay in New Zealand in primary school. She likes Sophie’s World because it explores ideas that people might think but never discuss. She also read Oedipus the King and analyses poetry in university literature class.

Video games with storylines and instructions in English helped this Engineering major’s language learning. He browses English websites and enjoys reading Japanese comics.

Feeling inadequate in an EMI secondary school, this Biomedical Engineering major joined societies and activities to improve his English. He expands his vocabulary by reading about psychology and philosophy.

Growing up in the 1970s in China, this Architecture lecturer feels he was lucky to be tutored by a native speaker. Despite studying English for many years, there’s still a lot to learn. He encourages his eight year old son to read books that relate to his interests.

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.

Working in a university English language centre gives this Chinese major lots of practice by interacting with colleagues. She likes to watch movies and then read the book to see if there are any differences.

English tutorial classes taught this Chinese Medicine major communications skills. She valued the lessons because she mostly used Cantonese. She has read TIME magazine and thinks the articles are informative.

Chatting with international students at university has helped this Information Engineering major develop English conversation skills. He uses a dictionary when reading the newspaper. He warns that Google Translate is limited.

It’s more comfortable using English with foreigners than locals because there is too much focus on accuracy in Hong Kong. This Electronic Engineering majors exchanged stories with other tourists in Berlin. She likes comics and science fiction novels.

A miscommunication with a customs officer in Australia created embarrassing moments for this Math major. He had a difficult time understanding the Batman movie without subtitles during a secondary school study tour to the UK.

Tutors who treated students like friends made English more interesting by using games and movies. Eat, Pray, Love was the first English novel this Education major read. She watched the movie instead after chapter one because it was too difficult. She uses a Kindle to read academic papers.