Past papers were a daily routine during this Japanese Studies major’s high school life. She doesn’t like reading but has to get through a lot of passages for university.

The drama competition in secondary school motivated this Business major to communicate in English frequently. The Extensive Reading Scheme in secondary school increased his exposure to English.

Interactive drama lessons led by a NET in junior high school were relaxing because there were no tests. She was unable to enjoy Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in Form One because it was required reading for an exam.

While watching Free Willy in class, this Chinese major’s teacher stopped every half hour to share new vocabulary. There were too many difficult sentences in a TSA book.

Studying English in university was better than secondary school for this Psychology major. Due to her interest in psychology, she enjoys reading her textbooks and course material.

An exchange in New Zealand let this Science major chat with native speakers. Her English reading experience began with Magic Tree House. Divergent differs from the science fiction she usually reads.

English was used every day while this Comparative Education major was an exchange student in the US. Reading for the TOEFL exam was challenging for her.

A course in community college allowed this Social Science major to chat with foreigners. His studies requires him to read some literature related to political theories.

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.

An “effective” teacher used movies, music and magazines in this Accounting major’s DSE English class. Although she was forced to read books or newspapers during high school, she found it useful.

Attending a summer camp motivated this Design major to speak in English when returning to school. She was required to read English newspapers in secondary school and she sometimes reads The Times.

To prepare for IELTS exam, this Economics major read a lot and practised spoken English with her friends. Reading Pride and Prejudice was difficult but she was able to finish it.

A New Zealand home stay in secondary school was an all English speaking experience for this Engineering major. She read Tuesdays With Morrie and says it taught her to forgive.

A teacher helped this student improve his presentation skills after school. He has been using the dictionary or the Internet to learn new words that he has come across when reading TIME magazine or course material.

Watching a movie in the school theatre provided a vocabulary learning opportunity for this Chinese major. An essay entitled I Don’t Want to Live Forever showed her a different view of longevity.

Interacting with native speakers in Hong Kong exposed this English major to other cultures and also improved his language skills. Reading for undergraduate studies gave him a lot of insights. He likes Franz Kafka who can dissect difficult human experience.

Participating in a drama in secondary school helped this student learn English efficiently. He has to read essays on many different topics for his major. Film adaptations motivate him to read the book version.

This Mechanical Engineering major’s mum read him English novels in primary school and explained the stories in Chinese. He now reads The Economist regularly and sometimes browses news online.

English learning included vocabulary, grammar, and writing for this Engineering major. Writing was emphasised in senior secondary and university. He attended grammar tutorials when he was ten.

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.

Meeting foreigners who shared their lives in their home countries sparked this Economics major’s interest in learning. His mother read the Bookworm storybook series to him. He reads popular novels and the newspaper.

Joining an English Scrabble team increased this Civil Engineering major’s knowledge of English. She read newspapers and stories in the reading time during secondary school.

Being separated from her family during a trip to the UK forced this Chemistry major to use English to find them. She read Harry Potter and Snow White in a reading week during secondary school.

Vocabulary has been a focus of this Engineering major’s formal and informal English learning since kindergarten. He writes English essays in university.

A university class on interviewing skills made this Finance major more conscious about her own speaking ability. She reads news from Bloomberg as it is required for her major.

A teacher in primary school used puppets to practise everyday English with this Ecology major. She gave up reading Sherlock Holmes midway since it was too difficult and this discouraged her from other fiction.

An exchange to Sweden allowed this Accounting major to speak English more frequently. She mainly reads textbooks and prefers ones that have examples.

Having an English girlfriend improved this Medical student’s speaking skills. Secondary school English classes in the UK focused on creative writing and composition instead of grammar. He used to hate reading. He now reads textbooks for his studies.

Coming from a CMI school, this Language major had done extra self-practice to prepare for the DSE. She realises learning back then was particularly productive. Her reading interest ranges from fantasy novels such as Howl’s Moving Castle to romance like One Day.

Watching movies is a relaxing way for this Mechanical Engineering major to learn vocabulary and phrases. He read George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm.

A teacher took this Chinese Education major’s class to a park where they learnt about nature. Book series like Twilight and Harry Potter made her stay in the library for a whole day. She likes the Harry Potter movies more than the books.

A word game in a university English class boosted this Communication major’s creativity and language use. After watching the film One Day, she read the original book and finds that the movie and the book are different.

This Business major did a lot of test papers to prepare for the Gaokao. At first, she was worried about the many readings in a general education course but then she realised that she could understand them.

Taking a secondary school debating class with a NET required this Information Science major to focus on English for a few hours. She read Gossip Girl and watched the TV series.

A job stimulation in class taught this Computer Engineering major to tackle problem in English. He reads short novels and BBC news.

Academic writing in a university English course was boring according to this Anthropology major. The vocabulary used in course material is also a pain because he is not good at reading.

University language classes have given this Engineering major more opportunities to speak, which is helpful for daily communication. He reads library books related to his major.

Reading textbooks loudly and repeatedly had familiarised this Information Engineering major with the vocabulary and sentence structures. The English in his mathematics textbook is not complicated. He also reads books about economics.

Going to the Peak with international students taught this Industrial Engineering major communication skills. As a Master’s student he improves by reading research reports containing complicated sentences.

A teacher in high school helped this Tourism Management major prepare for the Gaokao through movies that are relevant to the exam content. He reads case studies from class and compares them to the ones he read during a work experience.