Due to limited exposure to English, this Chemistry major had to put extra effort into preparing for IELTS. Reading a lot in that time was memorable.

Joining a learning camp in the UK with games stimulated this Construction Management major’s interest in learning. Studying song lyrics is enjoyable because she loves singing and listening to music.

Impromptu speaking during secondary school was valuable and helpful for this English major. Reading Crazy Rich Asians in university allowed her to experience a story that will not happen in her real life.

Immersing in an English speaking environment at a very young age enabled this Drama major to acquire the language. Understanding characters with drama elements facilitated reading in lessons.

Intensive practice for IELTS greatly improved this Engineering major’s English. Reading a lot of research papers for postgraduate studies broadened his horizons.

An English class exercise allowed this History major to write her own fiction. With limited time given, she found reading the book Naomi challenging.

Meeting friends in English lessons during associate degree studies helped build this Science major’s confidence in speaking and writing. He read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows three times after completing the Chinese version.

Tutorials gave this Chinese major a good start in English learning. The first English novel she read was Twilight and subsequently she developed a habit of reading novels.

This Geography major had a hard time transitioning from a CMI primary school to an EMI secondary school. She finally understood the book Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? after a few years of university studies.

Learning English through games in a cram school was fun for this International Relations major. She read faster after practising reading for TOEFL exam.

English classes in primary school required this Science major to use the language while communicating with classmates. He also practised his spoken English through reading aloud in class.

An exchange allowed this Social Work major to talk with native speakers directly. She gained knowledge of English literature after reading Matilda and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Taking a speech class taught by an American teacher encouraged this Economics major to express opinions with confidence. He started reading more English by checking his friends’ updates on Facebook.

Movies were shown to this English graduate in Secondary 3. She feels they exposed her to everyday English. She learnt lots of idioms while reading with classmates in junior form.

Filling in missing song lyrics and watching movies were activities this Nursing graduate did in Secondary 2. She read The Prince and The Old Man and the Sea and turned them into dramas.

An exchange to London improved this Science graduate’s grammar and interviewing skills. He seldom reads because he spends time on other activities.

Taking an English class during an exchange to Australia enabled this Architecture major to learn how the locals use the language. She expanded her vocabulary in high school by reading the South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong education needs to shift from being teacher-centred and exam-oriented to interactive according to this Science graduate. In primary school, he liked Roald Dahl’s stories and read Matilda and The Witches.

Primary school English classes involved improvisation and role-playing for this Arts major. There is so much new vocabulary in university readings that she spends the whole day looking up words in the dictionary.

Despite the negative view on spoon feeding, this Spanish major felt she learnt a lot in secondary school. She read Animal Farm because she has an interest in politics.

Taking a course about English literature exposed this Engineering major to different styles of writing. He read Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein and The Joy Luck Club in that course.

This Accounting major now sees the funny side of mispronouncing a word. She was a slow reader at first because she had to check new vocabulary, but she persevered and likes autobiographies.

Despite studying English for ten years and getting a good academic results, this Politics major had trouble using the language when travelling. She reads English articles for her major.

The teaching style and activities in extra-curricular tutorials were different to regular classes for this Civil Engineering major. He read The Witches for the SBA in secondary school.

Watching the Harry Potter and Star Wars movies with Chinese subtitles facilitated English learning for this Information Technology major. He read newspapers and the dictionary when he was younger but now prefers watching YouTube and movies.

Staying with a host family while studying in Australia was a cultural exchange and English learning experience for this Finance major. She watched the TV series Prison Break and read the English and Chinese subtitles.

An exchange to Cambridge enabled this Nursing major to learn spoken English through daily communication and dramas. She reads TIME magazine occasionally.

Learning the origin of words in an English language school was appealing for this Logistics major. The Little Prince was the first book she read in English and she felt more confident about learning English afterwards.

This Economics major found repetitive exercises and memorization for the Gaokao useless for her future. Philosophical readings such as On Liberty were difficult to comprehend.

Reciting New Concept English helped this Science major’s reading and writing but not speaking. His speaking improved because of frequent contact with foreigners in Hong Kong. After reading a large number of papers, his reading speed increased.

Choosing interesting materials for self-learning was more memorable than learning at school. This Linguistics major was impressed by the content of the book Giovanni’s Room.

Memorising words for IELTS was tough but useful for writing and reading. Reading academic articles was difficult for this Urban Design major.

Interacting with native English speakers in a summer school in Vancouver was useful for this Business major. He studied Shakespeare, Murakami and Greek plays such as Oedipus for IB.

When this Linguistics major first learnt English from a native-speaking tutor, he was unable to comprehend what the teacher said. Reading blogs that he was interested in increased his motivation to learn.

A speech week and related activities were held at this Nursing graduate’s secondary school before HKCEE to create an English speaking environment. She read many ghost stories in junior form.

Having studied in the US immersed this Psychology graduate in an English speaking environment as she interacted with locals. As a research assistant, she needed to read a lot of papers that she was not interested in.

Jotting down useful expressions while watching TV dramas is this English major’s learning practice. She watched Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries. Reading post-modern literature allowed her to think from different perspectives.

Watching the movie The Dark Knight Rises expanded this Nursing graduate’s vocabulary. He recalled the first time he had read a journal article and observed how the information was presented differently from newspapers, magazines or textbooks.

This Nursing major attended secondary school classes where an English teacher played his guitar and sang his own songs. He was surprised when he received a book about animals from the teacher.

Being a volunteer teacher in Bali enabled this Business major to speak English more while helping others. She read books in the library once but she did not enjoy it.