Winning competitions can boost your confidence and encourage you to read more. Harry Potter and books by Dan Brown such as the Da Vinci Code are favourites.

A performing arts competition helped this student in the speaking part of the DSE exam. She also took part in the daily reading scheme during secondary school. She prefers printed books but also uses an e-dictionary.

Drama classes and competitions in primary and second school were good platforms for this student to practise English. She likes reading Hunger Games, and adventure books by Darren Shan and J.K. Rowling. Movies are also good for learning English.

A family trip to New Zealand as a 15 year old let this student learn more about the use of English there and the peoples’ culture. His secondary school teacher encouraged him to read Tuesdays with Morrie for a book sharing competition in which he won second runner-up.

Doing a poetry reading in a speech festival helped this student with the DSE speech examination. Despite this experience, she does not read much, just CNN.

A form teacher, classmates, and listening to Westlife helped this student win an award for best pronunciation in a secondary school drama show. He likes E-books and reads academic journals and also plays the guitar.

An English Teaching major worked in a group as part of a competition to transform a poem into a video in secondary school. She also read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

This student was part of a secondary school team that won an inter-house drama competition with their own composition based on Mario Brothers. She bought All the Light We Cannot See because she is interested in history.

Preparing for a speech festival in senior secondary gave this student a chance to read a variety of scripts while receiving guidance on pronunciation. In university, he prefers to read English versions of some material as translations may be inaccurate.

This Visual Arts major received dialogue coaching from teachers while she prepared for a drama competition in Form Four. She prefers to read Chinese books but read English fiction and non-fiction for the SBA.

Taking part in English speech competitions made up for the lack of speaking opportunities in primary and secondary school for this Physiotherapy major. She has read popular fiction but is also studying the stories of the victims of war.

Winning a class competition for a video in secondary school created a good learning atmosphere for this Engineering major. She reads the South China Morning Post to improve her English.

Despite winning a competition singing an English song, this Management major does not think her interest in music helps her learning. She likes to read fashion magazines.

Studying phonics and taking part in English singing and speech competitions became a habit for this student who now likes western pop music. She uses social media to find interesting articles to read.

A drama competition in secondary school was a welcome break from exams and textbooks for this English major. He was the scriptwriter and used a dictionary to complete the job. The local content in the SCMP is appealing.

Winning a primary school English writing competition ignited this Medical student’s love for reading and writing. She posts her own fan fiction online and hopes to write a novel. Those who wish to pursue writing should read widely.

Taking part in an English language competition during his bachelor studies motivated this student to practise a lot and seek help from mentors and peers. He finds inspiration in song lyrics such as Katy Perry’s Fireworks.

Rewriting the lyrics for the Alice in Wonderland musical was the culmination of a class competition that involved watching the film and reading the book. This Nursing major read magazines about the human body in secondary school and now course materials related to her major.

A drama competition in secondary school was a fun competition for this student. She read the Harry Potter series when she was “very small”.

A secondary school teacher helped this student win a public speaking competition. She read Harry Potter within three weeks in Form 3. That was the first time she had been reading day and night.

This student enjoyed the healthy competition between his classmates and the sweets awarded in A-level tutorials. He remembers the first long article that he read for university.

This Education major participated in a choral speaking competition, and enjoyed learning poems and working with her classmates. She likes reading newspapers more than books.

An international competition held in America provided this Arts major with the chance to speak with foreign students. In secondary school, sharing time let her reflect more deeply about Roald Dahl’s Matilda.

A class drama competition provided this Physiotherapy major with an English-speaking environment. She felt satisfied after reading a romantic fantasy.

This Chemistry major learnt different tones and intonation while playing the main character in a drama competition. She read passages written by an NET in the reading session.

The poetry recitation competition gave this English major a chance to improve her pronunciation. She likes reading fairy tales. She found The Yellow Wallpaper thought-provoking.

An Australian study tour broadened this Statistics major’s horizons and enhanced her confidence in speaking English. In secondary school, she joined a competition to read and summarise a passage. [5CK312]  ...

A debate competition in high school made this Social Science major learn English fast. In a workshop, she learnt how to divide a sentence into theme and rheme.

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.

A debate enhanced this Arts major’s speaking skills and vocabulary. The desire to get a high grade motivated her to read a lot of books and readings for a high school history project.

Performing Cinderella taught this Psychology major different ways of expressing herself in English. She learnt intonation and pronunciation through verse speaking competitions. She reads textbooks in university.

Phonics taught in secondary school was not understood by this Math Education major. She listens to BBC Radio on the Internet. She read Esio Trot by Roald Dahl for a speech competition.

This Business major learnt how to argue in secondary school debate competitions. She reads the SCMP to get updated on current affairs in Hong Kong.

A pre-reading activity for a crime story fostered this Physics major’s creativity. Participating in the Battle of the Books made him memorise the selected titles. Reading allows him to imagine.

Although his team didn’t win a class competition, this Math Education major appreciates what he learnt and the camaraderie. He reads the Bible in Chinese but turns to the English version for clarification.

Learning in a small class included storytelling, role-playing and writing for this English major. A reading competition in secondary school motivated her to read.

This Arts major cited a secondary school drama lessons, a film competition and a university conference and workshops as sources of language learning. She joined book sharing sessions. She also read TIME magazine.

A drama workshop, prose reading contest and speaking competition contributed to this trainee doctor’s English learning. He has read Gun, Germs, and Steel, drama scripts and GE course material.

Kindergarten storybooks started this Management major’s English learning. She joined speech competitions in primary school and became an English ambassador in secondary. She watched TED, VoiceTube and YouTube.

A tutor gave this Sociology major exercise training in Primary 4. She read fiction and joined a Speech Festival in junior secondary. Exam-oriented education in senior form discouraged her from learning.