A student who entered the Hong Kong education system in Primary 4 received support from teachers and classmates. She says it was tiring reading Harry Potter because she had to keep looking for meanings in the dictionary.

A student who is ‘crazy about rock music’ learnt more vocabulary while looking for the meaning of lyrics. She thinks the English version of Harry Potter is better than the Chinese translation.

A Chinese teaching major says English would be important if she worked in an international school. She remembers spending a lot of time checking the dictionary while reading Harry Potter.

This student read the Twilight series and then watched the movies to help improve her English.

A trip to Canada raised this student’s awareness about using English to communicate. A dictionary is helpful when reading.

It was interesting comparing English to Cantonese in secondary school. It’s better to read a book after watching a film because it can help build a mental picture.

A school visit to a university hotel helped build this student’s vocabulary. He read about Coco Chanel during the SBA. He’s an NBA fan and plays video games in English.

A summer camp led by native English speaking students built confidence because it focused on communication and not errors. Books such as Harry Potter and Tuesdays with Morrie are good for learners.

Watching Titanic in primary school on the Mainland created an interest in the lyrics of the song, “My Heart Will Go On.” The student also watched Harry Potter and Twilight. She briefly looked at the Harry Potter book.

A postgraduate psychology student enjoyed an English camp organised by American tutors on the Mainland during secondary school. Jane Eyre is a really touching book.

Reading can involve preparation for tests such as TOEFL and SAT and can be fiction like The Vampire Diaries. Dictionaries are good for developing vocabulary.

An impressive professor used songs and drama in an English class. Reading includes The Hunger Games, Reader’s Digest, and course material.

Listening to the BBC and reading online and printed newspapers were part of this student’s A-level preparations. He used a dictionary to check new vocabulary.

A student from a CMI school appreciates the support from his teacher as he was afraid of facing the DSE exam. He has read a little of Harry Potter. He uses a printed dictionary.

A teacher made this student’s learning interesting with stories. He used to read novels at home after supper. He uses a dictionary to learn new vocabulary.

Tutorial classes were different to regular school classes because this student could learn exam skills. He checks the dictionary while reading newspapers and academic material.

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.

Watching TV shows such as 60 Minutes Plus motivates this student to use the dictionary to check new vocabulary because he is interested in social issues. Graphic books such as comics have raised his interest in learning English.

Group work helped this student improve in high school. She reads books to learn more about her major and uses a dictionary for complicated words.

Reading what interests this student in the library has helped his vocabulary and grammar. He uses a dictionary if he does not know the meaning of a word.

Reciting articles from books in primary school English helped this systems engineer get used to the language. She learnt stress and rhythm of the language by performing in dramas. She read Harry Potter with a dictionary at first.

Prompted to practise more during university, this English major held balcony conversations with her best friend from the hall. She read Lady Chatterley’s Lover after a friend suggested the novel to her in secondary school.

Revising for the use of English A-level paper was the highlight of this student’s English language learning which also involved reading past papers. His English reading centres on course material.

An unexpected poor result in the A-level exam surprised this student. He uses a printed dictionary.

Songs from artists such as the Beatles and Bee Gees help this student with his listening skills. He uses a dictionary to find the meaning of new words. He sometimes uses English when he teaches the violin.

Learning English might have been more interesting for this student if the teacher showed movies and played games. She has read TIME and used the Oxford dictionary and Wikipedia. She read Chinese books on a Kindle.

Travelling to the US gave this student the opportunity to use English. She found some course material to be lively. She uses a dictionary when she discovers new words.

A secondary school activity let this Legal Studies major communicate with younger students. He likes reading about Football and will use a printed dictionary at home and his phone when he’s outside. Students should read more newspapers.

A Form One teacher worked with this student who improved a lot by Form Two. He did not read much in English except when he used the newspaper for homework. He uses English for his university courses.

A drama project in secondary school for this student involved working with a script and preparing the costumes and make up. She reads course material in English in university and sometimes uses Google, a dictionary, and Wikipedia.

A teacher mixed revising past papers with movies as this student prepared for the DSE. She started reading a book but it was too thick and preferred the movie version. She will read if it’s for academic purposes.

A lot of exercises, including speech practice helped this student overcome her fears and pass the DSE. She bought the book Warm Bodies after seeing the film version. She prefers to use a printed dictionary.

University provides this student with more English training opportunities because the language is used by most professors. Most of the course material is in English and he checks new vocabulary with a dictionary.

Rewriting English newspaper articles helped this student improve her grammar and vocabulary in secondary school. She read a few pages of Harry Potter but found she spent a lot of time checking new words in the dictionary.

Preparing for IELTS exposed this Malaysian Civil Engineering major to academic writing and argumentative essays. He has read many news magazines and the dictionary. He says he uses English more in Hong Kong but the standard is not as high as Malaysia.

Researching a topic for a presentation in secondary school made this student question his English proficiency. His reading has centred on course material. He is finding it difficult to study in English university because he used Cantonese in secondary school.

A secondary school exchange in Canada placed this student in an all English speaking environment. He developed new vocabulary while reading academic journals in university.

Early spelling lessons with her father established a good system for dictation for this student. She read children’s novels when she was young and now watches TV drama to polish her English.

A Social Science major recalls the fear of chatting with an American NET for the first time. She uses English when travelling and studying. She reads journals.

Interviewing tourists helped this Social Science major improve his conversation skills. He reads about football on the Internet and uses a dictionary when he comes across new words.