A student remembers how his teacher and mother used videos to help him learn English. He believes that immersion in an English speaking country is the best way to learn.

A student explains how her parents sent her to a tutorial school where she enjoyed learning English because she they played games and sang. Her most memorable book is Twilight.

A secondary school teacher helped this student who wanted more exercises to improve. She also enjoyed being an emcee at school. Her dad gave her Roald Dahl’s Matilda and also likes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She enjoyed Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie.

Books with grammar exercises were bought for this student by her mother to help her build a good foundation when she was in primary school. She also attended a phonics course. She likes Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

A school teacher remembers using English with a German businessman during a dinner hosted by her parents. She read Lord of the Flies for a secondary school literature class.

The first learning experience with a foreign English teacher opened a new world for this electrical engineer. He read a bilingual version of Phantom of the Opera that his mum bought.

An English major likes to draw pictures while reading to help remember the meaning of a phrase. She says her primary school teacher encouraged her to draw. She says parents encourage children to learn English because it’s an international language.

A strict English only learning environment helped this student’s conversation skills. Her father encouraged her to read Harry Potter in English.

Tutors in a summer camp showed this student how to learn English through reading, music, and movies. Although she hates English, her parents helped her read A Christmas Carol.

This student’s mother enrolled her in an activity-rich tutorial programme with foreign English teachers in the Mainland. As a postgraduate student in Hong Kong, she enjoys English textbooks. She has read Harry Potter. She likes printed books.

A mother told this student interesting English stories during her childhood. She remembers the pictures and the clothes. In university she socialises with students from Germany and Finland in English.

Attending an all English tutorial class with a foreigner allowed this student to improve with practice. He read a book for a school assignment and took part in a group discussion.

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.

An environmental science PhD student was mesmerized by her high school English teacher’s retelling of a love story. She was influenced by her mother to pick up reading. She enjoys Sherlock Holmes. English is the medium of instruction in native Philippines.

Forced reading with his mother gave this Engineering major a good foundation in English. He used to read passages aloud and then write them out.

An exchange in the UK provided plenty of opportunities to speak the language. Practising English with his father induced this Accounting and Finance major to pick up a particular accent. Though reading the translated version of the French book, La Chambre Claire, is a daunting task, he still values the process.

In kindergarten, this Science major and her sibling were taught English pronunciation and spelling by their mother. She read Matilda by Roald Dahl and watched the movie adaptation as well.

English was more important than Malay when this Interior Design major started learning a language at home. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is his favourite read. He also loved One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

This Business major’s dad drilled her with English exercises as he felt the schools weren’t doing enough. He also encouraged her to read. She loves romantic novels such as the works of Nicholas Sparks.

Thinking of the future, this Biology major’s father enrolled him in an English learning centre to ensure he could speak and communicate in the language when he ventures in the world. He mostly reads English course material.

Starting from kindergarten, this Creative Media major felt her parents, especially her mum, forced her to learn English. She attended a special English-speaking kindergarten and was forced to watch CNN and the BBC. Reading is difficult because she has to check words in the dictionary.

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.

Tutorials with a NET arranged by this Finance major’s mother provided plenty of opportunity to speak in a relaxed environment. Her mum also acquired SAT, GEPT and other multidiscipline study guides as teaching materials. She likes the character Katniss in The Hunger Games trilogy.

Nerves got the better of this Accounting major when she was the first speaker for a school debate. Her mum bought a Mitch Albom book for her in primary school but it was years later that she could finally understand the story.

Parents encouraged this student to read library books in primary school and newspapers in secondary school. He did not like newspapers because there were too many words.

Although this Visual Arts major was forced to read the dictionary by her parents, it broadened her vocabulary. She reads materials chosen by her university teachers.

Lessons with NETs were interesting and fun for this Arts major. He read the Mr Men series bought by his father.

This Economics major learnt object names in kindergarten. His mother read The Cat in the Hat to him when he was young. He now reads The Economist and novels like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.

Motivated by his parents, this Social Science major overcome the difficulty of studying in an EMI school. The love of mathematics made him learn the vocabulary in his textbook.

Moving to the US at the age of 10, this Finance major relied on guessing, gestures and a dictionary to understand other people. Reading children’s books improved her vocabulary and grammar. Brave New World is eye-opening.

Watching TV series and reading children’s books taught this Accounting major English in childhood. She attended a story telling class. She mostly reads novels.

University English lessons taught this Accounting major how to use the language and see it in an interesting way. He started to read books every week after his parents brought him to the library. He likes Percy Jackson.

Although the learning centre classes were stressful because they were videotaped for her parents to review, this Architectural student enjoyed the in-class chats with the friendly teacher. Her primary school teacher told stories in the library. She likes Shopaholic.

A song voiced by a teacher during a primary school running competition created a lasting memory for this Education major. Her mother asked her to read some storybooks. She read Robinson Crusoe and Jane Eyre in university.

The parents of this Accounting major helped build her vocabulary by reading to her when she was in kindergarten. She likes taking guesses of the difficult words in English books instead of checking a dictionary. She reads fiction.

Joining a workshop held by a secondary school teacher required this Arts major to speak English. She built a reading habit after her mother encouraged her to join a library programme.

Joining a summer school in Form One put this Arts major in touch with the New Zealand accent. When she was a kid, she read fairy tales with her mother. It opened the door to the world of English.

Playing Scrabble with her father was a good way for this Sports Management major to learn vocabulary. After watching the movie, If I Stay, she read the book.

Apart from English classes at school, this Sociology major learnt from travelling. She has been to Taiwan and London. Her parents and sister have also been sources of learning.

Attending weekly lessons and advanced classes was part of this Language major’s secondary education. Travelling abroad required her to use English. She code-switched when speaking to her father.