On 21 March 2025, Dr Kevin Yung, Associate Professor and Associate Head (International Engagement) of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Associate Co-Director of the Academy for Educational Development and Innovation at The Education University of Hong Kong, was invited as the keynote speaker at a professional development event titled “Exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for self-directed English language learning” organised by the Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB). This event, held at Ying Wa College, gathered over 300 educators, including primary and secondary school principals and teachers, university teachers and EDB officers. Secretary for Education Dr Christine Choi highly commended this event, acknowledging the opportunities and challenges that AI brings to primary and secondary education in Hong Kong.
In his keynote, Dr Yung offered a rich and timely overview of how AI is being integrated into education systems worldwide. He then linked these trends to Hong Kong’s English Language curriculum, highlighting the need to prepare students for a digital future. Drawing on recent research, Dr Yung noted that generative AI can effectively enhance students’ engagement and English competence. However, it may also pose cognitive challenges without the teacher’s proper scaffolding. To address this, he introduced the GUIDE-S pedagogical framework based on his research findings on empowering students’ academic literacy through AI. The GUIDE-S framework is a student-centred approach to help learners utilise generative AI tools critically, ethically and effectively. Moreover, Dr Yung showcased ACEiTeach, an AI-enabled adaptive learning system developed in his ongoing research projects that support self-directed learning of primary and secondary school students from low-income families. Dr Yung reaffirmed the importance of guiding students to become reflective, agentic and independent learners in an AI-enhanced education landscape.
Through this event, Dr Yung’s macroanalysis of the global AI integration in education and frontline teachers’ sharing of school-based practices deepened cross-sector understanding of the practical value of AI within and beyond the classroom setting.
