Non-Chinese Speaking Students Learn Chinese via AI

On 10 August, the Department of Chinese Language and Literature hosted a community service project titled “When Writing Meets AI: Rethinking Chinese and English Learning.” Dr Kevin CHAN Kin-wing, Assistant Professor of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature and Director of the Language Centre (Chinese Section), visited Bui O Public School in Lantau Island to conduct a “Pop-Up AI Workshop” attracting dozens of primary school students and their parents.

Dr CHAN demonstrated several self-designed, AI-powered Chinese language mini-games, including “Idiom Chains,” “Radical Fighter Plane,” and “Radical Crush.” These games enabled attendees to master the composition and practical usage of Chinese vocabulary through various real-time word recognition modes. Some games even featured a group competition mode, creating an enthusiastic atmosphere that kept the students highly engaged. Additionally, Dr CHAN introduced the AI writing assistant “Aybo” and the “Cantonese Translator” AI chatbot, developed by the HKSYU Language Centre, for handling “inputting English to generate Chinese,” making it convenient for non-Chinese speaking students to study Chinese at home independently anytime.

Dr CHAN stated that HKSYU’s “AI-Based Language Laboratory (ALL)”, sponsored by the Education Bureau’s Quality Enhancement Support Scheme (QESS), aims to develop AI tools for Hong Kong students to improve their writing skills. He emphasised that the project aims to guide students towards responsible use of AI rather than misuse it.

Akbar ADEENA, a student at Bui O Public School, shared that she had limited knowledge of Chinese characters, often forgetting how to pronounce words she had seen before, and struggled to use four character idioms in Chinese writing. She felt the event helped her rediscover and learn Chinese. Wanting to achieve higher grades in her studies, she decided to try using AI to learn four-character idioms and was thrilled to find that it actually worked.

Jojo MAMANBUN, a parent, mentioned that his child had never taken Chinese classes before enrolling in school. Eager to help the next generation learn Chinese, he made a point to attend the event. Mamanbun found the visit from HKSYU scholars to teach Chinese deeply meaningful and expressed hope that the AI-assisted language teaching model will continue to develop and benefit more children.