On 30 April 2026, the Department of Languages and Cultures (DLC) hosted a lecture-workshop titled “From Prompt to Pedagogy: Hands-on Strategies for Critical AI Use in Language Assessment Design”, generously supported by the FHSS Teaching and Learning Grant. The lecture-workshop featured Dr. Freek Olaf de Groot, Assistant Professor at the Department of Applied Linguistics, Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University, as the keynote speaker. The event attracted a sizeable audience of faculty members and students who were eager to explore AI’s role in shaping language learning and assessment design. Participants were invited to critically reflect on their relationships with AI and consider how humans and AI can work together to redesign learning and teaching activities in more meaningful and effective ways.

Dr. de Groot was explaining one of the tasks

The workshop included a series of interactive hands-on activities that helped participants explore AI-enhanced language learning. Participants reflected on their experiences with AI, examined issues such as AI illusion and decontextualized responses, and then used AI to support language skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening, as well as vocabulary acquisition. They also trialed AI-assisted feedback for academic writing and considered AI’s potential in assessment, while critically discussing challenges related to construct validity, transparency, and fairness.

Dr. de Groot was guiding students during the workshop

Dr. Jackie was guiding students during the workshop

The second part of the workshop focused on the use of AI in developing teaching materials. Through a series of practical activities, participants explored how AI can enhance the efficiency of material design and support more personalized learning experiences. They experimented with different prompting strategies and engaged in iterative revision processes to observe how variations in prompts influenced the quality, focus, and pedagogical value of AI-generated materials. These activities encouraged participants to view AI not as a content-generation tool, but as a sparring partner in the design of teaching and learning resources.

The participant was sharing her opinion

The workshop helped participants recognize that AI is not entirely separate from us, humans. By reflecting on how AI shapes human actions, decisions and ways of thinking — through interactions among teachers, students, and technological tools — participants gained a deeper understanding of learning and teaching as collaborative, human–AI endeavors. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into education, the workshop underscored the need not only to explore its potential, but also to critically examine its impact on how we teach, learn, and assess.

The group photo

Text: Joey Xie Zhuoying

Photography: Joey Xie Zhuoying

Editor: Dr. Jackie Yeoh