Teaching Classic Texts in the Era of AI

Abstract Book of the 10th International Conference on New Trends in Teaching and Education

Year: 2026

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Teaching Classic Texts in the Era of AI

Lili Jiang

ABSTRACT:

In this presentation, I will present my teaching experience with a university general education course that focuses on classical texts. With the rise of social media and artificial intelligence, liberal education, especially those utilize classical texts for reading and discussion to cultivate effective communication (both written and oral) as well as critical thinking skills, faces many challenges. The course I am introducing was developed by the Chinese University of Hong Kong and taught at both the Hong Kong and its Shenzhen campus for over ten years. I have personally taught this course for a decade in Shenzhen. In the recent semester, I made several attempts to enhance students’ understanding of the texts and their engagement in classroom discussions. Students’ feedback was quite positive. Additionally, I have been exploring with students how to utilize AI to assist non-native English speakers in reading classical texts and how to help students avoid relying too heavily on AI in their writing.

Keywords: Engagement, English as a Secondary Language (ESL), General Education, Pedagogy, Text-based Courses