Department of English - The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong

The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into educational contexts has impacted assessment practices across the curriculum and the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is no exception. While AI tools offer opportunities for personalised language learning and feedback, they also raise critical concerns about academic integrity, authorship, and the validity of learning outcomes.

This keynote addresses the emerging need for AI-secure assessment design that moves beyond detection toward prevention, pedagogy, and ethical engagement. Drawing on recent educational policy development and classroom practices in Australian higher education, this speech explores how traditional assessment formats, especially written essays, are increasingly vulnerable to AI-assisted responses. It discusses practical recommendations for designing Secure Assessments that highlights in-class participation, process-oriented tasks, multimodal demonstrations, and scaffolded reflection. Strategies such as viva, iterative drafting, and contextualised language use are used as key approaches to ensuring authenticity, alongside the implementation of transparent AI policies. In this context, teachers play an important role in promoting critical AI literacy while maintaining academic standards. Ultimately, this talk argues AI should not signal the end of valid language assessment. Rather, it calls for a necessary rethinking of what it means to demonstrate language proficiency in the current educational climate.  

Dr Helena Sit is an Associate Professor in the School of Education (TESOL specialisation) at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her research focuses on language teacher education, English-medium instruction (EMI), technology-enhanced language learning, and intercultural communication in education.

The Undergraduate and Postgraduate Conference 2026 will be held on Monday 18 May from 10am to 4:15pm at the S H Ho Academic Building, A314 and A315. All are welcome and please register via the link provided in our bio.

Margaret Tsau is a barrister with over thirteen years of experience in dispute resolution, handling both criminal matters and broad range of civil litigation. In this keynote, she will share her journey from English studies to a professional legal career in Hong Kong. Starting with an undergraduate degree in linguistics at a local university, she then pursued a master’s degree overseas and ultimately completed both the Juris Doctor (JD) and Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) in Hong Kong. Margaret will offer practical guidance for English students with interests in qualifying as solicitors or barristers in Hong Kong. She’ll also introduce the role of paralegals, explain the required qualifications and demonstrate how this position can be a valuable entry point into the legal profession.

The Undergraduate and Postgraduate Conference 2026 will be held on Monday 18 May from 10am to 4:15pm at the S H Ho Academic Building, A314 and A315. All are welcome and please register via the link provided in our bio.

This year, the English Department is delighted to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our annual student conference. The programme features paper presentations from our BA (Hons) in English (BA-ENG) students on a range of topics including AI-supported peer feedback, online slang and identity, English teaching methods and motivation, and AI-assisted speaking skills.

We’ll also showcase Capstone Projects from our MA in Global English Literary and Cultural Studies (MA-GELCS) students exploring English as self-invention and literary belonging, and play reading for recontextualising performing arts criticism archives. Outstanding papers from MA in English Language Teaching and Assessment (MA-ELTA) programme will also be featured, highlighting the exceptional quality of the students’ work.

We are honoured to welcome two distinguished keynote speakers. Ms Margaret Tsau, a barrister and member of Island Chambers, will share her inspiring journey of professional development, transitioning from a linguistic background to a successful legal career. We are also delighted to have Dr Helena Sit, Associate Professor in the School of Education (TESOL specialisation) at the University of Newcastle, Australia, to deliver a speech titled “Rethinking Assessment in the Age of AI: Towards Secure and Ethical Practices in TESOL.”

For more information and to register, visit the conference webpage in our bio link.

The Hong Kong International Shakespeare Conference has been a three-day feast for the mind.

Scholars, performers and theatre practitioners from various parts of the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the US have gathered to engage in an intercultural discourse on Shakespeare. Over decades, the Bard’s work has been adapted and transformed across the Asian continent, taking on diverse hybrid forms; it’s been navigated and responded to through different regional languages, religions, and performance cultures. In some cases, it’s even become a vehicle for local people to express their agency, voices and even political concerns.

A heartfelt thank you to all the speakers, guests, speakers and participants for sharing such valuable insights and experiences 🫶
And to all the helpers who made this possible! 🎭
Until we meet again❤️‍🔥

The Hong Kong International Shakepeare Conference 2026 was co-organised by the School of Continuing Education at Hong Kong Baptist University and the Department of English at the Hang Sen University of Hong Kong, 13-15.4.2026.

The Hong Kong International Shakespeare Conference has been a three-day feast for the mind.

Scholars, performers and theatre practitioners from various parts of the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the US have gathered to engage in an intercultural discourse on Shakespeare. Over decades, the Bard’s work has been adapted and transformed across the Asian continent, taking on diverse hybrid forms; it’s been navigated and responded to through different regional languages, religions, and performance cultures. In some cases, it’s even become a vehicle for local people to express their agency, voices and even political concerns.

A heartfelt thank you to all the speakers, guests, speakers and participants for sharing such valuable insights and experiences 🫶
And to all the helpers who made this possible! 🎭
Until we meet again❤️‍🔥

The Hong Kong International Shakepeare Conference 2026 was co-organised by the School of Continuing Education at Hong Kong Baptist University and the Department of English at the Hang Sen University of Hong Kong, 13-15.4.2026.

At the workshop Re-imagining, Staging and Performing Shakespeare Today on 24th March facilitated by The Bootstrap Theatre. William, Genett and our very own faculty member Miguel led our students on a wild journey reinventing some of Shakespeare’s most famous works in the Gen Z context!

The Bootstraps are currently hard at work cooking up an original rock musical called JOB: Fateful Fever Dream, set to be staged in July. Find more details on .hk

It was an absolutely delight to see these young performers bring Shakespeare’s lines to life with such confidence, emotion and power 🔥 at the Shakespeare Drama Competition 2026 on 28th March. Some even displayed fluid body language!

A heartfelt thank you 💜 to the adjudicators Prof Kwok-kan Tam, Prof Alexa Alice Joubin, Dr Miriam Lau and Dr Beatrice Ma, and Dr Kristen Murray for the wonderful introductory note on Hamlet 🥹🙏

🎉 Congratulations to all the winners on their outstanding performance 👏

/ Open Group
Champion 🏆 Winola Lam Wai-Larm, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2 (Juliet’s balcony monologue)
First runner-up 🏵️ Evan Wang Qihao, Adrianna Liang Tingqian, Casey Yuan Chi, Open Group, The University of Hong Kong. Hamlet, Act 5 Scene 1 (Gravedigger, Hamlet, Haratio)
Second runner-up ✨ Janine Chen Jianing, Sunny Gao Yang, Sylvia Wang Qingyan , Adrianna Liang Tingqian, Casey Yuan Chi, The University of Hong Kong. Hamlet, Act 5 Scene 1 (Ophelia’s funeral) 

/ Senior Group
Champion 🏆 Ingrid Wong Yat Sum, Good Hope School. The Merchant of Venice, Act 2 Scene 2 (Launcelot – comic conscience debate)
First runner-up 🏵️ Hayley Sum Yui Ching, St. Paul’s Convent School. Romeo and Juliet, Act 3 Scene 2 (Juliet waiting for nightfall when Romeo will return)
Second runner-up ✨ Muyang Tian, North America International School (Shanghai). The Taming of the Shrew, Act 4 Scene 1 (Petruchio – taming strategy monologue)

/ Junior Group
Champion 🏆 Hugo P**n Lok Hei, Shun Tak Fraternal Association Yung Yau College. Twelfth Night, Act 5 Scene 1 (Malvolio – outrage at being gulled)
First Runner-up 🏵️ Felia Cheng Yee Fay, Diocesan Girls’ School. Richard II, Act 4 Scene 1 (King Richard II – mirror monologue)
Second Runner-up ✨ Aurora Lau, St. Paul’s Convent School. As You Like It, Act 3 Scene 5

🧐What are the ends of global Shakespeare as a field of study? In the past three decades, global Shakespeare has expanded Shakespeare studies’ Anglo-centric outlook. We now need new methods to theorize performances of Shakespeare across cultures.

This presentation suggests heterotopia as a new method to analyze diverse and polyphonic performances. In Michel Foucault’s theory of heterotopia, the notion describes worlds within worlds. Joubin builds upon Foucault’s architectural metaphor to theorize cultural spaces that are transformative because of their contradictory or trans-historical ideologies. Heterotopia, as a parallel space that contains and evokes other spaces, exists in reality (such as a theatre stage) and holds up a mirror to other realities.

This presentation argues that global Shakespeare operates as a heterotopia. Performances connect audiences with fictional worlds in a different time and place. They also evoke other parts of audiences’ contemporary worlds. Heterotopia, or worlds within worlds, captures the vitality and viability of global performances of Shakespeare.

🗣️
Alexa Alice Joubin is Professor of English, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Literatures at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she directs the Digital Humanities Institute. The inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award, she held the Fulbright Distinguished Chair at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Warwick in the UK. In 2026, she received the Shakespeare Association of America’s Barbara Hodgdon Award as well as honorable mention for the Publics Award.

✨This seminar is part of the Hong Kong International Shakespeare Conference 2026. Following the seminar, there’ll be a book launch titled “Shakespearean Studies: New Books in the Field” by Prof Alexa Alice Joubin and Dr Miriam Lau. Details are available on the conference website.

👀The seminar and book launch will be accessible via the same Zoom link provided in our bio.

What are the ends of global Shakespeare as a field of study? In the past three decades, global Shakespeare has expanded Shakespeare studies’ Anglo-centric outlook. We now need new methods to theorize performances of Shakespeare across cultures.

This presentation suggests heterotopia as a new method to analyze diverse and polyphonic performances. In Michel Foucault’s theory of heterotopia, the notion describes worlds within worlds. Joubin builds upon Foucault’s architectural metaphor to theorize cultural spaces that are transformative because of their contradictory or trans-historical ideologies. Heterotopia, as a parallel space that contains and evokes other spaces, exists in reality (such as a theatre stage) and holds up a mirror to other realities.

This presentation argues that global Shakespeare operates as a heterotopia. Performances connect audiences with fictional worlds in a different time and place. They also evoke other parts of audiences’ contemporary worlds. Heterotopia, or worlds within worlds, captures the vitality and viability of global performances of Shakespeare.

Alexa Alice Joubin is Professor of English, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Literatures at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

*This seminar is part of the Hong Kong International Shakespeare Conference 2026. Following the seminar, there’ll be a book launch titled “Shakespearean Studies: New Books in the Field” by Prof Alexa Alice Joubin and Dr Miriam Lau. The launch will be moderated by Prof Michael Dobson, Director of The Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham. Details are available on the conference website link in our bio.

The seminar and book launch will be accessible via the same Zoom link provided in our bio.

hongkonginternationalshakespeareconference theatrestudies

You’re cordially invited to the Hong Kong International Shakespeare Conference 2026.

This joint event, organised by Hong Kong Baptist University and The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, will take place from 13 to 15 April 2026.

The conference will explore the theme “Transplantation of Shakespearean Drama into Asian Culture”. Up to 40 international academics and theatre practitioners will gather to discuss the vibrant reimaginations of Shakespeare’s timeless plays through Asian theatrical traditions, including Cantonese opera, Japanese Noh, Taiwanese Yu opera, Korean Changgeuk and more.

🗓️Mon-Wed 13-15.4.2026
📍David C. Lam Building, Hong Kong Baptist University Kowloon Tong Campus
🗣️In English
✨Free of charge. Register to secure a place, link in our bio!