The Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) is planning to launch a four-year Portuguese language course for students studying in Form 3 and Form 4 who plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree course in Portugal, in order to prepare students for further Portuguese language studies, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U said yesterday.
Ao Ieong made the remarks when addressing lawmakers’ oral interpellations in the legislatures’ hemicycle, adding that the bureau is also planning to gather local Portuguese-studying university students and university students from Portuguese-speaking countries and regions to go to the Chinese mainland on student exchanges.
Ao Ieong noted that some students were under great pressure while studying in Portugal due to their weak Portuguese language skills, and then had to study the language “from zero”, which had a negative impact on their grades, thus the government was planning the four-year, after-school Portuguese language course to help students that need it.
DSEDJ Director Kong Chi Meng said during yesterday’s plenary session that the course would be hosted by the Portuguese Orient Institute (IPOR) and the Portuguese School of Macau (EPM), adding that the bureau had recently signed an agreement with the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP) to launch a four-to-five-week Portuguese crash course for students going to study at universities in Portugal, covering not just law and translation, but also subjects to promote Macau’s four main emerging industries – big health, modern finance, high-tech, conventions and exhibitions, as well as culture and sport, based on the government “1+4” strategy.
Ao Ieong also said that according to a cooperation agreement with IPOR and Porto University, local secondary school graduates who are proficient in Portuguese and have attained the required academic level could directly proceed to the bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes at that university.
Ao Ieong underlined the bureau has been helping Portuguese-studying students to seek internships where they study, and help students plan their careers in advance through various measures, including providing internships at Forum Macao and other local entities, as well as those in the mainland, covering Portuguese studies and Chinese-Portuguese translation and interpretation.
