Higher Education Bureau calls on Portuguese language applicants

The Higher Education Bureau (DSES) will continue to organize courses in the Portuguese language next year, in order to support the government policy to train more bilingual staff proficient in Portuguese and Chinese.

All course applicants must hold a valid Macau Resident Identity Card and be registered in full-time undergraduate courses in the 2019/2020 academic year in either Macau higher education institutions or abroad.

If these requirements are met, the courses will accept students from two background sets: those with no previous knowledge of the Portuguese language (except the finalists of this academic year); and those who have a basic level (“A1” level or who have attended a Portuguese language course for two semesters or more) or higher levels of Portuguese language. The latter category excludes those who use Portuguese as their mother tongue, who have completed primary and secondary education in Portuguese, or who attend higher education courses with Portuguese as a vehicular language.

Students who do not have a Portuguese language background may, according to their study plans, participate in the “Basic Portuguese Language Course” in February or June 2020, conducted by the Portuguese Institute of the Orient. There are 250 places for this course.

Meanwhile, participants with a level A1 or higher level of Portuguese must pass the “Portuguese Language Knowledge Exam” for a spot in a more advanced class with 50 places.

The DSES will select 85 students who have the highest marks in the overall assessment – 60 students selected from the “Portuguese Language Basic Course” and 25 selected from the “Portuguese Language Knowledge Exam” – to participate in the second phase of the activity, which will include a trip to Portugal.

The 85 students finally selected will be divided into two groups to participate in this one-month Summer Course in Portugal, in July and August 2020, respectively. The participating institutions in Portugal will undertake, according to students’ ability, intensive training in Portuguese so that students can increase their proficiency in the language.

According to the DSES, the Portuguese language courses aim to bring “new impetus to the training of qualified bilingual staff in Chinese and Portuguese.”

Registration and participation of all Macau higher education students who meet the requirements are welcome. DB