This programme is designed to enable students to achieve a high level of proficiency in Portuguese together with the ability to translate general texts.
From the outset, the programme will develop students’ communication skills in spoken and written Portuguese, closely supported by our faculty of native speakers of Portuguese, Cantonese, and Putonghua. At the third year level, students are encouraged to spend one semester at a university in the Portuguese-speaking world. The programme aims to contribute to the formation of qualified bilingual talents addressing the need for Portuguese-Chinese bilingual professionals for employment in public and private organisations in Macao, China and in the eight countries where Portuguese is an official language.
Proficiency in Mandarin or Cantonese at C1 level. No prior knowledge of Portuguese is required.
• It is designed primarily for Macao residents, but is open to students from further afield
• It is taught by a strong team of native and bilingual speakers of Cantonese, Putonghua and Portuguese
• Learning is enhanced by the use of diversified materials, modern technologies and current methodologies in foreign and second language pedagogy
Please click on any specific module to see its description.
Year 1
This accelerated course module is designed for students of Chinese heritage and advanced beginners with good speaking and listening skills. The focus is on reading, writing, and grammar, along with continuing improvement of oral communication skills. The purpose of instruction is to utilize previous language background to lay a solid foundation for further Chinese language study.
This accelerated course module is designed for students of Chinese heritage and advanced beginners with good speaking and listening skills. The focus is on reading, writing, and grammar, along with continuing improvement of oral communication skills. The purpose of instruction is to consolidate the foundation which students have built in their first level Chinese courses, to expand their vocabulary, and to introduce them to more complex grammatical structures.
Students read and discuss material from sources such as newspapers, journals, contemporary literature, media broadcasts and films. Students complete assignments in areas which focus on a practical application of Mandarin including in business, trade, tourism, education or linguistics.
本課程在學生完成普通話I、普通話II課程的基礎上，通過報紙、期刊、廣播、電影等大量現實語料的學習，幫助進一步讓學生進行提高語言水平，並能在商務、貿易等日程生活實際中正確運用。
This module covers a variety of modern Chinese literary genres including essays, short stories, biographies, and criticisms. Emphasis will be on reading comprehension and expansion of vocabulary. Class discussions are on some substantive issues related to the readings.
普通話IV的講授主要包括三個內容：一是將繼續幫助學生提昇普通話水平，主要選用一些中國現代文學作品，包括散文、故事、人物傳記、評論等，作為補充材料，幫助學生理解、擴展詞彙的同時，瞭解中國社會及文化，並對一些相關問題進行討論，從而讓學生達到普通話的高級水平；二是普通話水平測試介紹及應試訓練；三是講授普通話教學法，幫助學生在教与學兩方面，於更高層次上瞭解和掌握普通話。
The development of thinking skills is fundamental to learning. Students will learn how to develop higher order thinking skills, especially through an appreciation of different philosophic and logic systems and an understanding of important research results from the analysis of human thought processes. In addition, students will learn to reason ethically and morally through readings, discussion of moral dilemmas, and other suitable exercises. They will also learn principled and conceptual thinking and reasoning skills.
Topics will be discussed through case studies and students will learn and understand important concepts of thinking through class and group discussion.
Elementary phonetics rules. Contrastive phonetics of Portuguese and Chinese. Practice of sounds, words, word groups, phrases, sentences. Intonation in Portuguese.
Introduction to the Portuguese Speaking World: Countries and Continents. First steps in Portuguese : Development of communicative skills without neglecting elements of all language skills.
Contrastive approach of Portuguese-Chinese. Introduction to Portuguese from a light theoretical point of view. The main differences and their relevance for Chinese learners.
Development of pronunciation and production of all sounds of Portuguese. Development of Listening and elementary comprehension skills.
Introduction to some aspects of Portuguese culture with the support of audio and/or visual materials .Simulation of short dialogues and other play activities.
Practical course involving the structures related to the Portuguese language courses. Number and gender. The flection of verbs.
Students are expected to develop and improve their skills in recognizing and producing Portuguese sounds in order to acquire the right pronunciation.
This course is designed to enhance students’ ability in understanding, analyzing and appreciating Chinese texts. Students are trained to develop their competence in reading and summarizing different Chinese texts and at the same time to speed up their reading.
Integrated learning activities involving all skill areas help students practice and apply the fundamentals of English in a more varied setting and develop more accuracy and control of their spoken and written English. Reading activities promote vocabulary expansion and model accurate structure. Students participate in discussion forums and are introduced to presentation skills for groups and individuals. Logical thinking in both oral and written formats is guided. As well, students are introduced to the five-paragraph essay format and practice writing summative, descriptive and comparative compositions.
Students will concentrate on gaining grammatical control of their communication (subject and verb agreement, modal auxiliaries, singular and plural nouns, pronouns, articles, sentence structure, statements, questions, simple and compound sentences, prepositions, gerunds and infinitives, adverbs and adjectives, punctuation, and some complex sentence patterns). At the end of the module, students should be able to write a paragraph without making major grammatical errors. Development of the five-paragraph essay format will continue and students will practice writing compositions that are opinion-based, persuasive and begin to compare literature from different sources. Development will continue in regard to presentation skills and discussion forums.
This module provides practice integrating those reading skills necessary for academic success at university. These skills include reading for detail, inferring vocabulary in context, finding main ideas, critical reading, understanding sequence, summarizing, recognizing organization, and outlining. In addition, it emphasizes academic vocabulary. Students are introduced to language skills for research and are expected to apply previously taught presentation skills to give more analytical presentations. In this course students are also introduced to basic components of the research paper: abstract, data analysis and interpretation.
This module teaches advanced grammar necessary for academic writing. It includes a review of basic grammar and a detailed study of noun, adjective, and adverb clauses, as well as prepositional, participial, gerund, and infinitive phrases. It will also provide written composition practice. Students will be introduced to the argumentative essay structure including the refutation of counter arguments. Students will engage in more complex discussion forums, debates and participate in organizing public presentations.
Year 2
This accelerated course module is designed for students of Chinese heritage and advanced beginners with good speaking and listening skills. The focus is on reading, writing, and grammar, along with continuing improvement of oral communication skills. The purpose of instruction is to utilize previous language background to lay a solid foundation for further Chinese language study.
普通話V是為已經具備有一定中文水平且有良好的口语和听力技巧的學生而開設的。這門課著重於閱讀、寫作、語法和口語能力及技巧的持续提高和改进。本課目的教學目的是依傍已有的漢語基礎，為進一步的漢語言文化的學習、研究打下穩固的基石。
This accelerated course module is designed for students of Chinese heritage and advanced beginners with good speaking and listening skills. The focus is on reading, writing, and grammar, along with continuing improvement of oral communication skills. The purpose of instruction is to consolidate the foundation which students have built in their first level Chinese course, to expand their vocabulary, and to introduce them to more complex grammatical structures.
普通話VI是為已經具備有一定中文水平且有良好的口语和听力技巧的學生而開設的。這門課著重於對閱讀、寫作、語法和口語能力技巧的持续提高及改进。本課目的教學目的是鞏固學生的漢語基礎知識，扩大漢語词汇量，及通識文化知識；并引入更复杂的语法结构。
Students read and discuss material from sources such as newspapers, journals, contemporary literature, media broadcasts and films. Students complete assignments in areas which focus on a practical application of Mandarin including in business, trade, tourism, education or linguistics.
本課目致力於廣泛的閱讀和討論關於報紙、雜誌、當代文學、媒體傳播和電影題材。
學生將專注于實際漢語的應用，範圍包括在商業貿易、旅遊、教育或語言區域等。
This module covers a variety of modern Chinese literary genres including essays, short stories, biographies, and criticisms. Emphasis will be on reading comprehension and expansion of vocabulary. Class discussions are on some substantive issues related to the reading.
本課目著重介紹不同的當代中国文学体裁，包括：散文、短篇小说、传记和批判性文學等。其目的在於通過大量的閱讀理解去擴充詞匯量，并通過課堂的相關討論，了解當代中國的實質社會現狀。
This module is designed to provide students with an overview of the different fields of science and how they are linked with everyday life. Recent developments and research trends in science relevant to concerns about life, health, environment and related social issues will be highlighted, addressed and explored through lectures, discussions, debates, research projects, field trips, film-viewing and workshops.
The module will begin with an introduction to science and the scientific method. It will then progress to evaluate how science is linked with social development by addressing modern topics in science. Advances in different fields of science, from earth and planetary science, to chemistry to biology, will be studied in order to understand the profound impact that scientific discoveries can have in our lives.
The module uses a combination of lecture/discussion classes with hands-on science activities to provide a basic understanding of the scientific method, the most significant modern scientific challenges and the role of science in social development.
Development of fluency and communicative competence based on texts and videos that provide information on several issues related to the Portuguese speaking countries.
Introduction to the structuring and writing different types of texts (letters, information, short essays).
Conversation on everyday subjects based on written or oral tests and on maps, bus time-tables, notice boards, etc.
Intermediate language laboratory training and practice in accurate pronunciation and production, including intonation of sentences.
This course aims to familiarize students with different writing methods and skills so as to develop their ability in writing appropriate Chinese. A great variety of different writing styles, such as practical, expository and argumentative writing, is discussed and emphasized.
Development of fluency and communicative competence based on texts and videos that provide information on several complex issues related to the Portuguese speaking countries.
Portuguese Grammar: intensive learning. Notions and exercises. Practical exercises.
Conversation on topics that have been previously researched by the students. Improvisation of dialogues on news, books, movies, etc.
Continuation of the previous modules with the purpose of correcting pronunciation and intonation, as well as the students capacity to resume or to discuss a short text.
Readings of Classical Chinese texts in Cantonese and studies on calligraphy.
Year 3
Students will study and explore the history, the social, cultural, artistic, architectural and urban development of Macau, through lectures, field work, projects of oral history, and readings of local writers and of others who have written about Macau and its peoples. Special emphasis will be placed on relations with surrounding regions, the reach and influence of the Padroado of Macau, as well as the rises and falls of its fortunes given its strategic location at the mouth of the Pearl River.
Practical course aiming to improve reading, understanding and writing skills. Dealing with the structure of the Portuguese Language. Notions of Semantics, Style; the syntax of oral and written texts.
Continuation of previous modules: Development of fluency and communicative competence based on texts and videos that provide information on several issues related to the Portuguese speaking countries.
Practice of writing of essays on selected topics. Analysis of selected texts (models). Practice of summary and abstract writing.
Training and planning of public speaking an debating contemporary issues and problems.
This subject aims to familiarize the students with literary texts in Portuguese. There will be a selection of short stories written in Portuguese from different Portuguese Speaking Countries. The main goal is to train students to read fluently, to understand meanings and insights, and to appreciate and enjoy rethoric procedures and different approaches to the Lusophone world.
This course is designed to familiarize students with the language, the logic and the elements of academic research, in order to make them capable of conducting their own small-scale research projects.
The emphasis is on methodologies and techniques that are relevant and commonly used within the field of language learning and in social sciences. After becoming conversant with the language and the process of research, students are expected to learn by doing.
Practical course aiming to improve reading, understanding and writing skills (Continuation). Dealing with the structure of the Portuguese Language. Notions of Semantics, Style; the syntax of oral and written texts.
Practice of writing of essays on selected topics (II). Analysis of selected texts (models). Practice of summary and abstract writing.
This subject aims to provide students with an overview of Portugal's history, namely of the Discoveries period and its consequences; the establishment of the Portuguese overseas empire; the establishment of the Republic, the Estado Novo, the 25th of April evolution and its consequence for Portuguese colonial and administrated regions.
This subject aims to familiarize the students with literary texts in Portuguese. There will be a selection of short stories written in Portuguese from different Portuguese Speaking Countries. The main goal is to train students to read fluently, to understand meanings and insights, and to appreciate and enjoy rethoric procedures and different approaches to the Lusophone world.
Students will study Macau literature, through a selection of Macau’s most representative narrative and poetic texts. Fine arts productions will also be considered. The main purpose is to have a comprehensive insight of Macau’s specific issues, deriving mainly from cross cultural interaction, and the way art has chosen to portray them.
Year 4
This subject aims to introduce different literary genres. Students are expected to be conversant with some of the most pertinent literature of and for our times. Even though we disavow the relative merits of fixed lists of works considered classics, we do affirm the intrinsic value of communal reading and theorizing. Reading lists will be defined and evolve through proposals from faculty and students.
Students will be presented with an overview of Western and Eastern philosophic traditions. This course intends to be a general introduction on the different Asian schools of thoughts i.e. Chinese, Japanese and Indian, as well as the Western ones. Selected readings from the most important thinkers will be read and analysed.
This course is designed to familiarize students with the works of prominent modern and contemporary Chinese writers. Students will read novels, poems and dramas that highlight important stages in the history of modern and contemporary Chinese literature. They will also understand the historical and socio-political events that have greatly influenced the writers and have a deep understanding of the relationship between literature and society.
This subject aims to familiarize the students with issues and perception and values related to the Lusophone countries. There will be a selection of short stories and poems written in Portuguese from different Portuguese Speaking Countries. The main goal is to train students to read fluently, to understand meanings and insights, and to appreciate and enjoy rethoric proccedures and different approaches to reality.
General theories of translation applied to written and oral Portuguese-Chinese texts.
General theories of translation applied to written and oral Portuguese-Chinese texts – newspaper and business texts. The concept and the practice of interpretation.
This module will focus on some of the approaches striving to bring together some of the insights of Western and Eastern philosophic traditions.
This course is designed to familiarize students with the works of prominent modern and contemporary Chinese writers. Students will read novels, poems and dramas that highlight important stages in the history of modern and contemporary Chinese literature. They will also understand the historical and socio-political events that have greatly influenced the writers and have a deep understanding of the relationship between literature and society.
This module consists of an approach to languages and cultures through the analysis of literary texts, media and cinema productions – both documentaries and fictional - on contemporary issues related to the Lusophone countries.
General theories of translation applied to written and oral Portuguese-Chinese texts (Continuation). Examination and analysis of some reference translations, review of procedures and evaluation of the major questions and issues arisen.
General theories of translation applied to written and oral Portuguese-Chinese texts – newspaper and business texts (Continuation). The concept and the practice of interpretation. Examination and analysis of interpretation procedures; standard procedures, standard interpretations. Research and evaluation of samples: collected in newspaper and business texts.
In this final practical module students will complete work practice. In this module, students will be expected to take the lead responsibility for undertaking some tasks, whilst still under the supervision of an experienced professional and a university tutor. Students will utilise the skills and knowledge acquired in the modules. Whether in schools, libraries, communication media, or offices or companies, students should put to a test their skills in the Portuguese language, in supporting tasks or people. In alternative, students can develop a project, with the supervision of a university tutor, directly concerned with skills, procedures, contents and issues contemplated in the course.
