TOPIC INSIGHT • 專題探討 2022 UMAGAZINE 25 • 澳大新語 36 Prof Chen remarks that another significant feature of ELC’s new curriculum and the complementary English co-curricular activities is the emphasis on global skills learning (Mercer, et al. 2019)1, which incorporates concepts such as critical, creative and collaborative thinking, digital literacy, learners’ wellbeing, as well as intercultural competence and citizenship. In 2022, ELC is expanding its English co-curricular activity arm to strengthen support for English learning and academic skills learning outside the classroom. Despite finding the academic English curriculum quite challenging, many of the students noticed an increase in their academic vocabulary and expressions. In addition, they appreciate the pedagogy of process writing and presentation, which scaffold learning to allow them to improve language skills and build up confidence. Immersive Language Environment for Portuguese Language Acquisition As the largest academic unit for Portuguese language studies outside Portugal and Brazil, the UM Department of Portuguese has collaborated with Portuguese universities to develop high-level joint programmes, with the aim of nurturing bilingual professionals in Chinese and Portuguese to support Macao’s goal of building a platform for economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Ana Nunes, an expert in applied linguistics who is also deputy director of the Chinese-Portuguese Bilingual Teaching and Training Centre and associate professor of Portuguese, has been teaching at UM for 13 years. Over the years, she has taken Chinese classes to learn Chinese pronunciation and grammatical structure, and has self-studied some particularities of phonetics and phonology of Cantonese and Mandarin. One of her methods to help students overcome difficulties in learning Portuguese is to show them the differences between the phonetic features of Chinese and Portuguese. She has also written a number of papers to share her teaching experience in the academic circle. ‘Our curriculum is tailored to the age, language level, and learning needs of students and the subjects are interlinked with each other. In the courses, students are given clear goals for their studies and are expected to monitor their learning progress and outcomes,’ says Prof Nunes. ‘Generally speaking, after four years of studies, students will be able to speak Portuguese fluently, and can even reach the B1 or B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.’ An immersive Portuguese language environment is also beneficial to adult learners. Zhang Jing, coordinator of the Bachelor of Arts in Portuguese Studies programme and assistant professor in the Department of Portuguese, says that based on her years of teaching experience, she believes that people in different stages of life have different language learning advantages. For example, university students have a clear motivation to learn with good concentration ability as well as reading and writing skills. She has worked together with several scholars, including Maria José Grosso, a long-time faculty member and visiting professor in the department, who is also an associate professor in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Lisbon, to conduct a study of adult learners of Portuguese who are native Chinese speakers. The study aimed to analyse the current situation of adult learners and the challenges facing them. The scholars also published a book titled Framework Teaching Portuguese as a Foreign Language in China, which aims to help readers understand the current development of Portuguese language teaching in mainland China and Macao. Prof Zhang also points out that UM has excellent resources in Portuguese language education. The university supports students to study at universities in Portuguese-speaking countries in their third year, which can have a positive impact on their acquisition of Portuguese language skills and understanding of the local culture. ‘Located in a city with a mixture of both Chinese and western cultures, UM has developed its multicultural DNA,’ says Prof Zhang. ‘The unique cultural fabric of the city and the multilingual academic environment of UM can help students overcome the challenges of learning Portuguese.’ Building a World-Class Centre for Chinese Studies Prof Xu is an expert in Chinese linguistics and a Chang Jiang Scholar Chair Professor. Before joining UM in 2008, he held different positions in teaching and
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