The Workshop on Teaching and Training of Bilingual Speakers between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries has come to a successful conclusion after a two-day meeting. The Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries – also known as Forum Macao – and the Macao Polytechnic Institute jointly organised the event, which was supported by Macao’s Tertiary Education Services Office.
The Workshop was aimed at addressing three aspects: the training of bilingual speakers, the market needs and the role of Macao. Professors, linguists and businessmen were gathered in Macao, where they discussed new models to train bilingual professionals.
The interventions by participants from Mainland China, Macao, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and East Timor, as well as the General-Secretary of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries and the President of Macao’s Polytechnic Institute have shown there is a need to continue to promote workshops or similar activities in the future. They also stressed the economic and trade world is a natural recipient for highly qualified bilingual speakers of Chinese and Portuguese.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries stressed bilingualism is of the highest importance for Macao as a platform and it is an indispensable tool in the work of Forum Macao. Forum Macao has, hence, been committed to encourage the development of bilingual education and the training of bilingual speakers in order to meet the actual needs of the labour market. By organising this workshop, Forum Macao has tried to provide an exchange platform between the academic sector and the business sector, bringing out its own natural advantage as a bilingual environment. Forum Macao also aimed at strengthening the role of a services platform for the Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries by simultaneously promoting the development of the “One Centre, One Platform” concept.
Two main conclusions have been drawn after the workshop came to a successful conclusion: firstly, that the teaching of Chinese language in Portuguese-speaking Countries and the teaching of Portuguese in China are in a stage of growth never before seen; secondly, that this teaching should be developed in a way that allows for the training of more competitive, qualified professionals, making use of the framework provided by Macao’s platform and using the advantages that Macao offers in terms of two languages, which have been seen an increase in demand, specifically in relation to economic and trade co-operation.
