English-medium Higher Education at the

University of Macau

Andrew Moody

University of Macau

amoody@umac.mo

Description of Macao

• Macao Special Administrative Region• Was a colony of Portugal until 4

December 1999 when it became an SAR of China

• Approximately 60 km Southwest of Hong Kong

• 28.2 square km• 488,144 residents

Source: Statistics and Census Service of Macau

Macao’s Economy

• Approximately 49% of the 2005 GDP is from gaming revenues

• Gaming revenues increased by 55% from 2003 to 2005

• GDP has increased by 46% from 2003 to 2005

• Visitors to Macao increased by 58% from 2003 to 2005

• +70% growth of personal investment in 2005 from previous year

Source: Statistics and Census Service of Macau

Official LanguagesChapter 1, Article 9 of the Basic Law

• 澳門特別行政的行政機關、立法機關，除使用中文外，還可使用葡文，葡文也是正式語文。

• Além da língua chinesa, poda usar-se também a língua portuguesa nos órgãos executivo, legislativo e judiciais de Região Administrativa Especial de Macau, sendo também o português língua oficial.

Source: The Basic Law of the Macao SAR

Official Languages

• In addition to the Chinese language, Portuguese may also be used as an official language by the executive authorities, legislature and judiciary of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

Source: The Basic Law of the Macao SAR

Macao Schools--2005

• 66 primary schools– 6 Government– 52 Private (subsidised)– 8 Private (not subsidised)

• 58 secondary schools– 3 Government– 33 Private (subsidised)– 10 Private (not subsidised)

Source: Education & Youth Affairs Bureau of Macao

Macao School Units--2005

GovernmentSchools

Private SchoolsOffering FreeEducationPrivate SchoolsNot Offering FreeEducation

Source: Education & Youth Affairs Bureau of Macao

Medium of Instruction

Chinese Medium(111)PortugueseMedium (5) English Medium(13)

Source: Education & Youth Affairs Bureau of Macao

Number of Students in the Three Mediums of Instruction

1989 1996

Chinese 60,600 80,000

Portuguese 3,500 4,000

English 4,150 12,000

Trilingual 1,000

Total 68,250 97,000

Source: Berlie (1999)

Number of Students in the Three Mediums of Instruction

1996 2006

Chinese 80,000 79,041

Portuguese 4,000 891

English 12,000 12,322

Total 96,000 92,254

Source: Education & Youth Affairs Bureau of Macao

Higher Education Institutes

1. University of Macau

2. Macao Polytechnic Institute

3. Institute for Tourism Studies

4. Macau Security Force Superior School

5. Asian International Open University (Macau)

6. Inter-University Institute

Higher Education Institutes

7. Kiang Wu Nursing College

8. Macau University of Science and Technology

9. Macau Institute of Management

10.Macau Mellennium College

Research Institutions

11. Instituto de Estudos Europeus de Macau

12.Universidade das Nacões Unidas Instituto Internacional da Software e Technologia

History of the University of Macau

• Opened in 1981 as the University of East Asia.

• Was originally owned by a private Hong Kong corporation.

• First programmes were in business, but teacher training programmes added in 1987.

History of the University of Macau

• The University was acquired by the Macao Foundation of the Macao Government and renamed The University of Macau (Universidade de Macau/澳門大學 )

• Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences

History of the University of Macau

• School of Education was added in 1989.

• Department of Portuguese opened in 1990.

• Faculty of Law Established in 1991.– Bachelor of Law in Chinese Language was

launched in 1996

Profile of the University of Macau

• 55% of teaching staff were recruited from abroad.– If staff members acquire residency, they

are still counted as “recruited from abroad.”– This includes staff recruited from Hong

Kong or the Mainland of China

• 1% of non-teaching staff were recruited from abroad.

Profile of the University of Macau

• Faculty of Education--Chinese (English Education in Chinese/English)

• Faculty of Law--Law in Portuguese Language in Portuguese

• Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities– Chinese Language and Literature--Chinese– Japanese Studies--Japanese– Journalism and Public Communications--Chinese– Portuguese Language and Culture--Portuguese– Portuguese Studies--Portuguese

All programmes are conducted in the medium of English, with the following exceptions:

Profile of the University of Macau

• English is an examination subject for every undergraduate degree programme at the university.

• There are two tests in English--reading & writing and an oral interview. Some programmes require both, while others only require English reading & writing.

Current Enrolment FiguresDoctoral Programmes 59

Master’s Degree Programmes 1251

Postgraduate Certificates 128

Bachelor’s Degree Programmes

Business Administration 1660

Education 427

Law 445

Social Sciences & Humanities 1396

Science & Technology 471

Bachareleto 46

Others 396

Total 6279

Two Support Centres

Centre for Pre-University Studies (CPU)

• offers instruction in a wide variety of disciplines

• designed as an extra year of secondary studies for students from schools with only 5 years of secondary

• often chosen as by students who have not had English-medium secondary instruction

English Language Centre (ELC)

• offers ESL and ESP instruction for the University

• courses may be designed for generic use, or specific to a particular faculty's needs

• courses may fulfil programme requirements or be taken as electives

Methodology for Examining Policy Implementation

1. Examination of anonymous student comments on bulletin boards and blogs.

2. Questionnaire survey of practices within the various faculties.