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ERIC Number: EJ861426
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Nov
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 27
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1479-0718
Multilingual Education in Macao
Young, Ming Yee Carissa
International Journal of Multilingualism, v6 n4 p412-425 Nov 2009
This paper focuses on the current use of the three written languages (Chinese, Portuguese and English) and the four spoken languages (Chinese-Cantonese, Chinese-Putonghua, Portuguese and English) in Macao, a former Portuguese colony (1557-1999) which is now a Special Administrative Region of China. Chinese and Portuguese are official languages, and the former plays an increasingly important role in the Macao education system. This paper also reports on the results of a questionnaire-based study on Macao students' language use, language attitudes and language preferences, which revealed their preference of multilingual education and positive attitudes towards Cantonese, Putonghua and English. When asked their views on the changes of language use in post-colonial Macao, most surveyed students thought that Putonghua and English were more frequently used than before. As the students were less satisfied with their communication skills in English, the challenge in the future is to enhance students' communicative competence to meet the needs of the economic boom. (Contains 7 tables and 1 figure.)
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: Macao; China