“It has been a long time since I have seen so much interest” on the part of the students, José Pascoal told Lusa.

After a week of virtual classes, José Pascoal guaranteed that "the course is going quite well, in what is the first time that a Portuguese course is taken at this university ".

The university had to go through the experience of virtual classes due to the covid-19 pandemic, during the first semester, but this time it is different: the students wanted to participate in the course, he stressed.

Of the more than 180 students attending, 55 had never learned Portuguese and most of them are from mainland China.

There are also students “from Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Korea and Japan. Some students, with Asian backgrounds (mainly Malaysian and Chinese), attend this course in countries like Brazil, Australia, France, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Angola, where they live, study or work”, reads a statement released by the university.

The program, which ends next week, offers language courses that last three hours and even thematic courses, such as the gastronomy and music course.

“In the thematic courses we have relatively large groups”, said José Pascoal.

Videos of Gastronomy from Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portugal, Macau, Brazil and Timor-Leste were recorded, he explained.

Portuguese music is sung by Casa de Portugal musicians in Macau, with traditional Portuguese music, poetry and Fado.