Since 2006, Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macau (KWNC) has established a Biliteracy and Trilingualism education policy. Biliteracy and Trilingualism education is KWNC’s distinctive characteristic and advantage which reflect the College-running aims and objectives. Moreover, the College created a Language Promotion Committee in 2005, which is now named as the Language Promotion Group (LPG), to promulgate the specific planning and implementation of the Biliteracy and Trilingualism education policy.

As an academic institute that integrates Chinese and Western culture, KWNC has a unique mission in the contemporary history and today’s social environment. Particularly since the opening of Macao’s gaming market to multiple operators, in order to face the challenges of globalisation, the college has the goal of following the international trend.. Consequently, KWNC must promote the language and cultural communication skills of students through a Biliteracy and Trilingualism policy. This enables students to become professional nurses with cultural knowledge.

2. Definition of Biliteracy and Trilingualism 

The Biliteracy and Trilingualism policy used by KWNC involves Chinese and English as mediums in writing, while Cantonese, English and Mandarin as mediums in oral communication.

The definition of the medium of instruction should be comprehend in various contexts, for instance, in teaching, in reading materials (reference materials), tutorial discussions and thematic seminars etc.

Since 2006, at least two subjects are taught in English in each academic year for Bachelor of Science in Nursing Programme (BSN).  Regarding English education, students are encouraged to listen, speak, read and practise more, at the same time, KWNC adopts a progressive approach to find language learning methods suitable for teachers and students. The medium of instruction used is based on the nature of the academic subjects and professional requirements, of which, the language habits, abilities of students and teachers concerned, level of difficulty and practicability of the courses are considered. At the beginning, English textbooks and lecture handouts were used, English lectures were delivered and then English was adopted as a medium used in examinations.

Since the beginning of academic year 2016-2017, for BSN, students are assigned to either English-specialised Class (ES Class) or Chinese-specialised Class (CS Class). The percentage of subjects where English instruction medium is used in teaching and assessments for ES Class is 50-60%, while for CS Class is 20-30%.

1) Enhance students' writing and oral expression skills.

2) Strengthen teachers' ability to use English as the medium of instruction.

3) Let teachers and students study English in a pleasant environment.

4) In order to promote English education, the College provides students with different levels of English courses, aiming to improve students' ability to use English in different areas, including related professional academic area, and even future professional work aspects in local or foreign areas. The course emphasises the balanced cultivation of students’ listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

To be admitted to BSN, students must attain levels of competence in Chinese and English as specified in the regulations of undergraduate studies admission. At the same time, new BSN students can choose ES Class if they can satisfy the following criteria: (Other students can choose CS Class)

1) Admission English Exam (IELTS Mock Exam) ≥ 5

2) The National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) ≥ 120

3) Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) – English ≥ 3

1) An English Club was launched by the Students’ Union in Academic Year 2006, it is a student-centred club, with the support of the Language Promotion Group to encourage students to study English actively for enhancement in English level and reinforce communication skills.

2) Sponsorship is offered to BSN Year Two to Year Four students for overseas English learning and exchanges.

3) Order and purchase books and CD-ROMs for learning English.

4) In addition to using English as the medium of instruction for some subjects, the College also subscribes to English learning online platforms, such as Road to IELTS and English News Story a Day, to provide students/faculty with multiple channels to improve their English ability.

5) Professional Communication & Academic Literacy Learning Support (PCALLS) provides services including English learning workshops, English assignment language proofreading services, English tutoring services, etc.

6) Organise English Café activities and arrange for foreign teachers to host the activity, therefore, students can practise oral English in a casual and relaxing environment to enhance students' interest and confidence in using English.

In order to allow students to study in a relaxed and pleasant environment and enhance their interest in learning, the College employs foreign teachers to teach English, and also invites teachers with English teaching ability to assist in improving students’ English conversation and listening skills. As each student's English proficiency is different, the College adopts small groups’ strategy to conduct tutoring in actual lessons.

It is required for BSN students who had admitted starting from Academic Year 2006, to take an public English examination and achieve certain results, for instance, Mainland College English Test Band 4 (CET4) 425 points, IELTS (Academic) 5 points or TOEFL 60 points, in order for students to be conferred with a BSN graduation certificate.

In order to encourage students whose results in the English public examinations did not meet the standard, the college began to implement the "English Supporting Scheme for Students" in 2010 to reward students who completed online English practices with extra points. Starting from 2020 academic year, students who take English Remedial Course (which is now named IELTS Preparation Course) and pass assessments, would also obtain extra points from the College.

Starting from the 2021 Academic year, as English learning was integrated into the curriculum, also, with regular English learning training and support, the BSN English language requirements for graduation would not be applicable to students admitted in 2021 academic year.

1) In order to encourage students to obtain excellent results in public English exams (IELTS (Academic) / TOEFL, students with an IELTS 6.0 or above / TOEFL 80 or above can apply for sponsorship of the full exam fee, and there are three quotas for each academic year (on a first-come, first-served basis).

2) To Encourage students to self study English, there are the Best Performance Award and the Best Perseverance Award. The Best Performance Award is awarded to the student who had completed and passed the most level 2 and level 3 “An English News Story A Day” exercises during the whole academic year with the highest total marks. The Best Perseverance Award is awarded to the student who had completed and passed the most “An English News Story A Day” exercises during the whole academic year.

KWNC firmly believes that provided with good educational planning, teaching materials, pedagogy strategies and teacher qualifications, the "Biliteracy and Trilingualism" policy would not increase the burden on students, yet would offer them a greater advantage after graduation. The policy itself also fully reflects KWNC’s forward-looking and student-centred educational concept.

1) Applicable to students admitted in or before 2020/2021 academic year, they must fulfil any one of the following requirements:

　● IELTS (Academic): 5 points or above

　● TOEFL: 60 points or above

　● IELTS Preparation Course offered by the College: 5 points or above

　● Internal English Language Test (IELTS Mock Exam): 5 or above

　Remarks: All test results of IELTS (Academic) and TOEFL obtained before admission to the College are deemed invalid.

2) Students must fulfil the English requirements within their longest study period allowed in order to graduate. For students who have not achieved the required score, a certificate of programme completion will be issued while the degree will not be conferred.

3) The English requirements for graduation are not applicable to students of English-specialized Class, and students admitted in 2021/2022 academic year & after.