Immigrate to Portugal and follow the latest updates on Portuguese education: The Portuguese government and the Confucius Institute (Hanban) will implement Chinese language education in Portugal. Approximately 500 students in 20 schools may have Mandarin as a main course, but there is a shortage of teachers.
In the next academic year, some students will be able to choose Chinese as an optional language. This possibility will be open to about 500 students across 20 schools, launching a pilot project aimed at expanding to more schools in the future and allowing high school students to choose Chinese as a subject. Details are currently being studied and formulated by the Ministry of Education and Hanban, but the major issue is finding teachers who can speak both Portuguese and Chinese.
A group of schools has already piloted this in São João da Madeira, and a private college in Lisbon (Colégio de São Tomás) is already offering Mandarin courses.
The main difficulty in implementing Mandarin in Portugal is finding Chinese teachers who can speak Portuguese, which is essential, especially when it comes to explaining a new language to adolescent children. Teaching materials and teachers are provided by the Chinese government.