Chinese University Students' Perceptions on Teaching and Learning of Portuguese as a Foreign Language - Beginners

Second language teaching and learning is a complex process largely influenced by the perceptions of the teacher and the student, with an evident impact on the success of the education. Understanding the cultural identity of the learner and their perceptions of the foreign language teaching-learning process as well as their openness to the proposed activities is very important to ensure successful learning and to avoid conflicts between the learner's culture and new pedagogical tendencies. The present work seeks to better understand the perceptions that the Chinese learner of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL) has. Using survey-based research, the results point out to a student that is deeply molded by its cultural background but also very active and receptive to the novelty.