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October 15, 2005" y; \3 s; D! T
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ l" [/ m8 [+ R& a0 ?: I
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
$ y" ~* n6 F( k1 ZUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
4 D8 D. K- E1 \/ YSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; p* j, ]+ Z Y6 v
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# T$ p/ @' o- @$ ]+ s/ |
flag hang from the wall." ?; i4 d7 d7 {* i1 P2 s7 U$ H' D3 y
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one* ?5 R& E: ^5 U7 ^. v
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
. z6 O9 K8 v0 @" _: V5 Dpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
3 ?0 d5 j2 H7 Zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
2 p: n6 ^( l% L2 N8 l! Yare already choosing it over Spanish.8 f* ^" Q6 f6 w1 ^+ \/ R
5 {" }) h! r Z$ @5 y% C"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal% J! a# g! Q. Q' U9 i$ }' S3 [
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city- n$ i2 y. p# N9 H. ~4 v
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, {( G$ e+ z6 }& R0 ~- U. |
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings. A( S' q0 K3 R
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 }0 i8 Q5 n; M8 N* b: G1 Z3 ^ Eone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
1 s8 x) Q6 A; M: [' F5 z" ?3 epublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students5 F6 k1 W6 C7 V
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
+ u+ O9 Z2 F% `Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
" H* A% k4 ^/ `# Y* KTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on; j u I _9 b7 d( ^
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
3 E% ^7 G' M! @) eimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* d! i; }3 y& M) E: g
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
1 M* |8 z( u6 G( f) p- |3 ]9 H5 d& \) A8 s( }Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
1 [: X7 W; v' M, M& \starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: | U% L" {9 Q* @$ {: r3 m1 k! idevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
# Y- h2 h* C+ Ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director! _3 T* j. K$ t
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; W- [3 z% x. O0 T" @, ispeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
t4 @4 @/ H& g5 I. dConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from# ?% c" `4 {1 ` }$ a7 V& ~
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
B+ c/ g4 K7 h$ }years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language9 r0 r1 O4 C: z6 C! i
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- t& X$ [+ P0 g
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.7 U6 ~/ `- g- W6 U _9 U F
McGinnis said.4 z* S6 p5 _. b a
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# G8 D3 {% s2 s9 ?3 s
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be% X I/ d7 l: A5 g' \
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ O: _) I' Q. Ichallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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1 D3 b$ o% u6 _- F' BUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
/ I5 j9 q5 e0 Lsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
! f8 k+ O, Z9 z7 Tcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
; A( Z5 j0 \5 u! H- iChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or; F0 o) V# a U; V& z1 @# U) t
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
+ v4 H' o# i- j$ V9 Mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves# Z8 V2 b' z- N9 g5 F& e
students who are not of Chinese descent.6 G+ z$ q T8 G% n6 f0 Q/ h2 N1 E) [% p
$ r5 ]8 h" _8 r5 iMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
) X. v( Z+ H/ X1 Q! W" ]proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 v' c% k; r& C/ ?% j8 Vcompetition.
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$ J+ c0 D" k7 Q; A5 D"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley: `+ W% x T5 X" ` Q. V
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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; G u/ ?3 `( I8 \# s% u# YFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
) ]- M- d, F4 }1 _' j# h1 Rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse. G0 c/ c% C6 x8 q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" ]0 q( o# P1 }- Qkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students7 i5 h$ l/ W5 u& U# K
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
$ B6 Y$ K+ f( n2 P7 pthe school system last year.
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' D; R! _& A7 Q* MThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this+ M5 K; x; _% h
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.# ~. ?$ k; r# b* r6 k5 h
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"They have a great international experience right in their own7 O2 I- C ]" Y' S& B
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 x8 B7 o# t$ G% n, `0 QChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
5 a% m7 ~% k6 y1 g1 j; B4 Ohelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; i+ S( o8 _5 m/ ]" K: U7 G
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 |# Z( q; v! W9 l% g, E7 F
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
2 M5 X' n" n9 JService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
, W, g& B3 q, _7 z( B7 h A7 E" {2 JChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An+ h" |, J L. @3 Q! G4 y" g3 O
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
7 j* P( Y% Q xChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 r) k7 K# I4 x+ j$ H: n+ q Zinstitute says.
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" t' n- g3 _7 w/ m2 a3 \Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 T! |. L, x2 J6 z3 egrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before8 ?# ?% Q- a, G% W4 {
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
" A; X) @* [8 H- C/ Y- Mtold her daughter.% e$ T- y' r6 m0 S/ F: l6 ] Y/ y
9 _7 @; E- S7 L3 O' K! d- mSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 K- R2 x- g( w% b& M* Vclass.$ n4 Q6 e* o" j" y) c
$ y! i p1 i$ w' nAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are z8 B; g3 Y7 R. T L* f- y* w
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without) Z5 u! z2 ~, ^* F( [* ?0 E
occasional frustration.* z1 X4 f# S; G6 ]! a0 Q7 m6 J. f
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a- q9 r, Y! x# o& T
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( O" H7 e, X% Q0 b* J2 O
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- @" v- z5 P8 }' f2 g& M* Ctaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- k+ g1 D8 k$ I9 cChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
- _: h/ Y9 N8 }" B: @said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn5 a4 e: ^, N9 r6 R
as many languages as I can."; K- \9 K6 D3 `+ K5 T! U' Z
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
% H& H6 v, U5 Y3 sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job% Z `2 u5 ~! m! `
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 r* l4 _/ f+ F- v' f6 V
that," Ms. Freire said.! c# V! h! K# u8 j2 \
2 p4 i/ q+ }+ H a* @+ oMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
8 C9 ?4 R7 [/ _, s* H) Fhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
( m0 n% L$ j( `, P! J) gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking4 A7 o/ b$ }1 p! r, Z. t& o
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make7 }# M6 p. Y/ ?& s3 X! s
room.0 F, B( C8 t v. ]) V
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- E9 F' I% p/ f5 G7 Z" [Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 U f. _( \8 l! \( w' p
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified3 ^0 U) M0 `% Y# x
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* P+ j q4 U; ]7 \/ r% Nsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' x$ N( Z% \9 u6 G( f& b/ F m+ \+ p) q
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
% S% @# p k! s- s# `! [7 qChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- x, {8 [$ \1 n# _: nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 n$ m7 Y3 f2 b3 M
- _- n! X6 j- M4 s9 l( _% u"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our* J( B6 v. _' A u( Y( C
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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