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October 15, 2005
3 x7 [6 B: P* T$ ~, o0 s5 v# sClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( v% R. _1 V0 D% C5 l% g, N
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 a1 F; B7 U, e9 {. D7 b& W$ @8 v
4 R! K# ^, [2 [7 n1 s! R/ O7 U5 jCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
! | z& q) p- Z! V& J8 E* V5 ? nUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
[6 L- `8 a! @9 h$ o' q3 wSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
& O/ H; W+ r8 B: W8 T1 Wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese- G' a& e0 E+ B( O! t7 |1 r5 K
flag hang from the wall.. }, K; m7 B0 M7 @6 m* L
) R* {5 \( d* S# g+ F" ZOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
/ g9 ~7 Q. Y. i! Manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- t8 W! L* x2 @ U Hpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 \1 [1 q3 d& q6 Y3 }" h
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students) B& B+ n) q# E- |0 ^" u7 o6 X4 c4 I
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
% A! h+ Y+ D3 o# y* {- R' |at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ R q( b2 I0 k4 k, ^6 }
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' h I+ r0 D% N+ C
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, [, ?4 G8 Y, d3 b5 ^* W
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- q9 l3 c3 ]/ a# h8 M Pone of its most difficult to learn.0 q. z6 m# ^* T# A# h
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
i, N/ A! ]! x- v5 n! v, d* dpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; Q+ [8 U' U4 Q6 I5 `studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& t8 V$ V& z, m2 hLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of3 A6 @4 P2 _1 e+ h
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
0 N2 }! L) Q! n0 a& v1 G$ IChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
( [( K1 k0 f$ r4 wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- G, I# E! T2 G; n1 {" H; s; PChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( r1 e# t Q$ Z7 }! bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
0 J5 ~, c5 F' K1 Q* Zdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ Q- E; w6 y Z* ?! icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
! h, i$ C( B: d8 Z* bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 p1 C9 w* A I3 }1 j+ i0 s
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education5 z) x8 J. X8 m/ Z2 x) ?$ \
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
3 ?" w- Y g, S# O# C; P& A: t4 h1 L5 ican."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) v& s1 O9 G; F) C+ F( T& lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 Y6 H, d7 l0 T8 A! d- | ^years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 O% }8 I; {" N- G- o% j: XInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 S- g& l# Z! Z2 u# Earen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.' ]6 b' k0 I" D6 V* D
McGinnis said.
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* |# e. s% F5 b' v; z9 p2 V5 e"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
L0 Z1 u( M8 l. l8 p7 Nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 ]. _! b4 K9 o
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a1 `9 Q& D$ F- j' p3 m- T# g
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! c2 v, A+ e+ @/ F1 s$ Z4 E f
, Z( D/ L! \+ }6 B8 MUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and1 H; I0 N4 I% n- h8 C( C5 O
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in- L/ T7 p5 J; ?9 W' F1 \
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
, y; y& K4 m J( P& \Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or, H: ~/ Y4 t; P+ T8 N
on weekends.
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* q9 l0 w( v0 q$ jThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
0 Q$ M5 ^* b* }: d1 G" h% ?schools during the regular school day and primarily serves6 l9 i2 d; i P+ p" y2 B
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, _5 [. n8 {, [! R$ [* e yproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
, }) V5 O4 Q) F# X. j: p7 i7 R0 y% Kcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
) {8 z; t V, M; @2 n6 M$ Msaid. "There will be Chinese and English."& p) L6 r$ b; ]+ H- ~
- n) G: z0 q- U: w0 i, S: cFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly1 [4 l" ?# Z5 Z! o
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 C8 R2 ]+ r! r1 |0 A- Eschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" s4 n6 K D5 l1 fkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
1 F! I# L2 K- _who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
: r) d# x, C# o! p/ r; |the school system last year.1 |& H: e% i8 V' ^5 c& P) Z
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this7 g" o, i- O7 ?, H2 L8 O
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; @& Z: x/ m% k" k7 o0 \: v
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 q- l4 F4 G8 n% w1 g, s, xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( H' m+ m0 l9 E; b8 d1 H) e5 _/ AChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to+ k: G2 U8 W; |) z* F% B! V/ F! h
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
" I5 n3 T7 L) E5 e7 C7 @/ Eon an equal playing field."" a0 _- c) _ o3 `7 w! O$ y- ]
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese/ w l$ w. p* h& j7 B+ B
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign' Y, X2 H1 T, k- O' a
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 E+ I9 k4 {1 |% g D) X U
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An% G7 A/ M" t* E2 w. N; X/ Q/ m
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in& }" x2 P5 H- `6 ^: p. i
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
$ T1 q) f. \6 J% Winstitute says.1 t" H: F, Q7 G2 k' U. N: w6 Y
. X+ c3 n) U, v3 l7 ^. BSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth4 @1 _& o2 P$ S* [3 E/ N, { w3 g
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before( J- N: Z9 }5 a1 R7 o8 r* d* l) G, Q
deciding whether to take the class.1 |, z& t& m/ k" R
8 [( ?4 |1 g: W: _4 G8 E"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
( V0 I f |8 f$ R# w( dtold her daughter.; M, ?( ?$ _6 U( Y1 ?9 Q
9 Y9 J- e. Q/ C/ }3 q3 T1 \4 JSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& q$ K* R$ |/ e: V4 O% y& G* J! p: F
class." `9 R" b1 H. y }
& x0 B. @& I4 r, YAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) M2 {7 o) e- d0 |studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
O& u, @3 ]* G0 l& a4 v( @3 W2 G5 moccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
: z/ W0 C* @/ @0 r% u) N brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 |) C9 R; F7 D H
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with6 u# }% F" K8 T: v) b
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." e! Z" |- I: v1 \) N7 q2 ?2 Y' E
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
5 ] Z+ ^9 V7 i9 |$ c4 I# {said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ n c8 Q5 C2 o& _0 F' z5 ras many languages as I can."
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# M- k0 Q, \" H* F0 [$ t1 OAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 R' R) r/ n2 h& a; askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job) e; _) k( w# T0 A
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like1 O, v. X* Y8 `7 S. E
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program- Y4 Q9 a1 A! Q3 y4 \/ E6 Q
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
; c$ n' j4 ?0 P8 ]6 N: _ t0 E4 Tschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 d: ~7 R! a3 F. f: `
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make% y2 M$ S- n+ [6 Y6 M2 D( B
room.! u6 B0 e! v+ R# g4 B
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
9 }8 V8 y8 w2 a0 qChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 ?7 J4 s8 S1 s# ~' y& k1 x5 ^
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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$ h% `7 P0 Y G# b, u6 R1 L"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ y/ {3 L% z# n1 O% J& }1 qbecause of that missing certification," he said., E) s! K, L: v1 p& e& L' x5 h
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
5 V0 U% |9 b* G. k9 ^1 Ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia+ D, `5 V; E* q/ n& a
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& V6 ^; {4 |3 K7 w! q, R" cChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 u# u5 m5 x* B/ `+ A/ u+ x3 T
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 U0 q9 p, ?" i
own."8 d+ `: a3 ~/ E7 N
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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