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October 15, 20053 \0 g1 B( T' b ^$ B2 ]0 a
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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& I; w) S9 x9 x" H, m* hBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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! [" T7 ~% u! k( K7 E$ i& E, dCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 o* r& F9 o8 h) T `3 bUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
4 v! G. G2 E0 P7 XSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas' _# \8 `, u3 u! c% M7 a. H
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 ?. E9 U* i6 i! m7 |$ b
flag hang from the wall.
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: G0 q3 I3 V6 U3 \One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! o6 g4 j+ X- j
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders- ~* _) H- N8 K7 R
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
- F* H' n+ k9 n3 X: t5 f& i+ _7 Qboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* q5 d4 z( ]: e7 {% M2 Pare already choosing it over Spanish.! X% f p. }2 @' J- l0 w4 {4 {! \
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
& u; t W, q: t( mat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 Z) M5 u! i8 T) c+ q. @# h4 foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
& h) q0 h4 w! n( y$ \schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 R6 v. L* h" I O9 E( t
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention2 Z$ x& u) _9 |. i
one of its most difficult to learn.3 G* m7 d D s) i$ z
/ W; @$ ?+ q. u: eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to1 G4 ]) @5 S2 Y8 e5 q. K
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% o! ^# E: m4 U K e8 ]studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 q6 t# f; W2 W9 A) gLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
+ i& c' P. V2 z1 {Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 g2 L4 g ^ v& }' c0 p, o% EChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
7 {6 l( G1 R) X" D& R( nimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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& i# b0 C5 v) H" jAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
# M6 x( S( ^/ Q: ]! u, ]Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ y/ } }; D I6 Ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( C9 V* {2 s D
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 K! A3 D' k" N5 D0 Z! \7 w
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director7 B/ K N6 b7 z- T; h3 m
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 B5 w$ U' P! f2 G9 v* j
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
" x7 k+ d5 g4 h8 y/ x* N& T' |9 h) mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
( V1 P6 e) H5 O, ^' M7 JConsulate 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
( p t! _! a! r8 I/ w! uelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10+ J: Z" A1 _+ V
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
& ?, B6 i U* h* L( u4 b, ?0 LInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages0 {, H/ n- ?- {$ a7 w
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( e6 @4 a! M p
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical" ], u0 |% _4 c4 _( P
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
# J" J4 u5 w/ V+ nready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
p! K" d6 _" f* v4 }# `challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."9 D0 i. v) o# a6 k
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
) ?! e) @. Z2 e6 Qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
; N% }9 F2 S: W# _' C; I/ fcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 F B0 h0 o: T3 C) tChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
N f0 `% p5 T, fon weekends.
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) W4 Z/ C+ m: X! Y* }( B% i7 Z5 [The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( R7 a6 ^8 O' q! i
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 B/ O9 x4 i9 h3 D7 a' x+ L( Ystudents who are not of Chinese descent.% U. U# u/ u7 O- s$ T
$ d3 T# k0 ~1 {& i+ c7 O9 qMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, e# `0 |, q0 _/ ?; Hproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ }& @1 Z N5 x& V1 M
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley3 F7 G" `6 Z' d; g
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ m: @5 b& L- J1 {6 }- j5 |
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse& F' T. `# G6 F L+ d) h$ Q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" v0 ^* y1 C! zkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
' W7 w$ `' i5 J+ M4 d6 v u: {6 bwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 c6 O/ p* ?$ X- |$ Ithe school system last year.1 ^% y; ` v: `
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this" `9 A# ?* W& I2 X$ W; [
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own0 z& f/ w: r) D5 V+ ]: B; ?3 ~. T9 E' Y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* V" y8 P# R1 E( a# SChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! n0 y0 Q9 ?+ ?5 J5 a( W/ j* l( L
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
! m3 S: `7 z6 {* g: g! von an equal playing field."' x* t" N0 ^' L! ]" I! X
# n; A8 g: w9 `Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 _6 a1 c0 L& N: b, Q3 x1 ]8 nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! F, x7 `. T0 PService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- D: j- R" @, r9 r" _
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An8 q' I) m6 D$ q2 l$ `
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" T2 ^% Q! `& `9 {' V* w _4 Z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
; t6 T( _8 ]4 K( Z0 l" jinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
% X- |* A( e6 R0 Zgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
( y: A! N: F ?* o# Y* Hdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. V- n8 N# a8 c; A' {7 ]+ N( e
told her daughter.3 B, |0 ~' [" k) a9 c1 h2 r+ j
/ w9 W" p2 I5 nSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
" d e$ h" Y$ a! \class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are/ u1 B/ k2 ^6 Z2 p5 D1 h: U3 X: l0 Y
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 P7 J2 E9 _$ k) e4 e7 {& U
occasional frustration.- ~' U3 E( c! S5 P( `1 }
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
# E5 S6 N" \7 e9 i/ Wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he% R! {; v# O* a: O% ]! a }4 Q: |5 F
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
' o9 z0 Y A7 Q2 M9 \' WChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." I# Z/ X. O. a# N( t
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' H9 ]- U% D0 X0 W9 F0 Q
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- h$ ~3 S! z: t3 Q5 Tas many languages as I can."
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5 ]1 i( p; ]5 G. Y9 ~Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* B1 Y1 S3 z. s) `+ Z6 V6 Zskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job# s7 k& F9 n# x: W/ h, Y8 U0 e$ @
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- O! f0 V4 Z, \7 \. y4 ^" Nthat," Ms. Freire said.5 `* Y5 r: w9 M' D
# U7 y( g. I& b. j4 fMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
# }- b+ I; M8 e; where offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 F/ l% R/ P, c( h. s' Jschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking A: a4 m3 {+ k ^
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 F" w2 Z- T& F: h4 U0 I& R& Rroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! C$ o% ?* @% N" Z
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American. `3 W1 ]7 C+ W1 S$ e" U) I8 [
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.* Q, s9 c1 S/ w8 u5 U8 R
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified" K& V! `7 b$ M, S" I& ]: f
because of that missing certification," he said.; n$ w$ ]2 r) N; Q9 @/ B6 F
# r0 E4 t# u& n" W5 H* v0 ]The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 b) a4 C; Z- R- v- b* Isaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
/ U9 j4 d! v; n" dSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the" m* o0 k. U7 q5 S1 G+ Q5 {
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from8 x/ g/ X0 }1 R9 ^, s! U+ q' ?7 e
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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