 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 20052 F+ K# f) L& U
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
1 b4 c; S, g* v. ?
# G1 n% A8 C$ h/ s" X3 {By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
3 J! c" g# X' Q2 K# C- Q$ F' w- b& u) m- q4 m9 T. `4 S
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 T3 p. Q F- e+ x, |. y/ k, f3 eUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 u$ F. O( @6 Z& @School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
# Y. _3 c1 U8 h7 u3 a) Rdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. f0 z2 ^' E. Y% {+ t- {
flag hang from the wall.
* ~& ~' S8 }/ w. ?3 {; }& `0 k! P. P. i8 x& v- t, I
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, w; _6 u0 @1 x1 r0 \
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders R- p! q( t9 M9 h2 E
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
* }; F) V+ j( A6 Zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students p/ z# L8 y: h" S
are already choosing it over Spanish.( H- b- K, \. T! b+ K( v' }3 Z
: b% b9 q0 |) ?& L% m& W
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; R! r, i: h2 k: |# }& pat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
; A9 M9 o7 V. n& {4 Moffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in." C# X) P) Y6 T. T
. H6 L# z5 I3 D( ^. @2 R+ ]- o1 s$ {4 dWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
" n/ d6 R! d5 c( [+ f+ bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
9 M' o8 h& R8 I/ `2 g9 nto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention+ S" E1 i: N$ Q1 I6 ]
one of its most difficult to learn./ K- G$ v6 z1 S; M$ o
2 z2 O( V' X' v. ^7 B4 k, e
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 A: X0 S! q7 S$ R" E
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* R/ G/ Q) G9 f. B/ _ x mstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ j6 X* _- z% p! v! [# A( }
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
& S q* _ l- J+ @Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on) B5 d& E" F6 {" q
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
' u$ r: d: r9 R e, Simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
/ F# G' {. I2 [! `% d% C) Z
+ N7 A% l. g V. w( P. j. @! jAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
0 ]* e) A. r8 U+ xChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ [, B9 k: |0 H. A
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to9 x, z, z5 a( s
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
4 P. ^/ _- V3 i* G/ Rcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 L8 O% {+ U' x7 r
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.9 n6 ]: }/ Z0 E
6 ]! P* `7 W4 ]"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
c1 `. R- A9 \1 i; ^speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education% a8 d8 { @! r( L ~
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ e# h; }3 n- ^& M P$ H
can." 1 u8 I$ d- b: q& I- o: c
0 C0 J; R7 n0 h. |3 R( eThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from6 _, [, w: ^& I, c
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
8 K4 s4 c: f) }* j9 x. Uyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
( l Z( q/ l+ O$ z& s* rInstitute in Washington.
! A! D& v8 j6 k" ^* c, s' T% M% }& v* q6 k
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 u8 B; y) A q0 R7 U) S. G* {5 r! ]; [aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr." E# y5 T: l( [/ Y6 C
McGinnis said.6 j' B7 @+ r7 w+ v
( Y: o2 ?: S; T6 ]$ D! V
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! i9 N0 W& }4 u$ t1 Nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
3 i/ R7 y; H/ \+ d. [1 iready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' d' u* z3 X) U e1 u- q
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
3 S& m C) K: ?/ k y2 R" j
/ h/ V- @9 g( R5 x# v0 t' ^Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 c( A( w5 j0 ~. X' \6 }
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( I3 e1 W3 \3 F F- t3 l* s) C
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' z/ A4 J2 X5 q6 D3 Q- p3 T( lChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ P( n3 k* Y) l2 y% x s! a
on weekends.
* _! V& W! S5 u1 e) M1 j$ T0 c8 d# n, Q0 v# Y8 |
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& a+ T8 d. D* j% S, r! Q$ U+ w* N3 ^schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
/ S. y5 G0 f& \% x; Ostudents who are not of Chinese descent.& g% t9 a* M4 a; h' A8 S8 j+ {
" s4 ~" V2 ~5 b1 k) g
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; B" {; c, Y+ L: m( d" q. uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 D- ]" W- d' i' |; `/ X# ?) a
competition. * m5 Q/ ?0 }/ x$ D9 i9 ^# t6 ~
1 ~* s' T* Z' M( k+ _
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley3 F3 f. T1 v- C2 U2 y) {2 P( ]
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
! e3 q# l( d1 Z1 M6 }4 }; g
% U; r) x4 L( u3 ?* q: E g6 ZFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly) t0 R. }, d+ W. ?* S5 t4 P! S2 y
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 C: k: P4 M" E, E" Q8 Y+ _
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
: M& t& ?& V$ e0 ?, fkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% e; }$ S4 y/ I, W( c$ J! jwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 A( q, }! S3 E+ J: p4 ~; v
the school system last year.
1 u* k# b0 U% v& U* E: @( K8 l- Y7 V! y; v' K* z
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; c; S- K/ A- ^1 Z6 L0 t1 D4 v
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
& l0 q; {$ j8 _6 x$ T7 D; J0 r n$ H7 g2 J5 i3 o e
"They have a great international experience right in their own
2 Z4 E. j# q0 h2 K2 b# Q+ Fclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
$ t: @: v9 E; u% X; J% GChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to. j5 l6 g1 O% z4 E, w" F) N
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
) g. R0 F) H7 b% W6 a3 ~on an equal playing field."/ L% l A) H2 ]0 P0 y) @
2 m6 c" i( _, p
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
. N( ~. s- V; M# Zclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
1 {: l0 S3 j+ h; _Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks% x n. a+ Y% J. a
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 K W1 V" x$ S: |! ^
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
# X6 C6 ^: H& H) }; }/ s7 j9 d$ U8 OChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the. o( E) ?4 Q) k- \7 A0 j: R
institute says.
! m% }9 x- T3 b `
+ Z. z. g9 w# l) s8 q; ESevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
0 @; K0 ]1 I) K0 {grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- g' X* p: m& Z7 q! X
deciding whether to take the class.
# W7 z- [5 k8 T
# l! h! u1 w3 F% L# p% b"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she0 ], M Q* p2 S4 e
told her daughter.
! [2 `- v( x C" M# m+ S2 a% E/ j& J8 B6 e! @. h/ B
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% f2 b$ u* R) |& G' eclass.
0 x0 W& R- G7 L7 r1 }
- ` q2 B7 Y; l6 P; B K4 ?1 WAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: e) Q5 Y' a* `" y! Z; J( J$ w
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 X4 n1 t8 }3 `1 {0 L9 }! [5 h$ {7 Joccasional frustration.
: m m, U' Q4 q1 w' H. b9 Q- T8 ~; C3 [% ]7 V! ]8 v! d. ^
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a8 `2 X0 a% s# D* L. z+ M! r0 a
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
3 W: J6 G7 P# H6 a* r4 k. x% @$ Y+ I' h g* w% U8 t" ]
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
4 B4 ^3 {. t$ c" p) u8 o9 T# Qtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with7 M6 t$ V- I3 b0 Z8 ?3 K6 e% s
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
) C* u. [- X p# e. L( x" M
5 T5 r- }9 [ s+ }"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul* R' p6 `+ Q3 z
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
/ W9 z2 S2 r* {9 v, J+ b* Was many languages as I can."
8 Z! | o2 n: t) i# G b* }; {+ U( D1 z
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
+ [! V, W* b; c' W/ F1 h& o: Oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
0 x9 |+ V/ Y8 v6 M1 K* Gmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
& a) r% u& e$ ]( I' E. X1 u0 Kthat," Ms. Freire said.$ X! ~/ y! P9 _, Y6 F/ W
( o! {5 T: [9 Y# U- e5 E0 F
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
6 @ ~: C) e9 e4 uhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 _; A! X" e1 Z. ]- T" O3 f7 G, V
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
9 K! D2 v0 @4 k: y1 a5 Utime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
7 E* V1 k& ?, p& \: [6 {room.4 n4 O& S* G! F% N0 \+ `$ W" r- P
5 T- O8 v* A5 r& C& {Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" o$ b* m1 A+ y- ~2 E
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
) g7 k3 N0 C( h. Ocollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; @- |3 S% C" N: @
) h3 d( g. F5 E# h" y/ B; C1 t"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified" T: g% K- H, [; J( o2 {
because of that missing certification," he said.
3 B; ]9 }: N5 p9 g5 j, O9 p
+ e! p: }( _$ VThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, A- i$ j! B. w- ^8 Vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( Z9 H; f+ D" X& f d' b: l3 [* n+ [
Society in New York.
# L- R- Z& t1 @4 I
' |( B7 T5 t/ r/ }% x- w; gSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' i" { Q& h2 q6 t
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from7 k/ e8 n" z0 T4 j' x
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.% `, C0 m, y# D1 k) z( P# V0 V3 n
: ], Q' i, E; \4 r
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
; R6 v! a, S$ h; fown."
) l) p/ _; I7 q! n3 B; r: s/ t, V
$ e" Z. I, x# _% y5 lCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2005-10-18 09:28
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
发表于 2005-10-18 10:30
楼主
发表于 2005-10-18 15:23
