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October 15, 2005* y4 ^2 E- \, F$ ^5 }
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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\- ?- }. ^- W6 \CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the1 ?# s' Z W8 P* V2 g# Q+ y. \
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 ^! H7 B$ ^4 m8 r" P' zSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas" C- E# K4 V+ O# C4 T& j
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: _* ]: F( o3 |; s1 o, r
flag hang from the wall.8 s5 @) m Q( p/ U6 A
, b# e i C* b; F. u& d- XOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 T9 |& v- o2 g$ D
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
3 u E6 p* y# M) u: Opracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker7 m$ s$ O8 g8 N5 I/ l% c- @' _; s
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students+ P" a1 j0 u3 I0 g% S8 T }0 [2 z' k R
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. U+ e" O& C& l8 x8 N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 ^9 {' u' Q5 w! j
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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- b, k8 F. y2 y$ \6 IWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% f. f6 T) C) T5 X" J! q
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# Q4 C3 |0 t Z, z6 |. {
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 N" C( b6 @3 qone of its most difficult to learn.
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# p# M1 Z U) Y1 e% }: }" ]) gLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% Q0 }# @' V$ y3 z7 ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ A# ^9 [& O! J; w/ t" a7 _
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.* f" a' g: J3 x8 J" ]: |, Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of k. Q: J+ L9 u( K( u
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
! K1 l) ]7 f& Q3 RChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
, e/ W3 @$ I2 r8 U; ]8 c& o5 bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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- |3 j8 u* L6 q tAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement Y0 K8 t9 f3 Q( m
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country( e4 n- ^" [. v3 i4 S
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ U0 U- G$ ~ X$ I! n- i! o
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing9 h8 L+ c6 P3 u: @3 B% D7 a9 T
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 C9 t( H0 s N/ Hof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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& c0 R% `. L8 q) }"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of6 `4 q( y6 k9 r0 [1 K3 P5 ?
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" {3 q! n V3 a; r! J( L" {/ SConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
/ s6 X- L! M, H! `+ O* D4 Xcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
( u- J2 U1 r5 \# welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
E/ l. S5 [" y# j; K! B3 Cyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
. [) d2 k0 g# ~7 @) u2 D* u5 P2 ^Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
' \: K4 r$ D+ }; }, h4 W3 d# ]aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.% }. L* [( q: O" F4 u" Q
McGinnis said.& l' w/ D9 G! g# |- Q
7 q3 O/ d, E, F" Q( a# T/ {"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; d- ^5 i+ j- o( \
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 K: K U0 t' |: x4 T+ xready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a- V& T. Z3 Q* S9 ?9 L
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 E3 ^+ C% h$ j/ b6 u( ~
4 ~* \1 l7 B; A! h7 L) F( aUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# \4 F' l5 [% p9 Ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in% a0 a5 S) M% M5 |4 p! C! T
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( G7 c( ]$ }2 K# y. Y/ R: B/ jChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
; p3 o6 M+ b pon weekends.
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$ v% }, K3 J0 N4 m) u. l, u4 oThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public+ ]! \$ c& {4 K3 {; J7 X) w4 B
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
' U$ C" o# l7 F: ~. Z9 Ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.' V" x' c6 `$ @
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
' U) X: K c* g9 o6 r4 P8 ^proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the0 o" n4 o X: X) W0 U" `9 ]# f7 M
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
7 V% m: R N: I2 U0 |) i: B' ?said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 A; Z3 S' @; N8 y) `
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
F7 ?# T% G& p. v6 I% h4 Oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from) X3 H! t2 F) O8 \' e, ]( r* n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, i8 k) K2 z/ X. B2 ?* u
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
% }. e" e! G# ?' W- }# J& K1 |the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 ^+ _; J, t; E
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( `) V3 [1 U ?$ s7 \3 T+ U/ e
* V9 O' A! o5 X% L"They have a great international experience right in their own( w) l& v, |# o6 E. q: B7 ?5 S) R
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 {& e8 X& g9 |$ v. a0 gChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to% ~* s( Y* J Z8 q4 a
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 k8 I! d5 g3 r- J, q
on an equal playing field."# \' T. u. j, T! M" ~! ~( p
$ ?& X7 l! M" N$ e4 i5 e G4 HSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
3 e4 \* D# m6 K- Vclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
8 e7 U; \( m' h6 GService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks) F0 m. |: g$ ?8 D- A
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 j" F- J, U7 d. r: Raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
* B4 F6 E6 q$ P5 d, ?0 YChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
9 b' q3 R5 h; G; A; g4 @institute says.# }: U6 d: p" |* ?* @4 O
" J" n- }9 P# g- C5 kSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
6 V! `/ @8 p! ^# tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" w: t I+ v' I& b1 N, P" Odeciding whether to take the class.6 [- C4 x: ^4 t6 L( V
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
- V7 T/ n! x2 N; V: c0 B5 ytold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite H w$ i- B3 a3 u: b
class.! \7 c4 i0 n$ H1 \. B2 K. q( ]
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& O0 Y1 e" B6 t; f, T8 f
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 x% f0 w3 w( n+ F) S: Toccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a, F$ G8 q5 B. C, N
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* R# \0 Y8 {* I" [3 s/ R1 Q) u
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he& p. j" o) j# n, U; K
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
5 C5 z+ A- G+ w; |8 aChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! o0 M( U2 x! U1 }0 S. z6 t, b7 @
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul M3 t4 K& X W* m8 s( g+ g/ s
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ u& j: ?* |) F' Z) ~5 B5 I- Das many languages as I can." |- T! Q# R- g. w$ ]& t
% C7 ^) X' X$ z+ G" |Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 W ?( d, p* ~9 w# S
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ o2 h$ L# Y; [0 o3 Y
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( J9 q7 h6 T P/ R9 t& G$ W
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 D$ R5 O+ a" U
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
$ m- p6 C- f6 \! k7 X/ Q6 z! cschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 z3 \! ]; h9 g0 M, |* Y9 Qtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
C5 Q, T# ~2 F3 qroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
f U- n7 @; }; B5 b% m8 wChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American" d" @/ x2 c1 A! n* {* A. v
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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/ m, @1 Q) ]6 l4 n) f"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
0 W# [3 m8 T( y" v; e* Q, V7 X" Lbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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0 x- }; s7 z. jThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 c' ?1 I ~/ }7 Y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
3 J0 a8 f4 G& x: O3 p& WSociety in New York.- p# m! d; b# H4 _0 B1 }
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
3 V# F b0 h# T7 Y1 b# D* z' ^1 GChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
. B5 d) l) U6 Lthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.9 S+ @4 u. t6 o) i" p& v
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 Y" c/ x! C5 w w# O5 |4 x. S
own."; y ]; Z: l2 p- I
1 R" X1 b+ p& w1 XCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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