 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005& I; E' z7 I) g
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity y) W: f, Z9 V6 ]+ O
; K+ D! K/ K+ Q
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
/ c) v' U M) b9 K: ]& S. P/ V: [; W, K7 l1 Y- b! K
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the8 i5 `& Z M# ]4 Y$ C$ ~) r
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary8 G/ f' g" d4 c( k; ]: [
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas2 c3 Q" S$ B. M( g, S& f/ _
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) ]! b# ?' @* Y7 R S6 F
flag hang from the wall./ e0 F6 C/ d" ?9 c; K; U
' |1 {5 a0 _0 fOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
; M- [3 |8 h& [! `another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
6 L7 Y( @* g5 c( jpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker+ o! z' y7 H v% Y) J$ I
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
0 L- H- `4 N1 h2 m( m9 J/ [are already choosing it over Spanish.9 J/ r4 _/ E& T- J2 C
7 X% w1 U4 ~% P; v( i9 x4 S
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: D+ U/ C( H1 Xat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city. f2 h( M! p/ \, C( P, a
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
% ^" v3 {& [% a0 {, z/ O% C; P0 k
3 i7 z x! G9 x$ S! fWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
" {" J' _' t# c) |/ Gschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. |$ W4 T3 T! H" N4 p. Fto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
# B/ l) F8 v2 ?8 z1 t: A5 qone of its most difficult to learn.
. M+ T" g* L3 F9 Y; S
6 m$ h4 ~9 {: P& L/ W v% i, aLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to; R4 R2 N2 c% B8 z$ H. ]. T) X
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, s2 J* ]3 l# E" a$ ?studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ y+ a+ i" e0 x- x$ x
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of& B! w* b1 P# L" b
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- ?' h5 n2 O) M9 n) V& L) i
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 c F. u- K1 R" g- eimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.! Q+ l) O- ^8 |, M( V7 v3 V
) M$ E3 y5 O- | f3 `- F tAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
& U8 W& {. g7 r. c5 YChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country0 z* W5 G$ Q! t! n# P" u0 H
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, v2 ^' d3 c/ R' J5 j4 K; C- ?develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# v0 T2 W7 T0 n: Y( _
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" q, J, p( b2 i6 k* u
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. x! M5 u3 U4 B5 X3 \
, K: t) V% E+ I: n) V) i3 U% \
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# s. I/ K% o* L+ r: R
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
6 P0 F" ^1 w0 t/ p2 C, u) ]. a2 nConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" `4 |; x% W/ P& p
can." ; j, S3 ?* V6 f" U7 G h
& }8 W% U* f8 n, z* A9 s+ `" iThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 W) T' [, U. B, ~2 \0 v7 g! h9 H0 Helementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10+ {# N( [( ]1 T- _: z9 v& K) q
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
- _4 E2 P- S. I* z. d. OInstitute in Washington.
3 W& E: C% @ _) u& b& _
& \1 j# [) q5 Y% ^"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- o+ k/ J- q% r1 G+ c O
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 F; q/ u. Y! k+ q
McGinnis said.
: {( C8 q9 i6 S1 a, E
# x/ ?7 Y0 s6 p. m& m"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical( u6 r9 J. a7 R$ f' z' E0 L
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be4 O% q/ X2 c" O3 Z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ r+ _7 {" W- m* {, ^: xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."3 I* s1 |/ b" p
% f) `: y. @8 z" }$ tUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
- m p) I$ l$ q/ Zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
\. y* R0 N4 _cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of! O3 u, k7 T! \9 Z0 ]% K( B$ z
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or9 E! ^* j5 a) ^9 M5 w8 p
on weekends.( F/ E/ O7 T% n
+ H% U$ p m. } }8 z* H& c: fThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& Q& Y' ?$ L3 t0 a+ i$ t f
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 b5 }( ?/ }* `students who are not of Chinese descent.
7 r& b: V! F5 U) N( f/ B4 H2 G/ L3 N, E/ C# t3 W, Q1 I
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said0 d2 Q* B; e0 ~) R! o+ t4 n
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ y5 T% O3 k0 o0 U5 o# ocompetition.
- K: p2 Q1 a6 [$ Y& y4 G
4 w; |$ d( A$ \( f8 A& B"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
) A7 D' {4 V a9 a9 E! y0 f3 Ssaid. "There will be Chinese and English."0 G3 c) l! Q6 n5 |* ^' ^; `
! X/ W/ [! P8 o' j0 [( r* m. a+ ZFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 [8 h6 u7 l/ [' kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
) I6 v/ u4 R0 s- E3 s! E1 N, mschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
' }/ D( E$ b8 @, z4 {kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: `, _& Y8 r, ~( A
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
7 Q; J2 n. h/ T8 k$ c0 sthe school system last year.
9 Q) B, J9 ~" |: `6 Q$ F5 N
3 I7 j2 b1 V# |& p# E! [The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# }; [- p' e+ m, kyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.8 g9 w9 [* J, q5 a
' l2 v) G, n% a6 r"They have a great international experience right in their own
' p: A( P! m/ g4 K; u; P; O# Vclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
& o2 S u& {* h3 c! |Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
/ M- g, U1 Y% w! fhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 m2 n+ C0 O7 v, \ v/ H; S
on an equal playing field."* ?$ Q" I- S& k) d1 {; F9 Q
5 L. {/ E1 \- QSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% n! ]! G. F9 o$ a$ U6 sclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' ?" Q5 _( A4 b) e: ?- sService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks: c: s0 c. N( u! h8 S4 _
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An, \" b' B5 \, k- j/ r
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# r: e# r7 Y. }# {+ ?) W
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 c$ G3 R z2 k/ W7 g; cinstitute says.3 Q; N7 z# _/ f# g9 j, A
+ r. _+ j0 n8 f, w/ e9 t
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth/ X7 O% w. A, J* h+ r
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
. W3 z* @+ t% V9 i4 o; @4 V' Udeciding whether to take the class.( |1 b% {- z- E4 q9 \
! y. ]5 _5 ^; B" A"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she8 C9 H; M9 i0 ]6 [
told her daughter.
8 d/ I% s5 k3 ^7 u
* i( ~3 d; n1 h; kSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& F3 y; o: i" X0 }9 C$ u! T2 C
class.2 F- D ^0 {( A' T8 d. A
/ H: `9 @7 u: {9 KAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' g, ^+ i1 c, s: R* Y$ Estudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 O2 h, p0 a2 C7 g9 P9 F5 u
occasional frustration.
: m ?3 i$ V- f: A& ^# u; q6 L( }7 N$ q1 m6 W
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a9 v- o* R3 U7 [
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.4 ]( ?* b2 S+ G i
+ C3 V' J7 V. i
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he" a" d, y. Y( o/ m! A- y
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ `4 O+ v' f' v. J% `& U/ \4 O LChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.2 l! z0 b+ r7 f* |4 F; Z X# q
4 T1 I _) @" ~" i: Z
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 v! G# e) L" `8 L: O( t- F+ _+ v$ a8 usaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
' v/ `1 n5 k/ ~/ }( pas many languages as I can.": C" t3 M& e! B( @4 P, v
7 Y. i& m# C h& a. T0 q4 ?Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
, G* o5 r/ O4 C3 |' y9 m& ]skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; |" A/ e2 D9 i" J+ v7 y) T2 m3 b
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- b0 s8 X0 g e+ T8 |that," Ms. Freire said.
/ k; i5 Z0 `4 G8 C! C( V, B) M1 Z' N/ b7 o9 B1 S* v
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program8 z2 H! u8 j( c1 B. B; t
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each Q) E# a) i; m3 l! h% B8 S& Z
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 K& y' O' b, G; q8 w5 r/ x2 otime from classes like physical education, music and art to make$ N" t' Y8 n& t
room.. y' L, s$ E3 d% S
3 O! a+ k* P6 F7 _- a! rChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer: f. l! r% f5 k: y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 p5 C! Y0 G" A
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.* w) G: K- S/ J! a! q
3 p- Y9 ^% X% M! z: m9 S; t"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
( k& u: x1 E' w8 {+ N7 i& E9 vbecause of that missing certification," he said.8 M, I! @ m# F/ J/ G
* T9 Q4 }9 A/ l; d
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* e4 {. \9 ?. y# N
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia1 k+ p3 ?* V0 o! Z+ C
Society in New York.6 h2 m- b8 b9 ?/ Y4 L2 J
; V+ V, R, L6 X7 l9 ASix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% ^6 Y k8 |$ {! [# s, N K3 D" \
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
0 V' P6 t" I6 sthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
9 z& O8 Q1 d; m$ m8 R1 @" O8 ~( E2 y0 {( i& D, T1 Z
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our Z* i8 S& o$ J; x: [1 d
own."% E1 `2 x; S7 c2 i8 \" ]# \
5 w/ Z) K6 d- z% PCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|