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October 15, 2005) _* H3 ^$ l: w( [7 v0 J+ _6 X
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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( o! Q( ~+ C: x9 t8 Y$ VBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING# E" D& j. [' H, C( J
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the9 |( X% Q% f9 y( u1 x& _
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 H$ X0 S( r2 I, ^* w' \/ \
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas1 S( y7 \5 `! N" ~
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ O3 b7 H0 w# f# fflag hang from the wall.
9 s( F! @- |0 e" c
" L/ K4 T- t4 x7 y7 TOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 j0 t! g+ \ D9 f# u, u+ Manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders7 d/ W+ G6 E) C
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
& s+ S& B+ B k; mboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 L+ d8 u# ~$ S/ D0 rare already choosing it over Spanish.% v& Z8 a! l: ^$ [
5 `; H; |+ X0 X: t }9 c9 m) ]"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal/ y$ ~6 a/ \, r7 A. b9 i) a; t8 ^: T
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ ~+ x1 W; c; N9 l8 B3 K( Foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
; t2 J0 P8 Q9 Qschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings9 T$ y' t. ]" I! [) r
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
& y8 }: y4 w: f7 H8 Fone of its most difficult to learn.) k; o6 z w- V* ?# K
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to3 T4 k$ v* l% U. o
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students. {" `3 D* _; P* A: d' r& n8 [
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
( G9 x, E' F% s: w1 WLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
9 E5 U+ G) D. K% w" W% PTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: u6 Q- {+ g4 ^" y8 p+ B& i5 W d
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to/ f, b1 O. v) U3 q6 W& c/ K
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.; f' C/ Z0 C( W$ L( c/ ?
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! u7 D8 U3 u& l; KChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. H# Z) n9 k' _starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to4 x0 Q5 f) R# ]
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing I( X4 P) O8 c4 d3 o
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 n: v. N+ M' ]' |6 Q
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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+ q u z! b' H! F. C) r1 a+ p"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' [! u4 r& L; i2 b$ ^' z' D
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education o |; z' e, _8 U, J N/ O, H
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" L7 j) @8 }4 _$ q
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 U# A3 p% U1 d$ celementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10! Y b1 }# c: m# w
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
o V. l" M7 l) O( D) }" nInstitute in Washington.
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0 T8 v* V9 b9 @5 l' g"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 M( n2 w+ s3 e; T+ J% A
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr., p, U! A$ V- }( }" c2 m
McGinnis said.
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: b+ w% \7 }' b7 ?"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% d' O5 {' C1 k' ~4 J% O$ Mlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
+ r* X2 `4 O5 l9 `5 F! W( Qready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
7 v1 F+ B+ Y5 j1 \1 Tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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$ e7 z" N$ ~, [: D+ ~% P. FUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and$ }. Y) W3 o3 ^% A
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% k2 y4 r# S @& N* X' Y9 X0 xcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of5 c4 ^9 }0 Z2 M) Z( D2 |% b/ V: K1 A$ D
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 h7 y5 C& d. S: r Pon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
1 K& r9 [# a) q. g( Oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 w$ g% |' _% |5 {) c# a1 J9 Astudents who are not of Chinese descent.8 I" X! I, ~+ V' K7 N! D2 P
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( D- R% s; F* y* S% `- s
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
8 L. ^9 Q+ Y4 x+ c6 }: Scompetition.
7 ^) b- [+ j5 B/ @/ I4 W7 l5 w/ s3 X. u% ^0 d7 ^2 Y2 ]7 ]
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, J4 X& f) Z( Usaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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2 E1 A/ U# d: x) G% ] N+ QFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. \! |2 P/ ~1 q7 M; rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: D, X% a4 E7 q* j3 nschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* a6 }+ b# z4 }& V# T, h
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
( I2 i& [. C, {who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 I: A% V1 j9 q' i, t2 ythe school system last year.
/ x v: R' c3 c' w& Y
/ Y. P5 c1 Z! k9 r k* v$ EThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this% H2 n V3 H }/ ?5 g$ a
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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0 d% R5 {3 T% d2 H$ h- R"They have a great international experience right in their own; `" s3 n2 ]$ K
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* f2 I8 x. e( p9 F! D5 E/ S+ K& SChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 Y( t O1 o; {9 j o D7 i( i
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet6 F0 f7 d5 d3 g9 E& G' K; m9 s
on an equal playing field."6 v+ T2 a _% R; ]& Z2 u, X# [
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
1 ]" Z( I3 Z$ F/ h$ l' aclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 k% d6 X% h6 B- s3 m
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* {, R6 T% B3 P1 H2 T4 Z
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: Y+ k4 ], X1 }" \
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
, q& q1 t' S+ D; y9 X* b( n* rChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the9 x. c1 B' o1 _, P" i- U3 w
institute says.( J- n: O) W; X: J0 \
) h( Y5 ?0 H4 S/ p" s0 \$ zSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' [4 O b" q" U
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
% A* F( Y# C2 p) r: Q4 Y, s; {( P; Mdeciding whether to take the class.' a6 [: x: E& {! I# u# d
9 w$ K, R/ ^, P% ]"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) ~, F+ A: t5 c8 ]" {1 E Q9 O
told her daughter.9 A, ^0 J5 }+ h3 s6 n) _9 o
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 M6 S- W/ E5 r* {5 S
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
3 c% S& e& [# `; M* ^( I) }4 u# ?studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 v+ K1 Q8 i$ V& `8 {' _# K7 Q7 R2 ?occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a5 T, @7 L7 M% `' K; F! Z" z8 I+ j
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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8 w5 _- Q, c6 j g0 d$ mRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he0 C/ e" Q5 ~) y6 c1 O+ u, K3 K. I
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with2 M7 a% u/ w* L
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- Q" D+ h, W1 e# o- ~2 r: X5 X" Z
6 C! q3 B! h1 C& J0 a$ _* M7 F n"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ \' b( G0 E1 G6 W C% a* G0 }9 h
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 g. |4 w* u- }1 |0 t$ Pas many languages as I can."
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6 T; P4 O" z0 {$ R+ X% `6 lAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the5 V7 J$ x; B# W% _* m
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 z( i+ ~4 [. F9 Q7 q& `market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& @; l' k' e1 t3 O
that," Ms. Freire said./ i* T; N. z* _2 O5 O" B& _! D
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program/ l. W6 p( x2 h/ d/ L1 y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
& y; {. O7 M$ c c2 R+ X1 Sschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
9 i4 M) Y; }. {) ^/ r1 Ptime from classes like physical education, music and art to make: c5 S+ ~$ z o& t+ j0 Z Z p
room.9 t3 p# U. n* m6 e0 ?' L
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" r% J. c" b' G _
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" g; l9 e1 i2 m [college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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) j8 B: ` `0 E/ W"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ @( _' u5 N4 Z3 E$ Qbecause of that missing certification," he said.- o" l6 Y* W0 p; H" g% J7 b4 O
- T! M1 i* ^1 V7 {! ~$ @The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 P6 g: {1 x7 K( `" H1 k( |& jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) p# }! W* Q s7 O0 |Society in New York.' e' \1 ^: G6 f- [( N# n/ t# r
5 P: u8 U9 D) jSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 j& ^9 w+ O8 G- x/ O& FChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' W/ t* R, y& \6 z/ Lthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
& k' a% c( J I1 g$ h7 Uown."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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