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October 15, 20051 b' T7 I2 X. g' d! M
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) _9 x# N/ c9 r" O/ Q
5 E% u$ @5 L/ ^ ?& R* c
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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* d' J1 J3 ^, ]' ICHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. l% f9 r1 M4 W4 \. a" |
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary+ N6 q5 d6 @* R) ^
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas+ [5 N3 P* o7 p" Q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
! N* h' x& h* A9 d" y0 ]: `flag hang from the wall.; }- \0 O" e3 d
5 m' o4 z% P+ h% \$ Z: b- z9 j5 AOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 A$ n3 c' K, ?: x
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders$ l) \; n9 S, H( z5 j" X9 c( h
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 X2 K- }8 k, |) ?boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 c- j# j8 G2 b" Vare already choosing it over Spanish.9 ~6 n, P/ [/ ^9 y; |5 x8 B* T
3 h4 J* ]- ?; ^! j"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" f% }& A5 x. v" x3 d
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
: |8 [$ E) f' k# M, Joffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."7 D- ?# R! S' u7 w$ O: s% r
2 S! q$ [/ c# _; i7 n8 JWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& H! o7 v3 v" r ]+ l( c% {
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
( t( t9 Y- S+ D' C% F1 bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention( V% K$ U* u9 o9 \/ n7 O
one of its most difficult to learn.2 E7 }# C! |# Z1 ]3 s8 i
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 ^: `8 J4 U( hpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
6 p' U, p1 P3 E) e jstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
5 a5 L. }; q! h6 {7 u1 H2 DLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
# c! v M8 _: C" S6 }+ q; [Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on9 J3 V2 A! y7 p* j* Q7 }
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 c' w5 A: _$ Y0 h1 z7 u
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement5 o/ y9 D1 g) j, Y" }1 x
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
# Y: ]( G2 \' |starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
1 h9 Q* H6 ]5 B3 V# p: fdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing" K$ J& C% f5 A/ l
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
: ]8 [% {4 N' j% o4 q( \of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.. j" o+ b- Y. Z
+ ~5 f: ^; E I! f7 j
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 t4 n( A' F, u! pspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% U0 ?7 n) X$ V! P& F' k7 U: c" R, aConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 l$ k5 ]5 J$ d) U; Dcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) q. U) G# \( y/ {. }5 c( T1 c$ lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 109 d: v9 R% p+ {9 F+ L
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
' i* O+ a. r2 a- }; s4 r6 CInstitute in Washington.* w9 R5 f# H0 I* W2 ?1 O9 t5 |
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 Y/ ?8 o% E B- D* M
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr. c$ B5 J1 v; J% ^2 C
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical) V+ t7 u7 [1 O( b: i) C7 b; `. ?
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
+ G' N0 P" c G3 lready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 k. N3 v6 ?- L2 N; C0 Ychallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and/ }) v. `$ S0 g. q. w
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in8 E5 ]( ~9 _( \$ R
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
1 L& g; b( y6 D0 v0 X9 kChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
S4 x, C5 r: v. U) Son weekends.
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- b, S6 {0 @: V3 VThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
; W, c2 M! E. A1 S* g zschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 s4 _+ D2 @3 W9 W+ V8 Rstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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& i" {# L7 Q/ d1 Z5 tMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said' o1 e7 V) _+ D C6 }
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
( t) s: ]6 ^" {0 Dcompetition. ; n# Z5 i* r1 M8 i$ _" j
5 M" B; F% u8 x8 d- E, G
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 k" k/ n7 A+ {said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ _2 W9 [/ J) x- F7 o9 Q
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 G2 \9 C3 h% l% V+ [1 Call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% {( j& R+ ]& Z4 b; ]
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
4 p0 w* t9 t7 F; Rkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
/ F* p* r; J% Y2 q$ vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
' R5 D( E/ j7 Kthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- ?( O0 ]1 ?$ q. h, a2 l
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 own/ E: E# b5 j# B0 Y ^0 v8 k
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago- ?, i! c. O( U: z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
/ `; E4 n3 q7 g* p2 ehelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
. \+ C. c1 q& Q U- g2 [( V% _& \on an equal playing field."8 X. P# Z2 j6 Q$ ^" w
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese7 ?& n8 X/ y% p$ Z) J8 P
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ V6 `* p! T2 TService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks' D' }6 ^( g- [; {% Y5 |0 |. n
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* Q* ?% X' e G* b8 `$ d1 n0 k
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in* }8 i. }% ^. @+ J3 ?3 |/ Q) C _ g
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the' c8 [/ o1 u+ [. s- K. K4 I- ]
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth4 U+ n) h- G( u
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
0 k/ U* i* l$ t# k# [& Cdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 U: ~, r6 J6 V6 D# ^" K
told her daughter.
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& Z. P( A! m& d- ySahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite: \ M; \9 l8 A% q# J
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 U# [$ Q! H2 t2 G4 istudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
& y9 _8 G+ H ]2 W0 @( A& goccasional frustration.
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3 M( r. u$ u9 P) a6 B7 s- t( Y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 d+ f6 `# C( L3 c
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% X2 T0 W: c+ `( f
! m' O5 y3 X: m4 r5 O- zRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
$ ]. D6 K2 C/ G+ i' Utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
: i! h @* r: bChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. X- s7 l7 n, m& V. e+ p9 R8 z$ |& _
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
- b2 ]# n* m' t4 |1 a8 Nsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn5 M2 v6 r/ |, F0 Z0 ^0 e! \" y
as many languages as I can."
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z- h( U' i; M4 Y/ Q) HAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
! A4 c1 @) e) R4 a9 yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 b, L2 o6 K5 |" X8 \& D4 Omarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
/ K H6 E. u( A. Tthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
! i5 k& j& w& Z: `: g6 shere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
* N; b. r5 o- ]- \school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" g' @8 v' P9 ~
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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! T! k6 z' y/ _+ \) `4 FChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
; b! ~8 Q' u7 h9 u' w& UChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! f5 |+ h" l5 F% Tcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
+ [1 J. t B$ n4 [- F( n; X7 y4 ~' P& U# x
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified; J6 P8 d; y+ Q. q
because of that missing certification," he said.4 |" ~0 a- P" E( E! [: |
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 N$ ]; _4 ^ Q3 ]" ^( wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia- }. D$ |( ^" Z$ d. z6 R
Society in New York.6 K( O% x& F5 A" @2 ]
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ |: N& b# @! N
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from/ a9 P* S8 r( V, V% P
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) \$ {! d P) |: }
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our; u. R, c* ?& ]' ?( j! V9 J
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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