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October 15, 2005! ^2 p: u5 j, l$ e- P
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# l9 F9 d, h' {9 E
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
[2 D' x% E9 I
- p& A5 f+ H" HCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
4 T; A$ V7 C" v& q" ^! x6 } lUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- a6 P! N' Z( B5 J
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ p5 D; M6 V5 j& N" B2 p% q; ldangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese/ u) W9 |6 U/ N+ U
flag hang from the wall.
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: M8 b. ?* T8 _2 a0 ?- M C' l' dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 A4 u! s: q! s( l, ranother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* w3 b- v @$ Apracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, b& P2 W2 c) C3 f7 aboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students$ y3 A: R/ y+ F
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; z8 C* m% e$ Z4 _at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! l5 d, }2 k4 @& i) _8 ?offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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w/ G8 y$ ]0 IWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,! @0 ]' `: c( H" q% b
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) T. t6 h3 G B8 Z- b8 ~" f5 m
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention Z, X3 ?. A( d7 k
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) q) U) P# U k8 ?4 N
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students, F8 P" E! Z3 z) p
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
, C# N3 u/ H* c! PLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 v+ b$ C6 \0 H
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 y! q9 o& m# E! p& {9 k7 ^
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
' A$ n) c; v2 j, ^/ Uimprove 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 Placement
8 S2 D3 s9 ~+ Z3 BChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country g- I1 ]# W5 t; G9 G# j
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to5 ~0 P+ Z6 z. L7 D9 I9 T1 i ~; `
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ m( E) E+ o* Qcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director0 q) a6 B9 p& M+ H8 ^3 j6 d; T
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of r- h1 e' n; f( J5 u( u
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
6 x5 K$ J8 E+ e& U. ^; AConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) m6 ]% g3 L# V# |3 J
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
0 W! W: o( z7 V& F/ ~elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 109 b: S/ t. Z8 {. D5 j: [5 z7 g# o
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) n7 ~8 I6 m0 ?# U- D1 GInstitute in Washington.0 W* v1 `: S( s+ M
8 ?5 ^. |9 N- y, l"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 C$ B) r+ W+ S% ]# ?# y9 M
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 k7 ^4 G, }0 T1 ~McGinnis said.
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3 O1 T6 Q% }" X# Y" ^' h"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical4 m2 w$ I& m4 z$ M R$ o3 f
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 ]* F- m5 H" Z: ~
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* f/ w& q: R' i: d! j
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
4 h$ B' Y1 q1 a2 ?/ vsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
/ _! @6 ^( c+ L) s( [' \# Y1 Rcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 B+ ^6 J7 Q2 p; k, e% MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. q% U V# q! F$ P8 r8 u% Ion weekends." [3 ]' V* T8 [' ]9 C+ H
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. q5 ?9 u4 b* @4 r' @6 U4 R0 w
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves1 R; ~* ~& r; K
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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% U- _( `! n. O4 h; Y7 O- MMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said" _0 @- y, p( @: \
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the9 } n" [( W, a
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley B8 b6 Y# R4 _: h/ {
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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: e( W/ T2 D9 W( q4 D4 kFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# V* b- x: u' m
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 F. o* U# S+ g
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from" Z7 b/ \$ i( D- v9 r/ J
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ d3 e4 |' z5 gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to2 {( `8 y. S) L* ~$ |- c. d
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this* `5 Q4 K' Z- U& {! q/ E
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.' O2 t2 c: V' s: Q$ M/ T! o0 G; d
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 ~3 z% s: d9 z: R* e9 I3 @classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
, l+ g% K7 r* v2 u& rChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 L' a5 B1 N) Khelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 E$ X7 U( i$ ~0 ~. [
on an equal playing field.". e& }/ _4 m9 F3 S6 R4 \
" M0 Y5 t4 X$ NSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
3 s# O4 X; s' J! H, G; E0 w- N, L+ eclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign: G9 F8 j6 M( p- Y
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; {, g- ?% `/ i* Y, J2 t0 o8 q
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 m$ E+ D# p9 }- t8 A; @
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
( J" D& Z) {9 G" N' K" I; mChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 C7 X5 L; }: o4 \' cinstitute says.
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) P9 Y: S1 n. S$ n2 y1 ySevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 } o. d+ _3 G1 bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before+ y* F j, C# I
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) l1 o5 c" J; o" G' B
told her daughter.& B5 f8 y( u2 u# {- j- ~4 W: t
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- G6 m1 Y. z0 r7 x7 @7 [2 fclass.8 t: t3 j/ ~. z9 H1 C9 A" ?
# Z* w! v: h8 o {9 }: a# A2 m; hAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are% w7 ]7 H# g2 g" F" {& B; q2 ^# c
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' M9 L+ Q$ |! E( i# D ~) f9 @occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ E4 `) w0 J, u- F( ~7 d% frecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 F- R2 V' u5 o. ^" Y
) l- A- L3 v: R) s& ?5 E# M4 kRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 d# b$ q$ p+ X0 L( D
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with7 Q, e/ R0 Q% S
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works., d" `5 n6 {8 w/ P# J2 m
& B( G- r; J7 B: l"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
9 s" L! u) j0 [- E2 o8 dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn% Q$ _/ d. N: s( G a& ^# b8 i
as many languages as I can."' S1 v$ I: d: R7 r! V7 T0 j
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 N+ q2 h! y7 D
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
1 m3 m! [: m0 j& O' [market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like! j+ l! U8 G+ X; C
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program" ^# O* k D4 Z- Z
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
/ e4 w: L' }' Xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 y9 T* e" t1 j7 u$ }time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 M2 A* m# E# |Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- x. U3 K) F* B9 z. mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ X; W' T$ ^1 p! Gbecause of that missing certification," he said.$ G+ ^% ^2 x% ?3 N2 G w9 j( h) `* `$ C
' f/ g/ o6 I: R4 w. z7 dThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,7 t- p! u$ C' c5 Z+ c
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* Q% f1 W$ O& v- E
Society in New York.% ^* S: H+ H) j9 J4 e9 p, j. G
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
; i0 e7 o1 d; w6 v, v7 iChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# d* w2 q8 t$ X' T- G$ j ?
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& F& Y8 B# l) o
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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