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October 15, 2005
: z4 K* } B kClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity8 t2 L4 [: F8 n, x9 N. J& R
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING' }( k0 d3 d+ m F
) A" M( z% u5 q0 g$ Z8 l3 HCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the/ `! s5 @( k+ x j+ v% p
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
# B" a$ n! o- |+ jSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' M* n% Q1 }0 L/ c8 adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
' z7 h9 f; Q* I1 o1 X, Oflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. `" E) d* n. L0 J! X* g( n
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders& s; V/ P! E' N% A7 R3 v$ m
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker# d, k4 g3 a( g
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 M# h6 u- U/ y9 y# t: g" F, L, |
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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6 f, ?6 p/ Y+ r; g"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
X8 Z0 B4 \5 eat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
( k* `1 c, h4 b9 k4 V: ?0 coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
9 Y, [0 f& [. `, R# wschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 W# M6 ~/ }2 N9 q
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 }2 @/ t( q8 qone of its most difficult to learn.
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# k1 w9 e* h/ `# tLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
. k) T8 T4 G5 {/ @7 q% apublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: ~! f4 m# J8 Q. M R. g9 Lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.7 N3 {* G1 y; M ?3 q% K9 P! Z! O3 a. e
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! b9 F) \2 o. @/ i9 I2 B4 L5 I, [) V- W' RTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* t* C4 x4 `/ z% D
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" z4 F" Z4 l$ L/ simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.- t$ u, j7 K$ f& W8 K
* M' {6 E- S$ B1 O! @" cAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 g$ v4 e% T1 T) ]/ K' P( \, o
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; L" z% O, q3 M5 Z& N. y' l3 S
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to* N$ t& w* ~! Y4 U6 Q/ \7 B) Z
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
K, U9 {8 u% d5 ^+ Zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
, M a2 j9 f8 ^& u wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 I' a7 L5 x3 P' I# P) n
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
9 m: ?. w, y. o( Y5 ~/ aspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! L3 v% ~. b* T% V0 o
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we& g, _" \* n" w
can." % e/ z! j8 I/ y+ z) z& s* F
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from& F% k" u D" H# l
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 d4 X$ |8 {( u/ Kyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, ~$ s6 y( X$ N& R+ X6 yInstitute in Washington.- D, S: S# Z N- ^* k7 ^
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages9 ^* X( V. F3 T6 r: Y; |. `
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
, E1 i! B: A+ kMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
( \1 k( h2 r; Jlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" A% K; c3 Z* i( F
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a+ b0 M: p( P' \5 s" Z
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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M, q: j" R! ^1 LUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
' ]# w0 @8 e6 V: l; ]5 k9 i7 F9 Q* v1 Gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 p& i- R2 ~7 ecities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of- E Z- `$ ]8 m5 \4 u
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 p0 y, M; a. }( R) T) s& o
on weekends.8 z1 m3 x" Y F! Q1 h1 S% p( [
0 u- z0 x6 F7 _* YThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* H( \1 u+ g- ]+ V, c
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
$ [1 _8 w7 a! C& I4 F* J# hstudents who are not of Chinese descent.6 X/ m; r ^7 `, E
, d- Q; V) G( F# f; }& h& v, y: B2 PMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( g2 o/ J+ F; ^1 Hproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the4 A& X' j2 n/ A/ ~, r$ @( i( B. N3 B
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley; K8 n9 S0 `4 ~# z
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 i( `' ~& F) oall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: U' S C: X, w: b: {9 S% fschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
: ]* C F$ u, T4 X% ]kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students. @' u; [" _: b" Z. z
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, f; O; T% j' k& }the school system last year. Y3 |( o2 V# i* m+ i2 E) g
1 y4 f) j( {) m7 ?7 y7 C' I7 [The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
+ C5 i3 S* f, c( j) P. myear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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# }. U3 D2 P& j# q) q"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 o1 r- f; l2 G2 w0 Rclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! A6 p. \+ z7 g* Y% i! y p% D
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to# ?7 f, {; c" H# I8 d
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 l" P7 C' ]# L/ t! qon an equal playing field."
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7 h* q, p5 p# s3 USome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
. `: Y8 P. m1 M9 a1 O! o8 Cclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- X0 s+ I. k- g0 e0 R& y3 ~Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; M. D( @0 \/ d& i" E+ q+ x+ _: d3 `Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
! {; f. U. B+ A7 e3 [ @0 n @8 yaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in0 p4 t- U( Z- i' i' P! {
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! T3 V- l1 l% O6 z
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth. A2 J# @* T$ v( M
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before3 N4 J R+ A7 B2 w9 q1 r9 D
deciding whether to take the class.# G I6 ~4 Z6 h" `
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she% |( F$ T9 \, \) \& ^! ^
told her daughter.
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( p' Q j+ i7 RSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 o+ l, x' F8 p8 C7 D8 w! o* @
class.
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; B, L# {* H9 h2 q0 RAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 C% k' M- ?, W( ]: g# T; t: istudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
C8 ~0 t) n( T" {occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
C, x p3 Q& T% erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.: P& j' j. r6 \6 g' N" [
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 ~1 f- X: \8 \; ^- }taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with O' c" W: X& g3 Y9 F" C" Y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.% q& n) {7 n! S7 {- \
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul, r& \& \" K8 ~0 ~8 u6 J" d8 A1 o
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% o8 y/ {1 A C7 }as many languages as I can."* S) [$ p, o4 x5 h) P9 x; N
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
8 r4 p* s3 [6 e! `9 c0 oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 Y0 U: z3 v8 M/ G; s
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like$ l! N; M8 P0 P$ @5 K
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
3 r, W3 c6 m4 w. K. Ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* l3 A6 I1 Q4 J; y5 H, x- d
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 N" T+ ~. O1 U: u- g5 I( }6 B8 C, H
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
* l. O7 J3 z/ s- Yroom.
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6 T9 ?) J) D" T* i6 SChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 L: W2 t" Y) [- |. e7 B6 a8 P
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' G3 ~+ j. @; [3 e \
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.) r) p# s! W1 J n. t* J- R
* ]; g. {+ Y9 b6 Q"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified. M9 `/ l" L. p
because of that missing certification," he said.7 m' M% F* U# E( Q) Z' @
; i) B [) L$ c6 T T9 EThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 K+ T3 K4 r! H( R1 p$ E/ Vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
! D# r I2 w4 }) L1 }- eSociety in New York. F/ j" C/ T$ }8 ^, d
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& V a1 Q; u) ]
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from V% T8 {3 ]6 C0 Z% f4 R5 m
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( }0 k& m' P* r
own."& S$ ?1 z2 K+ A# \
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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