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October 15, 2005: e% j) ^3 z) ^0 Y% P5 h
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 _2 h, [3 y& \, M$ T
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING R4 N A6 _8 n4 p) A4 ^# L
' s# j9 d% {2 @. X% Y5 UCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the- `; {1 m) n9 f) R2 ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary% d2 z! u D$ Z- P: }7 Q; G
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas6 ?9 c8 `: q9 e3 S7 X
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese$ c& S3 z4 s* G; S$ T2 v: s
flag hang from the wall.0 t/ x) l* `" Q U' ~7 a
5 @0 x- d5 C1 a8 kOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* h6 ]/ y" u2 U5 nanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
, \( I3 b7 b0 Q# F' npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker a7 c) [# k. J6 ~( b: ~
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students9 N: g7 m) s0 s* I
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- F* t, A; y0 Q6 X- R) d
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city- | }1 B& v0 o$ h; w T9 S2 y
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" | K3 m0 G9 ?* ], X
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
5 U8 v- K. \# `schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) e. m. X6 ~2 Q, K6 y
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention# F4 g# _: F9 i: D& M
one of its most difficult to learn.& t. i+ p I7 `$ R
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* Z! y6 A4 D2 F! C1 ?1 Qpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
# G* W7 r1 D% U9 ustudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( \- Z. g/ L& M9 L* |7 p1 |
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
8 D9 J# {5 i: b, o- {# V& XTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# {" Z9 U4 n: H# q9 o6 @
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
7 K+ d& m T, |4 F( f, p9 P+ cimprove 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
- Y5 @ v! t x0 d; {) bChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 F. W: A; D# j; U1 v) \3 ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
) I& {/ ^% T5 h) n7 b3 U& }( pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 @6 W: o$ ^ L! [* N) {1 Y1 }
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) m% d1 {$ T' u- R$ x. l6 q& I! m9 {
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.1 R8 L% h, O( }3 c6 T& b
* `* C/ u) M8 X"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- A: O6 I; Q! l( p0 B6 Y \
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
; e) C& _, _' x- ^3 zConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
! o; H1 l7 p. N7 Qcan." 7 q1 J0 h+ P2 }9 n% {$ X
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: g3 p. d, i7 P# p! Velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
A8 f% s' `0 E2 hyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
# ~: \- a1 Z' ]1 v7 Y. u% ]Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 {# n! C7 l* A: Earen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
) c- z" h. T% UMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ c7 p( i, L4 X: E4 [longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' X' B% {' l$ z6 R9 J6 x
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( _6 E3 q/ w. r L+ I1 q5 O1 T3 f( @challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ R+ Z; c# w1 u5 a! M) s
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 U# n' j4 F; I0 r9 [secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in2 w( m& F$ E5 }" h7 _- A# F% X. `# m. i
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 x' a# W: B; }4 ~Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or3 C r O, E: \8 C& _9 Y
on weekends.$ P+ @6 F& ^( A! g' b+ u- Q; U4 J3 E
+ H5 z( U# B9 ^! ]) R1 p) TThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
( ?5 _- R, @, e# t4 Sschools during the regular school day and primarily serves' o4 H. P- d0 s% i$ N5 m; s: S
students who are not of Chinese descent.3 b5 |: q) }2 Q r2 ^" y
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
' f5 \1 U$ ]% ~( G# R8 S; Z, a& W$ xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
( T+ G% {1 r7 ?5 a) i; x6 e! `competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ B3 A) m1 m7 K; t$ Q5 U1 y: r2 P
said. "There will be Chinese and English."7 x9 x, o( o8 a$ _
- K7 e+ ]$ V d3 T ^6 b7 W" eFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
+ p# W: u0 N0 uall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse" U3 V6 G6 D: S
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% t& {+ }! r3 s0 X# }- R
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 M. Z; a- T; _ C7 r3 e; J
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to" c- Q- } ^* }/ C5 {& `2 u& b
the school system last year.2 F' E. `0 v9 V- h6 w/ z' ~
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this8 m, ^" t' e, n0 P- C g, e
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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! {: X+ y' ?3 g. ]. f"They have a great international experience right in their own& q1 s4 ~/ m+ D0 d, n2 S1 f0 P3 L ` z0 L
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 A [/ A* B% r) k+ o# QChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 X7 Z- T6 ?% ^& V
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ h' G8 F/ e$ G; z1 i, n' L" i4 yon an equal playing field."
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$ w: z% R7 \0 c: q( FSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 z# Q4 p- W) [/ ]' n7 O4 cclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 f0 |# ]# d" n5 U5 O- m- |4 J& k
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
# U8 t8 T9 M. X8 `, O; [: ^Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An5 E% F' W- e/ Y4 |. x! `9 ]
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
7 h4 _" F3 I2 g& J9 z a4 ?Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 L/ h+ I3 g4 X/ _institute says.1 N) V' j- C" B8 |- D* ^7 W e
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth0 d( W+ S$ }( H: f' P; S8 V
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) H+ Q+ G% K% G; u
deciding whether to take the class.
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+ F, M1 m5 ^ ]1 e) M# q"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she2 E8 s2 Y9 W: q [
told her daughter./ H. y4 i! |8 f1 L+ { ~ i; `
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite Z4 |5 f5 F& |: f) B8 \
class.
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t) p5 K2 u" V: G( \( r8 O0 jAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
, s+ p- S3 C5 D3 Y& C" Wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
, Z2 r% M* H. Y0 boccasional frustration.4 D; u8 }1 k% o) {. s
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ N- A+ m# {3 R" r2 G' O( }; A
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 A) R+ r8 x' p/ c2 v
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
# ]! B. ]; \4 f) j. z: A7 u" Btaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
: e- A4 l1 K) QChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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4 W: S* P: D: `, j"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ Z& L3 {7 @ P7 j3 f: ^& O( j
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn1 k s7 @$ X# h/ v
as many languages as I can."
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! H# }* \4 q! yAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the5 M& m1 c# m) \% \7 K
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
" w: c' R) Q$ v3 F4 ~& z. \1 Jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 E h2 K" j& A! vthat," Ms. Freire said. Q$ Y/ L; h: N" m. l) i" f
: }- I0 h, z0 q5 x# UMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program j) O* T, Q' g6 r7 B% y5 r
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 T1 W4 a3 u% J. b2 \& P5 W) ~
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 `) \2 e. l0 v) Ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make; t3 R* D( {$ a( l6 q1 H# H
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! i5 X' B: x2 i# G
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
* d3 ]3 T6 b4 }* mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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( w5 I$ n3 V/ E$ B5 }! e4 o"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified. y$ A/ m# Y0 `& o4 _. ~+ q# Q
because of that missing certification," he said.; x4 m6 }# ?" }
$ z2 d' z7 N! C. N6 l, ^( d2 i2 G5 QThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, g" B8 E% d% v ~7 x+ Z& Rsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' _+ x0 d# ? c2 P( D
Society in New York.! L7 j, C: ^3 G& }3 f& Z
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
. S$ l1 Z6 m7 z& f- n3 s ~8 UChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
0 Z) `; y5 m' l9 Ethe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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0 Q( z1 s) \' D& A5 W"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- n6 U7 w, d2 [" r4 O- R
own."" e8 x. ]3 N: X1 [, ~
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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