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October 15, 20057 @% b, P+ |$ ^
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' L9 C/ a: Q8 m9 @5 ]7 u+ O
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING" E; e1 S% i7 B) J( z N; w
: F/ B2 x9 P1 _3 z; z6 GCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the! U4 l8 c) u" c r8 C0 X) A
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) o9 M# f; [ q/ T5 m6 @) cSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ \5 L( N1 V& ldangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 s1 K1 t2 ]" m2 Rflag hang from the wall.
+ Q9 u- v7 J0 ~0 |) ]
+ {9 v. @$ w- D" jOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
4 i/ q( a- ]: C( w( _( Janother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 `- M6 I' u3 H3 d0 `* f) Q: C
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 e4 U' L! A8 \7 ^ }, v- Cboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
' m# |* m! h1 k! @are already choosing it over Spanish.6 ?. I" A( m; H7 A: @
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* ~. u' }' P& u& a& mat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city* @- T: J" Z' v, V: ?) t0 o5 W# O4 S: O
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". @/ s9 S6 e! Z: [: [
9 _' X9 i$ T4 w/ s4 m- eWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 ~% J$ D3 Y/ U- y
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. f( o6 y8 S9 |9 x! T4 {6 qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention& G3 y0 [1 R. m8 o( w
one of its most difficult to learn.* Z, N0 x+ P0 ^- D; ]
1 u. ]+ A( ?7 c# \1 A! P/ [Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ k# X$ ]6 i0 o# C
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& R+ T" d+ }: _2 Z _studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
/ V! \* H2 _2 i& ELieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ i! b" }4 A& U# n
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on' Y" k+ i" v, B# @9 ?2 {) h
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) I B! `# v" e6 b4 S6 ^improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.! @* g2 j9 w3 M
! A5 F' i7 R$ f# q( J/ aAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement- Q7 M+ Q0 \3 {$ m$ x/ s9 z1 a2 `
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 @& n A: C* \starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
1 [9 v" x# x9 Z9 x. N2 l# U; F4 |develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
, H2 c0 i/ n8 U. N7 B% L- r2 t& i+ Zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 R0 c7 E+ z+ p4 [6 b4 U$ W
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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5 G2 M6 a4 ]: e. I"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of$ y8 d" [$ w! q `2 D
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" Y; Y- y. W4 ?/ D6 T9 [Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we P7 b M6 \& U6 f
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
; m1 m, n. ~% J Delementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
5 x, }5 F& F8 Xyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
# D9 k4 ~' B/ j* H' g& }Institute in Washington.8 a! F0 t$ b. a2 b
8 X. ~; ~3 e4 p* N8 ["Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
. H+ x8 m! c/ ]. ?" p- W% ^aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ A$ v' C9 u9 l* c& VMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 S9 v* ]! g5 q" Olongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be6 W" ~# y6 Z8 q. h
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a% ?2 O4 t7 O5 Q$ R/ i# M1 R
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."% E7 F) c5 r+ H& L
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ c- W6 k% x+ h: u6 P. d. ^9 A
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 R9 E/ u& M% C/ Kcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' t9 A8 l- q9 |( N( j0 SChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 g/ W' J d0 C+ \2 s
on weekends.
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?9 ? x% a) b' Z+ z. NThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& y& F* y: ]1 X( Q- q6 J" F/ h& gschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
6 E/ l& H* j- t# y/ C% ]: F9 \students who are not of Chinese descent.! D9 U* |3 {+ X0 z$ T j# r
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said3 B/ o1 e7 f+ D7 N2 P* q' q
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# d' e! U, h' ?8 }: {5 n' X0 B
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley7 d( m+ m1 O) o2 O
said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ I6 B) O9 `9 w+ f3 X
6 V- f' u2 A, J8 p' AFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. M) O) @! ], S8 Gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse$ l/ C) q( x& y0 ]# g
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
8 ~2 a3 h4 Z; s& a% c# Gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: J2 u8 P; W. Y4 Y- I& }8 Y
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 @. \5 }& g; z& l; m0 _! ithe school system last year.5 t, Y6 _( r4 s# m
) { j0 |$ o) d; M8 R
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' [/ W9 M% M3 [0 E) [) `! a
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.0 D% c& B6 j! b" S" \- W0 ~ Z
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"They have a great international experience right in their own# ^9 _7 n# _% }* W
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# J+ S0 g, w; ^4 o" vChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
" d9 q7 _8 b |" Q# bhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
& u6 X" {5 g7 c% u; J: h6 U. ion an equal playing field."" L8 F9 Y1 f% o n% B3 \/ z% |: E( I
. P3 [( o7 q* X& ~+ ]# P9 nSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 g& d$ U8 J1 I5 ]classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign8 e4 t/ m( ?' b7 s/ Q3 h- ^
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 \/ K# r9 S. ^' X+ A1 d
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 u. v, }2 j, ^0 o2 h' f% |average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# z% _1 n. Z6 m! t
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! C- [+ R- @. ainstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth6 c# x* F" Y/ F- q3 a5 F- V0 ~6 E0 a1 w6 Y
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
, j) n2 m, k& \* V0 ]8 S* W# l, j' Wdeciding whether to take the class.
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7 \7 Y. Q$ C; x( Y) a6 Y1 [2 I"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she' D" f9 D$ n$ s4 S' U. u/ H/ {
told her daughter.
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) A9 l9 b& o1 t+ c6 ^Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 T' X$ p4 W8 ]class.
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9 Y9 ~3 F! c' L4 |" I% JAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' x; G2 i& f/ L- E! N
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
) ?2 i A$ Z' X. goccasional frustration.% V9 L5 C; Y" A
. A0 _7 L" P8 o; `) @. z4 \"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a8 g C5 e4 i* a- ` v
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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; a g) A3 I, _& E3 ?4 pRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he. [1 R- n/ E# H- f0 c7 z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ v; u8 Q$ ]8 B9 aChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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/ K% {( x; U( _; Z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul, ?; r2 q7 q) l6 J5 l. w- y$ [2 d
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- G+ q9 ]& j8 z" J: j
as many languages as I can."5 j, V2 g* \$ I" K& r
* w) V z9 u2 d: l, w/ ]4 ^Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the5 f9 B9 B% A( a- O' g4 h: c
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; a; V' C% y- U' t; v, g3 _
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
1 b9 ^2 ^2 A- D- `' ^that," Ms. Freire said.
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* \" T& p) W6 [, L( r9 \" s& cMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program9 \0 I: |& i `+ y; {. S
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
2 r ~: d0 |) i: mschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
. i, y1 W0 A% R6 Ctime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
( ]* j% J* J `+ A& b9 Y proom./ w/ y3 r4 A8 F9 T6 \
( P: y$ F: j2 `4 kChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer y* r$ R! |! i, e" y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American: k6 k. J; v4 n- Q' K6 b9 I
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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- G+ Z( N% @# @0 J* X8 a" x"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified0 `! s( d9 `; q9 L) N& G
because of that missing certification," he said.9 ?% ^2 t- z6 W" c
1 m6 c/ D: A( j* YThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
% d6 h, |- B2 O) n0 Jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
' j% ]+ i# q) b& U+ ]1 USociety in New York.
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1 \/ L/ L" U9 d8 J$ n: SSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% C8 Z& K7 Q) `' n6 [
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from z0 K( ?- k- A$ b1 g$ u4 B
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said./ e$ e. ^6 }5 j( v7 u
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: ?3 p% {( g+ ^! I0 u0 s% K
own."
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" x# F. p* [+ _Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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