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October 15, 2005
' \$ z5 M$ ~. U! @9 VClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 j1 F+ z1 a9 T2 X% C/ U9 I3 ]4 S
0 q3 W6 V- E2 `/ a) gCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the" A1 e& |: [' \$ k
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 @2 \" I. B& s$ t" V4 c5 {
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 ~/ H, U `6 r! r9 [dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 ^) h$ X5 v& [4 [# D
flag hang from the wall.
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+ Z3 P9 t) b( o3 l8 R6 Z* j% G3 lOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 [5 e2 N+ C$ G) N3 ~( h; J
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 d; n5 }5 n7 @7 h- b
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
/ P6 G( B+ Z& b' b2 Mboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students5 [5 D' }8 X- T, v: t+ m4 U: H/ ^
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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; u% S7 y& m; V% e. K0 Q- r"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. Z, r2 s' t# B8 H1 q
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city# O0 b( M$ I' a+ [% ~
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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+ q4 f: ~$ {% N. {With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
/ v3 @" F8 ]! ^7 \. ?# ~schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; }* v) e+ f ?& e0 H2 A& e
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention {$ g, b- E$ `$ L$ q# n: g0 g
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& \% g% M0 `4 l5 D, ^public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students7 [: b5 M: I+ j: R4 F& h E8 @
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) U4 h, F, f$ @6 Z# U
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of: I* E# I( b; c, o: r& V' H
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: k9 i M/ Z# W8 F. qChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to3 n0 w# o' J# I. y& i. a. z
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 B; f4 q, R6 M; M0 M; v6 \, M- u" ~
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 U' P! v, F6 Q( P. D- Hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to. @" j" ]7 _- V9 O7 ~9 e& F' I* x; F
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
/ N6 r0 S2 H q/ ~1 Zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 O9 c! B0 k: S3 ?of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. {2 D& |# z4 D; k& _
* Q" x7 R6 u' h `- r- L"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# S c! d1 ?* z; ?
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education+ J D+ v1 l' D; l4 t7 t
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
# D2 b! A" O) T7 O# E; N7 Ocan."
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9 h7 T. T" }8 k8 @1 q2 r% qThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from; L, p* E9 r% C! t
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10: q8 O( _/ E9 w
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 V- ?' V; [) u, E* h: CInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages! k, l, y* ?5 Z0 J* W7 B* x
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 h; W. W5 x: W) K6 @. K
McGinnis said.
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& k9 L1 X4 ]* ^5 g- c% N1 ]) T* M( t"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; ]) W' }% R9 q8 zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ K1 s1 g$ Q' H# ]0 B
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( X9 o k4 M5 l0 E7 \- Tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 _. Y, }0 T. [7 o$ V4 ]
q- Y8 P2 H& S: SUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and$ S: N' ]! |3 b. Y5 _* {6 @
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in% ~5 n. O3 Y% Y
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
: }% ?! p, c, RChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! V: s5 I! }$ ^5 W4 z* `/ y: E+ ?
on weekends.
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4 [5 C$ t( r; F4 C! W( IThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public+ T+ c- x0 K. _8 f0 n
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves1 T. y8 Y; C' U* N+ \* v% E: A
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 \6 W6 W7 T7 }' q4 B! @
~* k: C! Y. y$ N5 c; ?; ?Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
2 X; ]; d8 p' K( k% iproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ a8 M6 L6 P/ F+ l+ }+ _competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley y% `; Y u7 t0 R0 O! C' b
said. "There will be Chinese and English."4 u' I! S; y) l- {, w- n. P
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
; T( B: M; D% U5 S' M! Kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
{- u w$ ?" L2 Oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
( Q, |' r! I5 ~+ c# \kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 T D" C/ ]2 _* W' R
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to2 g/ D: _2 F8 @2 @9 R+ x# M
the school system last year.
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9 U, [7 T' h5 x3 O" w0 xThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- K; j8 |. c/ U- Y# ~+ E' ]* O
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." k1 m/ p: z: n! d
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"They have a great international experience right in their own9 K7 `$ V8 \8 u# T( N
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago8 D; E7 X" o# L& u: c o: n4 q
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) k/ \! g2 }; g8 }* h( r
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
3 R% q `1 @" d5 X- J& D1 ?* Qon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' }5 s( C" S% T/ \
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
8 R9 q+ Y$ J5 L. AService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks( D, \6 Z$ i, _% A* ~; e# a) B# F! f
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' q4 s3 v. o( R2 K, P2 Haverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 z1 i1 m8 y% @
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
' e) H1 r5 D s4 \& O }institute says., Z5 s. \5 m) R8 u W% [# Y
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 O& l6 q0 ^2 Y! I2 ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before0 W2 I0 q; X" u1 X$ Q
deciding whether to take the class.) |' K0 {$ ]3 Y* `
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 }! E2 z, p5 [: E! H& n
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 {4 _5 `7 S9 ~6 Y3 Wclass.; p. }: R5 V% m
$ M( t4 f0 V% G. a* y3 {: SAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
1 Z. d0 v0 g9 g$ i n g5 }/ xstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ T7 [! r5 e. h, X- ^
occasional frustration." W/ K4 y: w6 g; F# h& `
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
7 w" c* B6 ~& } p% v4 P6 V7 hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he/ m( k j3 W# z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& ~) x' I% ^! ?/ b" sChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.* M! ~# |' b- R, j* C: e$ B
( V5 B3 g7 w% J. [; {9 F( j9 r L"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul }8 S$ [ I1 I1 R- M; s5 @7 m9 V
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" P! c' V7 P6 a( t ^5 z& v
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
& ?2 S2 d+ C5 K+ R* |8 B5 ^skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 Q+ i: i$ C, X8 v, v7 v: H Gmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like" K+ C6 t; j' F, X6 e& @
that," Ms. Freire said.
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: @0 [2 M! M6 f$ X; HMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) O" v; z. P; {! v, }here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 d/ k! N" E1 _. q% b1 X) A" i$ K
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking, r6 N: _0 K' c* ?# C
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
# n& e, l+ S! Nroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
. a& R0 Z+ y, f1 ]Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
$ E3 g+ B- f+ U: }college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( j. O: @: H/ s5 B" r2 C" n; C$ u
' x1 [: M" h: G& k" u; j, z; M4 i"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified' B1 k+ x) r1 y' ]* ~1 L2 x
because of that missing certification," he said.6 i9 i" y+ T& I. ~
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, ^3 `3 C H: ]% K- C1 `
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) D, L, \/ n) fSociety in New York.
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; N- ]/ J# |) g& ]2 _" _& wSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the1 B. P9 r) @% I* Q( d* \( V8 Z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
: g0 P$ o6 d; A; b. j% c5 Bthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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/ d2 n; D9 @6 F. r$ v"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our9 x; N0 \: L2 R
own."- f9 C! L0 x( y0 O3 H
9 t Q9 Q; \0 J, ]* \Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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