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October 15, 2005: o2 J: N2 F% F, E2 i
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity* }% B' n8 S$ f# }+ d4 r
/ y* S6 V, S5 ^! w4 TBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING8 j6 H3 [. A" N5 G% @, H
2 W0 i8 _6 C# D/ M8 ^CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- Z$ _* S# f- j: o4 p1 QUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
% r% ?( Z5 f3 L/ z$ DSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 a# a. @8 x6 j1 q. g' p! O# Ldangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
- }7 G6 E# ^- \2 H# ^( }# K( Q. l" ^flag hang from the wall.
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8 I; V b W& l h+ J" S3 Q- TOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
# h, B( y8 P- m/ u9 P0 Tanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
# K0 P' L/ y1 L4 I6 P5 o2 U4 ^practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker( _3 J- G$ H5 P+ Q- l
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
: E: K) x- [$ y; ]are already choosing it over Spanish.. J8 i2 L1 R; a" `( @
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. [. \# A8 V/ N" E: k, ?
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
; w; ~; x* \2 P9 {: ]) Toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,9 |9 }/ Q0 ~# c( E2 A' V9 D! J
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings! {/ \6 Y7 z! m' F6 ], d3 e) `
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 m( f& G+ l; _, E, ~0 }
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* Y' @; k( L% Spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
/ Y/ e9 W: C6 d% w# G8 \studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
6 `4 @ Z2 }: uLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
e# J: A: P2 |, ]1 Z$ ~/ a6 ]Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; v- H: j) I# Q( m, MChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% A7 t5 K% N" z' B' D, S: I4 timprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.. y8 H, X5 j* h, R1 x9 {# U
( K2 o5 H: p/ g% ?9 JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; u9 c" N+ |; Y, h* j
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. u3 d( b% R8 [" y5 {starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, `& ^3 n: i$ q5 n" q% \0 pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 r* A( f3 I9 W# @$ o- C
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& l3 \4 K* g4 rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 u3 P/ t- m( B, j* }
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
# @$ T8 z3 i6 q& M" N dConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we6 r+ s4 O5 c1 H/ d7 d! s7 D
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
- P- {" v$ B) K+ K! selementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 y5 X) i5 ^/ p; H9 [+ B1 U9 Lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 x6 S6 i" ~ M" B1 l1 BInstitute in Washington.
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! v8 t1 x N+ I; a" ]" k' Q' Q"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 }' O* C8 x6 a( j* W1 E- Q7 Iaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! |1 F, i8 L* m; A, EMcGinnis said.3 F7 t! T* a8 b6 v0 \; _) Y+ Z
3 @( a9 J2 l2 R, r"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical: B' b2 Q6 Y3 |0 s
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# F$ a6 J0 L& Z# Z1 w* x
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
6 y1 z+ N9 v" k1 {. X+ A( achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 N) h+ [* z3 i4 A8 ?" d! _
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in, D! x1 V5 ] e( O" A
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
4 c F9 |4 D# ?7 p# ]8 WChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 _# G) Y1 T8 b: @! [' o- ?$ uon weekends.3 ^/ [% e% o w, M
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public/ p5 I* m' J6 j0 V% O3 m. L% \
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves- M' G, _: s' y8 |; Q6 N; {: j
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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! ?; x5 x: _7 LMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said' }, r. M( D4 d+ X/ Y
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the0 w5 l' f8 g1 S& Y# T% f: y0 {
competition. # q, J1 j8 N* }
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' } x4 ^: l$ O' h# S Q+ S- k, Y: Psaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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$ |) u, H' ~4 sFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly: ]. i# Q! ]% j7 j
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
( Q/ K- _" a- H# Kschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from8 y* A& a( V! E* v. R# f2 v5 ]9 h
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
; A6 P9 O" H& |% B* A1 |" j% R$ j8 cwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
$ |3 ]& L7 d, B& S3 F4 H( I* p+ ythe school system last year.
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& i9 d1 O+ n3 ~3 X7 H4 U! I& G# ZThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
$ A6 U7 V2 w& }. P3 }# ~) gyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.5 r, O0 q d7 Q* E a. T
4 b" L, F7 |3 Q$ [4 p1 |: ~"They have a great international experience right in their own ]) D. N8 o3 u. V' E2 I# w) s
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago& ~" s5 Y4 j/ p- R5 I8 O
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
- O4 s+ P/ M! E n; l: K- S( w9 zhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
- h1 Z/ z$ H. n' _on an equal playing field."
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0 A$ g1 @* |) X, C5 pSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% d% S5 }6 C8 x8 h0 ~4 ~" xclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
5 L! g7 x- L3 cService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* l" u4 n: x% h$ r. C
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An! U+ [: R0 z0 e9 L3 k6 ]9 g5 S
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
. U7 U0 C! M) m6 w: mChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. a; y z+ a4 r% ninstitute says.# r: R( }* ^4 k! F
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth. J! @+ p, a) l& C
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 F" u1 \$ I! a+ kdeciding whether to take the class.
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7 y5 ]/ x; r, Z7 {"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she' n6 M! T( ]( }: ~
told her daughter.+ m$ p# |2 E7 h, E, W* N3 s' y+ Z- x
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite* r0 m$ Z5 N2 h
class.
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5 C" s' l* ` F7 CAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 P! w; R3 | C( t7 astudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 Y& k. ]2 h# w7 z1 R2 ` z) H Z
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a- E0 t! b) `; |( V" B0 B1 D
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.. g% S0 J% F7 s w/ R
! U+ g2 M$ G, |$ \Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 V' T B- ?5 l) v
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
# G' o( D: k6 V- P3 E0 F$ WChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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5 ?- }: J; `3 M! X. n( U/ y"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
/ n7 ~% g9 W w( |said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 X7 ~" w: W# u; J5 A9 Was many languages as I can."5 c [$ E8 S1 k, H% ]+ c
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the, W( A' n6 P+ C( Y
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 L B R7 N6 B5 vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like$ P$ U( x- ~- D6 E" b
that," Ms. Freire said.1 p: b; n' f! K( V) J1 c
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( m" i' o4 @7 p' q5 L8 m; P
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 o8 X9 i6 f$ y& i
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking$ x z' A- l6 p
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
5 F O: G2 h6 T* N5 [% n8 `) aroom.
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( u: E0 r0 q4 Y3 _" `+ a8 AChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer' a- e/ r6 N1 B' \: S/ T# F
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
5 r3 _* E5 e1 K" |college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said." U+ s, k/ }7 `8 Y
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
& c4 _0 w( |3 P. l( F+ Ybecause of that missing certification," he said.
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) o1 n4 P" h6 V; `The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,1 m S5 U) f6 |* w/ Y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) P5 H: t4 Y; g9 R @& iSociety in New York.6 `6 f8 w2 T" m5 }1 [
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% ^; x+ e: O. _; F
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
% P$ H' N2 ~$ ]5 G! R, w1 U' dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ k( t% E$ ]# |* Z! f0 e
+ ]0 H1 a2 o+ S+ c"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 q8 N$ d1 A$ y5 a
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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