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October 15, 20051 d+ D% G v g8 r
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING4 ?$ g! v% j7 k W! V8 \
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the) x. a7 ?% [6 G6 }& J0 C T
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
+ D" f5 u9 {' M4 ?School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas* u2 {0 O0 x* V8 }2 V, P: y' J- D
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
. N o' G5 {* H! H+ U+ u1 o$ S' B' wflag hang from the wall.
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4 O$ Z( D" Z3 O$ b! yOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
" j# F7 F2 [; Y. kanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! k# k4 `/ |+ ]* C* u: M0 S' Mpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! e, J; `+ Q5 h8 Z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
X- ]1 @% k9 gare already choosing it over Spanish.
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2 p3 l) H: t1 |; W t% X"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal' s9 Z2 t6 C9 N% b5 b. \
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
* A! C6 }4 W" H& J7 m% z! Y& m* Eoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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% ?! f- h% A; F# E6 S& _With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
6 j, e8 C& L' Q) ~( O Eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
% Y& Z/ i8 l* p9 P; | b: G s& i& kto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 I T) y, `! Y; I7 @ K6 k
one of its most difficult to learn., d9 t" ]! h. Q0 M% `& ]% X# X% b
8 _7 T7 F# t* q; t5 F- mLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to' q( @% Q$ T- K7 A" h
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
' w0 v! z1 N! _8 |6 }7 Ustudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.& X( ?8 P+ B" a e3 b+ \/ V9 _
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 j2 L) N; E, ~) ?$ a) a3 vTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ `5 |' w4 e q# `* y% M
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% b# B! E, j E5 p, cimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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/ ?/ R0 x) E# k3 ]0 A% i, RAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- z6 T4 S3 i9 j( m! X+ sChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 x& r3 J- Q/ q# lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to& k, D1 O2 Q0 K; s2 e# U
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% S; R6 J# T6 O5 G. x6 lcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
) ?! A3 W3 H; }3 N! X, D6 n4 uof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) l: S5 I# g; R
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 t9 G7 e% ]1 u. ]9 D) X
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ k6 N0 [9 V: ZConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 A. a$ ?: E( v7 ~$ ~
can."
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: K# R1 _. S0 [" h/ NThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, J5 E6 K; g" m) M' relementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 106 \* Z1 u# \. |1 a/ p' K3 w0 \
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
2 f1 `. s7 J. f. p6 v8 ^! G) Q* @+ n- MInstitute in Washington. ?8 c* k+ s/ w' M) r$ }
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages( W7 s* o- s# {5 E
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.% z; P' |' z% |6 I' o; d$ V
McGinnis said.6 C! p0 \$ t. _
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical- s! A& d6 P8 z6 W/ ?6 ?+ s
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be7 A& z* |( [3 j, M, y) A. j1 t) H
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a G3 o2 A3 U* s# {+ K& \
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."9 s% Q7 e' W* M
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 ]& S1 T# _7 G9 y+ i& ~secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
" L. B7 m) |2 a8 n! Lcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of$ [( n- [% j) P2 o1 s X
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 T" s) j, [4 u1 A
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& S Q( s7 B( N/ l9 \1 I G
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves" V$ T' K( q# Q9 K8 m* J4 I+ q
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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$ w+ b! f3 d, O6 y h/ XMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 K. W0 n2 p: q6 [5 c& M. t9 H0 a$ H0 ~proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
7 v& c! n% y( ^) |: j3 zcompetition. # ^% M2 ]3 ~ x" P0 L% L
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 C! N3 K4 g3 S% P# fsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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3 ~" f, t* k& mFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
- L L: g" _6 n3 _: y5 E, L7 ~all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
, R/ a" y# @# f( {/ ]6 ~schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
0 K/ t0 R a7 tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students! L. _9 h" K* R& r$ j" [0 G
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
* U- [% R7 x! o+ N* K% g, h6 w( Mthe school system last year.$ w' C$ k, V( H4 V9 z, g
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this9 ~. g4 c6 ?# H1 s5 W4 Z
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
& b0 V- v) |( O7 h2 Fclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 M9 |, T$ b; w. R9 F8 r( zChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
9 S5 _( k1 `1 \1 _5 U& q9 N4 mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
6 ]# \0 M$ u7 x" ?3 O* u& |on an equal playing field." D/ b) V& T; m: D( u
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese1 j3 L' I& w2 Q7 Q7 l7 t. q
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign! M: j: _: P. C0 q, w- H; O
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 T0 O6 H v# ]& R
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# p4 K: z4 f' E* a- I, [
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 S% l/ e5 J3 {5 dChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
8 W/ C$ v2 C o( _9 O; Z, l) Oinstitute says.5 t3 o6 A" Y% Z6 G1 y* }) ]; R
" e/ ^* l( h# tSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! Y5 ^5 `4 v. |grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
$ C3 N4 v0 b9 d" Ldeciding whether to take the class. G7 X& Y" M7 g
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( v9 r6 ?" w3 b: M2 |; e* V( O! E9 d
told her daughter.+ n/ R) [8 a8 Y# t% [
0 Q9 a% ^/ S) p$ e1 y3 ^3 Z) M) {: sSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite4 x% L, B9 U' _' p' ]( Y2 O
class.% m* A! V$ E1 H, u# k# r
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( G: }6 u3 h7 w! O. O6 mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without) I6 ?; o1 Q3 n1 s+ r9 C
occasional frustration.+ m! M+ ~- @- h
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a m+ q5 T- z6 l; ]6 t' j) ~
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.! r& Z, Q; f: t ^( _
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
/ h" {) Q" `8 g, ]. Xtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 @- C( T* N0 {9 Z5 tChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works., t" A2 F* d5 X Z
7 b& V1 y: ?2 w) `0 ^& X2 \"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 p9 P+ N" R/ m
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
9 v9 O7 D* ~" b d1 w& Fas many languages as I can.", k: o; j8 }- Y) l: {: }
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
9 @: M1 k1 n) j3 ]8 A# c9 c. Sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
" k4 Y# H% A- @0 s( ]9 D. y3 Jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
1 B5 ^* o, z$ \2 |) N! W/ kthat," Ms. Freire said.& r1 @ n6 Y w7 U. R! Q- f
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program# x, z* Q/ c) L; i
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 t9 a+ c: ?5 x" L* [' Eschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking) n) H; D% x$ U4 V4 p
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
" Y5 n1 j6 d! z8 E2 Vroom.) x, p- F( @5 {/ ` Z
4 P5 U1 M' N' x( l, _. WChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer: |, ]( ?6 \: `2 f/ `& ]
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American9 J& U" o% M0 Q1 ?- p
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified3 g8 l3 ]2 P8 i$ i+ ^/ [9 T
because of that missing certification," he said.6 v( P' q( [$ S0 p, u, [8 }
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
5 }6 \& ^5 o8 @8 v) }( ~; lsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- } S$ h3 g2 M6 bSociety in New York.% |6 g2 R5 p+ E" x0 h2 b2 w6 q/ f \
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
! @& D+ T# {+ ]* t) c7 T0 F/ ^Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from+ j" }; D/ x5 j7 j. s# V
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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4 h P5 S V+ S8 _6 v& v"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our7 f! @1 J. ~' E, d) f8 I0 S1 v
own."* P, x& L3 C0 C! { T! A0 {
7 L$ Q- V7 l8 \% DCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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