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October 15, 2005! c! N* | c1 U, t) m1 i
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 a2 [! E6 I- `! u8 _
3 a$ [! ]. G. ~, uCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 N3 t: u9 p6 d1 L7 \United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary2 H/ |" E* W* F3 y
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 q H* J% E _! @' Wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& [& m. Q( u- N# z6 i
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 _& w, n3 V3 I8 [
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 n8 T5 Z8 o) H g# H9 n1 J" N f
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
3 V2 Y) c5 w8 K ?boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
f/ C5 \! J5 B8 nare already choosing it over Spanish.
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( w# g+ ~# R/ O9 v( n& j+ |"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal; C3 y$ N% l5 J$ d) g. [( t
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
6 z( }" ^! M/ A: Xoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* k+ p- O& i. A* B' L
6 t- ~: N" `0 a4 d L+ fWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 v+ G( ?) v/ D' b1 O
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( ~ `& ]9 z g
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 s8 f! v- K; u! F# C \$ xone of its most difficult to learn.
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8 K$ m6 v6 N( h- k5 a: g D1 A+ T+ NLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) O* }" a5 u7 m$ c: ^/ L2 l# dpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- `. S: v! I, P9 F+ h2 Y! k: q, c! |studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( r0 h% ^- m4 o& h( k5 v; Y8 O& s4 s/ K
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of! t9 T6 q# W" z8 t
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 b) h0 L1 E' M2 G b* R3 H& iChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
5 H: J; x. p0 Nimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( c( z& h2 ]" ^/ T( R" A
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
8 p, {% h+ K ^1 VChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 Z6 [) E% j5 h% M* o- z0 d5 w$ _& Lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
s. B+ z5 N6 `" ^4 Rdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 L- w2 s- k3 e9 ] p" O% t
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. l3 G$ c, Z. |7 `$ ~+ d7 B$ Pof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
/ s- @* K+ g7 R) b; Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education. X$ n& X5 D" y8 f6 t
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from; A' i; b. D8 a4 j0 {: F' q: d( @
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
" S) W9 F+ |/ V6 B4 ?years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) S3 ~$ h \0 O4 H! b. f3 R8 a
Institute in Washington.
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% n) v7 g! T& f% S) I* @"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
C. _1 Z1 }4 i @; G% Xaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
1 w4 l- I1 e, X2 J. oMcGinnis said.
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a9 Q. E3 |- { ~7 P; ["Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! C6 ]0 K, t( e. m) vlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% N1 r1 O5 W$ t6 S; B4 jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
+ \; r- w: L! O$ S, ~. xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
9 ]% o+ G* C+ `& R* f+ r! fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( u: F: k; l( \
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of1 S. G; Q4 W, G$ A
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or, e# Y0 L# |! T
on weekends.8 X( Z' ^- y$ q. c' p5 y
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& T" S$ r" f# O: E2 T$ T" Y
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) Q& h2 f `4 V2 n: _/ }. w0 x" rstudents who are not of Chinese descent.1 a) V+ J' c) {% m6 w3 ?
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said' |; }+ p/ x+ \9 [* Q) S6 `9 x
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
7 B( c) P n8 q$ ~8 Zcompetition. # d! |3 k3 o, g3 _1 R) B
0 D$ W- |9 J& j% ?# ~6 _"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
9 U8 {$ ~( {1 e! r0 M, `8 Y) Qsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
: Y6 c3 u; l3 I( U1 ~) eall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 R+ E* @$ O& e3 m+ `schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" `2 a# T/ ^' }3 akindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students+ r( z2 q% g# m9 y) r) a+ d
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- u' _) ^& K7 ? y0 e0 X3 |
the school system last year.
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7 ]$ ]# P0 w! B3 T) c5 m" V( tThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. Q1 n% _* h, t7 J, I% tyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 P* I r) J% u3 h! C4 C9 `7 _
3 z# T" t- E" a7 k) M0 v"They have a great international experience right in their own
% s5 L3 V5 ?- fclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
+ P# {# f$ c& m5 N7 U3 v6 {Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to Q/ |+ \+ C0 D" ^
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
. H( W8 _$ t! B. ^- r" d4 |on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese$ a; ]8 C2 G, V9 @: M6 E
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ O9 f9 E. y( h1 s9 K& ~
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 s! t( ?, K7 s5 n; u3 C( b# A/ H
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" U& y9 O% P2 }. T" w
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" ^5 L ]$ x% a
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- ?2 B3 \, s! G! K: o
institute says.
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! i/ G$ W; c' w' D3 S$ k9 XSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: _) R% k. C9 U2 x5 @6 s! }
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before6 |8 N- v' M& V6 \3 \
deciding whether to take the class.
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# U, W0 V+ C( J0 u% A. s4 ^"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ b6 o m1 S. N
told her daughter.& B& P8 F5 T, ` }4 |% t8 U
8 Y* O( ?, ? Z: S, J; w5 ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# U# k1 j4 {& N9 J& Q
class.& s' j/ v2 ]; ]0 Z K( o
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are- y/ @6 e/ D* ?3 _+ q u1 o0 F
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 T F* H% x8 J2 ioccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a6 M0 B2 R* H2 E! L! e3 ^) S
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.7 [) |4 R6 Q1 |( {+ w
5 T5 c, K4 [! L: P& ~' Y4 HRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
% {, w+ Q+ Q. v7 etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with6 j' {; I8 }/ v, D0 g8 z
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- Z. l& g4 a1 @) O! E+ _" L
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 b( W( h w+ _ w# z
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn; Y5 h9 t/ B- n$ W4 s
as many languages as I can."
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+ r* K8 d( K; @" m' V, OAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) @, G7 l' X5 {$ c* Sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 Q1 X8 T. T i- I
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' m8 }! r+ C1 B4 L/ z) _; {8 j
that," Ms. Freire said.0 E/ \$ o' t, @6 P. m# t& w
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program. a% S9 P) j0 c% s9 X( N, [- G i
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) D+ H! s$ H1 W' R
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking& g, F* D$ P$ Y+ E# Q2 y: U) {
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- S8 a" _2 K5 [0 ~6 y2 `" B8 \Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American8 V5 }7 u% y& B4 y- S: a
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 qualified; J- K9 v0 I; c- @7 u* N9 g C
because of that missing certification," he said.9 l- b- L' p# L+ z1 |
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,3 d$ U) _) L3 D, v' C3 r
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
! ]* ^$ n: h" zSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
- K) }8 ?" P6 L& [Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 L2 N: o& N! } D. k `' o% ]. t1 uthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. M% W4 t' y5 P9 y5 I1 G \9 l/ |
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, h: m2 E7 B! G/ J
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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