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October 15, 2005
; W/ F$ ?- G, u' x/ ~# j3 }Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity0 p8 ?5 @/ m# H, _ W
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the* n: }/ G% U7 W) r
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary7 I& K5 `. t" V# j! E3 x5 a
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ X* x, ?, A& _; o) Kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese( B- m# \- s2 S' C/ J3 B
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 @1 H: }# M; b) tanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 i: j! G$ j& j6 n9 W! N
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, {% _6 c/ z, g! k+ Vboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 x# C3 W3 W0 @. A5 a" E* dare already choosing it over Spanish.) m+ _1 J$ Y2 M8 A4 e. N5 a: Q
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
! j; `# j7 K- V) u1 r4 [$ cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city! u @5 V1 u) ~7 U* z
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* I5 y6 }8 M) R: D% e7 @
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: l' `3 T$ S G) h5 Q9 S
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
5 m! D' [# U* T4 O9 N6 xto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% e9 h2 M' @2 a3 L- Fone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to& Z" h% b, J U6 X" l* {
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students4 c+ K+ {- J$ O" _
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
8 [3 V/ i6 B9 ]: S: I: z1 HLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
+ I% X& \+ }, Y# W# |7 L8 JTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on) o7 k8 @" G. z& N3 d
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 K: \2 X+ d2 ~, u1 b, a" q- s7 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 Placement6 ^* u+ a7 s! L9 Y8 ^8 A: Z8 s
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
4 B# a; n) T1 {/ E; Kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to5 g8 @) w# A4 A% T* _0 l4 h% m k
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* n9 o6 H) ]0 b3 J
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 S% A0 \' W3 O7 Iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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" f, ^ [ e3 R( G7 @"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of n$ ~+ P8 x. \: v8 ]
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 V7 j& m3 |( v+ l# `3 f, \# l
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we+ u- k( m0 O2 O$ e! ~
can."
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% R) o7 X% o* `$ [The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ Q7 B: X6 o; r
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
. \) E) j: ^0 s7 wyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 v6 v: ~: R3 }- yInstitute in Washington.! g1 i# q" P; p. X$ Z, I
7 }, H4 Q D2 u' |9 W& d& t0 m8 Q"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
$ g! _, Z, l0 J7 ~; k: u+ Zaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.) U! t& Z# E: Z. s( [ f
McGinnis said.$ A9 |# a9 a* y% J
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
7 J4 o" z$ m5 H0 s' b( w7 j p: @& Zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
5 x5 g) N3 |4 zready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a) O5 @. U- U# m; n0 ~: ]( p$ J) V
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ U% M; A) O! E) w1 u' u1 fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 ]! g+ O* ?( D& m, kcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of8 s# b9 b0 \* r) H% c: ?
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or) K7 `0 G. u c+ @; t+ z
on weekends.# U1 E! ^8 Y1 N" P
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public+ W* V5 r$ u$ [! A: a* Z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 L4 l, c; s! H6 ?/ T
students who are not of Chinese descent.' f ~4 H1 R' B8 S3 Y7 P
H; b2 d, r$ M& QMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, }8 b/ [: ]" m% B! j4 u/ ^proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# ?2 P9 e/ ~) `' g- p% V0 f
competition.
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. @4 @" T2 X: k"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
* T% X+ }$ X$ I7 N* B" csaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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( D" V {& G1 z2 B! AFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ e7 R+ q- ^6 }6 u! z {9 b! C: Fall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse# ?' E+ |/ h1 `; p9 x. C: `& Z1 G
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
( [% H! [- T o# _* Tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 t& R( t" h) R5 x$ B5 E/ R
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
S, k O6 Z! c6 a2 ` Athe school system last year., J# B( u1 }& v
6 O6 l0 ~! b3 \' oThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this& s T8 e" h) V/ M
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- f, u. r6 N8 h0 X$ x( Y/ y
+ k+ G. Q) n( K! }( v"They have a great international experience right in their own$ b- T! A: ~/ J% q- W0 S- [
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* f5 M5 S! c9 Y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
n! k3 g. R# W: i' T- g. mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ Z1 \: i, H0 C! | uon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 |, ]5 S+ U, _( M3 W
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
2 h) G5 v7 ]8 f( O5 QService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% Q8 O3 z% W% [Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
Z$ q6 E7 u8 \$ P" s( j4 haverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in( s3 Z" O; e1 h' m
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 G. I" g. J( ginstitute says.( Q* @' P% f" _, o
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 G, {8 ?/ T( t4 F. Hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
4 J% @8 [+ a+ G5 mdeciding whether to take the class./ X& F. x f1 U$ r* @
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
: U- d! W0 ?) l, m0 }told her daughter.
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( w; P, T5 p) J8 [Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite" y8 d% Q0 J3 A& X8 Z
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 a5 e5 [2 e1 s, Q- G6 astudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without. Y; c V( e# W7 @
occasional frustration.# t- n0 y" J9 r2 K
0 m. T; `$ n% h"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
4 z0 w1 A- t' j6 @# Nrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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* t. q# u6 D+ YRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he- C, `# d3 ]2 ]
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with" ^& Q% b2 D1 p* @( U
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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; p( g% L* q) ?! F+ ?$ q"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul5 p4 c3 A! `2 z1 m$ U2 L
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 X) i7 b/ Z8 T) Y! l
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the) l- l# g# r( k- i6 E9 l: D
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job$ f1 }8 m1 g5 b2 @+ Y4 W
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& z/ ^4 m, [: o& U/ ]) j
that," Ms. Freire said.. F1 G6 N% p, W
: b3 I( F: h* ~1 IMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program" \1 G. z, q8 s* _. E0 ^
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
, I. I$ @3 E1 G5 L/ Rschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking3 U l3 f2 e+ i% ]+ [
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make8 }. B& L! L) q8 j+ W) Q" ^5 l0 Y
room.8 B: s* n) i# G( u- x
Q( @7 _7 k m2 b5 rChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 A; ?' e# @" `Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American7 I( q3 z' z- P8 [8 r" P+ W5 v9 D. _
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& b# ~8 d6 }( N: Q
because of that missing certification," he said.$ u0 E6 G; ?3 _
2 s$ X& C0 h6 }3 A% wThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ ~: E7 Q/ |" ?. _* l5 Q
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
4 `( y) ]. J- ?6 R4 X. |Society in New York.0 n& [5 c4 l, j, z
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 M% j& B- x1 {' a' b1 c7 aChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- H! y- l% i" y. h' R+ ?
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., m# |/ ]* R8 E3 a
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our3 ~+ _* t; D8 A7 v. Z7 p V
own."( A* K4 }' Z. _
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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