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October 15, 2005; K0 t( r0 n! z& _1 X8 t
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: C3 Y" j/ s8 }8 v0 |& S0 F
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING6 ^4 e; S' ]4 H0 y
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
# z* |: w* {8 {9 D/ v+ b# T+ uUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary2 J- q2 \( O6 d" Z
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas7 \2 n& Z" g7 M8 y" l% l
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
' C' q1 ^& _- H# R) K' {, o7 x7 ]& oflag hang from the wall.
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m% b1 {7 U- X7 ~4 eOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
: W3 w" W5 s) I7 \6 n! G6 tanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
& ]5 T6 L& R: {# |6 Lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, `2 @3 ~; ?8 D" Uboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students+ N8 j. N9 c& F3 | ~' l0 k0 C
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ ]" |9 U" Y. z7 S/ B, P% [
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, Q2 h% Q9 c' m3 ?& m5 Z+ N& Z
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". `, n8 M L" l2 G7 D
( {. }6 S! l6 y5 U+ jWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,0 m+ _* ]* u, f- Y7 ]1 f
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
W- q' J- m' [. `3 Q3 }/ K' wto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
+ i6 p2 M- B) C5 \one of its most difficult to learn.
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0 K9 y( ^) q5 {: E* eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to: P" z, ~* _" [" [/ r
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 z( t+ l, | [
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& E) _ Z2 A; P1 y: VLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
4 Y+ Z2 ?0 i$ w: [% l1 uTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on9 E1 T( t& r) f- ], _* }
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 a% {8 I; c& l& eimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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( @8 g7 `8 O: M6 A9 }2 d( VAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! v- q" ]6 R! F" Y5 {, O3 {Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 t. z( L+ D m3 U6 W$ Mstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
% { m* u: Z% T" J9 T$ w5 d1 pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ d/ g6 w2 r% G- h. I T6 f
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) [2 K/ P) y, N. K ?. k! B
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.* P, j- q B* S' ^& e
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
/ G, c/ C) V( X. D0 Sspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. W% T r# ? |1 k+ IConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! T" h: r) Q: A2 r+ l' Z1 I" {
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! R2 Q, [; I) g3 K4 Kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
+ E7 S# y+ c- G$ S2 s7 J% nyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language+ T5 c$ P% E$ d' y" S$ ^
Institute in Washington.* L4 t" }5 g+ G2 _6 O# O. i9 a
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; k, F, q+ d, |% ]9 Z2 R9 N# z. p
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( H; K" p( Y2 ]2 g) g
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical1 o- V/ M& N8 I' a
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) ^, t* O. Y9 K$ L! S0 Wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( E# Q' y' B0 a( i: n5 e* L5 Wchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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" }+ S _4 I% P. H* W" xUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
" I( a. X& R: e8 fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
5 [6 E. T; ?8 i+ A( g' vcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
4 }- @* a! @7 R% l; L/ M: h$ ]Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or, S+ @% t. p( M. f
on weekends.
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; B6 Q- j# x" d8 j& iThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
7 k, c" m: x1 g* Y3 jschools during the regular school day and primarily serves! M9 ~% y# {* l' S
students who are not of Chinese descent.* W6 N$ C8 ]6 B+ F: K* ~) j: x
8 a4 j, f1 C) D, k) {Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
+ a# g' Y) R4 s, I$ V3 M7 E: cproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) p- j4 r: F) N3 }) n" Jcompetition. t# A# S% z- R! t7 S) P+ D( x) ~
$ X5 T# l% a2 e. [4 l9 J$ Q2 }( G"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
5 M/ W& P$ M4 v' x6 L& P# Y9 Wsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 O; M3 \& a! X3 Q+ jall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse4 D& h/ y3 g: v3 X- K- T g
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ K7 z6 m! K. c! _kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
. z0 v0 m$ N" l# t" D, bwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to/ `' `) x3 J) q2 a* W; S
the school system last year.; M+ C% Z, Q/ D
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this) u( D6 k- J, i
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$ l0 |! A& T7 ~( {1 Y$ d( [8 s. n
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 r/ p* k+ N) ~- l# \Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; m% j/ Y% m# \4 |$ G8 G8 A2 u4 a1 [help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
2 Z) q8 J# R5 m0 X% Gon an equal playing field."' p5 P$ y! ?- I9 V# D U" _/ X
7 W, {. o4 p; ~ D; eSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 ]. K K$ z# I: Eclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
6 @4 f, @0 {, k, T7 qService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; ?3 E) a1 U7 w6 D2 T# D, b
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
) ~2 ]4 t/ Q8 Y5 q( c( ]9 E6 naverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 D" x5 v) Y3 HChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the4 l0 z9 U$ [8 x, {3 l
institute says./ e# Z% K" B$ c* |+ W! K0 C
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ a- d* d/ @, t, m- k( r
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
. G$ Z' o t. ^) ~; _3 ^+ fdeciding whether to take the class.
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9 y) @ n8 S5 i9 S2 z: i"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 v6 c9 U5 D! w, ?' t
told her daughter.
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- J. m1 W4 Q( G6 Z% uSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# F& D2 y" b6 O4 N6 x) ~& Yclass.
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+ F, H1 F/ q! L/ d% K2 \At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 L7 V, Z' R6 R' X2 [# Y) y) W- {- F
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" L5 I4 \& J* {. `
occasional frustration.6 T5 J( ?& H5 D @4 E
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 n* W6 N* X" g* Z; ~% L, T1 u
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.4 Y( H, W. q* \0 D U( w2 m. T# |7 q
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 n" c6 o1 O( r. n$ k- J
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with0 y9 y! u! m% @" w' B/ R
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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2 Q( O! ^% F% g4 Y. p/ }"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul. v/ V, L; |" w2 h* _
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn T' K3 r3 ^5 |+ }
as many languages as I can."( s( W, q' _/ V: l( _; z- `& |
6 T, O, W' c: h. a$ O4 r2 LAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 m6 {" n6 {9 }% Mskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job% l0 j6 o1 L8 g) y+ [7 d- F, b, N
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, K* o$ F! f! @+ Zthat," Ms. Freire said." w1 x( H; M) P
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program' p. _; V3 a5 i* l& _+ A* H" }
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each M. C) d ^ s0 |' |. F- }7 C& H
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ E9 _/ W( O; i5 Z9 x
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make) k% @ n0 n! E1 {( K" `
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
" L& t# j% g2 A" ]4 pChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! _+ @1 [4 V$ N. P: tcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.& \1 E% O+ c) q4 T* w$ Q
5 w- [- _0 p ?
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified! T$ g8 ]' Z1 J' V: u7 h
because of that missing certification," he said.
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; ~+ e1 D/ D3 o5 \- }9 T5 `The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* L _, ^: a. J. | C4 y3 qsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia" Q7 ~$ d) b* f* P" T) ^! P
Society in New York.9 c2 d. X3 b" n9 J
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the u! ?5 n. N1 t/ |; h
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from1 M& I/ i3 h* r7 H6 N# g8 L3 R
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ C1 d8 w7 R: ]; x
$ @3 W3 T8 X" G2 g- @"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" h$ r3 v1 N) Y6 F. k
own."! r: I K8 j8 N3 B; ~5 t( t
% F' F7 K2 e1 t7 b$ ICopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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