 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 20054 A- z0 ?8 l3 k* a. A5 u$ l, z
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
2 q! K' F/ i; M1 M Y. z0 i+ b1 h- h# P6 C( {! g& e$ W
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
, K( @: b, C* E# [( Y4 n+ F# Y& p% g$ P& u
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& ]) W; O! @# q7 L/ e; G' @
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' r( @* ]3 i; w) L! H6 h& v
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 o0 c" t4 ?' {) `3 v0 Sdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! Y. K/ J- l. b7 Q: O8 D3 g
flag hang from the wall.
! w# s* T3 K& C" n8 ]$ [% D
/ J( v0 n2 ^+ J6 x4 uOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ B. i p: Q, U9 N
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) y* j p( E6 j! x
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 E+ \+ N/ E% y7 G8 p' w, X. Zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students) A! y& @& @) c
are already choosing it over Spanish.
4 e9 I& Y. i5 E3 N! X8 j/ U( ]% x7 d* \# b
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: i4 X+ E; ]1 P! z6 u! p
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city! m5 c$ r P6 y: t: R) Q3 }) o
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
0 {% ^: m$ x) Q2 {: V
: m! a# @! {4 F& ~! b/ m% V- IWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( _( g; |$ W4 c) l# [6 Ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings2 n; n3 S+ l7 ^) B7 o1 w4 x m
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention9 F$ |; H$ g) G7 L
one of its most difficult to learn.
% c: P# y6 J; k' p0 e. k1 D/ T" ^7 v u* {
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ P; w4 `/ Y3 `( {$ R
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, S2 o) x* q% g1 Estudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. u9 T C6 x0 \6 [ |Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of- c, u) S6 R& V: j" D( M+ p8 H
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
1 Z1 m. G6 s5 h4 v& p5 ?Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
4 o0 V& q' \% Q( r( q* nimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." }' p$ H0 [- t8 R( h
) [5 r3 _2 ^* T" I
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement) c% S4 U( u3 K# f$ T
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. r4 X' S+ ]8 V+ |- N1 N# C; g
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
$ c" H8 b; j8 b- V9 s7 x- Idevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing: a) K* g8 b- Y5 w2 u1 ~
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
8 y! m9 F+ n7 `of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.. Y' A4 t4 X' ?! w. K8 k
7 T0 p% h! z6 a1 }; E
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
2 \8 n6 N u4 O9 n$ T9 u" c4 Z9 D6 zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. R8 S2 U7 E, F" M5 s' ]' gConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! \8 h# U' {' L; S+ K
can."
% i% V$ C. B2 I+ J9 b- B. Z% e8 e" S( V, H; J5 T# u
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from1 c5 I: {2 z" S, A, V
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 100 b- X Z9 V: ~2 f! F
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) e8 h9 f2 |7 \/ u0 _Institute in Washington.& Q/ J2 @( a8 ` H: t
) b# T3 I7 j u0 x
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages2 A, ^, ` F" z1 C v) S3 P4 b& U9 k
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! W, ^( e. g- {% g! D
McGinnis said.
$ p' v! C# N- T* _4 d% k
1 V, j) _* b% d' U3 T"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
2 L* R7 [( j7 ^6 Y0 u) plongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, \: _" }' s A2 x, ~7 h% ~9 Kready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. w3 ?9 E1 Z1 P+ ]challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."1 C, u! k+ ?# M# t4 j
% o1 o* \. M/ N' T8 ]+ _% XUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
) J) D3 b7 _2 H5 }: zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
+ j: D; U2 j9 j0 Pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 t L& Z2 [5 H6 R" s. u
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
# q" w8 y; t) f$ g4 Bon weekends.
" g+ z# d% b# E" N. O8 o$ K. U! |3 q- G3 x# z0 j I3 _2 v
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public$ t, e0 n$ |6 O/ r6 o; _+ s( Q
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 u/ p# Z7 P4 o# v& Bstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
6 ]" s: v& @. n& j0 v* }& D$ Z% c1 A* V! D
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
: }# c: I( d3 B: M: n* nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
3 G, i! G! Z' \competition. * k- Y4 g7 f E2 G
- X- L+ P* j/ y8 i i"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
% b3 q& R3 N* M0 q$ Usaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
7 N: B) U. u9 {0 z% A: |$ C. z; a4 ~, Z4 W) p1 l& m, D
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly' C! s1 l. I, J# V
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse* M2 i! O- r' q( ^/ Q' S
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 v+ r9 e3 T: b) |kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students* T8 `4 a# o' V& P0 N: Q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 E; P- ? D* E% L6 r+ v1 `8 ^the school system last year.
- J: V- _8 g& C j8 N* E1 i# c7 U6 S/ R- c% W6 @
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 ?, S0 c# _% a9 _
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- B( P2 M- Y+ G' M. @% n: b
& b2 t9 {5 Q Y: C# y4 d! A2 o"They have a great international experience right in their own: H' k' P: _$ P" b! l+ S, r
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago1 C& X$ e4 H1 I" v* X
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* C& t8 v9 s9 K! r7 e" a/ ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
6 {: S4 n; }% hon an equal playing field."( z% _- ^% ?; b! C( n9 s9 I5 J
$ X1 n7 d- w& f4 K3 f5 z% b
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# O* N2 r0 d. |1 v- X- iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign! E9 ?1 Y- h# t9 T1 t, R! t
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks9 Q, c# T4 h7 X' V+ |) G
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An! D3 d7 P$ W, h, `! q8 S
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
( v0 ] J0 V/ O: V3 K6 {Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 G8 K( Q' v5 U. b6 P- Cinstitute says.
" \ u1 C8 ^" ]7 x6 Z
/ o! q2 k$ I9 E. dSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
1 s6 B7 @& y1 Igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before2 u/ m" |& t$ u! [/ N3 L2 d4 X" \
deciding whether to take the class.
1 t5 b+ B8 w0 _. G$ S
3 _% M) N& G. h) b4 T3 x"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she9 ^$ [% M" g' z
told her daughter.
9 X5 g! Z5 l0 z$ @: [9 q8 k4 S5 U2 y4 L G
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# P3 `" w: S& C' H( D Y
class.# \% N* _1 w- S: k) H# @
# J5 D$ z. ?4 |2 X5 c
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
3 @- h- P/ B' N# O% astudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ E1 N6 v) x" H0 R2 y, z* ^: w( u
occasional frustration.4 p. A$ H" b* n6 p T- q5 M4 \
8 l- K0 m8 }% k, a3 E# j* I, A; F( Z"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 \# f& u* e0 X% g* l' @
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
q0 Q% c7 ^$ q7 y: W4 ?7 o9 H) x" {( E. s& _3 {
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
$ ?1 s' q# r% C% Ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: \% W6 `. l6 }, |# y# C) v8 e
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! ^* W0 X7 s. ^) u- K5 E
4 h3 ~9 o5 f2 X1 I6 T"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ {7 ?4 L6 t+ o$ ^
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" |/ H3 P6 l: J; k. ?8 |
as many languages as I can."1 k2 X9 [% v7 O. N4 q
6 J$ s0 c/ {9 T; U- ?Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( g/ p; `0 s$ I. V1 jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 T+ a- r( y) ~' q$ e5 lmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like1 L& U: [) o( Q
that," Ms. Freire said.
' I9 B7 W& x7 C3 Q x$ u& L8 r+ ]. W) @9 c
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program- Q& ^% r" d- u+ k3 C- `8 d- L- z2 W
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! b( k6 s! e. N Q2 `4 k' _6 l
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: f) M7 I0 e1 T; \8 Dtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make+ y9 y/ |6 @# v2 A1 W
room.
1 c" v9 I* p$ {, U: ]3 ]: R8 ~, N4 x" d
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* l6 p" [1 ^/ } h4 P# s
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
( a; }$ H- V/ c' Lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
1 Y4 A' {3 t" ^3 l7 r0 m+ O3 P7 H
/ H7 F4 w8 V3 {"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
" j+ }) n: O/ Y! z1 @because of that missing certification," he said.- X, D; D: b7 |6 ~+ |1 P i
7 o* ~* `4 ]! j; b. e+ n: c$ E, ~( W
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, b& \# Z0 k3 x& j5 s" o' tsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 l; J; L# |- t. z( E2 w! dSociety in New York.1 @ S0 G ?, W- G6 L$ r
6 n* A& h P6 s
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
# x4 u7 W' B8 fChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from+ \, B* E9 b, Z' u
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 s1 N# c0 U5 a( M6 {2 h
' ]2 w8 g0 V/ N2 g# q: B' }/ r
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our9 @1 d* V6 q& W; c! i7 k& U
own."
8 d* K, X% ?+ f4 H, a! L4 Y2 y4 Q( Y2 o! G
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|