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October 15, 2005
2 l. Z$ a: m a L/ P/ bClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 }* ~3 R d6 A' U; n" ]# q; c
# ~4 }8 q9 F9 ]) s" WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the u( m K+ d+ g# w6 Q0 o% l
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. ~7 z0 W" R+ P/ _+ D
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: [2 H0 R2 C4 z# G9 Gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 q, @# _5 o/ { A6 u
flag hang from the wall.# s: v. v1 @! v" i m, {
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 P. ^" d4 ^: l$ ~: w3 t
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ A+ o# j0 s! j6 H$ E8 h7 H2 k# H% K2 tpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! E4 x: u8 N- V$ ^: ?
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* c- ^3 t; g' T z9 i! m; C3 Y
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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. S% d, A- n* ~, Q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 ?4 Q) `1 S) @" P0 aat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city: y) Z2 L8 a# i. F4 l9 h
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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3 N. S' n h8 |" Q! U) yWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* i. i$ h0 I: y0 w9 P- w( Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
$ ^- m4 k3 O0 Z1 s; ~! ?to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention& ~4 r5 [1 F9 Z% b% e/ u5 ?
one of its most difficult to learn.
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$ v9 L( H3 A6 ^# i+ LLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ W! H- S, \; T
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
' Z) r4 A* x9 Y r% i. _1 J' ^studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ z+ F' ?- z( w+ |- t7 i7 t) h0 Q
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of! R* ~5 z/ ~& \3 x; x" W
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& k" _: a* n+ s, b& i
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% C) h, Z6 `+ k# ^improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.8 F! U4 e6 v: Y" q8 u
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
/ R9 s+ H2 c; P3 iChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 u2 E& k: J6 W. Z0 k* R1 `
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
- e& }) ^% b8 xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 s4 q, t" {: z9 u7 i% L& X$ \3 ?+ }
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director1 W. m# j6 } w
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
& n- B" k; n7 R& g lspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education: W1 W* j& C1 U- p+ B
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we2 l) E* ]8 c# q$ z# ]6 X
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 r+ Q4 Z$ n) e2 y8 q6 }elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
G' W$ d9 M. v. M w6 A9 q. U& Uyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language2 C2 E3 G0 f! B. {
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* G, X1 @/ N( x8 R- R# J$ V2 a
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ }/ Y: g" ?+ D- Q6 I- ]McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical6 C1 v+ k# _( n. E: E; {
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, v0 f: R' I+ s1 [7 yready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
1 b' m% T& b- q. Q! e# gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."; U& j) S4 p( R8 |& _
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 b2 l. m; ]; ], z- A/ N0 Q7 w
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in8 X. k5 q: y2 X/ O e+ N
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of4 q5 K1 i# N2 \5 I( s
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or7 U/ [9 m8 Q2 _8 S" ^5 ~. n
on weekends." _- y# w& I$ ?3 o, M$ `
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* ?; M# ]) f6 o( t6 R% c, F2 Ischools during the regular school day and primarily serves
. Q1 R, z4 `' y, p5 _! [" Dstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said& R6 W0 {3 |1 n& D0 M
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ S0 g* Z$ [& Vcompetition. : u7 f; H- k7 P6 Z
7 M1 f" f! p& Y"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley l. Y7 T/ G, h( \$ o% H z5 w$ F
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly( ]1 H, `4 }" S
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
* V" i) E C2 {$ D0 gschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from4 {' h& t, I+ Z; |1 d5 {+ o; m
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 ~; H: P* L! {) c: S
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 p! B; }& l% lthe school system last year.$ V4 g) }1 h: y3 C( a0 G& V8 M
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
" S; `* e0 E! T/ B* X# e! @year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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) M# t# ^ u( q& K% D"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 G" _* Z" W4 ], G1 mclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago0 T( {4 J' _ l5 b$ {: g
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 \7 j( U0 |# V( M( N$ mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 k- m7 Y( _- A
on an equal playing field."' `- l, u! M+ R5 v
% I( X3 o9 q( J3 G$ X* M5 M1 V. S, C6 fSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 e; l3 |% B- i* ?classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
. G) ]: j2 K' C6 N/ Y+ D* xService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
5 F- ~1 F8 j8 y* P0 @+ d) uChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" ?- T* y% q! F F# \0 iaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in' a: c$ I n9 `5 ]
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the. X4 r6 f- r3 X- O% L" y' X
institute says.# V! j0 {/ c; N1 u
# W4 {. M$ r' J x9 Z) y, USevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
" @ e! I, F# ]9 I1 Ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 M/ u& L5 L* D( y) q2 H* L: ]% gdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
- H S- d6 w6 Y/ Z. ?told her daughter.& f3 \/ v: w+ b; j
9 ~# \9 ] k9 J3 y0 GSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 k8 I; Y! a4 l, n3 J7 S
class.0 a7 w, a0 }+ n. E
9 W) w4 l* A* _, g0 GAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 l6 ~/ s) m% F
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
( a$ r5 R3 ?4 Joccasional frustration. i# `0 L4 }" \; a
& W u5 G( F& f$ x0 c"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a Y9 h9 K% y) y8 I3 S) P
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! Z6 Z" X" }% O6 A$ h. @taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
. o. [8 {! A& O1 C' ~/ \ x/ \Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- m1 {1 U& g X- i2 x
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ M6 f* `) A+ h& M8 e. Z3 K P
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
7 R( n5 ?0 r' `) {as many languages as I can."9 u0 K5 ^. I6 H. H+ v- n% y4 z- C
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 z. _) d' a* H/ s% {5 d
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job7 g7 ]8 I1 z t
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
; f2 d* _* V* y8 I" j, ?that," Ms. Freire said. M1 R6 ]5 T3 P8 Y4 M$ h R/ q
( D" b% J. d; h" `* P ^% ~Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program: l0 K Y- A: f y; |8 O8 J
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each( u8 H+ S) c* r) L
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ B. a; n6 i4 K* U: k4 S
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
% o; i7 X7 _- E8 X3 a+ Q1 q8 xroom.
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/ Y! I5 v- u5 t/ L& R: ~3 K1 ^Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( ?6 p5 N4 G$ X( q" q' z. jChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& ~# S4 ^! X, M
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.) Z7 |0 `' H' u; o% H1 p4 K
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ O3 Z' s& ?5 r4 u3 f2 abecause of that missing certification," he said.
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# N4 k9 [# E# c+ s" ]! aThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
J% S" l& T/ i$ \2 Y R+ usaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* M$ g9 E; d3 }# Q
Society in New York.8 @% y0 O# F% R. |2 s' p
6 ~2 w& M2 n" ~" M* XSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the1 H' ~3 _0 P1 |' m8 \
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
1 Z& d- H+ D+ v$ q/ {% wthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
3 t. p" b3 k% \own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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