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October 15, 2005: P4 p& i9 L B# y: o7 D# _- L
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 g& U- ], @3 ^9 Y5 b
1 T+ {6 g, h6 B& \- H
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING5 m/ J8 B G6 U0 e
' ]& ?+ h" \( P9 `+ u' A* UCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the/ x/ h2 J3 ?% z' q$ N) r
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary; z+ I$ r# X( ]/ D( ^- a
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
# |7 m* u% X5 r' ^# _dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese" l, U" e+ D! d
flag hang from the wall.& s; `/ Y7 Y4 `
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
+ t' s* j$ X: h8 r8 Wanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
2 b. {# V5 E" {) T4 |1 J6 Tpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 z: h4 _* I" Y) _% Z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students0 m+ F# I1 f4 l9 f& M2 r: l: B( ]
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
$ U- u+ ~- P& z6 H* Q8 ^at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
: c3 Q5 C3 Q$ M2 G; {offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". C; z. K$ g ]8 Y+ r
" y9 a' X. P8 |8 P% w) }& YWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 u: c: V& B$ Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 u7 z; R9 U+ T4 {* p& Uto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 J* O1 H+ v) q5 Y! R! Q
one of its most difficult to learn.. n9 z! E$ k) |: F, x
$ \0 o8 F! l: d% }3 zLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) a6 p; m6 i( g3 [$ `3 hpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 l# @2 b/ e4 i d0 \4 v: {studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( l8 p {+ _% U. x( V8 n
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ K: | \8 }8 H$ C+ Y+ {Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
! s/ ^( [* b! M+ U# sChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) @4 g' ?3 ^* ]
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 Placement/ k( [* f: l2 _1 O$ q) y
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country9 M1 H L$ s. N! v" x4 B
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
c Z$ R) U) y( a9 H `) ?1 r" Hdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* V, m: z: H2 B6 z* J7 N
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" g! O" s- ?# |$ d9 a" J
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. Y/ w* f1 U( r w/ J3 F; g& a5 ^8 k
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of$ D, I0 w/ H# d! e' P2 y
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" L* g% I& S, i+ N+ A' b- }2 NConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( ~6 C ^6 r% \% r9 r% |
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 R) h7 r D* [$ b* O% @9 m' F B! Ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10' w* d1 }; l" |/ Z8 y; [! Q% R
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language/ ^) i. Q3 L: X- u
Institute in Washington." |' @4 B- r3 |
. M$ f' Z/ Z3 M0 L& f' x6 B# c( i5 |"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
2 Y) u. ~$ p' ?" xaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ L- t7 g3 O: EMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical$ a; x8 B3 P+ _5 |+ e
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# {/ }; n3 U3 N& i/ A1 c# L
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
* |3 Y; I/ C2 L8 q1 O4 Echallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 x" Z5 V/ B# @ k) P" P5 ]7 i7 O
6 [( `1 J* \4 E7 {. \% N2 g" ^, T" X. W% fUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and0 r) k2 @5 }: [9 z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in q- i% D$ ?1 H4 Z# ^! \
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 g7 J: T% M0 m1 @Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ Y& u' L% Z M' r4 u* b8 g# h( Bon weekends.4 ?$ j2 @7 B; s& W& Y9 i
, q: v" p6 w& R* T# e+ j- Q5 GThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& _. v, `4 `* O& L% oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 @$ L" k+ X, j% ?' j
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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- n- j b1 X" `( iMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
* ]4 O! i7 s- g$ c5 ~proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the2 I0 y0 w/ h K% W
competition. ( Z! X# m& Z, A- |1 |
* L7 f9 n+ [: E( {"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley5 F7 n$ V5 k3 v5 f
said. "There will be Chinese and English."! y) T e" @( s% L
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ o: f9 o/ p- k# [
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: [6 `( X2 x; y+ h" L& tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
0 }' z. u# H+ @& X9 f* n1 B+ C+ ^kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 ~1 w" L! l! S1 G
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" X) g: V/ ^) E9 ethe school system last year.
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3 z% Y& _, ]% f+ GThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* |5 ?* ~2 M5 |) wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." p( _3 l! X+ H. q# j
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
2 [) s0 T5 @, [$ a/ S( r3 Zclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# Y8 @7 s; r) J+ b- H) k8 HChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) u# L3 y2 a$ q: h& ~
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- U* f$ ~% L/ O& c( ?; T# Q
on an equal playing field.") Z+ }% n- G6 M1 s
5 X! n A: ]6 i: `6 ~2 t% d, ASome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese6 {& \6 } h/ _0 n% g
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' ?4 x7 k) W7 d$ sService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
, u: k: w' p% ~; ^3 ZChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An+ x' P3 i1 ?' q# {: q4 M; f
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 C" ^. V* H1 c- s- e) |2 t3 QChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- h% F' O0 Z0 G& p w6 b2 U
institute says.7 A1 m( n1 Y, U4 k7 G& K. N
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& ~( K$ s* }0 M: C. {
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, [' n/ T4 |: K' H4 z& n. ?( P
deciding whether to take the class.3 m& x5 m& F& c, F0 q; t! ?9 c
* e' j) n* }( L/ }, P5 d' i& V* r9 M0 n) y8 N"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
/ B! u9 Z$ \) ^! a4 ~- B# Ttold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite M, l( p- X' L1 C7 M
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 x; \) U1 s1 A8 Q" _' cstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
2 A z! y) t. G! Aoccasional frustration.
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, E- a4 l1 k# d"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a+ R4 s$ y; g# U* Z: A- L
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.& @# F8 \+ ^7 N2 Z$ N
; O0 r$ ~4 t$ k" {1 X) vRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ M7 D6 g) f, y b2 r8 C
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
2 z4 s% b4 [& d1 s+ p( r8 {; I/ ~Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul; V8 @' O+ }- J+ h4 D/ x
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
7 g+ R" P3 p) F; cas many languages as I can."2 Y2 ^& a) @2 l4 Q- }
# M; y: W( o% N5 DAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ }+ n$ q! K0 W. c9 wskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 x( n e- o; d# B
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( z/ i4 I8 B9 d( P9 O1 t: w
that," Ms. Freire said.
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' A* l! b; }$ I& b9 mMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program* s2 o( R U( v& `! E Q
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each7 d; D9 `( G" {4 Y0 M# J, T
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
' J: C6 ]$ S( utime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
+ P! k& |" i0 A' P0 R5 Iroom.! x( _4 s" i( h; A( e( P
( P* J" Z& c. l$ F- z1 `Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 Z: i. i W8 r* FChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ ]& w$ m9 r* n
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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0 m5 N0 E( l& @- K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
! b b$ d2 l1 E& }because of that missing certification," he said.# n$ r$ b5 c0 K7 K$ H/ k
% e" B% ]9 g5 R ~$ u5 F' W7 KThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* U5 j/ g; W4 T8 d8 P/ O0 Wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* K/ G* g/ l' z$ L2 V8 U9 P- ^
Society in New York.1 y) Y% |7 F# G/ G1 [9 `; u
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 H1 _1 ^! T7 k/ K, p3 NChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
$ m" Y! n: b+ g6 j( ithe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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& e2 I& i% }7 e$ F- X# V"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& E+ O7 j6 Y6 a- }
own."
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& C6 n; Y( t$ D# J3 fCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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