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October 15, 2005
$ f/ a; Q& p4 L/ h& wClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) H' l: h' B: ]$ y
2 G8 G: y) U% u2 `0 O) [
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the( y9 w- R1 d) u1 R I4 o
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. Z$ t1 |* k LSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas2 J2 R( |/ H/ D
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) |$ a) Q& `) H4 C6 d# dflag hang from the wall.
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! s& v x V5 k" K2 sOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
/ m8 B3 r- \" Uanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- M" D" |* l! ^( epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker7 i7 U/ n) s: K Z5 _. W4 V; o+ R
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* b" f; O) J) c8 o
are already choosing it over Spanish.* x+ g7 c/ {) _: _: A9 T1 M
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal1 c. ^" [! \8 }) s' E( b/ h
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" }0 g6 `& t' ioffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") O. Z) W7 F' t- f7 Y* G6 y7 e7 ]
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,6 A7 z; |' L: a
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
4 Y7 X+ D* L$ \6 l5 n3 eto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
& `& u0 n9 U2 \3 i; l& `; xone of its most difficult to learn.! b& h" q. ~3 s9 g( d
2 @: V, R1 a- j4 J$ [1 b5 d0 @Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% r+ h# I# ^) A2 P- Z4 }public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students4 R: E. V6 V& R+ k' p6 R4 Y* N
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.; G" Q. t5 \6 i/ T! V% Q
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 L: E X& e, W9 [+ k
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
3 A+ @) m. e" ]0 _/ m& EChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 D( c* w4 M1 r3 N/ w, z+ a }
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. U/ E. L- E+ W" g3 [% d5 r! ~; H
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement. [: q# v$ j n; H/ D
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, F* l5 p" w+ _3 y' r6 C# O8 R+ n
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
+ m9 U: J+ K; Ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* I/ W ?: p7 v
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director d V6 [' M7 b+ P
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
2 h8 c, T- _; \* v
' k |+ e/ Y. l0 I' Z"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
1 J' w/ N. Q- b5 Qspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education* @3 I! ` ^" x6 E& l
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
5 d: K% h+ P* b( w7 ucan."
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/ |4 Z0 a& t2 j" t4 R; ^1 kThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, O) @/ h m+ k: \1 z2 |3 j% V2 m
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 102 J+ D" e& j& e
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' W8 I+ k4 f3 f" W2 n! L; t0 H B' a
Institute in Washington.6 |$ T* m! Y# m3 Q" h! k. F7 u
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 M: q" X1 d) x) q! Z' |aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
& F: H: g9 A5 `0 O/ c( TMcGinnis said.. n) K! |- i% i- ?5 G5 Q5 P$ V
" n" c5 A+ O2 t6 k6 F# S; A"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical! H' R9 a& r7 K4 D% U
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; @2 M3 o* p5 r0 K( H
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a3 s* m7 j( N4 e6 g" ?
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.", X& o/ \( h6 `: j' m- U7 T4 u1 J
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
' \2 B! T5 ^2 F1 l4 X8 Bsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
$ }; t2 N, E7 z5 L7 g* Q9 g% f" X" Lcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 P, G: }# O, \0 F4 XChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
! h2 p* x$ q" f' Oon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 F8 ?) s! q, m. ?
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 b6 d3 d; N& Y( e1 r8 vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.2 b8 l/ \1 B4 ?+ Y
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 T# U j, S4 O$ v/ K9 xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- ]) V1 }2 y. u. f( ?5 V- qcompetition.
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0 Q5 S5 J5 G+ w H- U" D- g6 \3 g( _# G9 s"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# C& z; R( [. R! u0 z
said. "There will be Chinese and English."% W- @0 ^" T) X6 L; S+ j
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 P& k8 A) f8 W0 Z- X2 }all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 c" m; W1 h5 R r0 m l
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from: H+ {# D; r- ]* H6 c: D8 f
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 \- a6 t+ C8 ?6 ^1 c+ \
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 B# T" z/ h3 M5 K) hthe school system last year.
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3 l Y7 [1 u6 j: ^The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 K6 a1 `1 R) s. k( X) E, q0 B- ~
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.. f' X5 u2 F6 b+ E! g1 v }
; J" c7 ?6 T( C% U' a"They have a great international experience right in their own
" Y8 o- R+ W4 N% |classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
! q" m; j' n. r! R3 F/ zChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 M' r+ K& N6 s7 G. s: ]
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 b5 a4 F- o( y- [+ f0 M! y
on an equal playing field."
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2 |$ w' D# {7 C9 lSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese& E5 v7 Z( V7 o+ b
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
/ W9 n6 L9 a) g0 S- y+ VService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
8 H2 k2 w/ b& LChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An8 s( Z8 I1 R6 q) P5 n. D
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 f7 o, i- ~+ Q# a# ?/ sChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! a. h u4 T/ W4 y5 @
institute says.6 |# m, F0 g% E
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
, A |/ j" E1 m' ^$ d$ {0 I6 Hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before# T2 e8 J, Y. E/ Y
deciding whether to take the class. ]; m/ e( B$ C9 T7 A
$ s* @9 |7 R+ b+ }3 V* p/ c"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# v: L& U O7 D; ntold her daughter.' q) D& b: W3 P7 Y
: _) K( T$ X0 F& wSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 m j0 a9 \/ ]3 }% z* b% x/ l, _
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are4 b: w; y1 D: @
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 a9 m$ O6 T3 X p0 U/ G! U
occasional frustration.
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) P3 u/ ?( I! H! m0 n) }( @"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. n# L0 _" _' u% w: \1 N# c$ Frecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 c* B) s& {3 v7 Y& E" b
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
% s% k) G* i A; M; J7 dtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with. Z: U9 H5 o5 n# y/ A6 p9 [: ]
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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9 }& p! @9 X `"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
o1 ]) \! m4 W" Asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& y: M0 u9 A/ ~& M1 uas many languages as I can."
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+ e6 I8 I$ n% }& M$ t V# P2 H7 }Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the! |2 O; B& z: B3 `
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 l9 o( m# Y5 b. d9 ]. }
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 B; h( g, b$ `/ ]" c) Z! Q
that," Ms. Freire said.
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" A6 l3 \; Y, {; p& t! m' f- DMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
3 |* _% k7 \1 h( D& D0 h7 s8 L+ ahere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' C# Y$ B; F' }+ e* Dschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 O, X5 P, L8 S# Z9 x- w3 otime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
4 U* u1 _# h. a) v+ Yroom.6 n6 v. b* }2 W; W+ V
8 f. \" O5 }/ }% P4 LChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer o& X! U6 I# i) T2 I7 K9 J3 [
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- Y: e' @" m/ a2 w2 o& [college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
+ l/ M, A8 d+ i6 j& b# Y
1 V. q( J$ p# h"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
# b) o9 G0 o. J) Y+ t; vbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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4 [! }! T& Q$ T4 `The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,9 R. \5 M& D" t) O) P# G
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia U6 e+ K U/ c x
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% }* S2 R% y; J' Q( l% x2 b1 n: `
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
! f! N7 W" a5 q, L. ^$ jthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 Z6 w5 H U, K/ q
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
# R) f: X7 E4 L. F' D3 Bown."
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+ r- F/ q- V& s8 [Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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