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October 15, 20054 Y9 B8 ?" r& a) B# u4 p. I
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: d+ H, b: }2 x2 C
4 h- k+ O# M+ Z+ V5 K" o* IBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING" B% ~* T3 x+ z2 T
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
# y+ q, c+ M2 |, \& @& yUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary" R( k8 ?! H- l3 h
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
! i0 _% L4 {) adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
, `( P" m7 N) ?) _! eflag hang from the wall.
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# @5 M2 D) Z8 M, G2 Q$ L- rOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one/ m- q3 k) T, g: G
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
$ L1 n( S& u" apracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) a7 B0 t; e8 @5 Q$ p2 Y; b; U2 sboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students/ ~, k% \5 b- {5 O6 Z" v5 |
are already choosing it over Spanish.8 |& V, q5 U' \0 ?$ S
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal0 m; C9 `5 e$ j8 h7 }% G6 L; C
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city2 i3 I$ Y7 f# M8 e! K8 |! {
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) q! ~4 ~- Q+ b2 T! I2 M
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* t9 T4 F3 ^; m$ W2 ^
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
" y$ K5 l. F6 O! cone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
5 |6 I' D0 {" L" v- R, t- k; }! u! Xpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students S/ l5 Q) _7 y- ^2 F. g+ h
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: J8 a4 k2 r4 X+ D4 l5 k1 c% T
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 i0 x3 z+ g2 G2 @" D. [Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on5 |: m2 S( z" M& l& q s
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
5 K1 j) K# w1 }0 `2 I5 aimprove 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( Q- ^1 O* I: f5 l& H
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country- k! }3 r& E1 l! V3 F6 F
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
$ |- p! N7 _9 z1 m0 wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
* ]( A' z2 }. h p' w: z7 \( m/ rcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director% ?, D2 W3 k8 E5 U7 A, o3 l) p
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.' o! a* O! s$ b: y
. C8 ~, ]6 U; c7 h0 b0 R X) J"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of/ O: O3 b3 g2 O3 C. j* b7 p
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 `) r5 u) ]4 @% h
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
5 L i, J( }% Q# s, {+ G8 |# Q1 fcan."
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) }" a& r1 f: YThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 Z% B" t/ Y! l5 J6 ~4 M7 ^elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; k s- ~ h; ^: _3 o. r& Syears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
+ W4 ~' R8 H- u* b' o9 UInstitute in Washington.
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: ~8 C) j. g+ G4 I+ ]! Z0 j: I0 l"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 S. m' }4 w+ r. K8 b$ y, baren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.- N, w' p% W. ]" ^6 N
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- X0 p$ a6 Y6 Wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
$ ]& x8 j9 {) S6 R# ]* Y+ H( Cready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a M1 g) Y8 m7 A8 `; U7 A
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."* W: Y3 p; q: f n: W
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and( ~. W# E2 m* \
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in D/ [3 |: f l% u$ q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
/ L8 G% }/ v1 E7 O) u/ y _' @Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 c/ B2 }* \8 Z7 p1 m5 |. @/ xon weekends.) Z3 K2 C3 S1 ^$ {% r7 z
1 V' `8 w5 y6 s$ S! h/ f ~! @The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
) N% W2 h: @7 r; y! H$ n- M6 Nschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
|) R- T1 E3 X# Qstudents who are not of Chinese descent.. z5 [1 F6 L; U
* w7 `+ i) B. R; U C5 n7 v. D8 sMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said3 Z3 A8 M) C6 u1 K* m! c+ h) `
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 n9 F- a# S7 U2 |4 o8 A& u
competition.
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- t9 t) R, a9 h1 |0 o. ]"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' `4 F- `2 h. G4 x( Tsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."7 K5 Y$ ]- R& b7 I8 d0 k! A/ r
% _( Y" D! ]3 Y) b. g" Y! aFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly0 u+ |4 C9 |: z/ u- q
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 c- T- N7 J4 K+ I* h! _schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( R) n1 F# P( a7 z+ ~( X& V+ j- w' ^
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 Z$ L) M* t6 |# t4 Hwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
8 p2 X4 G z" D3 Y5 E1 P( H7 Bthe school system last year.
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: ?/ T* ?; N5 D4 I: }% |8 v0 \The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this3 f; B8 g" w K' }+ ]/ s9 g& }% g
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year./ Z8 i+ T+ `" E$ i
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"They have a great international experience right in their own$ x* }+ Q6 M5 W6 t9 s) I u
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
% U0 m A# Y& e" F: N8 |; [% c- \Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 Y- y; w2 w* ]! K4 X7 e) h) G
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
5 a# e& G* o9 |5 i$ Xon an equal playing field."9 [$ K& ]. v4 A9 W4 ~
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# b: B( q3 m7 h6 V) l$ ^classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
& D- o" y+ O, b g9 bService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 }5 D6 P9 N* s' S6 s+ S$ s
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An8 W n: c6 g7 c4 j5 e
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
* h6 e: H4 ^# F# a& c5 sChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the, B0 ?) I0 O. X8 k; B3 A/ Q1 `
institute says.6 {# D% H7 z6 I8 e
) V9 w1 R. l& [" QSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( i6 r# }# ^, X- H/ X% Qgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 }4 q: l; `4 ydeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% L( Z. [# k/ a# Itold her daughter.
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j; p" \9 E4 z3 D: C! V9 n& M. FSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 P( p6 t# P i0 q6 k' \
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ O* G' |( g" f1 [1 d! C/ D* Zstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 }3 I% @$ N; G2 J. Ioccasional frustration.
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; p `& `. c, K"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. D6 t& y! q7 R& ^: L; J. g
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he8 A- N; g+ A8 d
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 e* Y3 `6 B$ s0 e5 H
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.; f3 [9 C6 a" W0 `1 v; H7 W- Y
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
3 J' p0 P1 I# A0 G( Csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" |* ~! S. t0 O9 h8 \as many languages as I can."
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7 V8 `: u1 Q8 A8 b, ]4 r. s) @Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
. Y# s$ M+ m1 S: ^skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
' F5 J3 @/ _5 U* C1 f! M0 Lmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
; X1 `- y6 h" o% ~that," Ms. Freire said.3 a% M9 e. y2 _5 [& @( ]& c( g6 w* J
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program+ ^; q. c: S* L8 ]
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
; m( A. H3 U# d- p7 tschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
$ W' B8 m% t" G3 Y3 atime from classes like physical education, music and art to make4 k$ W! m3 U. U" Q# f, o6 d V
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
% n) J0 z# H' @* gChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
6 e; O* e& `. M) r5 dcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified ~# j: }- r I2 ~
because of that missing certification," he said.9 t7 W8 c" n2 H4 ?. k
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States," l6 W! k) x) m# O* C5 I
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
4 D) h( z3 V1 n, XSociety in New York.0 @! A! y; h% c0 Y
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the5 N% g5 d3 O+ r/ \4 t
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 m+ ?7 [5 f* M
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.9 M5 F' d) v5 h3 l
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our6 ^" Z# R( n2 J# _# P) B5 P4 _( S
own."0 Z) G: T; X/ K$ R( ~
% ?% n( F3 n$ J* p+ @" ]4 }+ u0 _Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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