 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
, t) l* f+ m& P1 n* CClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
' c6 M9 `! v8 g: [. n3 [0 K
/ h5 p' i0 j: \; {2 c/ k" ? K6 tBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
+ a4 f3 j" ]# ?" m& D K. ^5 ], m y( k- N6 M& c$ p
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the! U1 f1 ?* |; B: d
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
: [" N2 ]! N0 k6 J2 B0 j9 }" p+ ?School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ Q: H/ L; D9 d) ydangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% G/ D% h" B: N( X
flag hang from the wall.
- ]& n. C O1 T j4 H* E. b e1 k
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 p/ r- S4 j$ {6 U2 {
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders( a i3 i" } N$ T5 I0 c
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
2 `, h8 {7 Y8 i! e O7 M: nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# u, I% V: v4 t$ \ M1 r2 q( G
are already choosing it over Spanish.
2 h9 ^3 L6 j- w" N. v/ |4 {2 j% B# g4 q- b3 V6 n8 ]
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ Y& V0 ], D: H0 g) o& D! Z& l% s
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
8 Q. g U, J* F' yoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") m N8 m$ O5 f0 i5 [- h |
$ ?* J3 w) n' `, _% Q" u0 \! C8 G
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
R& x9 |3 k) Q, fschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
4 s' O2 `- b- C' U n3 A: Qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention9 h3 E9 }7 m( }" w/ g, E
one of its most difficult to learn.5 {3 i/ o" |+ j! R' _" x6 L! y# ~& u
9 V* L: g9 {8 ?7 g \. ~. b7 WLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, L9 ^+ y( q0 x
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students1 W# `, m$ F& Y$ H3 d+ h2 a$ ~7 p
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. F. c. ]0 k1 m& Q1 ?" b
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
4 I7 x h0 S# b% a4 pTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& e3 D6 H. m i
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 H9 ~7 X0 y$ u7 ^6 h$ bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
7 J" F# O& u4 s5 l& g- F9 i
* ?: s' U8 [: FAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement' p. V6 f* w U6 U% S2 Q8 }7 Z
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) |5 j/ z: Y( Q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; Y3 U" v' S4 o% U: Wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing& ` r, \/ v- ^4 A; i$ K
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
% ]- ^. ^5 I2 t- W9 k2 V* |of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.: L# ~1 H" [& h& K$ g! O
( Y" @/ ]) f8 w+ I" Z3 z
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of8 X) Y! q1 ^0 V) }( ? ~
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education- m7 J' c, o6 N5 `- v/ j( v+ i
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
2 N1 E a C+ Q Tcan." / E3 R* O# j6 p& K0 i: b9 h9 A
8 i3 D7 _7 l: p5 EThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from; h/ ]* G6 e8 o& h4 j. X
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 H# H9 w6 F* B1 E: jyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
& o1 X$ I }5 L+ m( K( w' mInstitute in Washington.
' I o$ N; H7 r$ O
" ~" R; c1 @6 b* T"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
7 e; J0 h% w# y- S) K; paren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( e4 b" c' z0 ZMcGinnis said.
* B7 u8 j1 E) Z
% b/ F( n% N% P& @"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- r' R. b7 d9 f# \& Slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
. p |" }/ r/ O3 N7 Y* Y sready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
# t- i% J# h2 y' z4 i9 N. xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( i; r1 j/ U+ G: B/ A7 ?. _1 P% W
% ~+ k, ?) h! K& m( Z2 KUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and/ |8 ^2 {/ g5 X: \6 l' e
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' g4 |; b. h B% ]1 J6 Z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ o# T8 d1 s; G' J: bChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or6 ?, T8 n& I- E9 C2 i: i' M
on weekends.3 K2 ~2 X2 t$ u' B3 w
3 H, B n! W; d* Y) H
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
f: i" \5 S j; T0 N6 l6 g4 `schools during the regular school day and primarily serves; d- |0 A* w( L9 O5 N
students who are not of Chinese descent.5 W2 C* ^& N2 U: a2 V
2 n$ |3 j# G: f J8 ]5 ~; V8 E, ZMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
1 J+ |/ l( a- r3 ~2 V. G6 U: ^% xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the4 F2 @5 W$ W% B5 ~1 B9 B( t1 n. g
competition. + d; ~/ k6 u9 C8 L- p7 e6 N% P
, j( P# E+ s% F: K
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
7 n, M1 R& A+ i4 l Zsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
, Q l, [* T" r8 k/ \) W! x, n0 |
. W$ W+ [. X: V1 e7 t# b! K' @From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# \% {3 O9 V0 T2 F% v2 rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 w' P% x# m0 h: M0 O P
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ q) \$ t# f' o1 Z# a3 tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: |4 R. r' Q3 [& [0 U8 A
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" d& v. y1 k2 T) n3 h0 I: Ithe school system last year.
8 Z% |7 M8 G1 G! h
! b$ a# U5 K% N9 [. y2 B5 N* PThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this4 B2 b: s1 z. j$ D7 T0 ]5 b
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
3 S8 ?$ S$ q) \9 _
7 J! p" U9 O6 T$ b( N"They have a great international experience right in their own. F- c* Q3 k! @; w
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 h8 x9 ~1 a/ v: f) dChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* |4 l/ _: ~ ], C2 Z3 ]help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
* T# b, [) X) l0 mon an equal playing field."
# G4 s+ p. j- V/ [$ k
. G t$ Q$ e- R- vSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 e3 k# P2 L2 g# Z. m
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign) N" I7 w- K. I) V
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks7 }1 W' n0 S- p* T# K. G- ^
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 h% Q: A" X( }$ n9 p* ^average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ t& i( K- W* X3 `0 A2 |4 k0 _* QChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
; m7 _. l; {4 l/ h. Uinstitute says.0 `2 G/ X8 v- O. c2 d
3 N$ \7 h, h. f% } Y, ^Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
0 t$ u: A. y7 ]: }+ L+ \grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
$ v) v% ~3 i [4 b" A2 }6 Pdeciding whether to take the class.
$ W& E- z! g# R0 F( f/ K6 B
- [" [& ~+ N$ z6 o% z7 B"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she J# H" H! {" L; l7 ]
told her daughter.
& j4 B7 w. B% W$ t! ?4 L! J9 S8 }9 `% C
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite: e) p9 K- C1 Z7 P$ t# u
class.
8 H6 g/ e5 v G0 U. A9 T
$ t2 [! s! ?. J8 WAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 z" I, e9 y9 O% a( B" zstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. D' z; ~! \7 `3 |7 n: @1 Zoccasional frustration.
2 G7 c5 J4 ^; ~
" w8 I; b9 ^1 j: A: J" f Z"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 H- D: u0 Z C% v% Y
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
# m, l" W7 |3 ?& J! [
& {; P* _7 ` W$ n4 o5 ORaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he6 L7 i2 H3 m" J ?* f
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 w; V% I R& w* f1 b+ e6 n" X
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." J; O5 }" @) D5 Y# p
& R+ G& a( ]* w9 y/ M* Y"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul% [" M5 _ @) P* ^: p$ z# f
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn1 h# _' V; [0 }" O4 O
as many languages as I can."
* A, s- |5 h' E0 O- ^. X5 U9 i, w9 j5 B: m; O
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
5 x0 L- O3 `8 q9 j/ sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
5 b& O5 F% r P! @( Dmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
6 F5 }' I- m! [4 l' ?* J3 Uthat," Ms. Freire said.! d3 M6 e/ {- f7 z( x! ?- s
+ s8 N* c. k6 [6 }, Q% XMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program: w3 r" b% T, q& Q( z A' ~
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each- \8 B9 s3 y! s& `0 ^! d, t
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
% i0 B, [4 j+ i8 Qtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
! a8 g w0 r; G' Xroom.% Q' }4 r* k; c
( W# M0 h5 |( S4 |( V" G& t XChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 ?, L' x: v3 v- t! B! c9 i
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% b1 z7 J4 q' L; B2 Mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
* Q- }, B( @" |3 V
* u% K) v3 ^8 m# d- {: V3 T"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified1 K* R% T2 d. I/ E0 E
because of that missing certification," he said., x* r* y6 q% ?# Z
5 e: N" K( E* Z. ^1 k( H) b+ Q
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,. N# L( @. L# f" ^
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
9 N/ p' D5 G; @+ Y1 _: sSociety in New York.
1 g# ?( O S" I+ }2 i8 U2 x; n6 a5 Z: [3 m$ [' [
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the7 H% d H/ ^, H9 h' Z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 i* m; R9 U; Z; Zthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said./ V* b3 W( {5 ]+ s% d: U$ ~
2 q) S+ w, _8 A) B, J. Q! N2 u u
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: @) e1 g2 m% A3 m/ f4 }! v3 B$ \
own."6 K4 f) y6 H2 F2 m+ F1 X: t
2 d- f3 K l: t9 P! F( K
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|