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October 15, 2005+ p3 p8 T3 y4 H, u5 w2 R% D, v
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity7 |% J) v! I6 \; O& x( |4 w
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING4 v: ?/ i, W I0 i1 m5 J5 k
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
4 j1 U3 U' A9 n: U8 c* ZUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
+ e, c1 O4 k/ g6 z T& s( FSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; ~" M2 _/ C0 {7 M* j0 _4 @' Cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese+ h) @8 j1 G, D
flag hang from the wall.
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# ^7 a, I* V1 |One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 _5 X x! q/ K9 Z7 s# c9 N
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 U X( x" } w! w7 a$ w
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker$ w/ g+ J( u# v/ ^8 }
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# l$ `& z% K2 Y1 ^1 e
are already choosing it over Spanish./ f& O m' G: @% W* l8 l# b
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* w9 m6 Y7 N1 Y5 j+ O6 h" _at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city8 Z9 S& P% Q" S: E- d8 e7 L
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
) [& C6 ^! v- ]1 H8 g/ p+ w8 F5 cschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings3 S0 J' ]. q* A1 ?; A8 r4 |
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
8 l9 _; C8 k+ G- \9 O) `0 K) ~one of its most difficult to learn.+ S9 |8 Q' O* r; P8 I! G
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to* {7 T" k8 U1 K" t% \: X% l
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, H2 R5 S* f B, Xstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ v$ x3 g% ~: P, b- `/ _$ L
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; B& J, E; o2 ETennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- c2 {* M5 X+ v6 D9 j6 g: DChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
3 t8 z! j+ X- Y7 N+ z2 c5 _improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement: `6 y! u' h3 b* m6 S
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country m0 |8 G8 ?- f9 U8 j8 E& E, v$ o: `
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to. F+ v0 ?( Y0 @3 V `! G$ l4 n
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
2 W, I7 N6 c( q4 `% Ycurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
- ?, M$ d3 C7 W7 j. B; X) E0 dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.7 L( Z! p/ z; N0 k$ ?
$ x6 H/ r7 U! C0 _"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 ^4 `, ]" g# p. H" h9 Z' n4 g' q; Y
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
# _. o" b3 ~8 s/ L2 g* w; qConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we3 @" t! }) P; T& A& N
can." 6 ]* L- w& V$ K8 x
1 y# P: `7 W2 e4 A7 YThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. E9 {, w" o( b3 w9 S5 Ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10: n1 o8 k! b8 X- H) Z+ S: D9 ?
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language! B) \) y) f T
Institute in Washington.. B8 U; ~" s* V8 u& ]6 z
. k, b1 X* J* r I6 G2 d! N; V% E"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages3 Y& p* p* P* ^ C5 T( y- \4 R
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
3 g5 k |; p8 f9 O) }1 aMcGinnis said.- ~$ l0 j. D* X# I- I7 j
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
3 Y# V3 ]' Z; ?. Tlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be% J2 c, p s% R4 e$ T% H
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
# Z+ G) R0 r/ S# s Ochallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and$ ~2 \3 G- X3 g; {
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in5 F( ~9 s- w$ B/ B
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of* e2 x! Q) k1 P: O# y$ b' \) [7 ?/ w
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or j* Y' x5 U4 o( l) P+ h4 F
on weekends.! b6 O- m2 e3 W# Z" U
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public C T7 ?- D& q& t* v0 s% m
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves% L% L* e* {. ^1 u) a- Q
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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) p1 ^0 r. V- c* f- R& w D9 mMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said: Z4 I. I0 k. c: Q( {2 T/ Y
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
# j& W8 t* O4 g% V% k; ^competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
4 Z9 Q8 q4 v. @9 B' H" B2 xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."4 Z+ ^ ?6 G# S/ F, T
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 {* V. n+ E6 r. W+ U0 {+ Tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' Z, |' I4 m: @) r1 n# _schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. T! Z" w, q0 u0 M
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
4 g- V" n, Z% c8 Kwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 K& ?( ~. R/ i4 z, x& \the school system last year.
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! H# S& ` k8 B* `; B9 Q$ YThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this+ p) W( B% l; C5 `9 x. |
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.' g. v0 A. o8 A% |
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"They have a great international experience right in their own- K: z$ X$ u5 A) {
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
! m' Y0 X' H. a" V- _2 yChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ y( q1 j& k6 k0 D! Hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 Y) P5 w+ A* R+ O4 ]
on an equal playing field."; T: b6 U j% i. O) E; Z, J
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& u; x1 A( m- s E* I. f. S8 bclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 @- X- {0 f) G
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
# o D- V1 Z [% VChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An9 w2 F/ C6 c/ O6 H, N& }$ X
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. p- @/ @/ ]( d8 f, D! k, g) n& k
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* n( e: y% D! E4 ~8 a, v1 c$ V8 [/ `( ginstitute says.
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3 t* n$ V5 m1 @) JSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 K2 N$ u) E/ l7 L7 l0 _& u# K
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
' X9 T3 y5 |$ `. f3 C3 D' Qdeciding whether to take the class.# \, P7 P4 d' F8 W3 Y7 i' L
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 ]0 }% K6 C9 s% a3 p1 ptold her daughter.0 P9 t9 f: u9 x) Z; X' e
9 c3 W* p: u t4 ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
L& R/ m0 o4 f5 P) }! Tclass.! z5 D1 S0 v0 l7 O3 G# V
( R" ]/ D6 [% o Y& T" f6 f3 RAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 g7 d2 s* ^: s/ Q3 B$ U1 Q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without9 I% u/ N. f8 A$ s
occasional frustration.( ^4 g( P( L: c- D+ r
b. @ D" G9 G4 i E- Z2 x1 |"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 l! O9 K. j+ K$ R, i
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. m7 f: U& P* a/ ^& E
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
, M7 z; d1 }% V5 A" v3 {taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% U$ W7 n5 Q: i# o$ d* H, J+ D* m# \
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul/ [+ u' C; }) N4 r
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn1 k) C" }' B, O
as many languages as I can."
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) P# R, H" I" l; t5 A1 v+ X( NAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 _1 Q; ]- ?; F+ V6 Askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job. W, P ^* S# N; D- r/ {
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
( l" t2 K+ g. E+ e6 f9 athat," Ms. Freire said. t0 X9 L% `* l: O6 k- Y
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 R9 m4 t% r ~9 j& Ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- q! |/ T# f v! W2 O, E3 \( Rschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- M. {& D! S9 O3 [ \
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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( N) Y# q! g0 s- z( l4 Q' @( ZChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer' T1 l8 ^: H% a4 r$ t" E
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American. s( A' t- s/ \) ~8 Q7 A
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' M5 |) B8 z& ]
) U5 G& W; v/ m6 q8 @# ~* J: y"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified5 V8 t, G/ m5 o1 c' M" q/ t% X
because of that missing certification," he said./ \) C/ V \2 a0 b/ r
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,6 j8 l D& R! |% r( e& [
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia& W6 |* t3 L5 F
Society in New York.7 u: |+ z9 _& K E2 N; E9 Y
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
$ U! c0 P0 B- t/ ]5 p: B! mChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from z* O" _. l2 x. k! n
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.( l" B( h6 ~4 E: g4 t7 i4 T ?
. D0 b9 i! m7 V) \8 B"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) B+ a: M3 v3 b* W, T' Y
own."4 A! j. t" e f7 Y1 l* Y; _: _
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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