 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005- w% |" w8 ~ u
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
% V% n. M3 @* \8 u& s, `: g/ b. ~! g) N+ A
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
1 u. |. t. N) k5 a3 S8 a l6 Q" [- ^5 A3 g
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the4 ]6 \; E. ^. Z; f8 a* s
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary8 l: a9 e. a% x3 F- W4 {5 Y
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas2 ^1 ]+ g \- J; \. z8 n3 A
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
* B* g7 l8 r1 r; dflag hang from the wall.
0 U0 i9 {1 m& v; G$ L. G8 T x. Q+ v. a J: V# E
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 T- P% V1 t6 ]# z6 Aanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders% K" L* }6 m3 `3 T& H$ V5 ?
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& N7 `" T. |6 a' M# N0 \
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
- K8 @8 c9 y0 kare already choosing it over Spanish." W- f" G, D% `5 |5 l) o2 q
% f. A; R7 k4 W6 `"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal) g% Z4 v, z6 p4 r- m
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. j; n8 c' _8 z! ]- P- Noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 X+ F- @7 B# Z7 v" F- f9 n
+ i2 O" O8 U0 i# iWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' O/ \/ s6 g% E: Q9 }! ~3 uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings7 E5 w# I+ O% K/ H
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
+ }9 K. p0 m2 e0 v& |0 zone of its most difficult to learn.
( Z! X- _. l u9 |& ]) @) T1 W
) n5 ~! M' ^ D7 r t/ F1 n WLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) E# w2 x& u# @- k) W
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students1 d2 ^& d1 I) M3 W8 A8 i
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 o& p; B7 a* q# N0 n/ E
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
$ G( L: b! Q g% F# N3 U8 ETennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on9 X5 u7 O8 q3 g* g& O! m$ c
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ [) l7 J" t9 w+ a
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.9 c4 [7 Y. S! V6 w: I4 c: J
/ r9 j+ _$ Q5 r) C: LAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
" Z- ^6 [- t, _; U+ hChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 l7 z5 N9 n& z; J/ }& z: n+ kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
/ [8 W5 n& r" Y0 U6 g, z% Gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! x, s) W% f$ h4 `4 W" s: t
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
/ H9 p& a# C4 j" kof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
% T0 J6 K# ~& r' a
) v4 p! r9 V: f& i"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of r8 R" K) _5 A
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ W& b6 O$ G% }- t& U: `% K3 e! mConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
6 o; X6 C; p( z3 Wcan."
( \% T* V* o) B( u
4 }# X: \0 {2 E3 g' aThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% v6 r5 u: B0 b$ i6 i
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; o1 \& Y' K2 v [# |years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
: q6 Z, ]3 k- n% L- NInstitute in Washington.
4 w9 T- t7 G Z3 n: m1 u6 W- P$ M9 Y) a, s% p
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 g9 e9 ], R$ }0 J
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( y+ G; a; H$ n' QMcGinnis said.
, y0 F2 Q1 G5 M5 E; z5 h Z; j
! O7 u4 W* |& E( h"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical. b3 l9 c; H; u# X# B8 d
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be& G& P+ C* K1 C+ T8 c
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
/ S' [3 m5 W9 u7 e9 |challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
! w# b" M9 ?. o/ ]7 R0 c" L; N7 g- q6 X2 {% Y& d; `
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% X2 _, z6 ?, D: U. E3 ]; A
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 T1 s5 b9 V6 F! ^
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
/ z0 e1 a6 Y' O" g# \Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: O/ g: ?4 f# j; T
on weekends.7 _# ]0 e: q" P& T' N) J
) q( ]! N- y$ d# Z5 c
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
8 r3 m2 `* c e6 x& Y( P, [7 Fschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 C" k, H! ~5 \# D* A7 x0 M- N# Sstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
, I* q/ L7 x# Z/ [; ]6 i' ]
$ d- `9 j6 V+ J& hMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; h: |; X) n% f9 z+ c/ |
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' s7 C: \7 j& J* `" kcompetition. " G( n4 ?- T% }0 @$ R2 |
; J/ \9 J% o) h; k& U"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley' p5 X2 B& P! O- `5 z3 w8 W
said. "There will be Chinese and English."0 ?! X6 a& t$ {7 g: ]- k; b l
, A i ` X0 } s, WFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
X7 q! @! A0 K& \5 E+ Gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 w: V; m6 {4 ~; v8 xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. a8 k1 H+ P D& U. T
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 \/ z8 U' }* s5 [# K, W8 ?4 Ywho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to7 {/ p5 O% w) ]) a: d& a8 U
the school system last year.
' I( e& y1 W2 p6 x, B$ G, a4 M8 ` d% q e u3 ~
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 O* F9 y! N& r
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
7 L0 v8 m% x' J* q( b1 |# p" @
"They have a great international experience right in their own
2 C0 s! _' s/ O, Y9 K# ^1 h( h( zclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" O, B+ K) N' e bChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
+ o; q u( T+ Ihelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
. @! x3 T# h" a* w. ]0 k/ aon an equal playing field."
* Z$ i$ ~7 F6 w. J1 C( |" Y, o2 {) a- g& n5 L* {
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
o% T$ b0 Y' f5 E) i: X0 yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, @9 v% P' `- w9 cService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
" G2 k' b9 c+ G5 |Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
# m$ V% i+ O4 waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in- o3 U9 o. n3 y2 @- m* f4 z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the8 ?8 ^: ?/ U7 `1 ~
institute says.
5 b& S- Z$ i1 _6 V1 t" C- y: b: r
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 _7 U2 e2 [+ p$ P# ~grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* D3 a# z, k* B7 d p- X
deciding whether to take the class.
" X* K9 y+ m. R, V7 Z+ y5 R$ O* a6 k0 N. P! v. O1 k; D
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she \" m# [& r& [5 y# @# }
told her daughter.. t3 u( @* s: ?# B; d
, c+ x( K% D, V& W# X7 o0 q* }
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# ^* V! m! [( M! |: o c. Vclass.- ?/ r- ~- U/ f6 @& I3 L% ` P
8 ^8 M, E: M) D" u
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
D6 E# E9 j( b3 |studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
3 J1 S0 O, g; b+ e& l; L$ p \occasional frustration.- M/ d8 |4 `/ j2 t. M1 g
+ D A2 j% `+ d, r3 ~$ o"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a- c2 M* X) H' |9 x
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
) l* [5 i1 i* f7 Z3 e
! W) Q2 v3 B' c- Q/ K& pRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he6 B3 ^' P% A I3 }1 P( L4 G3 p) W
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with2 r8 V% h6 l" G# o/ |% b
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.# z! T; n. c' f% ~! M# P
+ E% ]0 [( K: T# N
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul x4 s& n2 ?, Z1 A( N' E: K+ _
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 [* L, g6 B i" R O( G$ q- qas many languages as I can."( d Z5 l2 f+ ^% ^
% n- v6 c4 D; i4 k OAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; o1 G/ h8 Y7 K4 P4 A* p5 Vskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* s( r$ Y4 W) l+ y1 ^market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
{3 _3 m- j/ B$ Z" s; y3 lthat," Ms. Freire said.
0 D/ C! Z- \: o
8 y7 Y) _) G% E# T5 M0 q# t9 P2 AMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, }4 w/ R2 r5 j+ B2 L1 U* ?
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
. C+ B3 I, d6 V) y l* s& c( o+ Pschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 F# T8 b4 L, ]* A3 g
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make' {9 q& a ~$ y3 R }
room.
% D: f' X! p) G, Q1 \% y
' u, {/ O% j' J5 PChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer. f' Q8 X0 G, g' R! d2 o
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, i3 ? l' d' Icollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
0 Y8 S- K2 [( P1 G
. j1 }2 B0 W8 q' t- f: Y' i"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' f6 L* f% X* a8 Lbecause of that missing certification," he said.- H$ h" P$ E7 K5 U: \: `2 Y
2 X/ ^/ \. }$ F6 |5 V& A; @. v
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
1 F! I8 e r; j% l8 Lsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia2 m' A: M0 X& c$ T) Z! j
Society in New York.0 i4 T% I+ K* Y- N$ T
: n8 P3 C+ }, h, Z" W
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
k6 V& H# H- k W% ]Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 c/ |: Y$ u% B$ H" P+ B1 Fthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.' {: y6 K, @7 e# k) w
- T8 U; v N0 m% x; e3 t
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our* a$ W$ f( P! I# R( x7 _' I- W
own."/ r& y) l; x: h4 @) U2 ~
# l3 @ t* P' B3 |Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2005-10-18 09:28
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
发表于 2005-10-18 10:30
楼主
发表于 2005-10-18 15:23
