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October 15, 2005, p4 t& z0 k' a' q
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING6 C: k% V$ M9 P( a: o3 O
) H* B" E! f5 J; xCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
9 {6 R: E. Z/ T9 L F. RUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 F: z5 \, B) k* P
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 s$ K6 z# x( {' \% F# Kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese+ Y8 Y" Y5 y2 Y3 O$ A1 p
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" R( e' H5 n' ^3 s7 I E0 d. A
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
6 e% ]4 D" D8 j- C1 g0 n: M$ A7 |- opracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker" R5 h) {. X5 V! e1 t
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students/ i% c. c: A8 G" z# M
are already choosing it over Spanish.6 ~2 U5 j3 a4 h, x8 {
7 e3 G5 @1 h& R. H( J1 I( `"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal* V: p4 P& ?! I' s: a( b- U' _" L
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
0 `3 [6 @5 ^0 `0 w* S8 toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."$ x8 P8 A; e4 q9 n' a! I, T
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,- L/ f H) B+ x- t { F
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
# z/ D+ L' h% k+ q$ [& }to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 ^' q& U3 g0 rone of its most difficult to learn.4 w' r1 u# ~/ r
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to l: C) d, U" J/ O! w$ ]5 @
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
0 T) l, W* _$ e5 y. x# s# cstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.& J; ?* L/ D, W& H7 D* a {' h( n
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
4 S0 s2 e1 t0 h2 C! o/ L% nTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. w6 D5 Y' D5 _: l8 f. o6 }5 l( PChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! m. P* _5 a7 {( Y% himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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* J# r; M* ?# W- FAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ S; J; `7 t3 {2 o9 R) \8 l
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country% V8 ~. @ t# W( B) Y
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( z7 \3 f' W- E/ ^( Z' V
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing1 u: W# d& u+ E# @6 Y
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ s5 a: _) V6 B7 xof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 c- i) R+ ~, V5 V- r' l
. D' g9 R7 ^* X. r) B! r"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
0 N2 _) x2 c* \! Q! r# u1 s) Y* k- cspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education4 s9 T% x6 ~& k7 d' |
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" \) E8 D/ V0 t D E; H& K* jcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) M* j6 Q8 O' C! ?/ G' p# {elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
+ e4 L% H5 V$ \years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 b1 o) d! J0 Z$ H1 w$ p- rInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 i, ?; \* [: I8 f; H/ b1 m; \0 O
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
' Y! n" q% L7 fMcGinnis said.% N; q! ^- W g8 H; z+ ~& S/ f6 p
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
3 `+ F; E( G6 G9 z% Slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! [0 f1 i+ ^! X Q$ R8 eready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& ^) {0 i' X# [* |- q4 R" n
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 k+ n; x% b8 {. H
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
3 K% Q* M+ A K8 ]' P( ccities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ t6 h* Q* e4 t$ O
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
9 r- _" x( C' [on weekends.
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; {% b1 F4 ^( I) z$ u9 q" O: GThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public- c" M3 ^" {# {' a; @
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, B+ c* l+ F5 ~( a9 cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.+ B$ |7 t" ]; w/ H5 \; l
3 L9 W$ X4 s/ j( i3 k# vMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said# F9 M% p, u+ Z7 m$ E% f( C
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
" u: ` h3 j lcompetition. ! F, R3 R2 N, @3 n
$ f# v9 ?4 V X, h8 Q6 A/ _% e+ c"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley8 w* v% Q1 b7 y* O
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
! \* h6 I: x1 a9 yall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- f$ C) n# k! a# Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 E- _" F" M, }# d( f
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
# R$ J. I/ K# Vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to) u, M2 j! V' }5 g1 @' }, P
the school system last year. R' C6 e% _) y3 a+ M
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
0 ~( h. r. P" l4 m) Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.7 a9 C- v c! o3 }2 K; g% i
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"They have a great international experience right in their own# `) e7 K! t: w' Y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' B+ c6 I8 _/ U- a/ L" Z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to+ m) K/ S- z1 F5 f) `0 l* g% o, T
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; p) s7 q, E# h% S* h! E. s
on an equal playing field."# E# k4 ^ k8 _% b6 r- z
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- {2 D. {" u6 B. p$ fclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
6 v' R4 o' q1 W8 W5 @Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks2 N' D( I3 M+ `/ F
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' S% a1 a4 F' ^& M# daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in I, ^: A# I- Q5 O7 U; l- w. b
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the C1 L! ^) w/ |( Q
institute says.# L+ i2 g6 t5 }1 I2 F
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 e5 Z. ]+ r3 g. D# Sgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 W+ F3 d# w/ M. M& g3 @deciding whether to take the class.# d; `; [2 a- h; P: T
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. G! j S7 ]: j4 Z
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 }5 `; E' Z' d& S+ D
class.
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6 D' {" h/ [+ M% g8 |( [At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. j8 r" [0 |7 D9 a4 z0 h
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without# n) E; [2 M: Z' w7 s# Y
occasional frustration.* |7 ^- z3 G6 ]' Q( d
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
) A8 V" k1 F3 {! |" ?) J5 Orecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.: Q5 S9 d/ Q; ]0 ?% D- j
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* I2 D, K" y+ j. }% P; ltaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% ?# o, e! ^2 z1 J9 G
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.2 v0 S# J3 g$ p) v) G; U
3 h0 I$ ~& p2 ], X* H9 }"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 T# o6 r: t# Q7 _: Y0 B) j) c- x
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn7 v9 v0 e# I% @$ G& t$ _, q! |' f
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; K, b. c4 m" V8 ` R% ~5 wskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 x+ a6 X j" y) r1 tmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like5 a0 G y$ @7 E
that," Ms. Freire said.2 U4 n* u- A- @" _4 G
) @* z# U* |' |9 ZMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program* s* |5 h, ]3 H/ u0 F) I
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 ?" g# I5 O% _7 K1 `; E0 k
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
% X, F1 p" t. o* H$ I( D, N: n& itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
% q9 p0 D5 v6 E, aroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer( S9 n" H6 l. l& U, R9 P
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
V) z5 i" h4 I/ ucollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.. L( @, F- i8 L" ?
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
6 X5 z9 ]- ]0 X6 Y' }# h8 nbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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8 o, r" H8 N# M9 Z$ d( d2 pThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,- W& P( w% X5 b' |- ^$ D
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 n. o# h4 m/ J2 g, VSociety in New York.2 m0 g. G" q7 _2 g
7 X: c7 r- D9 {; KSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& y3 o. p3 \8 q! O
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
7 ~( a1 C% h0 Dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our$ Z6 a" A3 F( Z( l g1 g; J* w& a
own."3 l B% l) \, O% Z/ V" ~: K, h, y: E
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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