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October 15, 2005
4 v9 n# c! y' Z; p1 JClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity! M, F" D' s1 y: C- W0 w
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING3 U- Y. V3 M% M
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
+ t" D7 L; @ E5 jUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary! G2 k" c3 ]/ R0 h
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% m6 O/ z5 s0 l6 W: cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 l* }1 e" ^1 Y
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
/ f* j [+ g9 I- ?# }another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders& ]" D# Q. b" O" K, p' z4 X F. O
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
: ~; D' l' u& C: o4 F% z- k; s% sboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students0 Q9 n! x+ Q/ Q
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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' `0 C C* Y: K4 J. R$ F f S"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: q. w$ ?) x9 e2 l4 M
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! b4 c0 l I- ?$ A' }offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. ^; R8 y+ S) S2 Z1 L6 [: gschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings$ m& s, h3 q6 h! Y F- o4 C8 z
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 w+ a0 B5 R9 A, Z% s4 rone of its most difficult to learn. E% Q* C) \+ X8 {: {8 j
8 Q/ C. }6 f6 x1 p3 s3 DLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ n+ [: D7 z! g; s1 {9 V
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 v+ W# `# y- ~studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 c" y3 X. n) D' W! u4 \Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
' m* w9 I. T8 HTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: B: }: o0 F& o$ d/ qChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
- X5 E8 }: L6 B+ M3 a+ W: Qimprove 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
& Y- T; \( l$ X# o" A* o- f: ZChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country u( K6 }* q$ U+ [6 ^0 }7 I
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 T% S$ @7 A; A5 D4 Gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ ~2 T- P4 V1 X% m) M
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; h' r" h% \; g/ D2 v Q- Tof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 g% n J4 u9 ], m# d8 {( X
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education) m/ l( a3 l6 f2 d& z( v3 c8 ~' q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
$ b, q x2 ^/ O; x; a0 ccan." 1 b* T) n; B+ H1 p2 _- N
+ [( s& H+ A7 ^) M# I: aThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) q7 T9 Y: u0 |" f, U' }" m- n
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ t5 f* {0 f# {+ \* `4 M- P$ P, Lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ s5 n" }! i/ b: w. J$ GInstitute in Washington.
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) A! h: g+ L8 v0 u/ \% E8 G"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages i1 B8 [/ i" J$ q5 y4 }# u; y6 l2 ^
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.1 n' c4 ^$ B) h) l, `# H
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
) K* n: p" r* H5 o1 T' Clongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be3 v2 i. _) G9 C7 ~
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
* E5 x6 x9 w. pchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."+ f1 f! x2 k* t7 a" I8 K0 I
' ]$ r8 E$ @% F8 Y+ F7 l- p. l9 {8 sUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
4 o$ ~% G9 ]9 Dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in! y" T% V3 e( s1 ~) T
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' c8 z) U: D8 Z3 [Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 C: V; k; Z [) ]on weekends.
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* P' X& a2 x5 Y( d" s! rThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" m% i8 [ n3 K: U" Tschools during the regular school day and primarily serves3 y, |1 F8 L; b6 @3 J
students who are not of Chinese descent.* I; z( i/ l$ f; U( C9 \6 h
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said! a% r+ h2 r' B; x4 V8 _& l8 J) `
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ u6 D! I- ] a7 W; x- c' Lcompetition. % N2 w$ ]; r! _8 {$ H
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, G; C8 @3 E: v; u, y; H1 v/ y5 Nsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."% U+ K; c2 U% R0 M
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# ~3 v; |) P, k( C5 P, {% {
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
; w$ X! d Z5 n5 c8 V K6 ?9 Oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
7 L i ^. r( m O: n& |( b, u; ]! w* `kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% l$ M) C3 V, N& O& kwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
) ?0 P; H( N4 a, g: {the school system last year.6 P1 k8 m6 d! \
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this9 G3 Q3 m. r, b
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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J" x% m$ r' y; F8 K"They have a great international experience right in their own
2 [+ `) A" b* x, |) Jclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 F. I. l0 _3 l) c+ q9 NChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
Y/ U! M s- R/ R4 I! \5 o5 [: Dhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; b0 H% y) W! ?5 V
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese# m% @% p1 T) T) `8 b% M
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign) k) i9 j7 M' r% R5 a! h# t9 n d
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 o, x9 _. l: LChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" V8 Q t6 ]( {" D& F8 Xaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 T$ W( U! X5 d( Q8 ], X: g. t# @Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* [: S# u/ F- k/ k' u sinstitute says. S8 \8 a9 a5 E9 a- M6 z# e
' K( Z! X# p7 B# P% rSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth! N% q% ~% q4 Q; ]# Q8 y" n
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, W e% p" q" w+ J
deciding whether to take the class.+ K, ^, t0 D D
n. g1 T6 z& U8 L2 @" P: F"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 I, A% {8 V7 b. Z. k. B0 m
told her daughter.) N- T8 S" @. S9 @" w4 l
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
0 ~4 f! @6 s& s6 ~( Cclass.4 z, _4 T$ D& z2 q V' i
: A1 @3 w( A4 q1 q& A" kAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
1 C. m6 ^; u p6 h$ Qstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' z/ ^6 J+ O0 I7 T% G4 noccasional frustration.9 W; A# u5 w+ I0 l0 C
2 H% k* z1 S! p"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
X- {. G9 g4 drecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 A9 C7 Q2 K8 v, v9 Z( w
! G. j, i- y2 O1 m* a5 X/ ?Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ t, F$ W( F) e. b: ?
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( p. m j/ |" X e; R/ M v
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- R7 E. x; M# u4 a, @
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 @9 m4 }0 O' `; u3 g" i
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 @- N$ O$ `" X$ G4 D+ @
as many languages as I can."2 U+ J& ~* X1 Y+ l" k1 _2 ?
* Y1 i& x% @: |+ @Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the! v; W8 B/ }5 H p
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job. r( F! I- r; u3 ^
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
7 j$ N. Q- N1 F2 ^7 qthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
1 [/ k6 w. N& F5 H- y( u0 Ohere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
! c0 l- f6 J4 G! l/ I) ]school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 M5 Y% B8 {) b. Y5 A, K1 \8 s Etime from classes like physical education, music and art to make, B4 ^1 [' o# A' e o9 Q; l& V
room.
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# @; j q8 i+ B# Q2 xChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 V9 ~/ d# w2 O9 dChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 g5 O2 |7 R: S8 y6 j8 z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.# q6 Z, [ B3 X( G {
% S+ `7 ]+ u" K _; z# t+ i"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
* W# |$ {( k. Z( {7 @) g% _6 ubecause of that missing certification," he said.
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& \+ _; q2 f: w# }The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, K! F' e* |, A! ?$ ^* H
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
; J3 X) v0 C4 y8 u8 d+ J4 USociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
# C& b: i) D' O6 ?* r2 Z/ T/ {Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
6 h$ x! e% P9 [( @. l- ythe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; M K+ q( @& x- ~- q: ^
R! D+ d+ D; w1 O1 a"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 \$ p6 Z& G' m6 O n- \& s, ~
own."3 s1 {# r9 t0 a7 [
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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