 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
. I) n3 k5 D+ |6 y& T) dClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 b5 _. F) H0 h
: m% b9 F6 O) U/ \# C
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING c* F, w5 |+ ^5 e% A2 H# }
/ X7 Z8 X( M- h* M3 G1 r! _CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
/ X1 I9 |3 } \6 yUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary! Q3 j1 T2 A% F- Z. J
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 @3 Z/ ~9 Z$ o; @' }) x
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: P! u9 H- z2 @" F @% \
flag hang from the wall.; Q1 P6 t; U3 n0 M
1 ^: G- Q# E* o
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 U' `0 l2 D% `" g- I/ T- W9 Ranother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
3 b( \& ^/ q5 Q: V8 m3 cpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( d! \$ u5 x1 j6 }% Y( u+ n: F# tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students' ?/ ]$ @2 K/ b9 V$ x. x$ v6 O ~ o
are already choosing it over Spanish.3 ~+ K; ?8 X5 y4 B/ s0 N
; t, _8 a: x% w" }( C"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 m" |) U+ Y: K% P; R. x: \4 ?at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city% R4 j0 i0 S- e& V
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 P0 W V0 w9 c$ p, f
, g# L- Y' ^: m& G5 Z/ z0 z# AWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 z% b+ y6 d8 _- d' Zschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings7 Y! }5 i) F7 T$ f, B! G4 B0 V
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention$ X- l w9 m' z7 m$ l- Q
one of its most difficult to learn.6 d4 `3 J- P8 y1 U# `+ Q. T0 ~4 W
# R7 O2 \# e' X/ k2 L) i3 JLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
( N1 O" `# z5 h5 V* w, \& Bpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& S: Y" O$ H! z) G, ?" dstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
$ j9 c }1 T7 E! A0 ^Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- X" [- O% a; P9 X( [$ uTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: p3 U' A2 f- k! b% @* rChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
`. \6 s) z. C+ Ximprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ A2 K6 Q# Z, O7 g7 L
, p% @9 P" D& B& TAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement0 \" D5 g: f4 `- }
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country v/ T+ E/ t) ]
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ k y& S: d4 a" @7 l: R
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing: P4 X5 r' X/ {0 o# ~/ o7 T+ \
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 V7 d3 a) R( E5 A0 b
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
' a4 r4 Q9 N9 M2 Y, {4 x0 b! ~* H! J
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
' K# X, L/ [% j% J* Bspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
: Z; Y1 Y* k/ ?2 ~( \. O8 DConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) G% M5 K1 P0 i+ h" B6 S3 w2 @
can."
7 F7 e& t" Q4 }7 M
* b% e, {/ c6 j; o3 AThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from* p( _0 ]+ u8 R0 k, c
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 ~5 z) G, Y: l) E3 @) `years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 }% z7 t$ w& B$ n8 Y9 P
Institute in Washington.
9 U* b7 G9 R, R/ N+ X2 A1 q; }' z: i; o/ v
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
9 c$ ]# q# z: f3 P* I U6 z. Taren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( T8 t4 \# L) y/ }1 v" c/ n% o
McGinnis said.
6 Q( c- n2 p: Y
* c# i0 h# q) V* z"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical: D) o/ E0 a4 z2 ]
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be! d I; B p8 X! z6 V _
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 l2 }5 V l# l# Y2 ochallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
; Z2 O. e" ?( s8 y8 o- q1 n0 F* w! i' k2 q
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 t) o# B+ [% L* X) D: u, s
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in) H s7 g2 @( W }* ^ X9 C+ o
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 D2 y) Y' p0 WChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
( ]( z; m" `/ j6 ]! hon weekends.
, c( E4 m7 h( s8 [+ z* L* ]0 E8 l% y3 r. G; e+ [/ R) r; n
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
3 }0 Y3 B5 Y% S7 v" tschools during the regular school day and primarily serves5 y k' ]" O8 `0 U" j$ r ?7 @( t' X
students who are not of Chinese descent.
# j: v# e0 R) w% @
6 S: c7 c/ Z8 P& e+ P% cMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
2 l }" i! k9 M4 jproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# K7 [/ `( C1 Q% H, c: u
competition. - U Q- v0 {& ^/ e; @1 w
( u1 Z: v% A6 O& z2 K"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" a8 R0 G- M1 Z: l3 i5 G0 x U
said. "There will be Chinese and English."' [3 s; u9 p" D, ?$ ]
. F4 W8 k/ W( N, L& R9 v+ l# g/ uFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( H6 Q# v" G6 ~5 A' sall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 W7 f: H: G7 J9 Q* N% Lschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; {9 J0 P( W" `3 l
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 ?$ W+ U& ?' c9 `# J8 R3 X% qwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
8 b( q8 {- j7 a) vthe school system last year.
" z- d5 D1 |8 a1 b
6 {! U5 J2 w; b5 G9 U( |The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( D5 g1 `7 |- r/ q+ S! gyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
+ u5 V- E( L, j1 e5 \ M5 \5 M9 V4 r( b
"They have a great international experience right in their own7 a9 i1 U) K' l Q0 E
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
6 @( i. A* e) j8 i* t yChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 |+ Y* l2 r3 g9 q4 a0 m0 O/ G
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
; A# a% m& a% ^; @% @, Lon an equal playing field."
( [ U0 v* X* Q+ z" k& q: d% v* K- {+ T1 N0 S
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese1 V. Z. e* \2 {4 h; ^
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign' u! a- S k/ J; g& H
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks$ g6 f( g w2 w1 a
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
4 L `! K7 D4 V" o2 @ J2 aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. X2 c: Y+ }8 e
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
6 C$ e; p+ ]" o) iinstitute says.$ r. ~0 V' e A( r( L7 b
% p: |& h3 ^6 H* {' G0 M; {7 ] SSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
: q" m$ d( ^* W! X. N) _: V% kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
, B2 D3 X& _" {9 l0 Ndeciding whether to take the class.6 o, ^; T' x4 j) }. X2 O/ N# f3 B
; H a: V3 _8 ]: s# t; K% a( N6 Z/ u"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she! z$ A2 \& @( D+ F5 w
told her daughter.* c5 A& U' f) r0 \3 \" f, r2 M4 C
( T' `! r6 A" uSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
5 X& S4 D8 B& H* Y) y; dclass.
$ U9 c5 z5 Z2 U; m% y7 e: i: M8 x
5 e3 O) d. N7 F$ c9 H& I5 k- oAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are1 V8 R F3 g2 H, a0 |
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; Z8 X- | k: b, Zoccasional frustration.. Q; w- a+ g' }
2 a$ m. A/ J; ^"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 M9 l( ]+ \2 U, B% trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
& X: D$ v! M3 s* @" I# H% n1 g
2 p/ c+ T$ x4 wRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
& f( S0 F" V1 ~1 p' Ltaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: ]& z# B+ w5 R! H7 `! {' n
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
$ P4 e( n; E9 W9 t9 \6 U5 U# o$ g6 H- J" g
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
/ A" u, a% t, E8 nsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn% @5 n- t1 e1 F' ~7 ?
as many languages as I can."
) c' O! J" N) m) ~; ?& H* P% N
' t9 k' z% C/ O! j: }& w9 GAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the6 B& J) D. R8 ~7 W" {9 N5 b5 [
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job/ I7 K1 {6 C5 }* q9 o; B4 p
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like3 R4 d( i. {7 W
that," Ms. Freire said.! }% q: j* l3 U4 M) O
' n) Z* i1 R$ H; k4 YMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
6 C$ w' U# T J8 R/ Ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 J$ J e2 k& N7 v# [; n
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; B8 e7 t C( Htime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 G. O0 T" z7 k6 hroom.
6 r+ v. z; H4 `0 r1 }
+ k; T8 ^" o) `3 B kChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer# o( Y1 u+ n9 H1 O
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 {; j8 ?8 G; y
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.1 ^3 ]7 \$ _0 B& E3 @
7 D4 D/ {" U; X
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified2 l/ E7 ?+ S; |, a# v/ d D
because of that missing certification," he said.# }$ D! S L) F4 `- c% E6 H1 ^
% \1 H$ T7 [4 r% o
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,: {( ^7 c: z" x6 Z G
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# G/ J- U/ G$ r7 }
Society in New York.
: ~* G) M( \1 P& O! V/ ~* T# o% u$ d* k0 c. z# W
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' e/ \, [3 W( x/ v2 O6 G$ s
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from' H. n$ _! ^3 G7 n, g1 R0 f ?5 q
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
( K# y0 q1 M1 S' x0 ^! d! e4 r0 b3 M2 X7 Y8 @# L+ ]4 `
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our9 j, C6 W& k/ ]" s* G6 I/ I
own."# ?* ^6 e& ~4 ~/ C' k X# _6 C
/ I5 X) @; C! J! y" E) z4 wCopyright 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
