 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005) c& T e. p7 y, _
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity* R% a! v/ [) _' [- \
1 S+ E- P1 M( |# HBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 ?/ g z% W2 H3 o' J8 H
( f% ?' v7 Z/ F! ^, k6 ?" ?
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; [. `: r5 V0 EUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary1 E- H* F+ u0 Q& d( P
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas( b& y7 f' F4 A2 |7 e- s! f0 e
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese' ]! K$ ^5 V4 N' p" |. S- u
flag hang from the wall.8 R0 n2 O9 ~5 t5 J* L
# V, V' e3 b+ }! l4 QOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one# ], z+ |4 a% O# d- R
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- J8 W; ]/ i, O8 Lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker: j g" v: o5 x. j$ Y3 B
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 y! b9 Z1 H7 H( X& hare already choosing it over Spanish.9 p0 Z. [) h) N" {. \
9 G D' ~7 l, F
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- U3 f, g, Y0 ~6 [+ A) E1 x, `: B
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# s4 P5 z% D. e L+ j. E# i5 Soffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 l6 W& I! e4 J7 V+ b
1 ]% P/ i' D7 M d4 p1 ] a9 J
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' i3 G" r4 f" h
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; {/ G+ {! S" x# |2 E- u) X# P
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 j8 ~# Y2 T& d- k8 H3 P# ?0 L7 z7 X
one of its most difficult to learn.
: @7 c" W$ q2 U$ p* o/ i9 i6 I9 v) K' o, |( \- N2 c* I7 d) B# Y+ q1 i0 L, p. r
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
3 ~, |' B+ Z( ]% G# b4 q) fpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: G+ o$ j! G* e* [- Q( o1 ^* V8 lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ c' b+ h. p" U: s3 a/ I( N8 i7 s
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ [- [* f7 C( V8 G$ s, `1 `$ [% E1 q. \
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
1 W" a* `9 b" } X( jChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to* R, O: w9 o9 @& T& a3 m) O; F, v" F
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.3 f! e* l1 O) F6 f4 E9 t# x' F
7 N4 c0 Z4 c- Q$ x! S# @- `$ sAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
, I& s; ?5 y5 ~5 B4 ] r3 \2 u S- ?3 lChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country' P( I! `# t/ Q4 b- }( W( u/ n
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
7 z4 y! n6 A3 D; H4 Qdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing- ~0 F& {/ O9 B! D0 V6 B
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director, |0 R0 A+ i q6 W
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board., C9 M4 \3 ]( V/ k2 \4 G
: v( F1 D" U2 r8 T5 ~: W
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of+ j. k; y5 \1 W# y3 q, M6 J8 Y) G
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, h: r$ l$ {9 X2 U
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we: w% l; C# h& [$ ~" T2 Z1 h
can."
' r7 x4 ?; w2 z3 _
7 R) p5 w& s" }6 G8 P" u0 C0 ]% K2 JThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from0 I2 T- w$ I; {8 J0 J5 Y2 I
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' X* \0 t! G4 @3 u$ fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
4 E$ Y" N- r9 U* V0 M; c1 x3 U% @) cInstitute in Washington.% }1 R, z" h4 U9 \3 i
* i7 c) t' v; |"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
c% B* A0 S5 v* z1 Qaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; s0 Z, j, p9 K6 Z" v7 E; G
McGinnis said.
1 }; o8 \" G; o" }( t! r- E( e! {5 q- V9 w% R
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
, K2 c) X8 r6 g! L1 C7 xlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 s, k2 w9 X7 C" C! r! wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
0 }6 ?# G8 U$ R& n% tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
8 @: w% d1 P% h5 _8 O' Q$ S; d. C5 @- J" H' ~
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 v7 W& [0 E8 E6 s
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
' k9 ~" r! S& T0 A' zcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of5 e4 m9 k% @$ ~2 U5 S) D0 ]) T
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or# N _9 V9 S' c# L
on weekends.
9 ~" G. w; {0 l0 s
2 P2 ] x0 V l1 G: L! ^: v) RThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
+ F7 u+ x% p4 [schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 B5 f! P% p5 m- Tstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
3 B+ c. j7 d0 }+ U: X0 Z) k" ~0 t! G1 b
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 `* }& J0 y5 D9 d- G3 d
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the; R3 s4 [/ \. ?4 \5 U
competition. $ j0 V2 \! Z- e# B |
( C3 Q0 k1 B0 v2 O7 t' G' L
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; v% g& q% Y' ~* Gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."+ \4 B4 k t% W8 d& a
% |, G+ B* z1 d8 ZFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
: T, u% k2 Z, n- ?1 Dall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse* n0 J1 J- ], \0 t+ V' I( s* {1 U
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from/ P' \, ~/ i5 G( A8 ~2 d! D
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
" X. @) p* s4 ~4 R- ^# S$ B0 q3 `who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
0 U1 g/ n3 J! n* N/ g9 i: a7 }( m% kthe school system last year.
7 p9 @; E& b7 U3 H, {0 o( u7 C" X2 I! e) l' v, U
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* o* i& _) f" b- m* F6 }0 r+ [year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
+ h r2 }, v& r3 }5 Z: F) i' M+ S- b8 y! z) U
"They have a great international experience right in their own
! T- J; O: f% M' u/ m" s+ `classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 T9 S. l; f' |) H
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
: d6 D( F% X" O* N( `7 X& c) whelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 S% ^/ W0 c' @* s: Hon an equal playing field."5 a/ E1 ~# F5 o8 z5 o, A
2 J" a) @' A( ~& f) p9 h0 NSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese8 s2 U; W5 M# k/ M
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
/ Z" N; @! L0 u8 DService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 |. L* ]9 G5 ^2 p$ R8 ?* `3 uChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An& O* L7 ~$ K4 r: z4 L5 G
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 L- h8 ~- g( `" p/ }$ }Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the. Y$ N+ K8 `& K, \$ W; g4 B
institute says.; M3 \. z/ n) p. {
0 _$ e/ C7 q$ d% J% u) }2 N9 iSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
' m$ S0 p! g, b" @+ _+ qgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) i/ c' M$ e: @. Gdeciding whether to take the class.% U a9 d1 W4 H
' N2 W; U1 B b2 G6 Q, x& N"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she! ]( z- }+ J, s9 q% {
told her daughter.! a$ C4 u" ~/ y+ I6 N( l4 h
9 ^% t3 h2 O E' p* MSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% a: J& {1 N3 N# o4 N3 gclass.
- H% l* w. c% i' K5 W
0 C7 d0 w) t1 C4 M2 w+ `& t) QAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are- i. }: n$ [! w7 w# s) t
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
! O- [) i; U4 k1 e/ ~: D/ ?0 n3 T! E, T Eoccasional frustration.+ y# `" b8 }) {+ _% E
- x# P: x1 M0 `7 a7 y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, q, W+ ^9 L& J4 }8 M+ Orecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.$ D9 `; Q% m I N+ {# N8 @
9 w$ ~( _- B3 ?+ B! o [Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he+ t3 k2 O& E) W' }: q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
; z/ L% k: r) @! _Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.8 c9 W2 i# q/ y1 A3 N
" X$ h& e" [' U Y( G! T6 \. h$ r* D
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 ]: r7 f& r) T, P" _2 I& A
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
; X0 L4 c' e# Uas many languages as I can."( d1 k8 @: m) O4 p
( {7 { S |' a! C% hAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the! K. ^8 V) I* m8 f; F
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: o p4 L# o8 t8 X
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
) T5 {4 P: i- _ J3 Gthat," Ms. Freire said.; K, D \) c2 e, l9 m
m! D# H9 o. [+ c1 c8 F5 cMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 X, o5 y0 ~5 S) a
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each2 q' i& c1 W" r4 Z0 f4 S8 b7 e
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
" @) v/ S- H9 S3 d4 k7 Ktime from classes like physical education, music and art to make. I0 F9 P# S2 q- N& D: _
room.
& C* u9 v. F6 P l
6 w5 |/ g& E! }Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer& @% C; ~; ?0 K, |
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American" l2 ]+ h8 O( m# z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 R# S, {, |8 F1 p( o, j$ M
) A- ~7 |% R v6 b! o"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified0 a% Q0 E Y8 h
because of that missing certification," he said." P7 m$ t' V8 U
}0 V9 X0 A$ `The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,) E0 x; S' `8 _# _
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) c6 m, X' w* c
Society in New York.* H- K7 G/ d4 H: D7 p) C
; t/ G4 R P" N1 I
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the6 X! E6 j r. X' X
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 b P" |; A" S
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
* q, K+ R0 b7 l) E$ f7 c' j
8 O- p9 q8 E: S% s$ ["Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our2 ^2 h' n K& y3 y) V
own."
H3 u3 \8 O( t$ E+ d- p( W* ]; t
. B( ?: I( k0 W1 B$ u* J: @+ {Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|