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October 15, 2005
2 N; V' ?9 G# eClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 c; F. z0 R m0 Z) ~/ I) q
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING3 Z1 }" r! H+ ~
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the: ]9 ~6 @; k9 i. Y
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary+ T) z. V( p( ]9 |( F2 X
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 i% @: `6 x* p
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
: z& f* Y% Z0 S% @0 Z1 tflag hang from the wall.4 \! L& ~0 L! E s
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one1 c$ b: j3 z0 M, Q- t
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders( Z' u$ S4 k+ T) t/ a/ V
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
" b3 Y( b3 {0 h5 k6 v' Nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! ~5 P1 @! M8 }% F+ m- X; oare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# @0 w# k3 V8 N2 M8 p' N. S4 C5 d
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city: W! H Z3 a" v4 X; k% o. g+ u
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,. A1 d/ e2 {# Z6 R% p& F
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
0 S1 f1 F9 J; b: O$ c1 Wto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 p! w0 X! l2 p2 A1 k) o
one of its most difficult to learn.
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( a: O; p$ ^4 f, s. u. e: n7 V& \5 @Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 j5 d/ t9 D' K; R. t/ W# b: P
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 W! _1 S$ j9 O% k5 Z$ h
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
$ H0 v) H' b1 B+ XLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of- G# c7 x/ @: C7 _
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on0 g- H% Q1 |- i; q$ v
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
# K, X3 B# I/ Y7 ]7 @improve 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- m: u+ ]* a& G. \5 Z; P6 r
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, P. p7 z! A% l% |* F9 lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! ]; `2 ?6 p7 h" a2 _1 J
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" R7 L) E% T: v- g# a. `curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; H, h3 e% H# n& aof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ v0 O8 U$ d. ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education; z- S% R& Y5 e# X3 d9 ^" n& ~8 q( W
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; ~" E( T# N8 ?
can." 0 V% J8 X7 A; @+ _3 g
% [5 w; B5 k) g& h7 zThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. g! I) E6 P# r y* }% v. p" @elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' a( p& r5 L# I7 p- h7 N2 }" H. \years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ N1 ?( G! R1 WInstitute in Washington.# ]: i$ M, g4 Z2 d) a: M; w
% F% N% ]% f" f! V$ P"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- |/ `/ u. e, Q H7 v
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
: r% m7 E: l" P4 ?& f9 q- LMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
& i/ L( }- H7 d6 E' N- c5 {longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be6 ^' q5 ^4 T7 b
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a N% J) S8 r x
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."# \9 I1 T; x; v7 z4 e1 `! e
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and& N4 V% n+ B! J1 A$ v4 c) H& A1 r
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in% i8 z5 L2 d. ~ J; U; c; S
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 z& E" M, V* W0 P: x- @Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 |$ o: {- ^5 ^
on weekends.
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: \& e) [& U* S* [1 LThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* ]$ N1 E7 G( Z. X4 Q' q/ eschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
9 m( K1 _ i2 z2 Bstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& J' |) F3 f4 {# c" a5 T! mproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the; C) |2 P* k$ `
competition. ( I# N+ ]' D% ^9 w
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley7 c" W6 E! @' a, o) q; e
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
; f6 d0 @3 N+ R; k: J+ @/ P' Vall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
% ~- v% l8 y% Q3 D3 y( Bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
, y# v: W h* i( {: dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
& k: ~9 j1 s' H5 X& Z* G% {who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 _( e# Q/ D+ W9 c- E( \$ E7 ?the school system last year.
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$ k) k$ y* f4 u9 ?6 uThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 H, X" n$ ^, ?) H: R1 H; O. A. V
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.' {! D3 u/ ?/ O* p1 ^" K
) s$ u0 M$ y- [' V"They have a great international experience right in their own
# ]& Y0 S8 z, J4 Uclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago5 D ^; e) d# R \5 I
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 Z! p2 o& j0 v. l0 `( m
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 B( ?9 X3 P6 b, E6 U' D
on an equal playing field.": L1 X" n) H& I$ e) R- U* Y
) A+ R# }% U9 MSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese5 x/ i! s; ?9 o
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 _) X! U# p! Z/ r; @) E/ @, CService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 l: R0 l( ^/ T1 e. Q8 {2 v
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
; M9 S. p( ^4 T9 {3 L5 |average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 K4 j! L# R# ~3 uChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# |- P. j! k7 w+ f! l @! \# I* E
institute says.3 R- `+ D/ L. |" q/ ?5 a: e
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
' S1 f* q. U. lgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
8 u5 ]/ F- ~7 Tdeciding whether to take the class." I+ c. Z3 l. H
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
- K5 v9 i; a6 ?2 f3 }' vtold her daughter./ b# G A9 _- _) ]
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite. M7 w5 i: U% ~1 }+ L, f; y, J
class.
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1 U4 `+ Z4 i$ JAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are$ t4 E% S6 W" @* h7 X
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without* {# S# U- E e9 \' ]0 z* [
occasional frustration.
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u& U |$ M+ `4 ~3 F"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a& J- x( N& K) I
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.2 W4 N& f" @( p7 S: ~
1 j- [0 D% c3 }Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he g1 W+ `3 z- R* V, n6 n$ m
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 X% M, ?! s% b* zChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! w& T5 | i2 [4 Z" T9 L# }
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 C7 j* ?7 [$ s: ~
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
3 k6 `( M; d6 }as many languages as I can."
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7 \; B" ~) n8 y7 E/ {Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the% Q1 |& z( S6 v( D ]7 ~
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
4 X6 x1 Y4 t m% Q$ Fmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' x5 U9 t+ M6 k' A
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( h: j) |/ D! bhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each& @9 J; W' Z3 y
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 m9 q4 b! B4 ^# a* G/ {) u4 Htime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* a0 C7 [ L2 o4 h/ k6 T" [
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American# V _( r& R2 o# Z9 E
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
! D- |+ L+ L# ^5 Sbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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. Y' \- k% A6 L8 S& QThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
. f% g' z* j, q( D' n) W% Hsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 k3 ?& v4 s4 A/ F DSociety in New York.9 A6 Y6 w# O1 {8 n0 r1 V
; ?$ K5 e. }$ {) T1 bSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' ?) L/ g+ _! R
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: @0 P/ W) p* j1 y+ X* m5 X
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) R0 a: u# K7 \* t0 @: E
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 t; Z. |5 s! G! Z
own."5 L5 K) h* V5 h* I$ n
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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