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October 15, 2005, M# u) |. p9 g& B8 @* j" s) f+ t' ?
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING. ^! n+ { E5 U: a1 E5 C3 @
& v3 [, A& _- k+ n2 K8 [CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; q# t/ L7 C. `# L- ^United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. w8 f9 b7 @# |. C+ rSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
6 u T! |: T2 A' M/ ~& sdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese0 z1 e* h) q5 I' U
flag hang from the wall.
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) _% f3 _4 n$ m0 r% mOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one/ {, u4 _2 u- c+ `9 @
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders- x& g: m+ d- \5 ]( W. [; M3 s1 a
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker4 l, k% b7 D# R3 k9 z5 {
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students5 l! G; f- g' J4 b" E
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
# l \- J% \- X) C+ t8 s3 E! o+ fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& v" U. h, F4 N9 Toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 E3 E, @2 j$ n2 a7 Z7 G8 J! }
0 [2 o8 e8 F6 c t! ^With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
2 P6 m7 V7 x' ^3 L- ^) _5 Fschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings- q W5 D5 T a8 G, p! u
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
o1 b$ u# t' d kone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# M/ j6 h( ?. T
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students/ |5 R+ K& K7 h) c" x1 D; X. \8 F
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. x4 B! _6 X6 w: B2 XLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of' N6 l' l: r, [/ C1 K1 m
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on6 U0 D l ?" b2 X
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 M/ [3 N$ d+ Oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.8 V" P6 H" O( X) p
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement. o5 l4 x/ s a& w3 B0 q
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ L, K' E [7 Z3 d- J2 U3 _ z3 E
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to" C, p2 F- b k! H
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
: t3 r0 ]0 \; W0 s5 jcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
5 p6 F4 z6 ]+ K" c5 uof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
' m, z# T9 A; }4 H. A/ ^$ rspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education* _+ q: A; M# D
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
: ^! A/ V# |0 P2 @: acan."
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/ K! W; k c, C2 x1 s( l/ XThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% }, H0 \( Y# n5 X! v
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( o& E" a$ ?0 _4 C
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 h+ V$ C( x0 |1 O: bInstitute in Washington.9 e. j* I! H9 Q- W. O
/ ?5 @' U* v9 {% t' P"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 e! b, g. B# _9 P- q+ T# L+ M [
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 U8 b i) N8 I
McGinnis said.7 s+ l/ n" t7 z* Y: r/ W* L
* h# e' R2 F" a& j3 P"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
& M7 a; h: c# l8 o! u0 J" _0 wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be4 \/ {0 x4 |1 p Z. q, I+ }
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a8 L A& m! M9 l d' A! @# _: h3 I) R
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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; q( e9 J$ u$ u) kUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 z0 A3 J9 U) N* H* }8 B7 ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' Y. n; G* E' x) z% d/ v1 c
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# Q1 a) a% R6 }+ f0 |! f
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or3 i) v5 Z$ q5 @% x& _ T4 |7 D
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! I' x% r/ _* c
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves& r% ~2 G- U6 }8 f
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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- I* S z0 j+ Y+ ]6 G, a, g: xMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ b% h# a w% I0 i6 [' M, B: |, oproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the W5 e6 M I# H
competition.
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# a7 ~2 F! i) _! _0 M* [6 b"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
9 i M# V. E! g; O. P( Asaid. "There will be Chinese and English."5 d7 w* T _0 b. f- X: y3 c
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly+ E7 x8 v5 E7 z) i
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 Z! K2 d: s5 b$ j/ o; z" Jschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& t t* Z" z& q; \; e% ~: {
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 Y; `- g9 j. ~! u! x8 H' _/ g
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& L$ L3 ]2 G9 ]
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' C9 d- t1 }0 w/ }# xyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own" s$ J, D6 z* A, A2 x
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 s, @, L, m1 n5 v
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! H% y- e# i+ E6 ?5 n1 G2 i
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
9 @6 k S, q- eon an equal playing field."( _5 z7 ]% [2 w/ b
0 C9 L0 ~, H9 ^ e% t3 [Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 ]/ |5 S' i. R, X( V2 b C4 k# kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign7 e: @% H I* ~3 @9 [3 z- ?5 G# ^
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
- H W r7 V- S& P! ] @9 f# y) vChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: Y7 W, ?$ i; F5 W5 c, `
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in- o, m. S- I Q5 a4 x0 L7 m% P9 s
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
- n. F, `$ W7 H8 A! X" finstitute says." I* Z. |5 l" c4 c Q' Z
& L( Z. G2 s) L9 m, `4 j$ g& ~5 |Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* m8 e5 ^+ `5 U+ Y% [8 Vgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before0 S+ X8 l1 W: B% F, `* m# Y
deciding whether to take the class.
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1 ]; Q& \1 O3 e7 ]; P9 l* y"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she+ V) ?: I) J Y4 n& O, I
told her daughter.
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* H4 Z* q, M0 t2 K9 u( tSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
) {8 C! u# f1 p, A, [2 T7 R" g4 @2 aclass.- n8 D3 M$ G: k% ~1 P
* m3 b! L; e& L1 DAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. I* \$ y9 ^: i/ y: x; W& Kstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
, u) X7 q' a" Coccasional frustration.
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# J/ D2 e5 H, W# ]: h"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# }. `: O0 q/ p. S7 A5 F
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he" [+ t$ y3 E& n
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
0 N" g8 h I! H6 x; L4 ?& ~& AChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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; B, W9 \3 x: K+ x! m"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
) P ]+ L) z- z9 Q/ M esaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ `: H" {) }( H# Uas many languages as I can."
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( f" e" C* D; t, U$ Y6 PAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the9 Y9 @! j+ J7 F( x$ r# s: i2 p& c
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
c" v0 @2 b& N" t3 l) I6 t5 y- N. u) Hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 {4 X* |0 N. I) X! h
that," Ms. Freire said.
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% q( j& M$ F" t# n2 U, GMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
- n; D+ D0 V! b$ K- ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
9 \3 C' X& D& m3 yschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
+ s9 ]6 [7 ?3 P4 I+ Ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
0 s/ G2 S: l( {7 p5 ~' t0 F' O, Kroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
9 I; B5 B4 r+ }' N4 Q, VChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" c( s3 s n0 W+ y' B9 M; U; Ycollege, 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 qualified4 |" P6 H o* d( i
because of that missing certification," he said.7 z; t3 s9 C- q% k. K1 F3 h6 H
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
8 L) _& [# F3 o7 ?3 {+ e0 Dsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
! t1 Z L1 @$ u1 lSociety in New York.
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2 M4 G X" E/ K" m2 p- ~5 U0 TSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- }% f. P! p1 W( t5 @
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) F- \" N) s$ b( z
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.7 W/ A3 P4 }, L7 k+ O1 i1 V
v! P5 Y8 V8 j% R$ P+ j
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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