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October 15, 2005
6 Y) Q+ A! b% a9 z! P8 D! \8 JClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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$ |8 s8 N8 v% x3 z1 FBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 r7 S5 L9 A: O% L1 E" F
0 E" J, [$ |% z7 g5 _* z: pCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 K x2 d; I7 M6 UUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
2 R# f( Q: R7 f* @2 G. sSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 n9 `+ Q$ T+ Edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% m! J3 X+ \. ? Y$ J1 s
flag hang from the wall.6 m. T9 y7 Q& E1 q" Y/ D
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& q- c3 T+ E; ?* V3 X7 F8 ~2 s
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders; `# [$ W, W% y4 ^0 h) U0 X7 }7 _
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
- {) @7 C) |. f% W1 W0 @! cboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students! m+ a+ s) ^ J; }: p
are already choosing it over Spanish.. B( Y1 p: G2 u# m; B* l
$ y3 u( {. d% w. \6 m"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal; l1 ^) _* l) M& S) G. w
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
M6 B$ z- W6 T X, y% f! Yoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."' ]2 q; g7 h8 k4 I @4 S$ v; h- ^
' }2 N7 s- P8 A; v7 V& L0 w7 EWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
; ~' y8 t5 K# k3 @/ v- A- P, q. J$ fschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# a6 d4 ]* d }/ {3 ~* ]3 [
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 e' @) m, N' g i5 B M; Lone of its most difficult to learn.. y( K' }, v* o
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to( u# N: E8 \5 {
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 J8 R* F0 M8 n, x5 m
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 l* j6 Y) Z0 I: X2 HLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% z- s5 C; W3 _/ u( B5 hTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on/ W" N% J1 `$ D2 P( Q: e; F# k' `: v
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" N( r: u/ \* [5 R6 A0 G7 Himprove 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 U2 t! y6 ?$ }% _3 F
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country V3 x. x% ^, @ V4 C
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
' R$ F- P! t# m; g S1 \develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ m. g' X4 _2 i/ }8 {; z4 f" E3 i
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 _& `; S# D" S8 v, Wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) W4 l; r- J" k
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 ?1 I9 [7 o, _2 b, r' \7 L
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
3 Y* U4 b; ?5 S( K c, SConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
5 X# ^/ @ q; l$ Q1 @elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10# a) h/ O" X! L0 g% ]' V2 x" k8 n
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) W* h* L) n4 A) c
Institute in Washington./ _# |; x# B7 n
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" z, p9 A0 v5 i. e9 ~
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ V$ }; u6 M+ A$ {; W4 p, ]$ {
McGinnis said.% f- A% K5 }. X$ T/ c- I; f2 m
3 D# p/ D; V% N' G$ B: K"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical9 e' I3 f. l9 Z2 M$ L1 d: Z" w7 [
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
I. q) j+ u3 ^+ g- vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a4 J" y' G& c2 Y3 ^
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."3 U8 {& K# d2 J( s s f
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and* H* w; }4 ?3 t1 ]9 i
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# h$ F$ p* [. |2 @8 J0 bcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of8 O0 e0 j6 K6 p7 ~) b
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or' v8 }4 A1 I' {4 O0 n2 `' H
on weekends.0 z+ ^2 x) L8 S) b# d2 O
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
! O! f- L8 u) dschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 ?) Y+ `! z9 n4 V0 K: |' K; qstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said. Q. W7 F- [) Z$ t
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- D* Q" {" V8 m) _& u
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
/ {8 a6 t, R2 @" \' ~: w! Lsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly* Q! H$ ]: I1 q: y6 v
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 w! s+ }* z, f& d3 ~8 rschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from' h% q( p$ V" }& ~- _& A
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students7 U& H; s" c2 m' X
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
% [5 m, L- e0 kthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this" V5 H; e$ y4 i5 D) V; ]
year 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
% z, @2 z+ a* S% o( g" z$ J5 tclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago- p2 S8 L) e% i _
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to; h( b; f. d3 M; D( |# T
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet3 |5 w) |# {, [5 O; b+ W4 f- U
on an equal playing field."
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: i8 m# |' W( z9 P0 Z. T# V, {+ YSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 @% C8 S9 B5 N: l
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ p" _& M5 G+ Z$ F* wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks G* t' s5 l6 ]+ ^
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
% C" ?1 Z5 {% Laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in6 f( n- d8 K3 m8 z) V
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
- ^! }6 M; R% }1 a& q% zinstitute says.
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' p/ C, W8 m/ A; q" o U4 ESevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 h5 H1 M2 d' b) n. C" V9 V5 }grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! F( D% k/ ]' G9 @2 u
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# A; U2 c2 l$ H3 X- K& ]) V
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, ^' f. O7 _+ k0 S4 z n
class.! U8 I# u T2 X+ s) P# B
: i; s7 @! T/ y& l8 t- c' }+ ]At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 X4 I* k# `1 b+ T8 p* z
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 k' {) V8 i* ]% K7 i- V0 w: ^! i
occasional frustration.5 R, C( ?6 E& j) h. P
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 d" E) |) e1 t; t" Vrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.7 P8 R4 E" y5 g) a" f3 V% x) C! e. F
8 x* F1 R5 }- U6 [: bRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 X# U, w8 ]8 b7 M4 z5 Q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
1 d& U; U; F2 f7 z8 x' S5 f yChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.0 Y8 k% R% l4 Z4 ]+ w
& Q. P4 g+ H% n; h. D7 H"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ z [2 i Q9 d( _8 \ N! r% n
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, \4 p; j/ ?; `+ m- C1 ~4 C; a0 I+ s1 S; uas many languages as I can."
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$ R- Z) v- |1 FAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
1 T$ ]7 `5 H1 Xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job, }% r7 b" Y Z7 d! z! a( c
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 A# {4 R" _/ M& q) b4 othat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; j! L5 ~/ U$ `/ Bhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each7 |5 U, p0 j/ v0 p; W
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 ]/ U8 m+ n& r
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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- J: o- h8 b3 N3 aChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
! o8 \& k7 ^! _# Q0 t. v* F1 OChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
1 |+ z- B0 ]* Q" B; qcollege, 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 p8 l: P7 e5 ?* V
because of that missing certification," he said.* e0 f" t9 d$ L/ ?4 ?$ `0 @: z
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 {4 i9 d* E( b" Z
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 p8 [6 U7 W( \+ b( }! @, aSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the; C p$ i! m4 k3 y/ Y* {( l1 M
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: l5 v1 z4 p) h9 B
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., \8 j. R/ h1 ~6 h2 w3 c' p" T3 d
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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: k4 @/ t. J- n l( [Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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