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October 15, 2005
4 l/ ~( g! O, H# ^/ P. O) k; dClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity. d+ N* j) z) _! l) @
7 X8 o9 o: M: U, qBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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3 C6 D0 X5 ^- c5 P3 ~+ `* p/ sCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
0 M$ l @8 H1 l, j- W1 DUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
' I! F+ K. s( m2 r, Z6 `School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' V* N' R' K2 h, d! a' W' jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ _4 B9 n e4 z, z& e0 B9 y; g. Yflag hang from the wall.
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! @% ]2 D1 |8 Z9 r _" C' j UOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 H$ H* O) p) @" m3 `another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
3 ^+ Z5 _* U( E3 M. E7 Xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
+ A5 B; Q" b U/ p8 vboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students8 G$ J7 m# f; v' K
are already choosing it over Spanish.$ n7 X" v' |0 p! ?
5 v4 e7 S4 L g7 u$ ["Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
5 T0 h' |: ~* l' \at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ \# F5 i# G# h
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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% J# L; B0 p6 T1 }- O rWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
9 Z7 h! Y: D& N0 Ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 `: r0 i# V, f8 Bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. i- }1 {$ g: ]
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
' x0 `; x% U4 V w. f# ppublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students1 _: S5 O B7 f3 l2 _" @8 o
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
$ V# Q- v* y+ s5 v0 l1 SLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! }5 ] S- N" ]. aTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
( k$ }( T2 d" {! {8 r: |, O5 `Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to/ o6 Q) o1 S3 V8 P! m' v7 y
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.7 n b5 z9 B: ~5 m/ ?+ b0 t: {- q
5 {+ C @1 W9 I' L/ O/ X' f& ^After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
/ N& q- t- h" S0 aChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
5 o4 I0 t8 b% l9 |) ?) P# Astarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# v# h( K! d+ {6 Udevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ m) s3 D) i: L5 O+ b( ^
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director$ }8 E* D9 v9 g5 f, T
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) c0 Q* _" i: M2 o3 _
, h$ U/ O: w) ?" F"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
$ S3 R8 Z/ I1 }: X0 q9 Cspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 F S* x" }* l8 M9 W# `$ V
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; G: z2 \; x5 m8 m, s4 B
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
1 P3 I' u2 P& ^8 w* X7 [elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
/ ^: }) H( `/ `# b& g, l6 U4 Ryears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 ^; d: d! w- MInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# L$ Y+ r" O' ?2 f
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! I" h2 }: F) d, [% e5 R p0 c
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
4 W! ~* P+ I0 q% d9 alongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 U( X+ x: n5 V) L) X) H+ Uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' P$ ~. u6 x4 o/ Q C6 {! D9 \challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 T* ?! A# J) m N8 ]
3 Q/ V* x. I* v# `, E. WUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and. A+ S! I. m6 Q* C5 C1 m3 I- Q+ J
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( {, @. A5 `6 n* U1 D
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( b* A# W/ U4 ]- M/ Y8 ?! @Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or. w/ l% ~7 j6 s) t9 Z
on weekends.* H' |( ?1 u* R7 p0 d/ L% g
0 M) s! F' f+ u2 y0 N7 AThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public; ^- J y$ l r4 U0 e/ p; P! e- L
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 x$ D1 e7 r8 l% x- b g/ ^3 Sstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said* ^/ R* O; G% T2 F. I5 u
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
7 F5 @7 L/ H; ]$ A$ D7 Mcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ D2 S$ h" g7 K7 y' R! |! vsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 d: A# N' z2 g0 D0 `
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
+ _4 T9 L& K- E3 ~6 w1 tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* R4 _; f( |% D8 J u# f
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ R4 C! D4 Z+ ]$ l& Lwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
# O, k# A' ^8 T1 Q" e( D" ^the school system last year.# @# _& ^" w* _4 r
( q' e, V$ b2 zThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( R: c$ K# z' n5 l3 _year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.% n% f8 Y8 ?8 m2 J! c1 z0 I2 e/ j+ N
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"They have a great international experience right in their own5 V) x- w3 {6 {. V" s
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 _- a/ A3 z9 M- ~Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* K; I8 Q3 v2 Y) @: O$ Phelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
. @/ n- t) {, X7 @+ n% bon an equal playing field."/ t; V2 \4 W' N
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# `$ L$ V- V7 \ f' Wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" j! N4 X: O2 R' M- Z- ^+ }
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
6 R5 U# z. M0 j+ H6 y, nChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 A4 R: |: {4 |4 q
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; s& {9 W$ j- ~7 U* E
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the8 V5 \' f6 j3 i" a* P! h$ M
institute says.- J( I: B3 H2 T, G. s- I; ^2 n3 Y
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth( D( L% _5 a# D M
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ q9 E, e& O( r9 s% R
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
4 M) N$ c" W7 Y3 ^told her daughter.9 Q9 Y+ r9 y( `& q7 y3 j" T, ^: R
' j: e# a( N2 u' }% v8 v" ?Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite3 O/ C B( F0 ~% f6 S7 t) ]* e
class.5 J7 }- s* z9 H! F( H$ [9 N |# N0 C
# f$ w5 o: }: n9 }: p3 V6 G% h7 ]At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. ^0 ~+ k5 n$ J J) H$ M' f
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
7 N7 \4 U" K! ]. uoccasional frustration.7 H! F; f7 G: U9 U0 ^4 O) r
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ |% o( @. ^* ^# R, Srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he3 `2 e8 A+ L6 G
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ p% g: q' S, B" Q5 W) y- `, bChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 Y7 q3 k8 I/ q8 o
, c! D' e9 U' U* |8 ` e& d"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul# {3 B( n, X! ^, m
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn9 C! v, U' g; r* @: ]
as many languages as I can." }8 d. ^2 ~* p. \
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the! u$ _* J+ |2 `
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job. I4 W. C1 M/ j; o9 |& M
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like. y7 U, M( f7 C+ |3 K
that," Ms. Freire said.
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& i! h7 p# T) @Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 U! ?) w, b W0 l: T& e8 j5 U" P$ |here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 d3 h' y1 K3 d5 _' Zschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: E, f4 z/ x% A/ I' q+ Z+ Xtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make7 n" V# p" M5 h5 z! p# u4 Y5 F+ r
room." _3 i" h; E) ?& O: i1 U
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 P7 n- T8 I% B" x( j i
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American6 B% j0 C2 e0 o) g2 U2 L V" K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 w8 M) ~' j8 z8 }( J/ f
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) P; V' i& D- f& i# g: C8 l" l
because of that missing certification," he said.' q6 ^& |) ~4 h3 g; p* [7 r" d( J
5 C' c1 D. ]5 jThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,4 k( B r; d# P/ G
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
. c5 o# n. T6 u2 R" q3 T8 Y7 q$ P% hSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, y* Q! D1 b0 i4 l
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
. D& r0 ^% l: [& o, N- Xthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" f+ |. [: v `( X( \( t
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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