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October 15, 2005
1 O* A6 t: G6 e2 Q6 }' }0 SClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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, _. a% O* |3 f# r( ]3 L, u6 }6 I9 qBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
" G, i k0 Q4 e7 v3 X. p4 m2 L# b9 C/ O2 a) g
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
0 ~; |. y7 _" C _United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
q; i& I5 K2 c8 @: q5 Y& zSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 p6 c# K8 S% ~7 U V0 M# G+ edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; N' E* \0 F4 N
flag hang from the wall.- e R- y6 j- z7 ~' g1 p
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 }/ `% v0 J% }another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders R3 T6 I& `' x+ G
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker+ j' e! T1 I' h3 |/ O x( ]
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% A" H7 E) Y" [! A2 yare already choosing it over Spanish.7 s+ e& [- g. _
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 ~8 T) I, q4 t& S' T* N0 y( dat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ \* z" Q) M" ^: b- J5 n
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
+ r1 @' c* m" Z8 C# {5 A/ A# v
- c" e) E8 E2 m3 J0 |, N1 mWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
z& y. N% h8 \# c3 u5 pschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, C5 B- S& @* D# Z& V: ]
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention2 t4 W: H* t/ D- L ~
one of its most difficult to learn.
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# l; G9 o4 S1 L8 }' SLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
1 Q. P; `3 ^# y# d0 W `! S; `public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) r% s. X4 l' b7 t
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.7 t6 q0 S- ]0 ^0 u
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
2 a; M$ x! B' v1 VTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ Q; Q* V( ~+ a) [$ f* w0 J+ gChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& a( A. ^9 Z, H8 c7 l$ D6 gimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.5 z4 {* Z; }5 e/ |' [/ S
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
8 s" o! S9 Y- m. R7 o# u. }; _ aChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ E7 ~7 ] Z9 u2 x. B R4 ~starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to" H1 r T/ g) Z8 W+ ~0 f/ {
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! D. ]4 Y. k" ]& b
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. y. l! U( P& k, Cof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
3 s9 [, t/ ^) f& K4 h! Hspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
7 T& x. O! B+ t' O7 ]% k! QConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( f8 ]! `- x- _2 d1 E7 s8 j
can." $ [, L. g" y* y" C! {3 t$ [
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, Z3 o0 [* J- f1 F$ Qelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' v$ N7 r$ S5 h4 e5 S, xyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
2 n2 V4 E3 H" s) n7 [0 Q* z2 BInstitute in Washington.& p5 q. S. h, j
( T/ o. k' N" |# N. ]* `8 W"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages9 ^( j3 k! y% R: a) ^% w1 d9 t% {
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: F/ {9 D$ {/ E, @! R4 z% E. K
McGinnis said.
! _( ]5 u* S# ]0 h
0 ]' R* w! r( X; d/ W"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical4 h: E/ E* z4 n8 j+ U- T! _/ x
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
' H8 ~. D2 ]+ F3 w0 bready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
# r' ]$ v- U: kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
7 M) L! l- c! k& q) G2 csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in3 I- }7 Q0 O# M- ~" Q$ f' K# ]& Q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of; X4 x' {/ ]" ^$ A$ y
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
& N8 @5 a; h* eon weekends.4 h# V; R' a$ K* f4 k
1 I6 }! {. ~7 xThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 S( ]9 ^* I! o6 x/ nschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 Z6 ?* ?' X( L4 z9 N3 M- N0 Fstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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! e$ @" H; \- y0 vMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
' h; s! S/ D, q% r% T& u* xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the7 o0 }3 {5 J. v- s/ H
competition.
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+ J1 t7 F) x) h"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley6 d B8 X2 p3 [% L" t( @8 k
said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ m" T4 u5 C5 ~7 E
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly+ _# w1 |9 R5 p1 K( t
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse# r2 l: r, e+ S% e8 F
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 Y3 R% P1 G6 V& T
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students# i/ y) F$ `0 B* A, Z9 q) G9 E
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to) r8 N# Y' _# s" c0 ]( V: _, e
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
) n5 T) ^' _# c8 S' r+ b8 E6 ~( 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
- b; K1 A: `, M' _. W7 T6 Sclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! h# L5 E7 }( [- a3 q1 f
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) G2 \4 e+ _: Q6 s7 e; J q6 ?
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet. T# c7 W# M Q; U) n, s; j9 t l
on an equal playing field."
3 b* y4 n9 `2 E# Z+ }
/ Z' D9 }1 R4 }* d" f+ aSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 w! p# @8 n$ S% tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign7 n0 f: T( `- `5 C9 I. l
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks$ l9 n* `) r( o- |" d E
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An3 P4 x9 v, j( b; m4 X- @
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" Y: V% |% L% \) x9 F& TChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# J% H3 K3 \$ ~5 Q7 o2 {
institute says.
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" i% M" S3 a& t6 I% KSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; k! H9 t' h" G; e' |/ Kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: W( y |( d2 }/ F6 B
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
" I2 `# {; F `$ b' c% atold her daughter.$ Z4 l8 @, y. y. c
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, X! p( x- P" x) Z
class.) g- O6 h4 d* a/ X+ ?: N* V
) e8 ~) Q1 F5 K3 y+ J6 C/ nAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 g/ o" {) W" A/ D! Z2 X, n9 g
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
1 S7 V% H+ }. X6 hoccasional frustration.. j& c/ {. `7 Q8 M- V4 r
8 o& X" ^; x1 S- q"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' H" e8 ]8 X$ T8 w) G& f/ N! z. brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class., E& c4 D4 C. L
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- _) F( O9 s$ b$ _( e+ l( H2 P" Ptaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with7 l7 t. G5 s! v; `" z4 C3 g. h
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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3 s5 S$ n' G) X# H+ D3 J"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 P* ]) U( C" C( R* {7 v& k* ^$ Wsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn. p" I7 \+ s, G- U/ C! g: P
as many languages as I can."
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9 _6 Q: @ u1 L7 p4 BAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
5 j; u4 n/ [. O: L) hskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, B) M! W9 A% \% j0 @! bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
) k6 C7 a6 ]2 c' Uthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 a5 G) U c1 B1 c: X& i7 ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- u. b$ z# }. h( U2 Gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: e: o; z0 a4 c& ktime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
: s: d; d1 ~. Q5 }$ f9 B' jroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 q6 P& D# ~$ q7 NChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American! G# C9 k; ^, X; l5 C
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.* m& K5 `$ e4 A( M3 u3 S
B& B3 M N" e$ B, v2 E"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
H. Z6 O1 m- V# m( t. T! J5 mbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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8 A" v( }- ]2 J, F% F- p2 rThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,' w$ W @9 G @& g0 D% d, t
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia: z4 y: h: n3 }
Society in New York.- b- Q5 o% C6 ^4 `' z; H
) A/ V" t( k0 t& ?7 dSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% S; n; z/ T4 q" m( H" g7 e; i
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
J+ T- h& M) p5 Cthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our; H5 Z0 P M. r. `4 J
own."6 A% `' z8 l. J
! s2 _- S9 q' Z7 k5 }Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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