 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
3 p# T9 R" Q7 \1 m, |Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% b' a, X) b6 p) B
- e, S( R8 ~% e3 Z4 U+ K7 U1 A
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
/ z: `, Z; X! Y
7 W% V3 t: Z. e' o6 BCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
& P) o2 b M9 b( Q5 J0 PUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 B( d/ K* u. J6 ^) z9 U
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 I& @" e# A6 f; ?- ndangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! v# H! J% j @0 Q. J9 _" L+ Z: q5 m1 w
flag hang from the wall.
0 E) J5 [; I8 t5 S; |. s/ }& }4 b0 I# a
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
) ~& Q# ?. O X+ R% p$ E3 `another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
" j$ g T' M1 n4 z' F5 o4 K2 qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
7 f# k2 O# g4 U( yboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
" f5 w7 ~& X; Bare already choosing it over Spanish.
1 h0 F0 n2 M" l3 C- l3 m* u' o7 B7 j4 I/ ~! H+ l" m, ]0 @
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
. C; }, }5 _6 A7 e+ xat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
\ K/ w8 U2 M" o& Zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
$ R, ] p; q; f5 {% b; w3 N/ g; }+ `$ {6 S' o9 {; M
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ I- ~: L! a- \ }" I3 J2 N0 ]" t+ N7 @
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- i2 v* i8 J* z+ Xto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 ]4 ?# ^0 ~* D6 vone of its most difficult to learn.0 s+ D' ?. Q$ G- e
h: t5 [8 g5 n7 Z* A7 A
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
J* e& o( i# d! w$ {8 a; d3 ~public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students. Q* w. ` Y* q: P" f9 T5 Q
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ H& I( u/ W6 p( n2 V. m- F4 z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of! L- l$ _: v% f4 n
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
5 B/ T9 S2 e# fChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) d% Y6 x5 ]/ k% p9 N9 @
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
: I1 u) y) y- N& {6 g2 Y: y0 y5 S) t2 x- i/ \" X) n3 d
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement! }, o: }1 ^; @7 c
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
- k$ F& E' H8 p/ @' Nstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
) S. u' }/ Y+ A5 H) [1 ~4 W% \8 edevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing) b# Z# Z+ @% `# b) `2 U" C/ L" c
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director0 f6 G5 e2 P7 c* j! J8 [* h
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
- o9 p: A5 L/ ?. Z0 M- ^' V
' ~% R" s- h& ^! g; H$ W"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
2 j! A C% l! u5 [' _+ Aspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 B: ~0 @+ m. f+ Z1 N4 ~% tConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we* y! R) {4 u3 a% ?
can." 7 {$ E# x6 ^4 @( F! y4 K
0 S) ]( o6 X4 o# `' QThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from* s3 ^7 s! ^2 T) b
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10- ^# |4 c3 b1 D- k, d
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 ] ?, c' O! N& AInstitute in Washington.
) ^! G4 t% |. t& w( \6 {/ p: ~# T: g4 C# y. V: \' ^
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages f, g* h, G& x% z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.) p6 j: Q5 A0 H: x6 h1 c5 j! K# {
McGinnis said.3 A* W8 J9 o: X
- d7 V" P t) |9 {! Z+ Y
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# K: J0 [( D( u, m! c: t+ l: e3 \9 }
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be2 c5 ~9 L! T1 f) U
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
0 q. d x8 @8 x+ C- N, a z' Z1 achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
2 y2 t9 t) O" n3 k+ x2 [+ [ J7 }. D! K5 e) i3 C
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
& z R1 q/ L& K5 U( A' K; Ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
6 R! @! ^' ~8 |* ^4 v* Ccities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of! x$ F. f2 g$ l* p/ J& y
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 x+ [: K( K. F, q! J+ X
on weekends.
# d/ A+ U& ^6 m# w, R9 S7 F5 ^6 ]
1 f+ E3 J0 X4 V$ E [# iThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
! F! U" }1 C" _7 w9 y2 t: ?schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 I4 d+ \" _" Zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.8 B" j4 L& k/ [( |5 ]) ]4 A+ N# h' i
) A% n: Q" C6 Q$ Q
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 ?4 p: l+ d: w0 `
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
. U7 F1 T6 ?( g' D: |. ycompetition.
2 v- A; `1 i; Q2 Q3 e4 N" q7 j7 \* [* J D
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 Y& f6 Z3 c* [8 P3 } U
said. "There will be Chinese and English."9 T# m) U* N6 P4 o+ ^2 m( y! U
a* B" A4 ?, }4 |5 Q
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly& I6 g( M, Q" H1 W
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
* q8 M- Y) i0 b. i# g G' H# tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ H* n1 Q0 Q) F/ g0 Wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ d& ?! l8 R, K2 `! e4 f7 Z; `
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to @* j8 R2 Q+ }. g( X, u; H- x
the school system last year.
. f2 y9 _- l* t1 O( d5 B# D
7 ^ j# {. f* l8 {The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 O4 n0 O0 k. u% Q& J- uyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.4 Z% f4 O# W' g' S% s$ Z
4 D3 ?( l+ ]% T
"They have a great international experience right in their own
$ M" F0 M$ U5 [$ Pclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 L( O/ I5 Q3 R8 DChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
# r8 X' k) Q% u+ L# X6 e0 Whelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ C: N2 Q* I8 Z8 Z0 |2 |on an equal playing field."( y' e( A9 o! r# V# p) V7 X: {. a9 N
) w( e( g1 s6 N3 d. O: OSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 u: j' d* E0 C3 J# U8 D; u* l1 V) l2 Gclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
# J# [$ d. b+ M( t; J& J: aService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks+ n- L# E2 j! V( t' N
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An. J/ I0 s5 |7 x O5 K5 U' h
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, w/ G+ k' B+ F. l, L
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
B! m y+ d+ } G2 b& @institute says.7 |& p/ w7 M. R/ V) C. v7 N) C
4 b2 H7 E6 h, p% ~
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ R5 _2 \2 \' \5 g4 l. r4 [6 R. U5 Qgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
4 f/ H' @2 T5 C2 v4 F* A6 o! o; [' cdeciding whether to take the class. n( |2 Z8 F, `( r0 N2 P' r w' T: S
* f% r9 P1 `' Q( h; \2 K2 I
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she7 l( Y+ a0 O8 d
told her daughter.
7 J6 r# ~2 g9 c6 N$ Y# e& {2 Y& W4 s* M% w
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
) G5 r+ ?; ?/ o, `) E* f% q0 ]/ T! dclass.7 e ^1 S' z4 f
$ J# ~% s! ]* H0 N/ Z# |At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 |0 g, B( b. O9 K( ~studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without# d. m4 L' a; |3 |- X: S* L w) q o$ t
occasional frustration.
: z- }: r7 Z5 |* x# V# n: E; O6 o, ]2 _5 O# \$ D2 x
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a( F" Q1 V9 `0 h) l
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.# v. m8 V( s3 E
0 Z0 s; ]6 {* u TRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
) S6 I) F' T) r* R3 h' Jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
9 s3 J) ^, ]6 E. J. B/ N [Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
L( [/ |% h( D5 V! c6 V4 }4 q
8 o( K T+ i# ?( {6 w"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' R6 u, }& u9 s! B( K$ e
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% N* G* g8 I5 H1 j9 Ias many languages as I can."* q! g4 r4 D' }7 `
4 |. q4 F* z% ^( N, K
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the: j1 i, y4 Y1 E7 d. F
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
# i) P* `$ }3 `3 g7 C" Gmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" i. l5 V e* e5 ?0 a7 \! ^that," Ms. Freire said.; L% w, ]# m% c% f+ f8 Y# m. A
; X* E. O0 [6 e& g0 s0 kMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" B8 F0 Y: P% n. x4 Jhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
( t, R1 U; F- N( Kschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
+ L0 t: ?! T1 htime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
( V0 X' O- R- d$ t8 F% w4 ~5 F" Jroom.
5 m- w: d6 b5 @+ J- D+ a' R' h' G, r7 c; Q0 a+ t" M
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
6 S. B1 E0 U7 D- PChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; A7 L* ?5 s$ E
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
8 o! H/ a+ |4 C) ^5 e
' E3 d* x4 b1 w3 V"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ v6 S1 q- u5 b/ q8 xbecause of that missing certification," he said.5 I5 ?' H) K! \* t: N% I
1 }5 s, k) L" U1 D1 } dThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,$ _' X( a. [! W3 n* d6 v
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 B) [8 j5 J: P9 r8 QSociety in New York.) ]6 @+ U" T. V9 e+ u E d
/ @0 d# V. H8 F* P- p7 CSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
% K: D$ U+ ]! r+ IChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& ]1 t/ S" C1 @3 l) n: D" g7 t/ J2 F/ ]
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
) K% L" A/ B9 U+ f3 C
* R, G" @ E) A ["Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& X' t1 D6 C8 X
own.": K% }5 K8 W. \/ U" z4 z: k/ y% u: G% }
* J0 W6 W% U. q, Q6 `, f" jCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2005-10-18 09:28
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
发表于 2005-10-18 10:30
楼主
发表于 2005-10-18 15:23
