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October 15, 20056 _4 N- c. z1 x, _% N
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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( k' W8 E6 Y& wBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING5 J9 ~0 @" b( y% y1 J
: `3 l+ @; O; k. S9 iCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 ?& J" X' E! V7 _' h5 |
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 k! f8 E0 z- M! Y0 d5 N
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; s8 K, l/ N1 \$ H
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 T, L% ^ [: S: P, {/ J$ T2 V9 \
flag hang from the wall.: A2 `' l6 ^$ E( ^2 ]7 @) ^8 e5 z2 I
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 S9 C* J! ~' S- [+ J4 yanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( T0 k; O2 A9 H% A) m9 j9 R6 ]practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker: B- S: a0 g J/ {( X' E/ J
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students+ g; H% S8 b& n
are already choosing it over Spanish.2 T1 z: c- x9 _7 r
" U- a9 v$ r1 |5 w; g9 h1 O. `6 v, X! L' q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; n u3 X3 f1 w8 Y0 f! }5 E# Xat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! Q, t. R2 |1 d3 l2 toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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& n+ f4 n. s% R1 k+ aWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
- M) Z& A* ~, _8 U9 S4 H3 ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings9 ^: V1 A; z) [
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 W) E( G" c( r2 Wone of its most difficult to learn.
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5 u' A. i9 J( m4 b, CLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 D3 T& P1 e) e8 Q7 R5 }
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
# i3 }: g3 J" p) T& Hstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.% w0 V# R: @3 m" ~$ {, o# N# e9 H
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
1 S4 R) t3 ^+ V/ l0 H* ETennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! O+ r5 y( H+ j6 r5 I
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; I. p& ]) H/ [improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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8 v8 l4 \$ ]6 j) o. |8 f+ }5 LAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
% K, p0 V9 l( R# e q+ l- c6 k5 sChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, L. F5 y0 I) A, J$ Astarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
+ x9 _2 h. H. A; h1 xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
. c( H& D' S8 f7 |6 Acurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ }" R- T5 M) H) rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
4 b) x6 A. L; s0 f8 f( {6 ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 u8 @+ Z* @+ K* d9 [! I% S
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we- C* `) k+ P$ J5 f0 d" m
can." D, U2 I5 i5 L; L5 ]+ f3 G7 a
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
$ ~6 C3 F2 j: }& t/ Uelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ I; ^% P& a. Yyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language9 K! E8 b6 g) N" c
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
8 M& ]. |# P- D; F; k7 }aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
1 ~5 m5 Q2 w$ O# dMcGinnis said." X' f2 i8 J* s. S# u4 G
" g9 m" }/ p7 F. X0 T"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical$ ^6 [5 v4 q& d+ n! o4 H
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ l- a3 _: P9 q m/ L4 J5 J
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( b! u9 g1 ?/ \! S4 c3 n; M! b: Z6 J
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# D9 t& z3 @$ X5 G1 A' D; K( O. p/ vsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& q5 N, A# E. M0 @. Acities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 L, |2 \! }. f# Y. F6 x" h! BChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
* W3 Z; X7 R7 g* ron weekends.& ^7 k- U' A( T/ |* c: b
/ f+ J' k$ o4 o; H$ q. ]The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
3 F8 S/ ~* b& Z" qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 E6 n- q# d% a/ R/ P
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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8 t) Y* n# W$ b. t OMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said. g2 K( L2 @' ^
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- u& r& \/ S, G8 q7 o3 C ?
competition. 1 U* M) C& _% T' Q- e q6 ]
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 }6 A/ o p$ Y( y/ R' usaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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1 F3 F: P/ c s+ B1 `6 HFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( w- G- a* @( a& ~: hall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 k/ t7 d- I) H! H1 |
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from4 G1 L! h7 G7 c u4 ]+ H8 l7 x9 T
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
/ [9 |7 ?' t, P, ]! K) F: I' ywho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" {$ ^: Y% P- ^5 \the school system last year.# y; x. f6 S. P& w# `& t
0 O8 I% A3 @3 qThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; i+ ?' n; [7 X2 D
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.8 D w" }+ C7 q F6 I" v
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
( \0 u$ N: L3 ?6 Z8 r( G1 [3 `& `' k4 ?classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago t4 L& B8 d9 ?8 n& Z+ L# B. k# p
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" X P) o: M& k
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 C' V& R4 [3 n& X# J0 k
on an equal playing field."
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. U3 J1 m! [9 X4 [8 KSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. G2 U) d8 X0 i; y, y
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, Z1 h( I* Y5 W, }/ p! z# G1 [+ kService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- Y4 R1 B, s( R. K! A1 ~ q% r7 z- D
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
, S9 [& E/ P- o: M5 u {4 u" M: Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# r! Z1 R6 @8 M3 O4 X, C: u
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 z# m- d# |: p% p6 ?/ ?. E. zinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth1 F! c; W# h# Z, z/ B
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before4 p6 V' F$ ]6 z |& w7 c3 s1 y
deciding whether to take the class.( q- y% Z7 r9 W- ~+ D
7 x5 j# Z4 f6 Z6 X; s1 N4 W"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. O$ P# h0 j/ I/ T `told her daughter.
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* O7 T; J# i4 k# ?$ ?1 ySahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# i2 |. {8 s: {' r3 j3 Aclass.4 {5 v9 x, V" y4 H8 J
5 \. s5 O1 j3 P* }/ G" OAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 A8 z, j- @) |
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without d9 M: k6 O) S$ R6 a% s0 H
occasional frustration.
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! A. O$ D; o# r"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a1 `$ z% p2 a) T' ^) M4 ~% i/ C
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he( p. z- E; I0 z0 y# I" G; S9 |
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
) P' p# ^+ J' O9 s4 C }1 q. CChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.# I# y$ w$ a# \5 m% j# o
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul1 Y8 `4 B, N3 S
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& _0 t0 p" q( W* f3 \$ a" ~0 W' [as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) K! p: Q. e3 R( b" Askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: d3 n O; T, I/ D8 z0 Z: m
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
6 y+ u( W% Q8 n4 mthat," Ms. Freire said.3 L4 I& l) {8 Q* g
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
3 q* k8 D( o Y" yhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
$ b+ n0 \2 L" I, A$ p8 i* M2 Aschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking8 N5 x; g' F) e9 J5 x( ?8 l Z
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 E3 J# S% W+ I, {& _
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
1 |' m/ B: |! ^8 M$ |9 [2 ^college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- t8 g! a3 a/ Y5 a) _
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) Q& k- f( D& b
because of that missing certification," he said.
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- A9 j8 x, u$ q1 R) X, i8 FThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
- L6 _! N5 E0 X5 ?: ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia6 }: p' m: {4 I2 n q
Society in New York.. K) k% D' r6 }9 ]5 V
s* m$ c( K0 Q0 R$ BSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 d$ j. L. Q. p& L7 U) i7 yChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: M# P8 J1 j& @; Y$ b
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.% y1 X9 h, k1 Q- q0 g/ `# L
2 W( C1 ?/ y6 X, Z- _( b) V"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
: z) y2 Q) J9 {. Mown."
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+ Q1 b# S* e1 o6 p, C8 ^Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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