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October 15, 2005
e! _( b4 a8 H: M; oClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING) K4 F/ _* l. l9 I5 \: [: U
8 P O) A5 F* U* y0 a$ pCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 F' _( q4 Q0 ?& ]United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
/ T2 t6 c* F4 h7 f1 XSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas. V9 V8 B- C9 C" Z: t" O, @ X
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ o# h8 g+ C3 n) Wflag hang from the wall.( ]( B* p: y4 Y: O
+ F) ~# a; b$ eOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
9 p) ?" n5 G6 U# Qanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders& Y. c% k0 u+ E% S- ^: r
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ N9 P: z# M3 r- w2 b- u8 m
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
; S5 m3 ?% e2 e! Yare already choosing it over Spanish. \3 J5 Z: B9 ?
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. F" h o0 k8 b Q
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city* d ]; P2 s) }5 |4 O7 O8 h, N
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."7 ~3 Z# u* \$ |. e
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,! w Y$ L$ B2 x: E
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
; o' e) b9 _. Yto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention h$ F8 c! h1 M
one of its most difficult to learn.
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. E5 \% E8 o$ B0 |& c- ^Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) \! E& l$ F3 n
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ Z9 g0 I4 c$ \5 {9 f9 [
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 v( m! \! K! b
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
) ^0 E$ u" W% U! c. xTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on5 U* x, {5 V4 g& P+ Z
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" P' f1 X! t3 ~2 d z+ {improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.0 Q2 p* A% _- G+ g9 h% ]6 x( v
. J V0 Y' ~0 Z o* d1 LAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement6 k9 T1 u3 e/ l4 N0 m; f
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 P, r( Y+ e3 Z+ a% l `& g# g
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 g% E0 t1 c9 X& q9 w$ @/ `
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" J1 D+ k6 S1 G& Ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* g! `( r" ?+ M0 B5 ]
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board." w3 z' q; U3 s/ G. n! [3 |
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of0 T6 `/ d1 R+ A% A
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education* k" K y7 f# }, N. A% o
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
% _7 w# m% u/ p9 n+ Zcan." [) t! i8 p( c6 n. Z! n8 U J
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 |# k" z3 `4 Uelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10% s5 t* {2 r- g/ x3 ?6 }
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language2 E9 W/ T( ~$ `% V
Institute in Washington.
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3 X4 T( d+ J7 [% }" R/ X"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
6 W/ K8 D/ \5 a% Saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 P# o D5 h( mMcGinnis said.: e/ W# \" u+ ?- T/ _3 t- J: z: Y
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 I4 p( Q% g! Q. ?/ h8 y Z& jlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be- y0 H0 L; M5 K% o
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a5 S. H4 `8 D; x# J" }
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& F( v' S3 N3 p( f, X3 N3 J. R! e
# B" C% e$ b7 g" h& kUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' `4 U& X y" o1 V* e, Z: k
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in& `/ h6 K1 A/ X+ X: J% M }; U
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
; S& D: B% @% |6 m& _9 YChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
# w; D. D% b" E9 Q: m; mon weekends./ [/ V% b! {/ ]( G/ _% \1 ^
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public+ i `) L6 \/ K( B( z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
$ ^7 L* z, A8 A8 |, Cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.. Q- n( M2 L) d8 C/ \' J# q+ z
* P8 q. |& l2 }8 j) cMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( [9 y8 |+ ^# }% Q8 @proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
`3 D( Z: F4 r6 b5 X: ucompetition. 4 R/ g ?4 C, M) t3 s
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
3 }! H" z6 I0 {0 esaid. "There will be Chinese and English."" \" d! _ [$ e1 ?: C
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. ]2 X5 w" [2 r% c# Q% g* |& V
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 `( ~8 e# y9 Y, u# Oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- V) B3 i, h3 Xkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 p2 H2 n, r9 n* E5 l% F$ u$ mwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
' \. ]- l1 |* {6 @- y" \0 P$ rthe school system last year.
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j; s( v' N% b8 W( d- ~5 d$ aThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 Z! f6 ~9 r) O$ M2 E7 ]6 j/ _2 K% ^
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- J7 K3 b4 y/ f) Y5 q
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"They have a great international experience right in their own4 k* |% F) r1 L* X% ~# |
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 p& z5 E8 {% l$ G+ ]! X* n( `$ A$ \
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 v' y% h }3 I s( q
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet+ b8 w5 l$ N" a5 J m
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese7 z4 X! v, Z6 q R; Q
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign) J5 w9 H# o6 G" D9 K8 D
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
2 h& d( Y" m, Z) `Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
7 B9 S+ I6 W* c* h5 o$ Zaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 Z2 f5 U# P7 h1 S* g w$ I
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 K2 \' l$ h5 r/ h O# [7 b
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ U2 L, H( R+ d; W7 vgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before' a* h# w" f, B1 s
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. g! r- R' t4 e! l" a( Stold her daughter.2 g0 ]$ A! W* Y& K _ a7 t
) h% U& A8 U, M/ Q# Y# x+ K! j: ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite* g8 k& q* g7 H: B: v8 Z5 _2 F
class. F- j* z6 l- M5 M& f; N
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are2 m' u g( C7 M' E
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 r2 _& d! i+ t
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. S& G, s/ N: h6 i: R, orecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 \" r* w- x, c, b! U+ m& y& @, [( w0 e
. v, }) ^, p6 {* q0 K. P$ YRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he% L# u) \5 v/ t# f7 l9 g
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with X) O) P4 O7 L! ~' S; z
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.% l" k8 q4 s, X/ d* `8 s
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul: g3 p9 V' i- b! C: q |! A0 p# S
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- T( O& y- D0 `0 {9 B
as many languages as I can."
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4 `5 ~/ C! o m- KAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ N* N3 C: Y$ ?2 Gskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job' j6 n8 A, T5 D# s) ?, P7 U
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ j6 p( v. F* ]" M! l
that," Ms. Freire said.
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5 }1 P. q' @4 c9 V6 i2 h0 ?Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
' _: I5 n7 K# ^' q1 `! Ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- H+ q' F& e& O' h! M6 V0 hschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& U! j* Z" F" b5 ]( ?time from classes like physical education, music and art to make1 E- N( F5 [8 t3 _, z5 F
room.
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8 @, `' F& g2 T) j1 a8 _" QChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 z: z) I3 m8 g7 |9 s* c1 RChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
e% H& J) |$ N# mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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' q, J, V0 m& t! Z& l. Y# E8 Q"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
( R: P& {- [& u' \because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
7 S- o i& q1 |said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia6 X' c" P% @2 Y' ?/ \5 q. X2 h9 ?
Society in New York.; g4 l, k! Z8 N4 m1 P
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
4 W6 m0 ]. ?: YChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 Y& A* z1 @/ y& v ?) C
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.( ~+ }' Y9 E- M" I- Q# _) Q# s
B: T9 y. A* t/ G- \4 I0 V1 J3 `"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) R7 [( w- u' w1 \
own."( ~6 Y' Y& Z3 I) s( D8 ~: d* j
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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