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October 15, 2005, ?: `) ?$ ]4 n5 F2 D
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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( t; k; ]' i8 k% W1 ~0 e$ HBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING" z/ \9 [+ p0 }/ a* b: ]
. k0 c. o4 z# {2 h/ Q/ ]7 YCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 W& i; A+ k+ i! cUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 y1 M% d7 E7 t4 j3 ]. Z: F3 L0 CSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
! }- q; r, R4 s8 Edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese1 Y% ?# @2 E- K: L/ p! ]
flag hang from the wall.# ~. @) v& u8 U
$ ]' ^% S1 k8 V/ G; tOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
3 X W. z4 @/ |$ W8 u/ t2 Y L" Uanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) m9 X+ `0 R5 E4 A+ e
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
l" H) i: i- {" \boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
/ W3 m7 ]3 S; l F6 Uare already choosing it over Spanish.8 v# b% l9 I) l' E, Y& Q
. V; }: S" S8 a3 a/ ]3 [$ H"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal' ` x ]* p8 \8 V8 x
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ ^0 ?: y2 _% `4 Joffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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! _4 L3 a6 T/ H. |With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) [* G# X/ v" D; P0 W. }/ M
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 }8 g& W) C" b* {
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention% x% w! L) z' L4 X6 w( u1 M8 ]
one of its most difficult to learn.
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6 K h* C t9 n( n4 eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to j; X" I) J4 n6 K) ]# c" `
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* c% u; i; c: q) Kstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I. D- G/ W7 ~$ A4 h( w
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% D7 i3 V6 N- N7 f4 S4 r: kTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on) r- D2 u9 C% T) Q
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ R) f1 O0 k2 Himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( [$ Q8 r) J( e& g
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
( E/ `! b- r$ \; ~Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 m& }: h# t1 v, {) mstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) d7 [1 a9 L, x8 z: S5 C$ p
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* B. a3 _: k0 G+ |9 \
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# L+ f# o" @4 A& c" F* C1 q; O
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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; E4 P/ D$ ? s$ D8 W: [; _/ U8 E"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
& U. ?9 ^/ C: sspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
6 t+ ]$ @5 r+ Q$ ~/ I7 U: O- N' V: IConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we% s( h9 N# t. H2 j; f' i8 H
can."
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/ r0 \) A; t$ R# U- J. A8 S" vThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
' h; @ t& ]1 w3 a a# J) Aelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
9 `; w5 w. X9 wyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 W% L3 d& F& | f1 vInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages! F8 B3 N) Y3 s$ M, p8 c0 w
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
* o" ^4 Q: J [! A {& O% H- b! JMcGinnis said.1 g0 G& W3 {" F e: S; p
" ]" |( ^3 Y+ v/ y4 d+ e"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical J5 \! j: V ^9 l3 Q+ X# i
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 P6 m8 h$ k$ y7 p }ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 E: y1 }% k+ l) R3 k0 _challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") H1 ~8 ]4 A) }3 \: T
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 l: l% {+ d- B% R* b/ j: |) bsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- F8 Z4 |6 J: m" E0 N w) t3 w3 ycities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ a0 u/ {- R. s* OChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ |. q: `$ Z( _on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: T& h8 [* J- T: f1 {% r" G
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves2 O- R& p+ V+ g: k
students who are not of Chinese descent.% M, X% L' o5 ]3 h& k" O% x
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
* B# C* [' x4 }4 }; Z+ P9 F# _proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- \4 V7 M: w$ ^) e( w
competition.
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9 J4 J5 S+ s" p1 D9 S, ^"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! l2 b: A, h# x3 C, G
said. "There will be Chinese and English.", _% p9 U2 f" c5 M
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 E0 o) y, P F# }all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
0 X1 ^! c3 j! d) K9 z8 D6 _schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
: `2 s! X" }* `+ E+ ~7 s' G$ rkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students' e$ L" a6 k6 w8 k0 f
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
/ M* J% `7 p3 U1 Ethe school system last year.$ |5 d! m8 c0 ]# ^: v
3 {2 a; \. R& O) B9 g8 ZThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
7 B6 p9 N* ]5 c9 _& S% Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.4 y! Q) }9 y% N
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"They have a great international experience right in their own. v% Z) b. p! V) m
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* o6 ]9 k3 _# _& W/ J# {% U
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to: y: f2 F4 ~ }
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet( B6 k; D: W* K+ t% n
on an equal playing field."
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1 X% f4 z8 H; K uSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 D T: \4 c& m$ a M0 j
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. M* w% n4 P2 a1 r
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- V$ D, p5 Y, V% [! d
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An5 Z8 k3 u2 A Y1 r
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
7 C1 G9 }$ W& _8 cChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
3 Y" f: w' L3 e7 B5 q& Tinstitute says.2 o# }5 y; x6 d
! I( r' Z `3 b' m9 jSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& N- M( f! a& i3 C
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 |3 `1 U+ U% K+ \+ V# @! _) K; I
deciding whether to take the class.
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7 {5 A0 I8 b+ D0 L0 a7 P- Y"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) c" Y) }$ _/ u# V1 N) ?
told her daughter.' p! E/ b$ I, K5 @4 i' U3 l4 j
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
" G( j6 v# F) a' c% fclass.
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/ l$ B$ |$ G7 Y5 Q; E! eAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 ~0 ?* B3 U, k/ Dstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 L0 [7 t5 z. u9 soccasional frustration.
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; m2 B* e1 ^! g! x"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
# m! x" w4 J6 `" E4 Irecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.+ b6 m2 S, E2 i5 ]" t5 ^" \
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he! ]' F1 c C$ k; f
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with$ u: }+ j \: t/ B6 U! d7 N
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 x! `3 v9 O8 e1 }( V, E( e+ y: W
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn# w* u1 B5 s5 C% \
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the7 H# c# o4 t. g! E: {/ B
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
4 i' N% n% f: Q$ T" D+ q" [market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like9 ~" d8 ^0 ~/ ^
that," Ms. Freire said.
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- u3 J# h1 J: m! VMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program2 S# u$ h' j" H
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each6 h2 h! v$ x$ P4 {/ ]# Y& q. H
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
1 L" l# {, s/ p: N) _time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
% Z: ]! p* k6 A5 z# g, l' hroom.
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3 L- {' Y/ i3 p/ |2 RChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
w2 E+ ^7 s1 t1 W; u, j# O. i; `Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. G; S6 P6 k. icollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said. \4 X+ S# U% y& W4 a
) F V( t. C4 Z! _"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified( i5 P4 K0 @7 v K) N+ t8 |
because of that missing certification," he said." O. v* J% k( z1 l7 W
1 e8 C4 I- v' J, s7 [" _& kThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* m$ V+ V7 l# d2 n. R) Tsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia. D0 Z+ A8 D# H! ^& x9 J
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' v% u7 L( t( e. w( z" _3 J
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from( v0 q; w3 l z0 j' H3 Q/ l
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 |5 s1 D8 {& s3 N
! e8 _% V' S6 a6 i" A"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our; E' v+ r% E7 j, s1 X9 Q& I
own."- l+ ~( a2 Z! ?+ i! Y# ~
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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