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October 15, 2005( c- i1 O+ m. J/ R
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 v, \1 z( p0 s, v8 n# c7 j/ P
. p5 k2 U! k, FBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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0 v7 v8 B8 D; c6 x8 N! ~3 f' o7 H- OCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; ~& q; s( U2 LUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary: {( A7 g2 `) s/ {' J
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas2 \7 G F$ S& m) F
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: P) @" F4 e2 z
flag hang from the wall.
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- y! I' {* X+ F4 A4 KOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( S; L; d8 Y3 C! Q% Wanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
1 P2 X9 L+ M+ H% `6 ppracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker" Q. ^, L [- z0 r, f
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
1 e2 P( o3 u5 zare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
& s5 _* t' z9 M8 W* ^5 w/ ^at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ r, Q$ z2 T0 l2 w" L2 p
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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s6 k/ h$ P3 d% p- L# q+ oWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
, N+ `5 x+ Z1 V7 i# Uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
o% `/ d# r1 m6 p+ S1 I2 l* P7 d. W( W$ fto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention1 g. P! w v7 C2 h
one of its most difficult to learn.* ]3 Z* q& b( j/ I+ ^4 `
x' s, `/ t0 e4 U* PLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% \6 |$ \. L' R3 h) s
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students# J( Z9 e) _- |# g
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
) R$ r W! a- ?! t9 D4 ?' hLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
1 A. B- P' q9 F6 K* ITennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 e- r8 Y/ C4 I2 c! J2 t) tChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
- O# f8 W0 m4 \& p7 Simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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3 |4 K. S# Z+ KAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
+ l R& [: g2 F8 X- rChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& @) R- A$ F7 F# |
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to h6 `4 x7 p7 c/ Z8 u8 r
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ D; O3 `! T5 U* [/ p. Q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
, [- f4 o' D% C) c. g+ Qof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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! x+ d5 c% B+ z8 J5 z( a"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of! v+ N$ O: E' R. _
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% n7 x% ]& r7 a5 v7 z' h' M9 FConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! y6 f9 g9 l% x; \7 @
can." 5 D: M5 T% U V4 Y, l R0 _: m
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
2 J$ v8 {' G# @# q* relementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ b9 z+ t) J0 a* b2 |- W
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language$ m) p( D$ a! o' e! r6 }! ^
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages! N4 n: I' U3 }) }
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# ~. U& u) B! h7 j* ^# U
McGinnis said.4 N6 ~5 j7 i+ X# T
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! M# d( t: P6 }7 Wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
; w5 _- X6 F+ qready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( k. t2 U: b7 v% ?( l! o1 |
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; A$ v6 w- w- N1 V6 Y" Q- C
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in8 U: H) a( S# T7 `
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of& x6 I8 `* S+ i, \5 X+ \" c! C' J, ^
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or7 \9 [ I0 R. t
on weekends.) X$ Q, K9 |# `) x( O/ I9 `' m
* }* V& D/ v: Q3 H6 C" ^The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
! y0 Z1 r, i* bschools during the regular school day and primarily serves( k# S9 y6 \. F. g$ v5 b" F3 ]
students who are not of Chinese descent.1 A b) n) j7 I @% P% N' B
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
1 U8 q* T7 l- Vproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( v I' w$ T0 X3 r; d, @; V
competition. 2 N0 _9 G) u) G) k8 z4 d6 W5 a
, N3 t& M7 M+ N- }% f"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
. O7 ^ q0 u: p6 d9 w& G1 ssaid. "There will be Chinese and English."! a) U' m3 W: ^' I0 e: q/ X- a
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
+ k! {1 G- @, n. ?2 k" T& Vall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 x" c7 a9 }0 l7 U2 Fschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from: R- z" l( o5 ?4 a2 ?, {
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
) O& V- U% ^; W" Uwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to! Z1 L. C# P+ c }% }# E) t `
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this4 U+ K5 d! }: c' Z
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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5 Y, c, U0 M) z+ [3 Z6 E% U) T"They have a great international experience right in their own
% G) t) o" @9 ]! k$ {classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
. a# w3 x& G2 g; m6 m1 t4 o! r JChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
9 u- Z- u% {) `1 f7 r. vhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 y( a9 K8 I9 V2 R
on an equal playing field."7 L6 J3 ?& ]6 w7 d9 J/ L! D
% D/ q# F; @5 ?+ E6 W- QSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
" ^( M/ G0 t! c* ]) p% N0 q/ C: Nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
8 G# v: s" H* ~& g6 o/ KService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 `$ e4 ?9 c5 c2 |
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
+ p) {0 S( f" @ j: K$ aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
1 L5 P. r; S! E3 QChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
+ k" s1 A5 E1 iinstitute says.$ e# z4 q% Q/ Y& z* [ B' [
" ?+ Y. ?* G1 ]* j# p xSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! v# Z k. S' E! w0 R, Fgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! O* o, e q6 |% p
deciding whether to take the class.- B) r3 d; ~! }" o
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ |1 U) e' v2 f, G; k, P
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite2 ^0 r7 A/ y- F' \0 v; E. z1 Y1 X
class.' T/ Y% Y" n$ t+ f+ P& A" L1 k7 f: A
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
2 y6 J& a# x# z \ D2 Mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without1 n3 f1 z% v9 o
occasional frustration., _% y( J+ W0 Z
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a/ t$ |% ~' v" d& q9 ^+ c+ O5 g# S
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.3 z& c( G' V3 Y& p8 a% A8 G+ C! J
v' ]+ P- I( u, Z2 S. A u$ d U7 aRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 |1 p4 k2 q+ w$ P5 ?taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 ?: F- g7 ~0 u0 u" ~Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.' {: R; o- \. _& {& x
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
4 a* G+ g; Y2 n, ^% Lsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
: \$ G% w4 m& ^- m3 |8 v+ Kas many languages as I can."" s* f$ \$ O; m' J
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
' U: z, F' T& N, C3 xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, }* _5 t3 L8 [0 @& O7 ymarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
' R8 A- O* x9 I7 ithat," Ms. Freire said.5 k7 |3 {! y; e
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program x0 U9 u9 O4 b6 l L* y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
4 F& A) ?- e' {+ I) E9 i4 Hschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
( q# C/ H8 ?+ k+ E$ l6 g* w% \time from classes like physical education, music and art to make% j s3 M/ _: F2 X) `# o- ^
room.
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! k" u5 d, k. ~3 X) ~, tChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) A8 j6 \7 M; T( S# h( rChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American# _- ]! V2 Q9 b* n
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.0 o3 ^. w2 H0 k
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ k! p& e' K* J/ B! q0 J* U
because of that missing certification," he said.9 a9 i, |# |) v! @. {+ P6 u1 W
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,2 M3 n+ v- l& L6 K( g5 _
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia& R/ j' r9 W% O1 x. }
Society in New York.# X" |$ D. C8 p# ~7 e+ U6 ?
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
" M ]+ `6 W' @ ~Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from! [0 Q" G$ z& @- h
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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+ W7 J4 @8 W( f, g+ H% S"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 V: Q- U' W3 S4 Z: ?
own."$ f: Q8 \; ~8 U6 n* y: W# f2 D7 S
! N5 y& X( D0 i4 y) kCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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