 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
6 J, i' V) p) x( }. k9 [Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
6 G+ ^% z) X, [/ b7 T8 p
& b9 Z4 l% e: SBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
. }, w N7 Q8 Z) g- B9 a4 P, ?# n# Y* @1 c" J2 T
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the b! H% i$ i4 j1 m1 q9 j8 ~
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary! s& ^8 k. K/ ?% q# S# R; A+ `1 v' }
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
+ ?/ [& X" ^4 `6 [0 ydangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) t, m6 [# C& T3 v: Qflag hang from the wall.
+ S4 p% p3 H2 i1 d" n7 T. U8 W5 V2 K# k" m0 }8 c! s
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one/ Z0 ]- G3 J% e
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders5 ?7 q% O$ |$ w2 Y+ H
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( N+ k# |0 a2 h$ Y1 j* a; B+ }% Mboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students$ K- p$ L/ e8 X3 x* r2 b
are already choosing it over Spanish.4 J# e; H# s) Y+ @2 l4 S, H0 l
+ Z5 M7 A9 J8 B
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 g6 w+ j5 h$ ]* ?at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! i. W' l% k1 Doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
8 g( w2 V. q& N l6 `" w7 n, f
# E, |4 ?9 i4 n' u+ PWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) w" X$ g, {/ ?7 A* y; W
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings4 y5 N# D4 c! q& |8 }" ?8 w
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention3 l3 y' V+ M" y r+ ^
one of its most difficult to learn.9 X& V$ b9 [8 w9 y t3 a( H$ c
: Y$ S$ A# V: y, U
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to! }* P/ i" J8 q! U. t1 @
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
3 b' z$ e9 k1 I0 ^% h# C" y) |/ sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! W n0 v9 |2 B2 R1 n. a- t. a& h
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
: K x8 ], n- cTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: e; m' ?. ^$ w8 x8 FChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 J2 r1 V) t8 W6 w1 m h4 {
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
' k* F% a8 ?1 U8 u7 F) Z% f; Y; X% q U
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
: G% r8 N0 P6 ?* sChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 Q2 V( S+ A; Cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to+ S9 R& a% \1 y7 o8 |
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing1 R. `8 ^2 {4 {/ n5 A& p
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director% r' {! }8 _' R. m
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.: D( j5 ^5 t* h# Q- i6 _
8 e6 l7 o# q7 l3 O0 E8 r% F: q
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 F" T7 t' `9 V4 C6 J" {
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
) f/ m# t, K/ g5 ?! L, tConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
. Q2 l8 T$ l+ I8 w$ Ycan." . I; K7 l& u; r
: c7 e; j0 Y: f2 P
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 a: L% ^6 [7 R' Belementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
) E" p8 v5 s' c8 jyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; w: ~# q5 `3 z# {& ?2 ?9 Y& W/ KInstitute in Washington.
6 G6 ~ l A- ~" m9 ]8 C. f7 I. i! c% w. K' `; C0 `
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
) m* a |. d' {9 U f4 }4 laren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
" ~# n7 w7 X- e$ pMcGinnis said. M/ y& W* h2 K/ H! C
) w# v, d9 {0 Q% E* C- o. B"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* i* L$ Q8 o: i! P8 `! A# Blongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 B: Z- H7 }# U* S, ]$ m6 x7 ^6 Kready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& p2 I9 Z# @ d$ h' p
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."+ I7 F0 M6 j( e" |
: Q2 {. S; b9 P+ z. _Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 ?9 z- h7 M8 g. n% c! f
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 K" i, F* f! p' ?9 y* f5 m1 ?cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of3 s, l( G8 U: y# L5 C) k" w
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
: X' m, N- V4 u$ d( k( gon weekends.
+ e" s! Z( r( ]' p$ j. G# F4 b. d/ b, s9 d( _) y7 @& ]
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
- y% r2 k+ y4 qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 l6 E, G4 Q+ y+ M* Jstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
4 G) x$ t: h6 j6 d2 |# f6 g- J2 v( Q: i
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ V0 l7 n& v; P2 k# |1 o. N0 ?proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the! D9 v* K0 _# A' H* n z) ^
competition. & e' S7 b7 C8 `3 ~2 D" |; R
; n8 x1 C6 I) m! ]6 S"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# \; j6 w, W; y; e8 |
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
- A% b1 \- y; J0 c& z* a( [6 |# o% q% C' Z! @
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
/ }/ T+ }. N/ C/ {all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: |2 @/ w3 `# ?4 |9 Z+ ?schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- _( x' d) z2 X- m% s6 }3 c& [kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
& J+ x9 C8 Q& N! t1 m8 b2 C+ ]) T1 lwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- `% S- x# T7 ~/ Hthe school system last year.! u5 @( F/ O; U( u( c
7 ?; e6 L$ r' _, _6 tThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
5 y& c' A ^5 F* W7 [year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
+ D6 D% h, n, V. f4 r3 k
. l- x# B* f+ p/ P7 h. }"They have a great international experience right in their own7 _1 Z6 g" W! k) O) `5 m1 U
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) f+ O; T' N6 x f4 W3 ~Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to, O; O& b! n4 g* b
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
9 D( V- t7 u U U4 non an equal playing field."
6 m! m2 ~/ r4 y- [
/ h! F. _# j0 TSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! Q+ Q& A0 o( |9 G) nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
4 ^; U/ T' c! E+ {( lService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks! o: \+ @% J0 k e- a' w0 c) y
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An2 z, U# d2 | N! ^
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 t0 y6 ]+ L1 ^# F0 sChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
$ E1 a s1 [3 D1 c5 @" m, P4 jinstitute says.
0 w- z1 v( W; {5 \+ c7 p8 X( v
2 C5 s' @9 [. dSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# R7 S7 X6 _( P* Ograder at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 Z ?$ G9 s, w
deciding whether to take the class.# @9 m5 |* Q9 X
8 |7 A4 h( G1 a
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- c0 f3 Z! t* K' k2 f; c. k+ B
told her daughter.* ^) C2 Z4 H- _; g" v
8 x. P+ H9 d. _
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite: ?# }! g" q) \: d
class.0 b% z% D1 L; W' q* S8 G5 q
3 u/ |- Q( w5 y& W& b& J0 H$ kAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
% _2 J0 j* i' a: J+ b, Z8 }studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* z% v3 b* J6 @occasional frustration., a1 ?4 c* K1 x% r2 H: F
m& `4 V) p5 N) r: A7 |"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 R6 x9 x4 X5 z4 a! @
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.! l4 C! y) p' a1 O8 J
3 G; Q* O" x& W+ a! B7 o
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he% U; K# s" x: Y/ | {- `& x
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
S ~) v$ p w+ |. Z4 M7 T; KChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.0 W2 {- F1 y; Z2 w3 r* {
, y4 S, f& _, O2 y"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# t1 G! x/ }7 l( p/ @/ u# ?- i+ osaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn) x+ y, u5 H( E; B
as many languages as I can."+ }# ~0 S5 w: |& A$ E
! r8 v( A. H& n: F& i9 `7 a
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
5 I" Z! k0 p: E0 P, L/ [skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 ^4 |2 P1 P0 I6 L: ?
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, G1 y t: a' e" B! `8 T" J) y: k
that," Ms. Freire said.7 Y! r1 d( }& C4 p1 R$ }+ W4 D
6 u" I7 q/ V( Y7 g
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program9 F8 E; _& M4 B- e1 t( k+ c
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! ]& u( \* f, c# x
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking; V$ H8 l0 y; }9 u; O' i6 q
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make0 Z/ W% @ r" E. K7 D
room.' |; F8 {: V: J$ l9 G% }1 w2 l1 n
4 J& _- c! i2 f# E. d" Q6 a
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# S% M7 `3 O$ tChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
' n( N0 y7 n6 P; Hcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
0 C6 R# _. o1 r- h! x6 {2 M! {9 o3 N; d6 g$ g4 A1 r
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
! {6 K" j! C5 \: v c, _because of that missing certification," he said.
/ \ S* @4 n* Q( R2 D% {7 R. Z& V3 C. X. x. L8 ~' z* f
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,' S" R6 c/ u6 z7 |. W( M
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia0 B+ Z4 s, f; P' ^% r2 c9 {
Society in New York.
4 C+ J5 L, d7 S1 t4 _# Z
, d$ c7 d1 Z! |, t6 K$ Y* A: \Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
" U* T% O; Y- _1 Z3 |! o& D& [& p& r! EChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from! k5 v5 i* n) M E9 W, @( N
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.& b3 b' J: i3 S5 _6 M9 h5 o5 z
3 p; [* g3 ]" R! w! ]! {& I
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
. Z K+ ~# _/ W2 S5 town."
3 {5 C# g# L) q# t. j9 d) l
) a a% S+ p/ ?9 ^: FCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|