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October 15, 2005! ]- Q2 J9 B2 F- S" ~- E8 I& M
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity+ H- q1 x9 \' V, `
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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; n5 F, Y; K+ q9 B; R: _: zCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the A/ H* e6 D$ X
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 r4 w4 c) y. W! B& I0 D% |. z2 j% J
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
) C6 T5 b0 F/ S F& jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 t A N Q, i" v; E
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 P& E: o0 R6 r; A8 A
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders8 Q; _5 G* [! v& z8 E* V
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
7 A& `0 f: U2 ]8 G" V, vboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. J# X( |% [9 j' x& T% T# ?are already choosing it over Spanish.3 n: x8 e* \- |
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
% q0 n2 `4 n+ t9 K! Hat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
, Y. a1 g- B* C, Woffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") R" V1 H6 R% K! z
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 t6 q) ^: w9 j) T" V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings+ b2 Z5 U" ?5 J5 R$ ?9 k. j
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
; R8 h& x$ B# Z3 }one of its most difficult to learn.
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4 X4 w x: v/ O$ c u ULast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% ]9 q0 a8 j1 E; _
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students. u' g( C0 T# W! y @* z* O; R
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 ~- {9 d/ O* x/ t0 X3 s8 }% sLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% ~/ r$ i" Y( h' Z' S. Q
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ Y5 t9 G8 Q% @# y+ _# s' J
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to* M9 d: ?! g0 X9 x
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.6 ?0 V0 z2 P6 P* B' d
( {& O- M- P8 [8 A# UAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
& K- q* k% U/ b( I5 m& kChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
5 w5 @5 c& P) n) f2 n Q* estarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
7 n7 B" u5 c" Z$ v/ X @7 wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
; M) A/ M* n+ |5 F* S' z& gcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 x# v4 w, Y8 R9 a z- pof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.( I3 R5 ?6 W/ x; h* o4 p8 G8 n1 Z
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of% i# j& U- U Y7 \& }5 i3 P
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
' v, s9 B& e# }* q. Q# L( ?Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 t U6 S( V. A: Y# }" I6 j* }' d5 R! Ocan." . |, Z: M* U$ q
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
/ _3 S+ ^1 Q# ^0 ]2 `0 kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
/ _& t% ^: x( _0 V+ o5 w# Dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* O& E$ N* y# w1 ?7 SInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( t9 t3 K# v1 V/ maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! Z" H/ u# A4 `, `1 L" L1 ^McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 \$ L6 g# b V( _3 |longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ C5 g$ e, E- O" i. A/ S: Y: C
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. {( V! I; r( a$ I* u( `$ t" K5 Kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."6 I' m! G4 z4 f# Q- _
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and" i8 T" n* @, x c2 I
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in& g3 {# [6 G- V: }+ q, S! r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of: m# ]6 l* L3 R8 Y0 R8 u
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 T: {7 n+ t/ [% X
on weekends.6 z* C6 r E% L. T1 i0 A
+ |: Z/ `# M6 U* B6 RThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
- [1 Z/ r1 r/ a, pschools during the regular school day and primarily serves. M m+ x f+ [8 Z- x
students who are not of Chinese descent.1 l; D# u, }0 y, w% N
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said7 k5 n( W @: A4 w$ F1 R* U" ~ C3 P
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
3 p* e2 l3 N* j6 D% G$ v& xcompetition. $ N. Z7 [1 S% g7 y
6 ]! c1 P, C6 Y0 l Q"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
" J; ~& Y" t6 \4 w, {5 {% C+ h5 J. v3 xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."8 G d) y* v5 x, o0 F6 n
, H Z/ }0 f2 Z) J4 nFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
+ B; W4 D, M' M0 y$ R rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse6 r( E4 f3 f7 e9 i
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from- u }1 q- t! M7 F9 v9 B/ ~% k+ B
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% f2 v8 C# r5 _: swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to. l$ [# {0 J6 G3 E
the school system last year.) j$ D# n2 Z2 b
/ B3 F0 L8 V7 Y; y8 x! ?The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' y# \. y2 n- ^5 Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own5 D* K' D6 i9 r- q* m
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 ^8 R/ O; ^0 h) X! yChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
5 Z( L& K& R/ I+ G# n: ?/ r5 r& jhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* {. k7 r$ Z( Q4 A; z: G
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese+ }: C& C' D2 e% F# S5 W
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 L& L! _9 k2 l+ rService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
) k& D1 h: _( DChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
, x e1 W1 f6 h' t6 h) D3 G2 Kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, Q7 R" `& e D1 l; z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 n6 B! a8 Q/ Z& Sinstitute says.2 k" w, |3 e7 ^7 c, o" C; U
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth$ V+ |6 s2 y* _, N5 `1 q, L6 w6 @/ ^
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
J1 W* A7 ~# h! M# X: ~& ?deciding whether to take the class.# p8 L6 c, O) l( {) t
0 X' Y' z* `6 w: G5 o"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. o2 w6 K& D1 Q, V" k1 ]
told her daughter., K% u" [' Z4 U8 q; x9 e
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
: }+ Z8 o- d' y a, B& dclass.
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' ?) P3 T( e N( A; Y: JAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are! v7 c' g$ M8 i$ H \+ U
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
% a$ `% k/ ^0 c E Doccasional frustration.# s2 O& {4 z& N; X9 u
# c5 I1 v* B! R: l# T4 q5 E0 T6 A"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a) V2 c0 v j* k' J8 ~0 V0 R
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.# Z9 Q- a/ l7 z: z6 C3 T& c$ p9 v
8 K _ _4 w5 [2 }; ~9 S3 SRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
0 L) w0 `% N+ d% Z2 Etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with& r, j" S+ {7 z* d4 D
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul, ]* S' R) L ~! ^' J) _ `# K
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 L( q, J9 F; k: R, m+ b. Q# oas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the9 d! c. f7 l/ }7 \' f* [: Y) R3 O+ W0 u
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job) o! Y1 m# s6 ]7 W
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like1 C) D" b+ i% B! o. j
that," Ms. Freire said.1 f. W# r. y a3 |4 ]5 O; }
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 B M( X9 h7 \here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 [ u" y8 c2 c& n2 U# J5 M' Rschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
3 w* z1 F7 @& X$ M2 \$ o% Btime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
. D0 j% {* P. mroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
$ g' ?$ Z- p4 h* ZChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* S" P P$ Y2 e% {
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified, B' ?1 y/ v, _3 {) M% M) [( c
because of that missing certification," he said.' K# e. Y3 ^! [! O' M q% E
# V" H9 N Q$ z6 C+ R8 A; wThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 B6 v- M" U* Q y- u
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- E5 K- ^2 f1 ~1 `4 s" LSociety in New York.
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* W1 Z3 m/ R* B, U* @2 c8 _0 LSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% s u' }8 F' k
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- w& x7 a& S" }+ Dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 N1 T. `; ]$ ~
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our6 y" G+ \7 y( f
own.") k) _0 G) [( q' Y+ ~8 u
, e1 _ l+ `0 u5 U) aCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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