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October 15, 2005! `1 W" X7 o# q% k% F6 s
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING/ l$ z: }/ ]; T. l) d
" c+ k( {) |5 O; D- m7 |CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
, J3 ]: B( ?; H" a' ]+ S( C3 \United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- v _5 v' j( T! E: p% w7 W) y
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas+ Z/ z1 o, r7 c) X
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 w3 p+ U" B# ^/ B
flag hang from the wall./ z8 r5 R+ L8 p$ [
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one6 u* N' h/ @; j
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 t# {8 N: Q/ v0 Z
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
0 f o$ m3 M2 s! o. dboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students8 x8 |( R- u6 ], k3 e. c' D
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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+ S( h3 ]; X3 n7 o( s! J7 `% E$ Q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
- |% o! K# c; ]1 f% ~7 x8 F* _at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city+ ]+ f7 D4 ^4 P) g6 [6 @& Q6 A
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 s# N! \. H5 h5 ]4 ]" m% ]schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings1 i: ^9 ]. w( [9 I
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" N0 J7 X& u% F: b
one of its most difficult to learn.. }' L Z) ^+ ]
5 H- o# g G; r/ YLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
: s2 r. L; [% p$ }! Spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students' m2 s( T0 L( A2 d* i5 X
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ s3 y; t: v- J& `3 }
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
, U2 u) F& `8 g/ ATennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ j% O# o! U7 ?% A: uChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
2 x5 z2 ?& V4 ]9 ]- |' I# gimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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* o" n0 M. D" tAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ y) C" K: _ c. p& V
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) i% y! L% j7 B. R
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to. A# U5 d* X8 C( e R
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
2 P! \( B( }$ Hcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
: ` W2 o7 ^! D# P. Hof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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0 u8 W3 t% q6 t7 Z"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 C8 v$ M. [& X' _# k- w0 N
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, x2 p* C" T6 Z( R
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we' |& ?/ m% C5 `9 X9 m
can."
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0 v" v+ Y1 Y3 y8 cThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
" z% [) u7 A# n% B+ Delementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* C1 v, D4 y3 G Y
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
" r9 s4 p) M! s; R, h6 \Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages/ N9 ]" ?) m) y
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! j) D6 K0 V$ z( M6 @
McGinnis said.
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& j; U, b" {& O6 [8 z; X"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 F; H& t7 L6 Z; z" k& X9 C
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be. p, \' B' R- E; F4 v& G1 b- r& ^; r
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
5 e1 y& y& n8 G4 Q* Z; d. g5 ?; Mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 t0 h7 a% _, P/ t- [( q2 {" V
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 w: O# v9 \+ c; n( l+ f/ G4 T
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
$ F8 }, Q1 o# u- T( LChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
0 @7 q6 k0 x% m% \- \) x G) gon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public' M: l% k) N4 S4 V( i- K
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 V8 |* k' b/ F' R) R" m0 _students who are not of Chinese descent.; z2 L/ j7 S+ d: b
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
5 c; Q7 |) N Zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
1 E( w& t' }1 v: s! Xcompetition. " v3 G6 S0 x) ]( g j9 ^
% `* \8 `1 W+ @4 ~, K* c
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 p. X' n9 i; l* l& bsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."6 ?! Y6 N! m/ y; T0 d4 m
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
' j! u4 u7 l1 i8 Jall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse2 X& N# g8 B2 w0 ^9 h- N- |6 W* M
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
: V% r7 G* C4 ~$ A' K: L& ]) @9 Gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students4 W0 r5 U. W0 w8 f+ c0 r3 t2 S+ C5 e1 T
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
$ l* }% i( Q+ B) l2 e$ Cthe school system last year.; v: M# Q d& }; ]8 \8 J
; o6 U' ]" D5 g& b: R( NThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# m( T0 U8 q) b1 D2 }
year 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 own! z# z% _. ]# _& Z
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 ]- x7 _! M0 ^
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to9 N- `. J" _+ H) }" u: [
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
% Y+ A X3 d, r1 T' R! kon an equal playing field."8 M, ^; ?7 _4 t# j
( e: k( r6 |" r$ \8 P: XSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 H% G9 e7 Z4 Tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 L k" {7 i% C' ]5 V' U! ^+ h; f) Y
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks4 [; \2 N0 T: l9 F& t( W7 N5 r: y
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
; O6 r+ o8 I6 j1 Y" t: Z7 E) Faverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 H/ z) Y* D+ s- LChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* t: }; P1 L4 _) b2 q/ ^" B% z9 Ginstitute says.3 |5 e! d" B6 J( r3 ?5 g
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
1 ]4 L6 k( {: Ygrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before A L$ e" O& q( ~
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ ~. S8 V7 Z* c1 a5 P$ P1 `0 V
told her daughter.
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# P, H! a3 D' R# t4 lSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
5 @( R4 @$ R$ ^. [, m1 ]# Oclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
4 \: G0 d7 d; Y* I( |# `* F% lstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
: R$ Y2 a8 t7 x( e. G& u6 M; coccasional frustration.
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. h3 e0 E- C+ k+ a. a; u"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" k0 [0 }/ H e/ Zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
4 p, [2 M% ~( M2 V4 {* }taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
8 u% q; [. n0 f6 m$ |Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.) g1 L, h! Q$ K2 g3 ?4 c9 | M& d7 F
5 U3 q2 T* i- f"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 s/ ^6 a8 G7 K" W: R
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% }: G& _9 {- \& P& Ras many languages as I can."0 d' b" C7 x$ S1 ~( q
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the* y8 L0 ~$ U, C7 r5 C. U5 g
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job6 R- U. }8 o) i4 z% E
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) r, r2 R3 r$ c3 u
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program* O# |2 w+ Q5 p) r/ v
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
+ p6 F. S' r" n+ V4 Eschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking) d( Y8 d. H1 [ [
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: ^! o+ B) {1 g! P) G
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer, }7 i& N! I i$ D, c
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
) w5 \9 x& z. m c; Gcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said." U, q! ]6 y" G- J4 i
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified1 v! W6 I0 l( O- P% Z& T
because of that missing certification," he said.! H! h; P0 f6 G/ C4 b2 V4 ^' X5 ]
- C: g' }+ n, |' D; e% p) }The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
" l ~: v8 n# B! dsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ b8 z* [; n9 s) Z* N' \ O. G" T* nSociety in New York.
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7 i( m+ q2 l7 M8 @, y5 LSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 R3 U0 }! P, [ jChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from% @8 U! a4 {* P2 G4 L
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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% F' k- w" O0 i5 H m* U"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
1 i) r3 o: f6 G8 V4 q" uown."* r/ @# R& B' s# S) l
" u. C7 S, i! k+ _ DCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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