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October 15, 2005 g) R, |% l {% a
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% t% i& r Z I& W* O1 g
6 O( z5 T+ N$ ^/ O) |3 QBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
7 Q' C( P9 F4 p* i# N% M* D! t2 D) S5 Y* T$ y
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the _8 E" T! D2 } U4 ~! [! `
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
" M( X& j% M* I* PSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 ~2 ~2 ?. K- Z) T( J/ F( X
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 ^/ G, i/ s7 C0 p" L- ]
flag hang from the wall.
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! y- [$ i7 x. z: o! S! [ L p. nOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, }; W4 j6 ?" h" ]8 ?3 H& x
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
w% |3 z5 z$ E0 @ kpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
% C) [1 [2 r% Zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 y; P6 L ]$ G5 nare already choosing it over Spanish.$ Y$ U- N) g. |# n) M0 {
+ G; y! ~3 }- R0 c2 |"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal7 C P- J- v p$ r) v4 U
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city4 B* ?% X+ f7 D0 f7 \1 W
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.", t4 y9 T1 ^6 ]: Q& d: V1 ~: a2 L6 H, N
' h7 U1 d0 y8 P% N) xWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,8 Y. }0 S8 u: T
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- C& t- ^5 ~# }3 { Uto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
0 a2 `, M+ w+ z; kone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
, {/ ^5 |( \) Qpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students# U% N6 O1 u9 G
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
/ H: z7 W0 \2 C. k7 ~% hLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of9 v! G& A( a! \9 \, x
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ P$ R; Y! G, Q" t: i
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to% E! u; M% Z7 v# N% U
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
/ l9 A0 v( ]( I2 F& K& n
# u6 q6 ^, I8 q8 B% X' `; rAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement7 J" Q5 R8 g* F' S2 [. s3 p
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
" x8 n9 v# d) m3 Z( d" C2 wstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, g X" ^' _0 F% n' |& d2 f+ Adevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! q7 V) E9 ^* m4 ^- i/ T1 f2 s; Mcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
- k, h% c, R% ?" \' i }/ t+ Yof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.* a" F, M/ y$ W' A4 ?
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
/ m4 r. d/ f4 }( O. c; I7 Fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
: s: Q V% \* ?2 _* l: K4 LConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
9 K& T2 }0 W. \$ R$ |7 Xcan." 2 y' F4 b6 x4 e4 F, h1 w! _; m* P
- H% }3 W) m t3 O
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) X& l# S2 k, J8 [elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ m2 S" i9 }1 z' \' [3 y" z' l/ ?9 byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* {7 i2 B6 C* p8 L" H$ nInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# D4 I6 P( C" h9 t- b3 m t( @aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 E2 Z% t5 t4 K4 e XMcGinnis said.
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% o0 d2 g% d% q& x" q; h"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical2 t3 ? W" }' S8 {9 p
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be1 s+ V( @+ J; ]2 Q. l5 Y
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
; U, I8 Z1 [+ b9 Gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
5 ~/ m. H9 Q8 b& O* a, d: Gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. a. X( |- J. n! }+ J8 [' Y8 r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of0 w* h5 P( t6 J# [5 A9 a$ I
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* W' P# u; c! B/ F/ c' W2 N
on weekends.$ X+ t" O. M; a
4 g; f$ X/ K# \9 y
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 _! Z- k" W; b. f! k6 b! q
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 M" r A# d7 L* Zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ X2 n: u0 ~% K
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the0 ~/ H7 l+ B( b4 K
competition. ! p @2 S5 i8 o6 n# i+ _
; k3 {8 I p$ o% i( i, w"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! v; p c1 L1 J5 ^8 Q# ~0 a
said. "There will be Chinese and English."7 b+ z- T- X6 d8 g0 Q: M m/ ^
; R% L2 O. B2 A) l/ w1 e
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
2 J6 A/ d- x' \& P) Qall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
& ?% x/ r3 T v0 \, f7 d1 jschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& @ p5 P1 v6 i, D
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ b8 \( D9 `% x* fwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to5 u8 f* s) x s/ C- E
the school system last year.: R0 U5 E3 D) ~# u5 B
5 c0 `5 f0 l' `: F# {6 [5 A" y
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 B, R& d0 l. n! vyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.& r% [+ C: y v1 G3 a) y
0 v0 r1 \( H; _, H"They have a great international experience right in their own
% {5 g. K: P& d4 H% E, L, [+ n1 ?classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
7 w( x, K: I IChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to. g; `- T, c; N* w4 F" u! m# B
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
5 k# r0 P! X3 S. L6 v+ f8 h$ h2 y, ion an equal playing field.", C, ^ @! ^6 ~- o
, _9 b' X: R' Q% j5 \Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- F4 g' A4 Z6 n( W; F( Z! B9 [classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. a% j' y3 D9 i5 R
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
5 [; M' j, M7 G% V: T8 {Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 `; E6 m$ m5 `5 v& uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in2 ?- M8 r8 K& x3 n( o- P5 f# u- F# K
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
+ I8 ^! _' j! t+ Q3 Vinstitute says.
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/ r( r% R4 r4 v& [Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; [4 O& S8 g4 Q6 |0 j: Egrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: u F8 O0 |6 F
deciding whether to take the class.
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1 {% _. T0 h% k, d* w"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( @6 q- o; X! D" H/ B u( _8 |
told her daughter.! g& x6 z+ w0 C4 b5 Y3 m
. S* p0 y+ O, p5 a4 U V4 _Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, D9 f b( O8 U- D* E) [
class.1 ^3 L& y5 d3 T. a$ m
. D- s8 A @2 t0 R( ?# M0 G) pAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are/ q! o+ R* ~3 e. e3 S5 j
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
6 _6 h, D* A7 d0 X2 S5 |- n; H- Noccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 B# @8 t) p1 _) @( y7 grecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.# M& k' U, n5 p6 \- `, H
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 n+ a3 n9 ]8 q! [1 C7 Z; ], b9 L
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 z# B3 Q1 x$ O& ^' `
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.# W+ u h/ s3 {% }! P) B
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
7 d, E0 `, a# o4 S! [; o2 Jsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( \* X9 x) P U6 S. \8 D
as many languages as I can.". W8 i: I9 F, \) L) Q9 r/ s$ E
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* d# v7 F8 u5 T) g: B: u7 k: tskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
! |/ X* ]2 \7 ]1 Wmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
( t' s# x" Z# Q0 i* |that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
+ R/ P' s( C4 ~here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
$ t3 O9 i$ B' Q7 p% Qschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
# w3 ?* K/ X8 c. t+ u2 C5 Dtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
4 Z+ k$ d4 w Z4 P; c7 Qroom.& \6 o% l3 S/ {! h( P! ~
" \% y& o9 \ W: L* }) UChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 p' S0 p9 S7 k+ J
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 Z2 {7 i; L0 @/ q. y
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
/ | W- J2 @. F+ b- ?
9 F, u& U1 l8 n"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) m# }& k6 S I" y1 s
because of that missing certification," he said.
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* Z' J) ^8 f; y/ B. K& z0 IThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 y1 Q" a! ~6 }) }" lsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia" q$ v% V, [* P, M& g' V. L' S
Society in New York.
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) g/ }; K; p% q( i; S$ b- m5 sSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the( B1 I4 i3 T) |6 q6 i4 _
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
* U7 b; X2 |4 x5 V& Lthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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b- u5 L4 n) m* z) B' |"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our7 K8 a4 [' z1 X
own."+ S- Q7 v a& }; |6 |! {) W! ^
3 P2 q; g1 q! f) k/ xCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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