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October 15, 2005
$ x" e" ~% b% z* fClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity7 }$ v0 {* \* G3 I8 a, ` _- a
& {, H: L$ q, \7 o* Y2 fBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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/ G# v) G9 U* Z6 ]: Q. YCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
4 N, F, Q* c* UUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
/ ^7 \0 f* P0 j! g/ n3 HSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
( n5 [' P/ {. y, Mdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& ^$ Z+ f' B& ^$ T1 c2 @. hflag hang from the wall.9 Q! b$ X9 r+ d1 j& L0 r. D
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! F( e8 w$ Z! V+ I+ J2 e4 b( h
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
3 G, g2 i3 ]) e: g) I8 f8 {8 |practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 |4 G& ]% T5 q2 n/ c+ Eboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. T! u, A8 Y: x- Jare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 `# x* v$ ~/ i, Z+ N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# ~4 U1 L& I' h/ \& @5 T% ?offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."; p) [4 @( i! {
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
6 v# a5 I: o; Y! _% a6 B( Bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings- J G: O' a: I
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention$ Z* v8 t2 ?( j5 M5 e% A- o: x
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ Z/ t3 Q8 S# Z$ B8 F. k& Y" v: B
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
6 O) i6 t% \( n0 N; i" G- I& N5 _studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& G) `8 O" n: v+ i: ~- TLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
9 K" l0 P& D' U* T1 j uTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! A" i2 ~+ g/ f* f& D2 L5 s
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ r% M" N+ G1 v) I6 {
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement5 B. @, c' R, `) `2 i1 m# A
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
" x$ E. A2 q& p x5 u9 Q3 Istarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to0 ~& V0 F5 u& z9 `
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing, B7 R$ Y1 o* D, {* o5 a
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; e, o" u+ m; O6 E! Zof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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/ |( p; {) @% F2 ~4 S N6 G"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) Q; c0 p6 q v$ d: k) @+ m. H" W
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 }6 `2 x% a8 C- g4 `% KConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
: o! F6 ]7 I2 _' Ican."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from0 |( w- e9 |8 X6 f) N4 e. |8 U7 @7 k
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# m$ |+ N* n$ _; S9 a- n1 Zyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ Q- t: G3 `0 a7 `- aInstitute in Washington.. i& T* _1 l3 O1 p
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
8 ^! R7 F3 v4 M: G6 E! baren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
- E- v' i G4 |$ W3 ^4 R3 ^8 dMcGinnis said.$ W/ z' l' @0 g8 `3 ^6 J! D/ U
- h0 U: `6 S& _; A7 Z5 G"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% F- `+ O& Q) h( v2 Plongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: f1 E! u* ?+ S/ \7 Oready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' D2 n6 I ~1 n* F% zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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( \7 ~; O5 L/ t3 D4 i8 uUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and" F7 N9 e$ C6 L& n( }) f3 ^8 g
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
, X5 c7 {0 z F* U4 v5 S3 q- F) acities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 E6 q+ W" }! D; i+ a* OChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
1 F/ K8 O) `, \on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: S- M; r- S" B" T
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ _3 e; @) X0 E+ B: U. e& L
students who are not of Chinese descent.* L4 {5 t; ^; W, E" v' x
8 l S; H1 G9 D6 U3 BMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( `+ O" c/ g2 L0 j& @
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- M9 o; I8 p# G$ ~7 P
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ u' x( J# b) `/ O+ ^said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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; e3 J! X: H0 K$ K4 Q* QFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly% E5 |: I; q! r. x, t$ v
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
0 n X/ h& Q; s, A3 tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& Q) A) S0 W$ q. f4 n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% T4 n$ m+ k9 h2 ^4 jwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to! L# P7 q9 R, c3 L& |2 z# ^
the school system last year.- G5 M0 q0 }6 {# q
4 a4 P" h6 ^1 z' F) OThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
6 G& z1 a/ x: L0 Jyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 J' r6 o7 B P' P9 E, `8 c
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
/ v/ f# ?$ ]9 f) F$ s. iclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* y6 I9 `5 U# }( Q: X& G6 @# B
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
5 J! { m: u! T8 K: Zhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet D+ M* T3 N1 W5 A0 |3 i3 ~
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- e5 m X9 N* B2 ~/ kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
) B1 a5 M* ]- m" f2 FService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 b/ E9 ^# `9 _6 I# Q
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
0 b4 Z6 @9 ^! s0 n( U5 laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in' F5 P' L8 O2 M
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
- {& `; J% x, j. D1 Linstitute says.5 b; o- _/ R$ Y4 `# b- c5 O2 s
$ [* r0 @" B) M3 I+ g& PSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth2 e8 C, z) v0 O
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* f0 G$ j$ M0 L; B6 I
deciding whether to take the class.7 u1 H Q \' O( P# F1 e
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' d. h! e& ]1 V3 Ytold her daughter.* e4 U! L7 i5 B* N" P( e5 }% A% e
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite4 J* u) j9 V) g& i5 ~
class.4 n0 E7 k G$ z2 X6 g3 F
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& u( ]) H, o p2 J3 d4 n% [* Z9 r) i
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without* v) A9 ?' I9 d* q3 ~' C
occasional frustration.1 H8 ^- c8 {0 |" U0 ^
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ V; [4 _% @; }1 Y/ Q5 k4 V5 i0 Yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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# q4 {& ]' R1 o0 p& X3 X$ S jRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' A0 F9 h# z3 R
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& c s8 a: E8 y( q9 J' H9 |Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.9 M% _! [+ M# o- [' w( a% \- T
/ E. y8 b) C, x; d% {"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
& g9 @+ K4 ^6 a4 [: P) [said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ f3 Q9 d: r% W, pas many languages as I can."4 e) X- T4 v0 O
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 Q, v2 h2 V5 p
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job) r* O: a3 M( L* j' ]% S5 j/ ^
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ B3 l+ \: @# w7 m" a% ?! U5 k1 }
that," Ms. Freire said.2 T7 c3 `8 T) ^9 e' c5 T
5 _. o) V; @1 R* Q+ sMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
- @$ \9 [% J) C) ?# ?* Mhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
( h. }" Q9 S9 ^" @school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 j: V" e1 d6 u' e" b. I
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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# Q* S+ L7 g6 g0 M0 tChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
+ B0 C/ n8 d5 F" m9 h7 UChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American$ X# f/ X: K$ A( \- b
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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* O6 v6 _9 w8 H) R% k"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ J" G. y* @! ^3 p2 Cbecause of that missing certification," he said. r6 o+ T& g$ X: P
" {! \5 f8 ~% u' @3 q( OThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,- p$ W+ r, z, ]% h+ E
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
M, C0 u& J0 [- [8 J3 f/ f. ESociety in New York. g; B& Z5 l; X
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the8 q5 j& P% s- Z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
$ `9 e' F8 j8 N$ N4 \4 Dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 L5 j: F$ _) n! c
; o' r+ w. N2 p. p/ D3 I! _9 G2 s"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
( }6 w+ j7 a5 T% x: o N/ I! Hown."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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