 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005! N4 }5 O3 ^ Q9 y) M) H8 h {& u$ M
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
8 Y) Q( A) [# |
& m2 t: w: h% m1 M. z# yBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING) V# N* Y; C' ` e' u9 Z
& }' S& V3 ]: m/ r2 BCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ w! Z z" ?# F9 R9 A& @1 ?& Y
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 n/ n2 F) N9 m( q) Y
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas" D, H& n @2 V$ T2 I( @
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
9 \& M' \" w: m. w3 Y9 \flag hang from the wall.
2 j# a5 M% \. I4 p
6 M9 @" t+ x h5 t$ V! R7 C+ |One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 U; }2 J" }: B$ {9 ]# g" a* P8 w
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
0 b \1 Q+ E0 ^) S# g7 H/ H) S- ^practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, R+ O' C( i$ l( d2 G4 F6 Wboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
m/ N) F* T3 f( @9 H) i" V, Lare already choosing it over Spanish.
4 I2 W# R5 K! A8 M' J1 @
3 K, ?. M1 @4 w"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal/ ?4 E" S! s* p* u- h6 i
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 w9 G! G. f- z" f
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
( Q7 s# m z9 ?' q3 }% d2 {3 A- S- s& t; K# m) o2 o( I5 i
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
8 A2 o/ X5 U0 J' `/ L' ~8 [- D6 Wschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! y; S8 x6 x0 k8 \! Pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: Q6 ]1 B/ `' t& f* hone of its most difficult to learn.
( N# S, S! ^; X4 D( K, b
' k5 G# c) C5 p- YLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to: q2 d, b/ @4 X% m$ `
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students; ~$ @1 m# y5 q1 m
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ B+ e( r3 r. H7 H3 ?/ }0 ]; g; F% g( O
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of# g) ~# |% M4 x* B
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on% Y; A3 I9 X9 v
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) [8 a, _9 v7 z; i1 [
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
5 H4 f4 ~8 f- g" _7 t& N) M9 K* _! ]. e; c- f
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement' E! ` P* W) q! ]! V# X! r
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ {/ r% U: v8 [5 G# hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to2 ^7 Z' I) U: L( I9 M3 e
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
9 ^ u6 N( R) L9 Z: Wcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) M: X( O- d. }% d. C, i# r* |
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
) h6 u) c; D4 Q7 \
* G I: \ I- w$ A"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, d5 }* x1 ~: D( F. f$ E
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& j& w+ ~" m0 p* F$ y8 {Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! S; X$ c- b- h Q
can." ; `. `$ n' I) N4 [+ C; f! Z
1 J- w8 y) `! C! O$ U* c X
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 ^ o3 G5 c' X+ B" Zelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; Y& Y& @# n$ l* I" o( ~
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 L* ?7 v' o; F3 y0 i6 \Institute in Washington." \# ^ i6 i8 g7 @# C3 R, u
2 @5 Y; r* ^* p: x8 b- r& u
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( s0 X: |/ Z7 {$ h7 C b5 Aaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
0 v$ W/ [4 a) P1 h* i1 n. w kMcGinnis said.
! G/ m3 |2 t% P4 g4 E% _
% T, K3 Y! ?( i) W9 L& d2 Z"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
' k' Y3 G4 o: D7 a5 ?5 }longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
/ r+ j8 U* B G7 h# G+ h. c4 Nready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
" d& V' ~$ `. [- ]7 D. y1 ^challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
; w8 v, ` ], }8 x2 z8 \ {; T e& |# ~( O
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 J+ n9 f5 d- b; j: y3 Y' \! Z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
3 N/ g" Z0 Q# Pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of0 J9 a# `) [ _3 J, H" {1 j
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 K" [* I7 p) ?# z' jon weekends.
7 n# N& G, a( @& D
) t3 q7 ~/ W7 \, uThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public4 C' \1 n5 P P
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 @% H( A) P* {5 K" Dstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
2 b/ M7 m4 F9 z2 C1 J2 t3 o6 X, C3 Z% f4 r% F2 e+ A
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
7 F z: [( K, O6 g2 R1 r6 s* Z" Eproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# S" q1 {; S' k( s( W. X
competition. * y& x! M8 t5 g: i) K
5 p8 H3 X2 J* _, i, d0 z5 I
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 W) @+ O' j- v6 ]
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
0 `! [( W. x5 O1 ]8 l, z3 Z8 K* H3 I, D
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly( S, T* t1 F3 }5 L9 t6 B- K
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% q5 b, ?' k2 K8 x8 k
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
8 G4 o" s8 b. S1 ?kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: L3 [ Q; w, m+ p
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
; [. v4 v9 V. l. R* e# J) Tthe school system last year.
1 V! V! J7 ]+ x- B; W9 u) `9 w: K& L1 _4 T% e( B
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this% v+ l, ?8 ~% `" v: C
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
$ V2 n) J* d3 S# M" I
, @) r- s. K# }6 ^, J: Q8 s"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 g( V, o8 |+ }7 |, d: hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, V. j1 m& b8 U( `6 H2 Q. P! l
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
! t) |2 I4 |6 S9 }9 mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 }: ]+ O& J0 K% x) A
on an equal playing field."
: c3 |1 y" S/ |- z# @( x
7 h7 Q" Z E# }& p; XSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. q2 g' ?4 s/ w0 a& t- D7 z9 M0 I
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ C- l5 _3 D: ?" t
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 d3 c/ a% i! x3 k3 \3 f; H- P
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An8 P* n8 x: T, p
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, S; J' C' Z M; x! T# L7 j
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
, e7 x* B* z7 z, d6 N0 v4 I/ |institute says.
3 h/ ]- X" F- I' L2 a
. ~3 Q) z, V* l4 r+ NSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
, B, y% P# e+ Y' [grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 ^) d$ L, ^; B% B" }deciding whether to take the class. C9 r/ X& ]/ [% Y. a0 }
% r9 j* [% o* H0 c: ^& @, |"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she6 N: [0 ?8 X1 f
told her daughter.2 k& V5 M8 t0 O! |9 P B* V( E
" Y, x) h7 r8 l1 @4 K- M7 r6 q* x+ M5 vSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
& w t' v' |5 a; M+ }" Xclass.
- e; O+ o: n/ Z* q' N6 z( E2 u
: E- b* r9 n/ {$ J% c/ R4 uAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are$ x4 u1 E4 H* t3 a/ X. l Q e8 ^
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without8 F' c0 b1 \# }7 x7 W4 e
occasional frustration.5 y1 n b8 f$ x; Q! e( C
7 A4 N; v3 O9 X- M8 t" ]
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 s+ i8 W7 ~- k1 B! l& {$ {' {3 T4 E
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
0 Z9 }, @8 H% x' T
( v# c; |) o7 ~5 h* u4 |Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
6 v& {8 b, K' {% t* J; Ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
1 l$ U$ H7 T& u( RChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.& B& n7 x# j+ {
# ?: M8 L1 _: R4 Y* ^3 j"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
, s2 H; b% V6 g1 R! Qsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn1 B' H6 \% ~# d2 J" o
as many languages as I can."
4 R6 H6 W: D2 _' i; _* y, k" [1 s m2 v8 L, }
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the( D4 C9 V% V) |# l7 A9 b
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job! h7 i0 k' o0 v/ X
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
# G3 a7 P0 b3 {! \that," Ms. Freire said.
- Z5 p1 J* S- _& l( j2 B# X7 C' y% ?# x( I8 a
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, Z% A0 b- M+ Q1 |0 [9 i# Y" r
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each. `" R0 k. |2 c- p) y' S: F
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
T9 K' \3 v, l" N6 x6 Etime from classes like physical education, music and art to make" R3 r2 I$ z" e: G% y: g
room. j# H( N+ g+ y8 x
1 B& }; g; f# L; p+ |
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* w* I1 P3 q) Y; w" b
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American! ^8 K Y& \9 K) q2 ]% x2 J
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
- `- d. j9 Q- P& ~# W3 m3 Z
9 f J) f B2 h* W* O8 ^"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
: o6 f2 _/ n2 v5 z# abecause of that missing certification," he said.( m4 k6 |" T, |) n, g, o- s
: ^8 C& J; ^3 }1 S
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States," N) C; N% h- U* r9 _
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( J% |1 ^" m3 D' F! s
Society in New York.7 [" y2 u6 H0 @/ _- C
' q; e. Y5 C& i2 F% GSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
/ Y) @: K5 Z. h9 N( A8 WChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
% G: }& @" R" ?* vthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., |# l+ y; r$ F) ^, f7 ?
' N( a) J2 P$ r" x6 I: d0 |3 }& E
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
2 `- ? b. v3 F: X/ f% Rown."
/ z/ K1 O1 n3 |6 m! H5 u! G: Z( f; C( R. H6 Q9 p
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2005-10-18 09:28
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
发表于 2005-10-18 10:30
楼主
发表于 2005-10-18 15:23
