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October 15, 20059 P0 R1 Y8 z2 b6 ?7 o
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
: c; y: r2 A T0 B$ V' s$ e# ^% K
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
! E W A# y2 D F
, p" ?5 _ y; B" K z; W& RCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the8 [9 p7 B2 s. w& S/ P5 J; J
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 | l, u7 f3 J. GSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
( Y1 v8 E; l p# Kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
% q; h- W1 K" F4 r, {flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one; I% Z& T7 t6 y& G4 O- ?
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders- A! T) D9 @ y, p
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 D" L0 p: K _3 ^2 |# aboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* Y4 P8 g5 J2 z4 \/ N9 c
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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4 X7 c# k; N, O$ a9 y0 I$ g"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& X- H7 x; c. ~) i; b% r, m
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city4 X7 m/ M/ i+ V; o P
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* w$ ~3 j/ a6 w3 h2 w p5 ?
0 z5 @+ }' r2 ]) [3 y0 A6 O! m+ sWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
% h0 }0 t& w( `schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* Y3 b/ M3 E+ y1 w/ l" D3 L
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% A4 H, X6 a8 E5 {2 ~one of its most difficult to learn.1 M- i- b9 i' |" Y0 E6 n
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, Y$ U% g8 g; Z) V1 b
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; E' k3 m' |2 K+ z' a; F7 q5 D& Mstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
! g1 _% }8 _( V8 O6 j6 |9 C! Y* eLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of! v0 J1 f- X% D6 ?2 F% T7 g
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ K+ A r M2 M, _3 L& X! l! |Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) _1 N, i' j8 d" ^9 G! ^9 O' \
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.8 r' _6 [ O% w y, Q8 X) \$ {; Z( r. i
) I% { i' R7 r! _After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement5 C8 X! D- D% |3 V/ n
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
' A; W' |5 e& j, H. b, v* hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ K3 M* x- B# z
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
/ a" j" a- `; n% v6 H5 n! w5 T8 ecurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director; m+ K2 F. W/ G
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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* Y& y- ~6 E6 V, O4 {' A"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ f) ?: i. T+ z0 A3 cspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education2 v* ~: v/ {4 E7 U& t) F$ W: P
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! ?: L" v+ p: p. `
can." $ i% r& B& i; Y/ A
$ C( C: `3 n. F, Y' }2 l# |The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from# [4 V3 }* T, P4 ]
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10! _2 o4 `/ y x5 M7 ^
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, L7 s$ t+ u0 G. V
Institute in Washington.
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8 t1 A# N8 F3 t* @6 p"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
$ Q. ~+ F& }. `: M% Saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 ^: l& v7 q" w9 s2 ^% z0 b+ TMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
e" c# B3 Q& t5 glongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 s/ I4 e( q& M& \$ O
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: V l! k5 ?; ^* x5 D3 }challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
: ?. G& X; }$ U3 x. \secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in V6 ]$ Y7 X) z( {
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 y/ u# P( L) P0 L
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
; b/ N! \4 z0 k. l: qon weekends.2 z8 Q4 H. B7 ?0 L$ \ S
/ g" }% [6 h; |6 N, z: LThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
$ X% ^$ o) x/ uschools during the regular school day and primarily serves% u# c* a' I0 ~" o. U
students who are not of Chinese descent.* g2 C* P" ]8 }
( z m% B+ g- l; i) ~; [5 b- @4 ^Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
2 c* R& _; {( |9 c0 ?proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- u" L K6 U1 F0 K5 X5 t! v% E
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
( S5 O% k7 W( T6 q! usaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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6 U4 l0 f9 b& B7 `: WFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly2 w$ K8 r- A* y& ?8 D9 w8 d9 W0 |
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
! L: S$ y; ]" A0 m) t! Bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& U: }) s2 A7 w% tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 P9 D; d1 B9 C q& _; D
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( }$ d9 ?* E1 g. V8 m
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( s& e: w7 O; n' tyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.3 q6 N3 i5 w% k9 |
3 W5 E1 c0 [' z3 `4 ]8 L"They have a great international experience right in their own! z& t% E& ]9 P+ W0 ?
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 v/ J4 }/ s/ W. T2 ZChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
2 D! f3 s" K) D: M& O4 Ihelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 ]' [3 g* d9 c$ u
on an equal playing field."9 m4 H; C7 S2 A m- a
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
3 C! J& m: i) o- M* c8 d# t# eclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign! G( j3 L( r9 \% e+ W
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks$ r+ _; ~8 e. f# Z! X( L( v
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 t" ?! Z. m t4 Iaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
; D* t0 ], U7 y- }, k5 r' P' AChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
; ~. u: ?6 n, ^0 p" b) Uinstitute says. Z* Q, a6 _# D8 z1 u7 T
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 u( p) ?7 U* a* u' mgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 {, O$ r3 R8 I- sdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# z+ K- o# q( a1 k n) S0 j+ o
told her daughter.$ Z4 g0 U$ r4 ?! L$ N5 U- M
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
9 y" F" n& g% m+ I# L3 rclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ u* p( N4 X' h, u* p' C% ]
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" {) A& s1 F! moccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
6 y- }) }2 g9 S7 {- {$ k! Krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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0 l& c4 f2 N7 FRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 I) I. f$ b" ^
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ G* n5 `/ R5 k/ }9 K$ t, H7 R* MChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.) W) }: ?, V3 c+ W! b% @; n `
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
6 b/ C* g' f5 r$ W( ], T/ lsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( k0 V1 w6 j- q( {( y$ K0 Z. R; p
as many languages as I can."
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7 u5 O; V9 t5 {, F5 }Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the4 @ }0 K" U* O$ X
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* S* O7 C3 m7 K9 P- ^market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
5 T! ?$ b2 {( J9 Vthat," Ms. Freire said.3 g7 @' l+ U8 n. |+ x+ N5 e( X" t' ?
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program2 r4 ~' N9 m; ], ~% W
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
* N) X1 \6 f8 x- o& hschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 f6 H9 v3 h, f: ?7 H1 h3 ~! ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make( v# s; g" y+ B/ V7 Y, h
room.. g% k: {$ v" v0 G6 @% r/ P8 ?
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer) s/ V1 W1 T' Z) f
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 i }& G! a6 w4 L2 `3 \
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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! j0 i& O" Q3 z/ H: k6 ?1 V"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ B% r, Z/ M5 ?* k
because of that missing certification," he said.
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6 `/ }. `5 U+ ?3 d, ]4 qThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
7 E* W: [2 ^: msaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia1 P. B2 F) M7 p$ m* y) @ c' u
Society in New York.# l5 y$ ~& ?7 Q7 z# N
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
, l+ r/ ]' ]2 j; X" l1 {+ E& KChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from1 T. V0 M7 w6 P8 ^- f
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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7 l/ O: @8 {3 c"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our/ v6 w: w. R, Q* g, I
own."% z0 m' O, ?4 G$ T0 f
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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