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October 15, 2005
( ], i% E+ g. D, S0 WClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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0 P( A) O7 a. P8 _* S& NBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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5 x' ~$ \: T9 Y7 i; o: [$ JCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 a# O) N `1 Z. X9 }) }
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary$ w8 l4 l3 B% h" W+ Q9 I# F
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas) y5 J5 o5 }7 E0 D3 Q/ N/ F
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ M! d8 `; u4 Iflag hang from the wall./ Y( `# w! W3 @
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 K8 c+ i% `2 J+ L( N1 Eanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders& z) Y. ~" R6 M$ q0 w
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker# P+ c: {) k1 `+ }) B
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! S2 J( e( Z* Jare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 ~. P8 r# @8 W3 {# Vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
8 _5 w) j9 X$ Boffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."& a! L$ S9 J( k/ I5 V/ v
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' |" y2 z. g; M0 g$ [
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) f P6 D; p! j* E
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: I! q8 m- r! f; O: V0 u
one of its most difficult to learn.7 `% l2 P$ i5 @+ a8 n( P' g- ^3 W
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
: J8 J. O6 Q7 R$ E! o- Cpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) _& E6 {( u: S. ], q% B6 k( s
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
$ v3 P q5 P+ X9 i6 `% }0 C) Z3 ZLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
) C: o3 a i; GTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 Q/ k- i0 w/ R9 sChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! x' [2 O$ N+ J" D+ r- a& limprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.% _2 n2 `* H+ v
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement* i4 Y7 e3 c, }# q4 b9 \+ `
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; ^: k* Q# x/ \9 w. |0 k6 {
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 P# {! H- t: K( ]! K
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 L- M# c$ l7 i# Z2 Z
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
# i0 u$ k5 X3 U6 Q5 W+ V7 Eof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.+ g6 R# F7 f1 }
3 K, ~1 z9 n4 m"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. D) n- _% n7 J+ \
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- c6 R! Y7 Z0 Z, D! `$ |9 UConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ `% D: }* U1 |can."
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0 C3 I8 t$ T0 t2 fThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from; Q9 k9 K7 m% `% [
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10! E% o4 w: Q/ p
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
2 _! o) g0 L1 M' S7 NInstitute in Washington.
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" P4 S q2 D4 K1 s: D"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
* H7 q" x. T2 Y, W5 Xaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
3 A s5 U' B# a! n/ E8 F( G& sMcGinnis said.; D. V; }+ k$ n, {0 g
' Q" ~# z" B/ P& W2 A4 `"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical$ [8 b: O7 e2 K! R! k K
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
* W9 l" y6 |5 h; m6 B5 [3 z1 wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
- I& m2 i) s8 p# nchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". }! g- j$ w( Z; Y- h- h
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and. g+ m( o5 {& o- _' A
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in# U V* A; }& {: x; J' w) N9 w2 I
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 m. J6 y# _4 U @5 rChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 a7 L7 r' _- G; p3 g
on weekends.
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9 Y& d+ \) u' `: U. V6 n0 ` }The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( b" h/ M& a6 z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
# U" w2 M! \ bstudents who are not of Chinese descent.- d3 M: F9 T: Z) ]0 X3 x4 J
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" x9 A1 ~7 d4 g$ \. }proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
2 h& D* V* F- [. H5 T7 mcompetition.
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# ]: ~$ S9 J& B) C"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley5 a% a/ C' {/ `: I! y- c2 g
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly8 _, Q$ N- z: M# \! ^
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
* y0 S+ m; B5 v8 ~7 rschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
( W7 b4 b5 l9 x6 {) }8 l+ ckindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students3 F( E8 V; V8 {: H, n( d* k
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
6 s$ ~5 P; }6 ~7 Z7 ~/ [the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# V$ Z1 f" Q( N/ I: zyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.1 U+ C7 b5 E0 H. `; |: a3 ?* E
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"They have a great international experience right in their own. Q& Y8 F: \6 D1 P2 w7 G( {- r$ a
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. g5 z8 d2 @% @2 R& q2 k
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 ]8 t. h$ I$ B! A _6 X
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
; X- _$ V& ?1 M \. Q& r; o# T# Uon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; y4 I* H! _9 x& h- V) ~% l# N* x' [
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- I' g$ t! ?% ?) Z3 |Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
- @( ]0 N J$ C" j& i) vChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
/ V; M8 g) R' `5 b/ laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 O/ @) F% L: i& l% Z, h' H
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
- j+ o; d! N. Y. C& o0 Cinstitute says.
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! K" a, x& K j5 E! }3 i1 ISevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 _3 h2 O2 P4 f! @4 j
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before1 Q: _. e, G. \7 n- G- m/ ^; z8 E
deciding whether to take the class./ A2 M1 W6 Q0 S7 u% P6 y& R! @
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# n) Y) Z- u' O u/ [
told her daughter.
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5 Q+ \9 b+ v- j- a& h" s* d8 M6 v& ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# D! z. p4 n% V t! ^# i, Oclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ H: ]. b, p% M1 d* z8 o
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without6 j1 s A' _" `1 n! X/ C8 x
occasional frustration.
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* {5 m+ N: N" b- V, g"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ h9 M" h+ \# u# c: W
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he& u. F* N/ A; q7 e2 N
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with! \; b7 p' ]+ N- S
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.& k9 E# B9 d; F6 `2 v, {) n
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
, I9 |. c7 ]9 y+ H( jsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
9 y) ~+ u7 f% O E) |5 zas many languages as I can."
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' G1 ]9 ?- G7 r% [8 Y% dAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" ^0 {+ t# I9 ?+ Hskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 I# I2 ?; P# H/ umarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- l8 w4 I& i9 sthat," Ms. Freire said.+ }, _! W: J! d; k, r( c
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 b- ~6 m6 S/ p: v) V
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
* Z1 L2 z% U' D) L, i5 Q2 ?% tschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking/ E% l( q4 |1 M* ^5 k6 S
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make- u- [% P. J7 P @0 M! |1 \5 D
room.; w; y2 ^& o |
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
; T1 d: e) m' Z+ S3 f1 d( `6 XChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American% h& n" |% P% C1 E6 p! }4 s# ?* s/ m% \
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' \9 N7 o* h3 m/ C
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
8 c3 r9 g5 r6 Q2 Sbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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4 W9 O; O0 R1 `) W7 fThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ V# H g# R hsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) B7 g" `8 a% R$ p8 x. w' q; t# ]Society in New York.
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+ {' M) m. H+ a/ G- vSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 B' P- N9 l/ c8 K3 z2 C% \Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' @- k! e) W1 X# \: L" s% ]the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. O4 X- R2 h9 e3 S0 C' c
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our2 @" C8 F# Q1 X5 f2 |6 e. I
own."
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6 m% I" M& f6 K# f6 \Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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