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October 15, 2005) Q5 S2 e: C0 E* k! I5 M8 `
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 l( O% _8 B/ i0 X3 p
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING6 C5 E8 E& e5 T, O3 o' ]$ N( X
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the; s& b3 O6 p* t. V
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ {' @1 I" k1 o" e1 D# `- t1 \
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas* a- b* \3 [& N+ U0 I6 _
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" q4 C2 _% A0 M/ ]+ Kflag hang from the wall.
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) Q9 _# U; Q7 B: Y1 T kOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, ~- T3 j% P) b' m8 | }
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 U. b3 m; A/ w6 I; }$ s
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker$ n/ ~1 v4 F2 x. ~& x7 J
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* p0 c$ c! i `8 w/ j; p
are already choosing it over Spanish.+ x+ u5 M1 m7 b* [" d0 k; ~3 w+ [2 L
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 g" C4 ~+ L( @! [, J2 sat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city' s3 h6 I- o4 {8 w" J. _1 ~
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". O: J- b) |% c$ l7 J8 R6 Z$ T% ?( x' F
3 U& B, _4 N$ Z, ]With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,9 B0 J/ M4 K9 x j, s
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; N& }: Q! U* s. @
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ M+ a+ U! c& L% D o/ ]$ lone of its most difficult to learn." W! X# n: ^' o6 S
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* G9 e, E, Y4 G8 n% { Bpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 `" F G2 V; }* @studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.# Q1 f; b- l6 \6 J1 e# C9 J
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
( \ x1 _% I0 l/ b) rTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on' j# }; U. S" r, \; ]! g Q7 b, t
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to- I [$ |/ J& H8 n3 l: [) j
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." x1 G( b( \ j1 e, t Z+ Q" K
" R/ T& X) p+ J1 b p' QAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement0 `# J; V& |2 w% p- Y
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
* I" d1 ]: P% L8 _) V* |starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ U: i* d a& P* J7 B; Z3 C
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! ~0 q- {/ f% [# K6 t' e: tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director- D- ?! l5 @+ ^# L6 O
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of+ u% g0 h- O* F" G- ^6 a d5 }
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& S3 X) \. T Y: ~' b
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
7 k8 r- w& F2 N; J+ T- K2 r- i5 Ecan."
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3 \ k6 s% E: G& o5 z# DThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% i0 H7 a2 b5 x6 W4 ~7 M: m
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ J2 Q5 z* K9 l0 [years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ i2 k( G1 |4 b. w! q0 J# ]0 ?, OInstitute in Washington." k: Y0 n: v) p; |1 `" F$ z
/ o) K/ D; m3 |. U4 Q6 V) C- C Z"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
! V, R( D. b& ~7 Faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
- b3 Z) F. j" u# gMcGinnis said.
4 E0 ^# d& ^- i' y) [4 K+ H
; K5 h. ]( W# x"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! Z3 z: x* v0 b. A! |% Blongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) W0 P/ ~% k7 L% H8 S% \. H Qready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a+ W, N1 Q# L Q+ b0 Z0 Q3 B
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( i9 k2 _" D9 s( F
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and8 v$ _$ x9 {. Z- E: \: Y( s$ y( W
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: s3 _' n3 ^1 Z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ g/ O7 @3 W) x3 zChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or" @, C$ l1 u0 w+ d. h. h8 o
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
7 a x0 s) }2 c# f. O7 vschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
* h8 H& _! f1 p4 Vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.: @. D! x1 D A; z4 `
0 m m9 a2 s; m7 mMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said+ Q9 U' T# D" N ?7 L
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the2 h% ~9 f+ B3 c
competition. * n0 O9 g8 t% P
0 T8 w9 N5 D* u"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
) Q- U% m; }0 X( ?8 zsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."' C- j8 J2 e! x# ]* Y; p5 H4 a, C. `
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
' ? e- J: H4 k% ]9 |8 J0 A+ xall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse. x9 b; J) j: R# c
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
8 Z: X5 G: J1 n _& E4 skindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 @, |. |. }3 c: L$ W# }
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 W* T, |' U5 Z4 K2 C' `6 f) L
the school system last year.
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6 g1 M2 S4 H. ^0 ]" a( mThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
$ D9 X5 ?6 y: O" _; wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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* C$ e- J8 W$ z+ F"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 a: O5 A$ P: C# n" Lclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 k! N! z# p" K6 K3 EChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
6 X! Y1 \) G" B$ m7 V* b9 fhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet3 [! f, _* j+ z2 _# A" P d
on an equal playing field."
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) ~0 R0 M! G) ISome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese! e) e- S2 `6 k C
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* q) K8 T" S: `1 c* [( w2 {2 ?Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 g% V( S' i0 f9 i# }- lChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 m3 o3 y( ^+ N1 A( s0 Paverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ G# T9 l8 p8 l1 pChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* q' n, ^% q6 L6 q8 b
institute says.
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7 {3 G/ i' c' r6 H8 ^8 W; O+ jSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
. C+ z! d) B8 ~3 }% \, Vgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) P/ P+ Y( l) k2 B J
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she" [( e8 h Z+ E6 H5 o0 K
told her daughter.$ Q- |' Z$ ?& h
& k- K# U2 z! V) `+ w, J! F3 \$ zSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, V$ Z6 {1 S" o1 g2 }1 ?
class.
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% C0 s# g. W1 D" \4 J0 H) Q' DAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' i- s1 b" \! F9 A0 f* rstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 Z1 J. _8 E1 |- }occasional frustration.
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) j K3 ^8 D! y* O j"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
4 M* D# X5 I$ arecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he! M0 z0 |, {; I4 s) M# A
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with# |- d6 @; {9 T: K
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.' r. i7 S& r1 E0 }, J
7 @- z$ W4 o+ L2 U6 U"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul6 k1 l* e/ r, ]! A8 P; P
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn# P' G: d! v p: }) t
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
' t! t; F$ Z) Z6 K/ v' iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
' I6 J9 k# z1 e y2 omarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like" i3 V. q7 C) \" b
that," Ms. Freire said.
, O' _2 i8 B& F$ [$ f9 ^0 B) U
( }& ], d" u4 Y$ A2 oMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program8 o5 n. n0 ?. x+ m7 {; [6 k! }' l" i; R
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
, q1 y2 \$ K; {! I0 u, nschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking7 a+ h% g7 E$ l8 }- R) B
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
) T4 \( d; X3 f) S6 Kroom.0 H7 g/ G" m; h, f
! K8 M4 l! I8 u1 ?Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
$ i2 T% u& K( s8 E; sChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
8 [- J) Z6 \+ ^) o0 [college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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# K3 T: ]. I* w7 Y3 k"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
% Y! |1 g, a( \/ I8 K9 hbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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_% w4 G& x6 J u* kThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,) | r! U* v" H, c5 I: J: e: [
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 q5 T7 L) R" f& N
Society in New York.
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, d3 B+ n8 c; Q- t& h5 MSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 i0 O; L4 ` y; J) s6 N/ y7 RChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, L0 Y( w( p& e% @9 ?- t$ U& T' Z; I: `the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 w/ z/ T" u+ k5 s
own."* o0 w6 T$ c |& Y7 m+ z
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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