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October 15, 2005( o/ s( U) @$ N
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
. J. U- r0 l3 C- |
& y. d1 @$ q7 U% p2 F* J {By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
: W; E: N6 h" @; L: z) o7 A% L( U& v a9 |: i
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
+ y7 {: n* T' h6 M5 _: HUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary: ^$ Z% _9 o8 i: e* |
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 q' `8 V) I( h3 r! P" Z# m' _9 s
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& D k' E1 q2 ]' }& \flag hang from the wall.
( _1 T" J3 j1 O2 c
6 z) u% R. H: I) G" _/ AOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
4 \7 M/ @* ]$ y6 M4 g) d6 V% {another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
; g$ v4 z4 W, d: fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; H. ?! x% L: U b2 q4 Tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
, `6 ]; o0 F# w5 H. Dare already choosing it over Spanish.
4 C& ]/ |. P) V9 }1 q. M( E$ J3 q8 r2 W( m8 e
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( A& _4 i* W& @+ t% W: B3 O# Iat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ x. y. R% U" V* koffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
5 N' ^' T+ h) y/ S5 d( A
T8 J- q. k [4 {2 UWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: P7 ^& I' U/ c( g% y& D! N6 o
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 m) A. F% M( }& y9 Y/ R- ^
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention) H9 B; A" _$ h/ B+ f
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
: n; P$ }4 P; X2 Lpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 |$ n! G B, kstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) j& E }1 x. U! g% v) d
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! c0 U# R% C5 bTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; W8 V3 N" [( @* G& [Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
b' l* R+ I \ I: S( pimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.0 A5 z2 b8 \5 \, n, Y
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- L B& i. h2 `% l/ B0 B6 q6 \Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country( V- f) y x' R/ [% {
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to8 l9 p- O9 k" t7 e
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing0 @! R5 r+ [1 s6 m$ W. r
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 l5 a- }& M+ c8 }of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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$ Z" g- J) H2 ~7 Z K"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# j# A+ b0 n1 }9 P8 p2 g, wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education( w( T5 M: ^ ?0 Y
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
- u \+ h9 S" D6 e- V$ n7 ecan." X+ u p* Y0 P3 S9 F- _
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) `! U9 p# `" }- o, Q+ n
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
& m3 X. W" y8 Q: R/ kyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 T" K$ G9 ^. v+ M7 ]Institute in Washington.
1 S3 H0 u' W, M! I+ _* h
4 u" Z0 j+ w z w+ D/ P0 p6 X"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages. e* q, \# T# V! F0 I2 N5 g; P
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.. X# o$ b# Q1 l/ l
McGinnis said.
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! w2 X- f3 v5 F" p8 ]; C1 R4 U( g8 J"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ Y6 e. D- ? L$ f0 h7 u# Jlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
& P( G0 ^1 {( u- ]& H0 fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. y( X) L, e2 n- v/ x+ Vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". |! S' L7 ?3 [8 B# X
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
n! v! I+ _6 Rsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: W+ C6 I3 t H8 a3 {+ k# acities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of" s0 j/ e/ i+ T/ D
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 d9 N: E9 C2 E3 A; F8 q
on weekends.* M7 }) u E+ D5 Y
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public; G, o C) P: n7 N6 l+ T
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 v, ~8 |3 n0 `" R' E- sstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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4 d* D9 C/ Q: I+ X- O. NMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, F( T, ]5 v8 N; D7 f0 zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 a4 P, Y& U3 ^8 N+ ]0 ccompetition. : N# ^+ _% R5 {% c
. \5 O; k+ |7 n. l1 w"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley5 w- W1 U( ~) M- U, M, u
said. "There will be Chinese and English."4 f% u) E( ^ b! }, G: Z
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
* Q/ R# f. v8 N) y" Jall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
% s+ H% b- a! b" F; A. ]( Lschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
, n! ]( D8 @" M1 K) Pkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ ^& d# T& b. s) x: p/ G5 \: gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- e' x( r0 J, X \6 Y6 x# R/ y1 sthe school system last year.3 q+ O7 {- ~) U. F
$ t: ?& S7 I4 ?" H! UThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; @5 h' h. K" Z% J3 f& c
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 @, @) ?5 C' H- u
1 p8 b9 w$ ]; ]
"They have a great international experience right in their own
) }: M3 T2 c3 i% F. w1 Hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
1 P1 W8 d- z: v7 h* }Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
/ p, V5 U; ]& T o8 H/ q" W" Rhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
3 G5 l- y I! f% ]* Non an equal playing field."
# f$ f* @# K7 W, A* t+ p" R+ u& N- m( R: E% U5 X7 `; O
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
( @ R* ~5 j3 yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign y6 q A- ~" |! c2 H) e$ M& Y; Z3 I
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 Z; H. x0 \( v, b( b
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
. h6 _% `- y% o1 B* V7 X# Aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
( i3 p* ?4 l" i- O! X0 AChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& e: o- K9 I$ R1 o0 q8 e+ W6 r+ w) ainstitute says.9 b' ]( P' @1 [
0 l2 c- Q- Y- R. TSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
6 o+ H2 O/ U D0 Wgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! Q* R. r& A" ?: R: f% `
deciding whether to take the class.
8 e8 d" Z+ ` B) K
3 U! ^: i" f0 V/ {"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
$ U- h3 h8 A3 ? ^8 {told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite. V$ }5 B/ g5 G$ X
class.
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% N2 Y& |! i- u( ~4 t: o( X% BAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
# H, f, n3 f# j; n2 T) xstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without( {4 W- A$ C/ n
occasional frustration./ L, X8 }4 L |4 Y% q
. Y2 J6 P0 z9 u( E"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
0 i5 V( R( `% Y; s, C. Urecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
, c l% e4 s! _$ j. ftaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 f. ] K5 C3 Y1 [' u) E7 j6 u" FChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. a! _8 z& Q( T1 j
A. w8 M6 x. w"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ ^; ~0 m) ]) S4 h) m) Q; `2 n
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- k; j; z4 P4 H i3 Sas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the: A; L5 z2 z; T$ W8 F$ G- _- _
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
" R8 O" v" w0 }" {5 Wmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like. @6 `2 o# P: K5 \, }
that," Ms. Freire said.$ ?7 r" E1 d+ P+ _+ X
5 r! [& ]# e. W6 WMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 z* c1 {3 {% o3 y* j
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 k: u, S% \! S6 `( Z: n, e
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 U3 v5 g' ^. j/ k: m: { k( G+ a( V$ V* z
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
! E: f$ m* K8 Lroom.
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. P/ j; ]# |' _' o+ T0 Q) @# j# \Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer3 ]/ ^, P- ~6 q$ ]$ s5 M: m
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
9 s1 e& x8 W( G9 |+ r% l& h' Ycollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
& Y# v/ F3 ]- Q& v$ m- g" U, R1 o1 K4 D+ j
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
) D0 F: W2 i# Y# Jbecause of that missing certification," he said.8 d/ v6 y+ e( t7 n
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,+ t8 r; r! }% p. p2 e
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 n/ Y, `' m7 aSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* X2 m* g0 o+ O! ~) m5 Z& z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
7 o$ U e2 j. ]+ {6 Ithe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.! N& l$ `9 P/ o: ^
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& z* ~ e4 ?) H. ]" l: @: C% P
own."7 ~6 T. r. t% @6 ?1 U! A& }
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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