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October 15, 2005: G5 j) Q) H; P9 T: r* T4 x( G; j
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity H1 V0 K" ^+ Y& {, ]! i* H: t
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ E$ `2 [1 d. U3 I9 n3 j$ P
3 [, l8 h0 R! i3 R4 g/ tCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the/ \; ?+ H. R# x3 h8 A$ V
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 f- \9 ~' q7 W* ]
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 q; r7 ?8 r9 m/ ~8 U1 Ldangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) r1 h8 c* v( R j0 o$ U7 iflag hang from the wall.
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) X- l, b* H7 T. z9 b: I DOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
c9 j, Y9 L' g6 Lanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( ?& B; W" |- I, Z7 P0 bpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 K# m' q, |- c
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* [. h6 q h; Q& r$ I8 x
are already choosing it over Spanish.( k' q* |0 e& f& v5 P# r
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 b5 H5 A6 }$ k# }at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ y6 O7 i1 c2 n7 foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."/ U9 W1 a& ?0 z% w
9 X0 v8 \) y+ @8 Q9 e8 \. XWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) W- u- z8 j) l; |. j1 w
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* {8 C# {/ y# b# {3 n
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 i, g4 E7 q% y% k- b1 X a3 X7 D
one of its most difficult to learn.
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- j( X X: e. {8 V p, FLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ z# m2 t9 [8 m [$ Y: v, L
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% _: q h# W$ f( A0 Q5 Q* ~studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. k0 D# N" k' bLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 U" d+ d# s# h% t0 q: p
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; U: _4 K. B K7 ?% q' zChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) o8 @2 I% V3 N [9 g
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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0 ]7 h9 h2 X9 hAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement) k& I7 | g6 {4 K" E$ g2 ~8 Q' A
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
# p5 |' l. i+ N' N! Q7 v& Ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 F0 m3 @+ z5 D% a3 ?. s. S) i
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! C$ [4 Q9 F' I2 V! T) Ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 H0 Z7 \( ^8 `! n* v+ Bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of6 K, ]8 W7 t8 a* L% _2 p
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
! E9 o3 N4 m$ P; O/ B% m1 k" \Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" {4 X4 O9 ]" J0 a$ K6 b6 W) T. ^
can." 9 e( L; v" J. |) c, P
' t8 ~- C# W1 q& X: WThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
5 |; P% |) ]5 z# ~elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 L1 A# `1 }5 |2 `
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
6 S5 {$ x' @; |0 B$ h$ u4 ~' DInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" p) j) J; K) U6 N& |aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
' f6 z1 S- \8 _' z; xMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
( H- t# }# _0 Flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" a! o( R9 g7 ~
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: g+ \3 B9 a: m3 k: J4 y' zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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/ z% F+ x, G7 |; b" KUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 W0 v' G$ u: `$ N
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: ^/ X% v! {7 u
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' a4 y2 f# ~" w/ `Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
# k) ?" S$ ?/ T( A% F/ Von weekends.* D! ^8 X& _3 K, V6 \; W
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% G1 g( T6 x2 F: M {0 N/ m4 bschools during the regular school day and primarily serves; V1 Q6 c; o* F+ }! u2 J% a4 J; M
students who are not of Chinese descent.! o" p! l) A7 r! d- Z. ]) N
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said) A/ Y" Q1 n X3 {/ f
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the% Q& c. i4 t$ x1 G0 I) \
competition.
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/ q7 t) b' b# f3 }2 @"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
5 V5 v. L! x" e, o: Jsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 g Y# T3 g. ~5 i: @% |& b
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse6 b7 ]7 j9 }1 d$ ~
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
, b, a% G A6 f; P2 lkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
/ V; d. s" D: i4 g* |- L) d% ]4 bwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
! G+ `% h' n0 x+ u2 [+ h- |$ e! V0 mthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
+ [/ R O3 N- a6 L% j, L9 \+ l: g, xyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own$ R- }5 \2 \# d/ k8 G t
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
6 O8 g; i v8 g" c( `# i) A: aChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" L* K. d( s" k& K% b
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
9 \& l5 E4 I7 O0 o+ |on an equal playing field."& {: b/ }! j2 U Y7 h& f
8 Q, X& E0 p- M, j' U# qSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese _3 k3 h! J. R3 _7 U2 _
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ @) h/ }/ c% F/ d2 n
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* W+ e/ B* b( J' j
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# v3 e2 e$ a- X
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- [1 Q) k' m" E% t% V) lChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 _+ E; O0 a" ?: ?3 _institute says.) }' J+ J% h6 s b. `
* M6 i; H ]$ q) [0 GSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& `2 v3 i7 U5 V x1 A5 m U) a
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before; P7 `4 v0 h- I5 F8 V4 a
deciding whether to take the class.5 ~5 D6 ^) }! `" |* R6 a& o
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ @1 A7 m) e* p% z" E+ @7 O# a7 b
told her daughter.5 A* }0 t, r3 K
$ N1 ~4 {4 L' X6 gSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite2 T8 b' q) ?, F" Q Y2 b
class.
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) ^* O+ o* P, V( U: [: KAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( C( u y; P4 J* D1 \# v9 I4 {studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without; a5 k& P! {+ K q' K% r$ J$ |. N
occasional frustration.2 O: z b7 o/ A K$ K' i" n3 ]
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
( p( e9 a6 M# l- z: t3 Drecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) U' D0 D/ h3 |( |/ _3 C
1 N) ]) L% r( PRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he3 _* B+ O( |: g+ y: F7 U0 [
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with y/ o$ n6 r, ]0 f7 `
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# W; d! {" k1 T% F) S0 `5 Y6 Gsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn) M$ Y% l/ I+ K# _. Y5 A, T
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
. O- o- P( f/ U4 J6 H. ^' m7 Z' yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 x: f; X M0 F% _) u5 Z* V0 a
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) l2 U# D) S' |( S
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ U: T1 r% N3 m! V, v b" `4 q' F
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' e v+ ` Z8 m4 q% Xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking7 C0 K5 u7 K( i: G8 p
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make% x: A3 ]& _, J: I- G
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer2 B) w: r# c- Y- r3 G
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, a1 G# y3 h3 vcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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1 y8 v) w, v A% j+ p. b+ H"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
9 S5 y4 P! B7 B$ {' I& ebecause of that missing certification," he said.& R$ `+ b( d* u4 P r
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,7 k6 P. j; r& L) r
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, {8 A1 [) o4 F) d9 P
Society in New York.
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1 X" |/ n: O# p! `" d bSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
$ d% k# Q) R6 ?2 |" ]8 JChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& r& `& ~' d4 [6 p; i. u
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.' W5 x& t# E% g' K# H0 N
3 K+ }/ y/ t0 i& w"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 N: l y1 \8 o) w( }3 B1 J: G
own."8 T" W; K0 V9 k6 a3 ?. ~ s
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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