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October 15, 20053 W3 }5 ?0 Y1 m2 _$ J8 a+ g; v
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 V4 x* J7 @8 X3 R: C
) V' I- @9 W- A; j2 ]By GRETCHEN RUETHLING# |! `4 {1 a5 m2 W$ u% w* Y% }+ {$ }
$ A1 V T' A, d7 w! p% iCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the3 G7 l" ?2 Z6 K& M: j% r! }6 \; T
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
, e" x' ?/ e5 t* o# Q' F% r aSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; K; U% m3 ?* h+ K! ?% v" A `/ W
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 J7 C- Z& a0 B0 S$ y6 i8 W a2 v2 ~flag hang from the wall.0 w) ^5 _2 ]3 T0 G. \
- Y8 {" R, m" _One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 n6 M \) O- T C9 }" ~another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' I& ]* I0 ]: C8 {+ h+ Qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker2 K8 o6 z1 N3 C! ^
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students& j% @) U. z ^( A; X
are already choosing it over Spanish.) Z7 W: ]2 r! n( t% s" u
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 O8 [/ a9 n1 iat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! Q# Q2 O$ W! v3 hoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 k) h, f8 H: w
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
- U4 A. H8 [0 }$ Y' ^, a, }2 R3 u, ^ _schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
+ e+ t, W( L0 g- V! @1 R2 dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention) o. V1 j5 `) n! c+ I$ j
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
. I* T: p( C. J* B& o, b/ U9 npublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) y1 S9 G9 N8 R; h! m" H, v
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) j( n/ L7 l. c) q/ X1 O
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
6 C, U4 a9 s/ x$ F6 c1 v1 W( K+ STennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
8 h; N- p) w [% rChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
. t# t1 p* X) ]7 s6 ximprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.$ @! I; u3 a, G2 W
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
z/ w4 x& y3 k4 v! kChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( @7 H, Q; {) m0 sstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to" T3 E0 b; N( X# X- H
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing& d* R7 n% S1 b) \& z5 a& y5 C
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 @3 G. z, B' u nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.$ E2 k' k: d8 Q( J) \9 k8 t
4 o! ]5 H9 R# J& \& ^7 n"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
2 G# E4 F. M+ x, b: ]) Uspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
; ]5 C/ F' L) c; b/ |Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we0 `; Q* C% L6 Y% i3 A) b
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 p+ W- K1 Z6 o( T. `" }; jelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( [- @* r% ^/ n# i1 c, Gyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
. ~& [# T- a$ O! P# BInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
5 |9 [( s9 {" w+ faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! b8 ~) A/ d6 C6 w1 O3 D1 HMcGinnis said.+ Z; m3 F! Y' Z4 S4 ~4 k
) H1 y, Q& T# _# X"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical! ~0 O I7 ~9 z. [
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 Y: Z( v ~3 ?" y4 R& @$ B6 Vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) b$ _& l$ E; b6 t% s( |6 ~challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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, P9 Y' K! P0 U: H* ?7 gUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 g4 ]! C0 E/ K, `4 {( N: |8 D
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; w% i f/ _! d2 O2 x! g u
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of3 J# L$ {# @3 }# \$ T1 }
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or" F6 R( ~: r& h8 W. ^
on weekends., A1 v2 A F% [
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: l7 ?/ i0 f0 l y7 `% W. a2 f3 c
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 m9 S* \. e' s! }4 B, Bstudents who are not of Chinese descent.* Q' t" W% y, u4 U
/ g7 V' Q% A0 `7 K3 o2 TMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said! ?+ o K6 @ J5 {: H/ X; V" b
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* X3 ?: Z! O4 y% B7 J4 b
competition. 5 M" Q3 Q3 B2 J5 h
& E0 X- p& Z* B; y2 h' r! D! K"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 q) P5 e8 o2 P) S7 j( Gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."' B: S+ B6 `* `8 M5 a% c+ i
8 R7 g; E6 C% T) |/ }& UFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
L# u$ H3 \5 j eall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse# m2 W/ \& i q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
% o* h0 n# g) Q% dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students& x3 M" I" E! Z) n
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& Q. w# R& m5 p* C: B1 `/ Hthe school system last year.1 _3 ~9 A* J. X
, p- k9 A/ n s; r0 V# O- ?The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# I% E) i) U: {; C8 n- fyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
- ]+ p% _& q5 U* A
: H& a! T f7 c/ N% E"They have a great international experience right in their own; X( X% h' f, p3 D5 B7 B3 C+ Z
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
/ V0 F9 x3 y' JChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 |, l5 W$ G* P
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet: G/ t! V; @+ S* \+ ?7 V
on an equal playing field."
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5 p' g9 U& m+ wSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
4 J$ ^$ C3 g. H; Oclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ V! G* H" E# j- p) T
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks$ s: b- Q- P0 J0 E
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
r% r- f) M' v M ?! qaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in/ s# Q+ s2 i% s7 `$ {# p$ D# @+ Q! U
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
+ X3 f& I8 C; y7 [institute says.
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f' N' f! k* |5 s% O% E3 u! kSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 `/ ~. g8 P4 @5 Agrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before4 N5 l& T7 |& h7 X4 ~
deciding whether to take the class.- l3 h* }) ^0 p% k: U6 [; ^
) Q( v8 X/ D: n3 Z- K"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
, N4 V+ ~9 z& D$ _) F8 Qtold her daughter.) o2 Y4 M* A2 a1 {% N
7 x. }# ~6 E6 E. q. n, sSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 h. Z; n, k6 K' ^* M- vclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are g) G) L3 B8 F7 p: T
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without; S9 \/ o1 H9 @7 m5 p1 \/ F0 ?: t4 ^
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 v0 P5 v0 ~3 m* G- c& }
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
4 M, ~5 T) k2 `3 t0 p, R9 Utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
1 K9 t: O+ Z$ j. X# F pChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* c( |5 S6 C- K9 Q g7 Csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 j' F3 V, {2 U
as many languages as I can."
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# ?& `& ^# T: v% ~Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the2 H/ Y! e7 t5 @( I
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
5 M+ c( ]- [7 E& y' E8 y% Y: O9 j, hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; _6 _( R, G# a1 S1 u
that," Ms. Freire said.! K+ q2 E' q: i& l6 d: w
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program& t4 X+ C" p, C5 Q2 V& J+ X8 \
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each t/ c1 ?; P, y7 f4 F) b
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking) B7 _6 }% t+ P, \
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make& v* n0 K' T J! l7 T- t6 X
room.
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3 U/ x- J3 b/ G* O: ~Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer2 t) L% f% U9 _( [% W, v% U
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American/ @/ K# h4 k7 p# R) H8 I- F3 T: G" z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; P! B1 p" U0 ^& e. ?& K- c- O
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified, w( U6 ?. C) O5 q' b
because of that missing certification," he said.
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7 ?' U/ y% n3 j5 u6 e$ e7 h+ tThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 [. \! U! Z1 |) Z1 d, q1 m9 ^said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
6 v- B6 W1 p0 \% j+ j' {Society in New York.: I' ^5 U7 x4 {/ z$ c+ y7 s- `$ A
% C- S d. V- S" T2 [
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 a8 X. r4 |4 k( ^1 K, V6 zChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( d+ Q2 ?1 }2 i; b* lthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
& O. C: e+ y/ C; j
' O& N/ f; `5 C' y"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) t) D/ n8 T8 z; `5 j2 z
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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