 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005! @5 i% Z7 R/ j% z% P
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
' \: c% f3 W6 [0 _
7 x9 C6 L8 E lBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
5 P6 F5 _- }0 Y' e* O; V- r: i4 t8 H; f: S6 H4 ~ B% z4 b1 L
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 K. J) k9 p6 z1 F: }
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. G4 U8 E5 S, W+ n4 ?* O* q
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' R- \6 j; h1 X6 I V, [2 K: `7 Ddangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" \( N/ r7 u S( B ?2 |% qflag hang from the wall.
/ T5 ]* q: _$ b! l, m+ ?' T8 B! C5 i7 Z+ q# x ~9 z
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. v! @6 H5 [# r$ h; `, _
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders/ f- m, c8 @; Q/ l
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker$ F( A1 W" c2 X, _9 }
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
/ ~8 U5 B% P% Q* j. ~' D' ~are already choosing it over Spanish.8 X, K2 y+ o( u) o o R
& f: _' Y: _) b/ [# D"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
' `8 J! f! a; U) Mat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 y( v7 M2 S3 d1 uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.", y, L) p, Q. m8 [# f: L: A% O
, S" k8 n# I% _# b, oWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
8 H/ s3 A4 y1 G; U1 H/ Lschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
8 O9 v0 p( k% lto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- J& ~/ O* n' A- O f6 \2 ~; E2 oone of its most difficult to learn.1 x& b# @0 L- e
: }% u; A9 B1 nLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
@' G$ Q9 {; t, V/ I# [5 H, Kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
6 [+ Y- k5 V1 S* sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.% h5 x. L" O2 G9 k0 L
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ W; a$ H2 }- H
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
3 i2 B) @7 K' {4 @0 lChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
2 N' h4 t* ^( ~' H. w+ Himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
. j' J* X; e; t u7 D: h) u) h+ {" O+ v& ` `5 T
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! G5 h1 o! d" N+ i# U" ]: S+ \7 \Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country: B6 u( |9 C' t! S* I& i
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
3 a( l( T, X- D) l' l5 odevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( Z3 w6 |1 s$ a4 q8 ^/ {0 P
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& N! B5 t; r3 W b! ]' l) d4 U" Nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
2 z1 w( a3 m; `+ h) l7 y9 J& x) j; {" B v) d" K5 _) x8 R$ |1 }
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
9 o- v0 M8 |) l) l yspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 q1 t& P$ _' a/ Y4 ~Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 Y# g' Z e. Jcan." $ h, ^+ `, n+ o' n4 d
' L, G$ Q& ~; }- {5 f$ V9 V* wThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, n1 |) O8 X# A o" |9 v" Zelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10% `- @' J2 @. V1 G* V# l; C
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
4 Y1 S6 E! B! [/ M$ wInstitute in Washington.3 W1 G ^/ e3 `5 Y7 f7 e
5 I# q; x# |4 m9 x% J% x' a& H"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% n6 ~7 P2 k! q! x( _, c
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.) k* U7 e/ j" h
McGinnis said.
i/ e$ }5 m' ~9 T2 K" @) e% ]6 i' D/ N
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 K8 k/ K, c9 m2 ? N! \& Ilongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 V5 t3 `6 b6 pready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: w& }( b/ A$ R8 _) x$ l4 F' j+ B
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
: [1 `/ Y+ b# t9 {2 [2 |- g4 [$ y9 k8 E$ s2 X
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
5 C; U; G. q8 z& C& x" i. |secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
! Q) K3 Z& z4 l1 u6 \6 I- _cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of4 X/ U0 d, o1 p& {/ e% O: [3 A% `& l* x
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
' s) Q; ]+ _8 k9 a) R5 o: n5 H: hon weekends.
( t* C: `( W( k( g9 p" t Z/ y ~& Z i& U; r# y
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public6 K) N7 M# z& L0 L4 k8 y9 O, f) M
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 K$ f2 C$ i7 u, g: B$ Nstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
/ D2 c8 n/ d# {8 q# k, W5 z' q* H6 f5 Z! _8 d
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
- N$ k x r1 j* p$ x; wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
# j2 F# ~; L7 P2 |% h' Acompetition.
9 {5 l8 x$ C2 y5 Z
) [0 v s! c. v0 J3 k6 F"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
. Q/ ?, D0 R7 J' O5 _0 Q7 V# Vsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
$ K& [% I2 p- L( c% }7 {: g! h( g( h8 ~1 z$ @( E
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
* D0 }8 i: W0 r3 `- D- w, Nall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 B, {0 J6 o: V. X2 E8 { W- Rschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from' V' F9 O/ n7 W
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 H; a. i# v7 j" R. \1 w; }+ c8 z
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' u; t2 @* b( ?5 f
the school system last year.( \& t" F. M" I- g: X
' @2 T8 M' f, z+ oThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# H) `2 @8 c/ Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
. a; t9 C4 _ N! Z, \8 O; O
) l1 u( |7 L- R5 L9 t2 e"They have a great international experience right in their own G4 D( |6 \9 ]& P. |" l& s c
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
1 r5 |( H- Y+ g5 LChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 Z m w* _/ A8 uhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, d; `5 s3 }3 g
on an equal playing field."
) s9 s8 q" _% ]- s: Q$ o6 A% x9 _' W2 ]3 i; G
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese! g& ]( [3 q: r' c6 S
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 X! x% q& t( ?
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! t' ^0 T3 q1 l2 k, L* K8 \Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 G- i2 B- c9 M/ E$ Oaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# p3 \, \0 a. ~/ d( k" h
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
2 s$ A8 r. T3 O4 l+ ]7 Xinstitute says.( q! C' O/ h) x; ]1 ?
9 i+ G- n4 j" j% F. V/ Z/ ESevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* x2 m, i, Y+ Q: Cgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before1 t5 w9 C; \ l' I
deciding whether to take the class.1 x, I9 I$ N B0 b
, g6 `5 a4 `' C6 r5 v* G"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( M3 d0 l. G/ t% D* a
told her daughter.
) {! d0 r+ _( s) \: Y
% r) C' ^8 g& ^- @8 aSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
$ s$ u0 }% E) uclass.& g& {. Z$ R. k; w% b
4 }4 R8 z' d$ u) S5 |# w& A
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
8 }7 I% b ?, ^! l) ~2 ?studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without3 k: e" ^/ N# x. u
occasional frustration.
. l" X- w4 L6 Q- o# \4 a' C0 z( K% P6 E a4 }- f: ]6 W
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
( U0 h4 H+ p1 b, Irecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.3 q4 I) ]6 G7 A3 K6 p2 R! P' l
d" w! q- `% ~. b/ f8 Z+ ^; ~
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
: L; U- x+ s+ z. Ztaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 Y; u+ l; q' r3 o* {Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.4 X1 H, @; N; a5 ~
# L9 s' m' l: D9 h"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul ?' {- W3 P. b* m( g
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn+ P4 P) x4 W# k! @3 G' P
as many languages as I can."$ Y3 j% @6 z! q2 @. v, _) s' c
) v5 Y r$ f: F4 h' o' JAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 g! I! l+ m* C1 u) ~/ k- P; r# x; Oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
" v1 B; x% X) V4 \7 I2 ~* n* lmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like7 y$ e) K/ _% W) @! D$ D
that," Ms. Freire said.. m& N5 B# q$ N# |! ^; V5 Q8 `
5 A$ L7 C F' v2 d) F9 w# wMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 u$ h, {+ J) A
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each9 C3 z8 i, B. D6 \
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
/ d, J3 a7 y% R3 H4 b- Rtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make" Q* }6 r q7 ?# T
room.
9 y. _; O/ }* X& y& c$ K. i% ^/ z+ I* w9 T
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
3 r/ U6 `3 M' l' }$ U3 ?8 I) X' oChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American6 [, \# V4 X& R1 K0 H# a
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( ^- o. _3 ^* ?; N/ M% Q
# i8 Q. A% G2 S& T+ x5 a
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
- R9 D% ]/ u# s S p5 ibecause of that missing certification," he said.
B# \% R& s0 q3 ]9 e% J
7 |+ k: Q* Y! C$ X: S' VThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,! ^( k" Y8 z; w6 { F3 g
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia8 D! ?. r; P# d- D2 M: J
Society in New York.
* T, k! s; s7 k4 m* t2 {# c* Z R ~% D3 S
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the( |7 v4 A" v) C: }
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
7 \" Z# ]0 f3 p9 ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.8 I9 J5 M+ z* k+ s) s3 F
# c7 y. Z1 i1 ^2 P# o
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our' N! n5 C l' D5 e. `$ M- ?
own.". |+ O( K- X6 I! Y+ j4 f0 X
8 G- S0 O& E @: C1 _$ r7 n
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|