 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005# I" R1 P$ w: K2 A5 a& R# G
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity6 O2 g3 H/ p! @
- y8 w6 C/ ~7 D2 o3 mBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
0 L/ D' J7 G! D! R: a
. i: L" |5 o. n3 aCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the" G" [1 w. E/ H) t3 p ^2 w6 X4 \, o
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary+ c* J/ h* i: _* P/ g) m
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
- j) B' j: h- l9 `/ Cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
: s. Q4 o! `3 S" \7 p& ~6 {flag hang from the wall./ g$ s/ k6 w& h7 _) m u. |
4 a4 J+ A) B$ j5 ^. }' t! r
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
9 _2 p, G- a( w) R* ]% O! D4 J; manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
. m7 M5 h! ]. L% G7 ypracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
2 r7 x. X4 [; X4 M* J8 ~boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 E* P b( S& k2 ~+ s* B- t$ Y0 u3 h: Gare already choosing it over Spanish.
7 v- J$ J3 q1 H X( S
, _- C. ~4 a3 r$ e+ J( s"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. a2 p( ]* t9 s% [/ Q6 W. ^5 S9 A8 ?
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city r! I# e( W. X
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
3 M7 J; f+ H3 Y$ r7 I1 \6 ]( Q3 [* C0 w" F6 S
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
1 Z3 A, }' `. e: x5 B7 Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) {3 z9 j9 A e# x5 B2 O* k
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" A0 \; v4 X0 U
one of its most difficult to learn.! f& C- l+ Q4 J0 H: w* U7 _
/ g/ S# G& A" [2 |3 fLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to. ~# o4 |9 X+ n' E" Q6 U8 c; w
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. g) p4 Z+ G. b7 ?1 C; K( astudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 w* v0 ]: j7 k( v u
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 d- U. P7 R( t5 u& V* p
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) q5 w# A' N/ c5 @: L0 @Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
7 u: j5 Z9 _- \( k2 [5 @; T2 wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.# K- M+ p) j' e( s
* F6 a3 S7 B6 q" j2 T3 n5 uAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
1 l4 p! G9 j6 e9 BChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
% B; W: _1 M5 b+ S! P3 h2 xstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 _8 @" d/ q& S' q2 y/ H! G, Kdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing/ t) i! v( K# Y+ H
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
5 o- _" v9 n' d$ q, b' H2 Fof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board., E8 w( | h; `; V s" Y
* t3 V7 q* R* T8 r) _2 } i
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
: y1 A, g4 I7 q) r# hspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
, d# _2 \4 }, K$ f/ _9 V, Y. {Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; V/ F# d' y) f1 m
can." & x* H$ E: T6 Y$ ]
: L4 r8 s! r+ c/ |
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
$ Y. ?2 P$ z% H6 `7 melementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
! ^' T. X" y/ nyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
% `( @7 q& x# w" p$ B N6 GInstitute in Washington.
& F' ]6 P$ c5 U, P+ f# }& F3 g% @, `% D3 u
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# M8 \/ p0 z5 t4 I5 H% W5 caren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 [- ~/ [1 n" H% d7 V, N
McGinnis said.
/ q5 x; O4 X* I+ L8 d( I; ]! I( b
0 l4 O a# k# z1 Q' V5 \( z"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
2 T. ~( W5 F/ U, Vlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ e, E6 w6 i! b& z$ k
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% g& W% A* A o8 L6 {* b6 E- _) ~challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
- G5 |; h# y5 E9 ]4 [+ g" W' ?, T8 ^
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% y+ g" ?- _! Isecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
8 Z' `& v/ l# {cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of8 G! t4 m/ ^6 x, {. u6 Y% Z$ l; ^
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or( ?, `" ^0 l7 m+ U4 _
on weekends.9 y4 k& u3 P& H+ d: D7 G
- l: \6 E: b2 q" K+ n$ u& CThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
. S7 c/ [9 X8 f- G; M. oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- T8 Z' Z8 T0 E5 O+ Kstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
& ~1 N# W6 Q! U; |# i" n( s$ c5 @, ~3 F5 ^4 O1 Q
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said9 n9 T" u7 P4 J0 U& m
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the7 \/ t0 n4 {7 _' f) E
competition. 1 D. j9 \6 k9 n( {3 h2 M* |5 \& M
1 |+ I4 q% A8 G$ D' P5 E# y& v"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 G$ ]; k' U+ Y& o) t9 L5 E8 l! Xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."' e! B# p+ @) |5 _7 w% l+ r- m
1 D# C$ K. M& ~
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly6 B! g' k7 ~$ Y" T7 c
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 @( t5 }) W4 g7 n! i9 ?schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
* T' w8 N& h- ~% F3 h' f/ {kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
Z4 F( G3 b! \& ~/ E: n Vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to: e* n& s" r' C2 U
the school system last year.
4 i% Y' v1 o% K* _+ Y3 U& O# c" ]9 o
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
1 r1 a z( w9 V& r4 yyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.* }. l$ O3 Z o
4 \+ N4 V9 e7 B I$ F$ k
"They have a great international experience right in their own( g& C& H% S [5 u& M
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago+ l l% U7 k/ P' q) x8 N
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" J! B+ Q) U G: x0 H1 E/ \
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet' ^* ^7 I0 t: }9 j4 m4 H5 t5 N8 f0 g
on an equal playing field."
& t, m% ] Z3 D& G
' b$ t) r. X, h. O: {8 e2 B) w5 o* ySome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese, [1 J6 y6 {0 h# e( p" o- K' }( S
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 L, E2 w5 S) { m
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks ]: I" N. ^- i
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: t$ f, e& N( w2 E7 {
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ ~4 e9 Z) W2 P$ J
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
2 M v0 }* {, o Y! s, \7 j1 Iinstitute says.- x7 k) T* N' l$ U# n- S4 H; H
5 o1 Z" q2 }3 {0 k1 I; @6 e) ]. j
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! p) a& ~3 P7 }$ Sgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
7 o. l/ M9 G; _# M! L1 Y" Sdeciding whether to take the class.% {( C( r4 Q6 n1 `4 A. L& N
3 `0 b4 k) N+ h% ^"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she: g. N, ~4 A3 Y6 Y! y, @' E/ x/ r
told her daughter.
. _+ U3 |5 L. f- Y. d: F2 `
) m+ ]* a, J; |* b Q) w. qSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
; O3 O# t5 F' p& D! dclass.3 N$ z" y# Q/ k7 T) K
& l5 t) L# X" L7 [( OAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& J" J! O- {& f. g! @3 T9 Z
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: F3 _7 ]: h- T6 ~5 a" V8 Z5 S
occasional frustration.& b! ^3 R3 _% w! ?% N
) B: Z4 }$ s4 `8 `6 s/ z) N) A"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a2 m$ I3 `0 D: i1 N! W! l0 X5 v8 E
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
M1 N; f" U. L' H3 K! |" j% ]/ v9 i! r# e; n! @* q( D/ J
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' L9 n8 e, K L3 z, Q4 ]
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
+ h" |% m$ U8 h# Q; W5 DChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.1 o ?; x9 q& v& a2 C) \ s0 t
( Z1 m1 q" J) @3 q: e( @
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul* w- L2 X! D6 z' L0 k6 Y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn* ^# S9 ~; Q! m6 Y% _7 R7 Z1 B
as many languages as I can."
) ~3 n2 A1 w( G/ F; V# s" S
2 E2 t0 |1 I3 ^- V. T4 f7 I( hAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
0 Q: [ `; E+ _skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job6 s7 \. Z4 } K! k9 x, h/ y. h! {" i
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; r4 ~$ \" L7 x
that," Ms. Freire said.# `" T$ s3 _8 E& _/ }$ E' e% N& I
4 X: r& q# W$ x! B' r& {Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
' A, q+ ~: i- `6 ]3 l$ U8 y; dhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each( N4 X8 x0 j" G. L7 ?
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
N2 n# h7 ~! ~6 mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make; j. K+ j% z/ ]: c
room.6 ?) U+ v U3 N9 [$ k$ _5 o
$ c/ W% ?* N9 U' a8 X& IChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer0 M- G, n# z; z: ?' q8 S+ E
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American% _0 S. V. `- D* B
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
v: ]8 G* ~8 n
7 X7 ~/ V8 Q9 \$ @/ x6 n"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
4 [( l) Y- t! ~0 i" K& tbecause of that missing certification," he said.
7 I" \1 m. ]1 V" T6 y: |: v
5 w; s7 V1 b9 c+ }The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
4 y+ ^- X$ W% ~. L4 ~said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, R8 ?: ^* n2 V% d2 v+ Q% u
Society in New York.
( m6 r" O! C9 w5 v2 t( i, n0 r
8 g4 s) d" G" `- `) K& kSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
7 W: X3 g5 ]* O+ Q7 lChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 y+ |& \* l7 }5 x, Z1 d8 F
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
/ W% |& n0 \2 I
3 Y( P% [; E& w8 |"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
: S& U( e. r& H- }5 F3 i* Cown."' y" |2 Z; ?6 f4 {' K" y
a1 q0 d) z) q8 E A7 kCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|