 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
0 f% ]& f; L- k& c iClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
0 o1 h% ?: t% d; v% F% U" S. Z5 y( E" J- I
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
6 g" J" y, j A* @$ P
; O/ R% K; |& M5 E2 {; R0 E% nCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the- P% P. k H9 I& X
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 I( B9 d4 v; ~0 O3 K- ]# ]
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
! r7 t/ J, i( f& D& x0 \* H' Z* Ydangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& j- I& K5 {' z6 [) P+ [
flag hang from the wall." u; O5 d4 u" z+ @* M
) d2 {, H: r! P" k7 K+ S. P
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( `3 e8 u8 @6 X, c+ p% kanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
$ b9 x- O& Z7 S/ }% g3 z2 Fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
0 V! x% c o: Z( x6 W! H. Qboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# }- ]% q% A; D7 t
are already choosing it over Spanish.
' m; ^9 I7 q4 T/ o& u2 z* H$ f. q# C: m
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" H: F! A: _6 E; c" C; ^; E1 `/ Y5 D
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 Z9 s, l" a( Doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
6 c4 ^7 ], s9 ~* F1 u; z7 h: R6 {+ W& y
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ D# R9 b! K% Y8 I. J2 D
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
/ f8 R2 A' O; k+ o+ r; W- Vto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention5 w6 E: J' W+ d$ `
one of its most difficult to learn.+ Q0 I3 E. t, Q1 d/ }; g1 V
* x+ }& o( F- e1 {; D7 N
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to' X+ d6 z) Z, b" a5 p m
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students8 j7 h0 b$ x( q" k# u$ t8 E
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
; f( J5 ?6 S+ l; b( BLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of9 `; o9 x8 Z- G+ k' k
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ B) ^* R ?7 ]0 c' i5 B; ]0 uChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& A+ i6 |+ c; W8 i. Zimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
6 M; p9 |! X' ^5 U
. F. f- i' X' F! B% m! JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
. x8 h, y+ c7 s* N$ R; UChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country0 x% G/ ?- Y, ?, g$ g0 d }" Y
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: ^7 t: i4 T) n/ ?develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 r4 Z. P7 J# e1 z' M
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( G/ n+ q; U V L: Dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.1 h3 [- O& Y! o1 |: ^# f# v! O
3 Y& F, q e8 [
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of0 m1 e. o# n& i" f5 n
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% D5 }- V$ m. S v$ {5 L5 VConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
* l7 Z1 ~2 ^- X$ Pcan." ' q, g6 j$ _. `" d; b: ~
3 x3 j9 U" g! A! n
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from6 N! x% u, h: R) t3 g h# F5 J4 X
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10) o% h" A7 X0 o+ m" n
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
# \, u% P1 p0 L9 N E' f7 h3 hInstitute in Washington.
0 X, m. v' q; {9 {* R0 {1 a3 h4 y% d3 i$ ~
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& G( v* ]4 u) p- Taren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr." U* s0 {5 {( y* P" q
McGinnis said.
& S* m0 \+ L$ l G5 R1 m: {
: j, l6 e6 Z% B& e1 s+ J"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical% u: F) d/ J- I2 C( ?
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 D5 n$ a' q9 w1 E0 j2 jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% [- q7 M' y1 D0 ochallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( c) ^. W7 G# ~# `8 o2 E/ `
7 ^& H, k9 {7 h" d# l5 ]5 B6 S: E
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and { o- f- m3 R$ B' L5 f) _
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 P" j' d) I. g# b6 d W
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 j! X% N' A+ M: V3 |4 X0 nChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ m i9 n+ Q3 n) ?1 @$ U1 r" }on weekends.
: l a: {& B" _+ _* N3 L9 ^
% i. O8 ^- L* X& vThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
( R9 \% Y" }8 h2 b7 xschools during the regular school day and primarily serves2 D( j2 |) Y0 W& K0 e/ }( ]
students who are not of Chinese descent.( s/ r4 d0 W- S* o( ^% l- r
1 f# F/ T6 X3 H# b/ pMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ t# D8 Q1 y8 @" p4 F% ?' ~4 I
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
8 V$ R, O5 d) L* `9 ]competition. 6 n. A3 ~' ^& z( K9 B1 c
6 j6 u$ r. ~7 Z
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
" D" H' \) m; e# D7 Z& m4 `said. "There will be Chinese and English."; y0 n$ j% M4 u! A. Q6 a
; _1 V5 T7 P& h. e+ @3 C7 `4 @( X
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly- e& K/ Z8 p! V+ I/ m. G5 F
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 O. a% n; b" Z \6 J* uschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from8 J. Q7 A6 }$ S2 s" i
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
0 B* h6 ?' _0 r3 V8 Owho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to7 [: _1 L( c3 y7 O1 E& q9 P
the school system last year." c s; H6 `4 w" z
3 M- {0 p, N. s8 U4 X
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. Z5 z8 J `- b s4 C8 ryear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
0 @' z# |) |* N8 X* j3 }" t$ d7 d: Y4 j3 C. v, k4 ~6 i% U- l8 O/ ~
"They have a great international experience right in their own6 I% R, }+ C" ^. B) {# `4 s$ x
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# } }' s% o. a a SChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 h. Q' w; H; m# ]/ U$ n8 zhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 w: s/ @! {7 R& p3 r1 Mon an equal playing field."
2 d9 l. O+ ]0 o
2 r# d' E; h( ]0 RSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 H9 o! w, M/ U, J1 F- Aclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ `0 |" o; ]/ N6 ~Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks2 c# @. V) U) t2 K4 X2 y$ i
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ L4 c. ^$ O) ~/ p% t; \
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in/ Y9 v1 X/ b& a' ]* t
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 R+ v9 e1 b( e+ ]5 Uinstitute says.& O4 e2 U. d8 [8 B) q6 ]$ V4 h/ S: q
- l1 N1 E/ c0 u9 C& zSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth, F# S5 E( _8 i1 h% w0 o
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before+ [; T$ P/ ^: j$ W" Z# x
deciding whether to take the class.
5 _; e+ F) J2 s+ t2 {+ n3 @- Z% ~9 }, b$ s4 B0 E8 e) a$ _
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ v& Z! P; G6 _! c$ S/ k/ g& k( X
told her daughter.! \2 M1 K1 H% w) Z, s
: ^( X6 q w# D
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
* _# J3 |) s+ F0 [class.
, G! @: R, a( J" c9 M$ j: |8 p1 y* i4 q
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 |' u5 T8 b4 K8 R6 {. m( L8 v8 tstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
! s4 ~. ^. o. B3 poccasional frustration.
: |# O2 m( j& H$ [% @6 u' I; x' `7 T: s/ w( r
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 g3 h( c+ m( Z$ E7 lrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
! d+ W/ q6 J9 F9 o; ]/ {/ K+ B! [: v( A9 Z2 a
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, c: C/ g# ~. p n& k
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
* C. k% \; K8 dChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works. k# V( a; R; E' e7 z
/ a6 K7 x; V! g) K"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ I8 q! f3 ~/ k, E
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
/ M' G6 W; b' v8 Has many languages as I can."
% d: w9 i8 ?3 J, |/ X$ S5 k7 v; Z5 j
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the$ Y8 e& V1 E* G5 k9 u
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
k/ p+ q0 N; j1 H {6 t% Xmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
4 Q; \* Y# ^: Othat," Ms. Freire said.0 t8 v' _" p/ b0 K- [2 h: w6 E$ ^+ A
% `4 }/ C0 M" `% e- q% xMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) ^8 j6 j3 y8 o4 o0 ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! z9 q! L" z$ v( X: D2 v
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
5 M8 ? R2 a; h$ j9 r+ Q) r* m+ Ntime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
3 r; z3 p% q' ^& g# X0 uroom., U! q5 S) u5 W! n- @ G
/ i2 W, K) D7 r! T' X
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer; r4 \2 Q# ~; s+ C+ y1 i& j8 Y/ Y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' F6 f" v' L9 ^% o; s- ?6 \: X/ v% U! X
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.. B( j, H: y# r1 F, Q {$ K5 N
! u1 Q6 `% ?) a/ ?"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 y' Z. m, a$ M! J. M
because of that missing certification," he said.
8 y7 C: `8 ^3 M: ~& e
7 G+ ?* D4 j. c3 \* R. L$ s4 KThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,; I- k i5 H( Z
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' X& L& ~+ t- H9 @6 q5 f
Society in New York.
/ S+ I- p" s6 ^( p3 f
0 g/ D. b: z6 h* E2 z$ {, b+ uSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
( L$ F6 t, j: U7 U1 y6 l0 \3 R7 bChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
4 R0 |! X/ A' dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
8 N3 L( x- f6 _9 O- }3 s+ N1 |/ y" `& D
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 H) O1 G4 v; {+ `* ?' H- }
own."
8 r: P( V/ q$ U) b' @
- z K+ J3 {! }* p( E; y& ZCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|