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October 15, 2005( r% V$ y$ }% ]$ c, [7 @
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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+ a. k% \0 ~9 B% Y* Z/ z2 J5 dBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
" d+ J0 b8 x; {, TUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary( U$ Y" f) v, l3 x
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas! u0 R7 |0 g( r/ l& r0 i! }
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) J0 t0 D7 {- ^& z' i) `
flag hang from the wall.
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$ e3 t" k$ N- z+ OOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one( V4 V6 O$ {1 [" c5 f0 c, p* V! Q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
1 u4 t) M7 g. v/ c6 zpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; N- Q* P* c. `8 \3 W* P; @
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 e0 E% I4 z) E6 R. D) D; `
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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& L+ g% u, [& `"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 v0 a& C7 E3 R* mat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 V5 D' F7 [) H5 O& |5 f4 n
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,6 Y5 |" e2 @' ~8 A# X' V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings5 o, o0 ]* w1 E# O
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention' K& b( T4 ^/ Q$ H
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
/ V' p+ n' L4 p# j( n: J* L5 o8 U8 Tpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students; }' c; q: A0 g S
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 v# j0 |- n6 D. d$ f8 l$ H; vLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of( j/ m$ L9 o6 z, Y$ `
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on8 u5 J/ X( m0 G+ D
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 N" h3 F5 L2 l3 dimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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' V W+ X; }) M" SAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement- W) Q1 G& @# a z& l
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) D7 R9 U: Q& N7 M
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
8 [% t; F: @! q- S" b' g! E3 L! `* _develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
7 ~8 B0 r; L0 |) O( I& ycurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
+ h0 _8 X* k, l$ j) gof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 _6 J2 Y8 I) J4 q% r1 s$ U
7 @! A' I" P6 v7 Y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# ?6 `+ D( C' v& B# Q. qspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education" q, T' a, s" Y6 p% W( c
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ N0 _2 x5 P" W6 `# r- K- I
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# }" s% h# V o! P4 dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language4 R* Y: i3 F: ]0 L9 ^+ m
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages4 p7 X' G+ ~/ `4 x; M! N* z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.& P3 m, k8 C2 _
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical% Q5 @# n; T$ N, }3 D& |( n
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" g: l' ], w- w" d$ }
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
1 E* z* X$ o: V4 Fchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
- b( U. A L2 c# D0 j. V" ]secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
( o7 x$ t3 u9 R' u' \cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# n" N. H' t( ?" q3 u
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
r4 U( @* L. L, d! Y. O, fon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 p& W M$ A, G) i' \
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 G- {% [* v5 {. Istudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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. Z' s- }# x& Q5 Y5 H4 y- zMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said% S* C/ ~; f% Z* I
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( \: y7 U9 M4 T4 V9 R& n" u1 [
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
: F, K9 q1 M L8 Y; J. Q! dsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly: Z2 |/ M6 V6 R; D* N. z3 r
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse# l9 n+ n k( z
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
6 j3 u# r6 G- W* X2 {kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
9 \- R" Q) V3 c$ @4 `who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
/ \* x: S, D$ r9 n: sthe school system last year.- F8 d8 C5 H; t+ _
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 C, j' h+ f. r: `. V' cyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! Y2 v- f2 r& C S9 r$ v/ v, m( t3 ^
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"They have a great international experience right in their own [2 \1 w6 w/ E
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago4 w7 B# T0 T) ^% k# Z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% F. M% m% ^0 Y1 y6 M3 Ohelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 f/ H9 o6 p+ `4 E) q
on an equal playing field."
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! A3 z1 I# E5 t$ V# K* WSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese+ u$ q7 l, S& c. {# L
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
+ ]5 Z3 X& ~/ {. b5 nService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks9 \8 v2 |* l6 R: w; a8 J3 [
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 ~5 T& E5 `9 [: D/ g0 @average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
: h6 S( h0 q- H% f# fChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the, k/ C, k0 Y) }5 F- d
institute says.) m$ j1 D) ~& N* S9 v' _ c% d
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth1 X9 V. S% S" l: J( u7 s h
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ P. u2 T! s4 f5 x+ d
deciding whether to take the class.* Q$ C8 L1 m: u; i6 L
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she Z! X: z' ]9 b+ N5 o$ N7 r' G
told her daughter.
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. j6 ~" t5 ~4 ~2 x( oSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
u/ Q+ b: j( c2 Oclass.% Z. M6 g8 O3 j/ L
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
}5 G+ i- N4 B2 M) L' ~studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
/ [9 w6 \" b) d& Eoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
( X; }; d; S9 B" K# v3 z( L& ]# srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.; S \0 q- x. v9 L# h$ X
; E& z7 \1 g/ _; u" ARaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* E$ C3 x u) b. ~4 P6 T& B' ltaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ b4 O8 l' f$ n0 aChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
7 `0 z% M8 D- \said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- M% b; z# b$ b+ `
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the7 j) [$ M2 ]+ A: E
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
2 u1 ~8 o' E$ P# P t% Dmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: x, j0 r, v- `% ethat," Ms. Freire said.
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: t, p( ^+ F( S$ ?) b2 QMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program/ x0 @0 R/ J( S! K; j
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! _/ @/ r9 q4 W/ A" B
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
1 w6 t/ X i* G1 j& z* |% Gtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make# X; Y; R$ m; U, [( Q" P/ @
room.1 t P" @' R* Y4 w- b
) [3 b3 u& J5 FChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
+ w' [. v. ^: W9 h' h, d/ H; kChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American/ ^# z% G9 `. t1 m7 R/ Q5 ^
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.1 i, U2 e. A, m# C B6 ]9 @$ w) Y
& p* ~' y7 Z. h/ c& Y9 W9 Y"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ }% Y0 Z9 }8 ^: b/ a. j B
because of that missing certification," he said.$ G0 R5 W: i) z3 L8 P; j
! x* U% K: Z0 I- A8 v$ V1 OThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( V- k p, \7 O* Y& m8 y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
+ X7 u" }, r8 ?$ [" hSociety in New York.4 m3 X( Z. x$ r+ a" t7 w
: i( C1 b8 E$ T" X. q0 b# g; r: ASix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 K, ], D& M J N6 OChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
: d" X5 n3 b6 a1 L J6 n# fthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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/ O5 Y5 n1 p! D# D8 L"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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