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October 15, 2005
+ V. Y0 I' X: B0 K; P7 u: s: D jClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity. \% x! v W+ a7 g" d
$ g9 V! s8 x& X N+ \By GRETCHEN RUETHLING' Z$ Q2 H I% @6 E6 Y" S
' s( J) z n, b2 q( {- ?5 kCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the9 {1 o0 f o# M9 f/ m, m6 H
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' Y* ?* [. g( Z- f9 A$ ^
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; h9 c' B( Q- {! ?2 F0 mdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% O/ x' ^ s+ N: }; ?- X
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 N) @) p7 R5 B4 ^7 p. D; I) Vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
& ^5 \) m4 D) ]. \7 d ypracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
9 d# p% R' }' I% a' Uboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
+ j$ S/ M; D; B9 P+ A5 ~) uare already choosing it over Spanish.( \3 W& K. ]/ [# M; k" z# |
' _$ K9 v$ [$ P$ W# ]3 v, o"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
% R! z/ r g- }6 ]at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 E+ {- I! ~4 ^. q6 H2 g! c0 A, q& G) {2 M
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, V0 Y* i# \" i' ]/ U! K: {
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 Z# _ b0 |8 u7 B
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention c( \( t5 x7 I, ~0 }6 x
one of its most difficult to learn.
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4 a) u2 u6 d. H$ c8 GLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to* T |0 U# d& s: I
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
# ~7 j- x: e8 E7 D- Mstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
3 V: t- j3 d \: |+ Q' |Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of3 U- i# {+ U( c! x1 J" M4 I$ W
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on8 v* A! B" q: E* j
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% `3 i% B" N9 [ u7 Simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 p ?/ i, K7 \8 e
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement- x8 |6 m( c2 z6 f, [9 B( |, |7 D4 i
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; V2 _8 ~1 C9 s+ Z. D$ o' I' `& kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ G3 a. C* l. R: T( k
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ P# R# V# Z( ^
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director, p$ w5 P1 s. K* i F m
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of7 Y3 Z1 }* E3 e6 r& G9 M
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 [7 c2 k: W' r* e i
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; ~/ L1 q' i5 D# w7 x3 E
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 b4 {% `! _. d0 v3 Qelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
! @# r; N: C+ qyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
' T! R2 q( Y2 X. v9 {7 kInstitute in Washington.
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3 D/ \7 c3 C# Q7 h& n"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages& c6 |+ r, y* G7 K8 {' M8 I8 `
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
' j6 t; w, o, Y/ T, H7 h/ YMcGinnis said.$ U1 s1 ^. }$ F% N$ @: l
6 b& \+ Y$ ^$ g+ e3 ~"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; ? X9 f, R4 o) N
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
$ P8 ^7 B: {6 v1 A( r4 A+ v$ |' ?ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' q E( Y. R8 `. ]2 {challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
9 N7 P8 M5 h/ j" l& }% a7 Z# H9 Q Usecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in- S$ w! f* U, f0 p0 C( g
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of8 j/ m6 r; z; A6 V
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 v M0 N6 O( L. von weekends.
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: u3 b, r" A* |. L9 VThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
5 [$ a: \5 `, P# V' |* a4 Oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 I8 J+ @, Y/ ^5 _ [! ^$ {students who are not of Chinese descent.
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1 H: P( p3 P9 HMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; K: _3 E4 h# n w: N
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ n2 k1 M' F) j3 @2 O
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, o7 k& w c! F' B' R. dsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."% K( F3 d6 n; l) T0 h
5 ]# A8 J# e6 k; Q" n! o7 d3 KFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" `9 l) W( Y9 m6 T) G
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 q2 J# S. Y9 m! B$ bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from: W5 Z3 ^9 m- p' q/ P, y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 D4 H2 i6 G! v6 B0 D" i) ?+ Gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to: \7 Z& D/ S# g& D; J( l! C! k
the school system last year., [4 D- {: p" u# L
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
& T& G+ I( s1 G! @year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.* ?3 {7 j" S8 j: a
p! z- p* Z. Y8 s0 A0 l7 ~' ]"They have a great international experience right in their own
D( z9 n# C5 k' \* {classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# Y4 \" U' Z/ E" d1 d6 F' s; _4 u7 JChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to7 `/ \: n7 c6 x
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet) f! ^% G% j6 L, u' |1 H/ Z
on an equal playing field."
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8 F; y1 k' m, T4 K# N: a# o2 ZSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
1 @! S# ~; j2 h9 K+ G% s3 kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 u, J1 U; I) v2 v/ a; Q
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 N# }) y% Q& Y7 T. P/ l
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# b0 h! U5 A% |
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% ~! }) I: x8 b+ IChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the8 G. E- x2 ]+ v. a
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
' T+ A* {$ x0 W! z, ]; C, Dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
% T; _& \+ G( d0 hdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
8 A) i8 [+ c. f, |3 w' stold her daughter.
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5 r- N3 F# s- S& |' r7 \Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
6 {, W8 R3 p# K( Y! nclass.
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9 \+ {) N7 P# t) k- v+ a; y; XAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 X* l, M8 P$ `- i6 V8 P
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' J' K3 v: M9 T, h2 Ooccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: P1 l( I" P+ L& x6 f/ c8 G6 V
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he% P( |* L2 I) w0 d5 a: t
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
+ ?2 Q' Y) h. \, I% ~3 j# NChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.2 i: S3 Y* `3 T/ h# e" c
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
5 V& Q& l( g; l+ esaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( I. }! ^) D' v8 q: m
as many languages as I can."
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7 a% l4 G/ y! c* m @3 G6 N2 }! MAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the9 ~/ z* x2 w5 r3 [. Y
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job, i8 _+ }0 j E0 ~1 w! U
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& G9 @- R, W6 ?* X* N
that," Ms. Freire said.) r$ Z2 V7 l; Y& L# s: V
, h$ a5 R( f5 G% VMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 t; \, J5 f) q' Q7 ~ G nhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 [2 z- ]% D3 P; Q" @% o0 U. M5 tschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( }' ]* Q3 Y, q3 [3 \ A
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make0 J t1 y3 Q2 _0 {+ j
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" q, U- H# V9 C" M9 {
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
+ \2 u9 k9 K7 Rcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.6 F0 s! n& x( k3 t" h4 A7 n
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 R6 ?: C2 h( T0 \. r/ g% }- L
because of that missing certification," he said.
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s' I+ G6 q; Q5 Z% ^, B& X/ wThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,' `: ^& \1 n3 W2 J A1 b
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* b5 \4 I# D$ J# U" J5 x
Society in New York.0 [% G: |# D- J- @, c, x+ T, d# a5 g
6 d2 @6 Z- R% o* |2 I6 n7 M) }" ^Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 k8 e5 N, Y! \( t$ D
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 H0 V/ g/ o! d3 i1 x/ A2 h
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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- x/ q# k) m/ }" U. k5 B: _* _: U"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our2 x- x: v& X( k
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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