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October 15, 2005
6 W! j. I/ Q/ qClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 v- L" ]$ J5 X4 y& b
( R2 j) a+ I/ i$ YBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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4 V/ i( x6 F! ]7 @8 YCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
& d3 |. b/ X+ P. V3 B, GUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary( c7 x5 M: O+ b! H
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% u7 {8 U$ O* c' c% ldangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 x8 P2 g' X% ~& qflag hang from the wall.7 a' L# u" Y# y; Y7 v
' z- u! S9 U( y' G% t/ }) DOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! Q: b+ }" N: w. e( F# {5 Y
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders% W0 k9 Q+ V1 M* a( G6 S
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
z9 D- ]' d c' z& E( _boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# y, _- w4 b& [0 R: x
are already choosing it over Spanish./ M Y- M3 K. I t
( h- g9 L& H- f) r( S2 d"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 q. A% j5 @. R, o/ d% `at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city1 A8 s8 s* \/ J7 _. J6 _0 ?# A) j
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."4 D0 _8 H3 o! ?9 K+ F4 {" E y! H
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,0 B4 }2 C7 h/ w/ S! R- X8 y& G! h
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) g4 T6 z( I8 s& gto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 v$ r# N+ ^* I# \3 X1 K. ^6 R/ ]
one of its most difficult to learn.9 h' t! h2 ~3 R" h- W' p+ b
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- E6 c. _, q& T4 K! w6 c( r
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students' N, w* `, e) V# U, h
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 o4 M# w' w# n; Z. ZLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; h2 j" B! l5 N5 X5 GTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
# B8 j) j* h% t: k* P% n8 sChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 z8 I5 Z1 ]7 c8 e3 Rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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" Z7 C/ F* J3 N( L9 GAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
: M! r8 R' B$ s4 N2 |+ _Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country# j$ f4 d1 A. \* L& v' Z2 _3 y5 b
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: D$ j! n$ o" w9 a# h* q7 o* `
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" l1 D4 E$ I# X5 k% j3 dcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
+ ^; A" ]6 K* X4 o3 wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board." } ^2 S* M+ F' |
/ A/ j# R4 s1 U. K" ?$ Z"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 D0 M C+ G( g) o& ^ D
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& P( y X* z' d9 p$ PConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; D6 f- q- N: `; D5 m2 O; R
can." ! w' s3 u) U$ h& j
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% f* n+ Y* A, p. ^9 xelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
+ R% U- K4 x3 p3 Fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language* S" i. F' {: n9 b8 C' c
Institute in Washington.
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& d7 z, E1 M2 y6 a3 u- q"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- P% P' U- U% V9 S4 o
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.9 ~+ F! @5 l2 Y7 o( F3 Y
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; n- @. l' E0 [ l' A
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# X5 P9 ~# f' d/ }1 z6 `
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
& J( t/ Z. z% h$ `challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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2 @* ^. U" d- m5 Q- VUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and. X& Q6 g5 N1 z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ Z" ^/ p% }, l: P1 `
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 w( f/ M3 M8 f# }; p A# xChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ J# k1 d2 F s! A" r2 R. j+ ^. L
on weekends.- J0 p+ ^5 X' g- c) ]
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# G9 r, ~9 L% k- i' ~" x( T
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves2 V: u3 D& n/ a: g
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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8 y0 i: o+ J8 ^' B2 rMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said+ }( f- u9 |1 \( @# S
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ m3 P9 x1 {% e3 z& c' Zcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley4 ~' h7 n" R- h7 n* c3 ^
said. "There will be Chinese and English."9 v' {! S. }3 G/ A+ N4 |
4 N8 v+ v6 A5 D% @From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ W& o( v+ r# L& Q
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' p7 Z6 W+ S% b Y$ ]schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" G% ~1 B! L: M" t! Wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
. s7 f% t/ j8 Q: I+ B, b4 Swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 |9 U2 y4 ]6 B, r0 B
the school system last year.5 i$ z8 K9 d! G! c$ |4 _5 p
! ]4 F! U# ~5 p5 @" jThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this$ N* S+ X, ^8 B, M3 b
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; Y2 C- m" }& u( e+ @' e, {5 i
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
! p4 h: E* z ~7 c, {$ u! ]classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
. i0 {5 R/ k/ O- [, wChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ a# ] @) R/ Y1 mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
- l* }1 m/ P& `, _4 W4 Fon an equal playing field."( ^; r% {) b- T, E' d9 Y
E: B0 f( G8 _7 l' C4 y9 USome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
( v1 `( i5 `7 o) h7 |) Hclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign5 y6 V. R/ R1 C c& y/ _, h
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks4 }8 V% Z; k( Z# D+ @( @
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 M9 d: ~2 W) {: s* yaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
+ q" B. F. g' r! [- t7 d/ W) wChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) L, x9 H' M/ x. c2 o( b1 M) P' linstitute says.( T% [9 h9 ~" b6 G- d$ _5 R
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
- [6 C( D6 C8 G8 d& J) bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, {- S, g2 a' h' m, {. y( M
deciding whether to take the class.0 X, y% x3 \' r% _
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 T- E r( e( O: w# b! x) F/ gtold her daughter.. [, ^% J5 T8 W3 ~0 y. J) ]
7 C: F# ^2 J* sSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
1 r! C, Q0 } r6 f M/ S Mclass.
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$ y& K! e, H/ r* U7 E: X$ ^, CAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are* u G! E" |$ G5 |9 \+ v: i1 l
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 t! c1 j3 }; g. P1 \8 L
occasional frustration.' ^% Y! K7 o9 P4 L. y/ B
+ Z# @+ F' I/ ^ H: T"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" v( |& Z; \( O& L# [1 Jrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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, h6 C: H8 R/ e0 }Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he" r4 z- r* |, r
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- T4 P' ^. }# g) GChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.) Z. |0 m; G$ _+ V# |
4 b0 q l0 N" x$ v9 r"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
9 A8 w! [& m& m! ]8 G# ?said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 t( Y* B2 [4 e, I- jas many languages as I can."' c/ |* Y* j: m {; N, X' Z
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the: `1 [8 F. f, E! G+ M
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
: ~5 q( N+ r* [7 w7 @' Z/ omarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, _$ P1 a) u6 }/ e' `that," Ms. Freire said.4 {( I0 I8 U, ~3 c* X; j" S7 {
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
7 y1 j' c/ S# \; _- Qhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' W, U8 }! b8 P5 \$ k/ gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: V1 [1 m4 w: \% ]time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
9 ?8 L2 g( J- v, \# j2 i& aroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer. M1 `$ s: {. C9 e* N5 X
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American8 z# r7 p# u. }% ]+ v* | P: I
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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- ]* a" e8 _% n6 A# Y8 g! N# X: I"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
9 o9 t2 H$ y1 Y) {because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
( c" u' r; C; S3 Gsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia8 C: v1 U- ?2 L5 M3 v) R- X
Society in New York.# |6 e5 t1 M" Q" f; Q' O8 `
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the0 H# O+ e$ h6 v$ U6 l, u/ \; ?
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from8 t8 X' d) B4 _/ G8 q# F; i
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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1 S! x# H3 Q# Y6 n5 e"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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