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美国纽约时报关于中文教育的新闻

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发表于 2005-10-18 09:27 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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October 15, 20058 }. J& U+ f4 ?  F) P+ A  y
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity! b0 Y, h/ [& E" o, Z2 E

5 E7 t6 H0 G# }; R' u' X$ SBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING) X' x2 b1 B, S/ Y  N. L
$ U0 d& e9 M' t* X- y% A7 V3 ~: {
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
/ Y! x  I4 w) r- ?5 wUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
8 D! |% Y8 H# m% [0 @, e  `- ASchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas( A6 [4 \" F3 d/ B+ k# K2 |
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) A* Y! q! q$ g( R% t
flag hang from the wall.6 I( |; n& ]) |- u& F

: N5 Z. T9 H5 N8 m' Y, }, q2 s7 A8 L& JOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
& T; `, ]  b5 V1 D  P2 Zanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders# ?6 ]+ J' \, v  X% m# f
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 G5 A! Z" h7 S4 r3 A' Pboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
: X1 k) K1 D( D9 C2 u$ D9 X6 [are already choosing it over Spanish.$ n; W9 w& {, D
' a, a3 E  k( [4 D: c; P  ?, r- m
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal, l6 ?- M+ I8 H! [6 b% m2 k' ]
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
8 |& B. P! y: R* W9 r6 noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
9 X8 Y( @0 Q9 G: b* }: f3 I
0 D; [6 N6 h: u/ c# O' GWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% v) Q5 Q* `' u2 d1 s
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* O( W4 \! T4 h; I5 L. l; s' H
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention+ z$ r/ P% Z3 [* N3 `6 [3 J
one of its most difficult to learn.0 J+ f% t' a8 r2 f  D! _
, a* ?; ^  t) z& E
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to& o8 ~2 n$ V; K* K) }+ h  Z0 l5 O
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students, @, h, W3 G7 y
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ o+ R5 ^3 M5 f, }
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of6 T. I0 f# N: T
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
# j! W. M# E/ y5 c& H6 G7 PChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& Y( S# k& O( pimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
, X. J( b, I* e0 `% |8 k4 O( y+ V" W+ K+ c) o# H% |" z' h" K
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
3 p; l8 D* y# R5 Y8 _- H- @: tChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
) h) T4 F$ p. X+ V" nstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to3 J6 @( a5 c% l6 D* s" i8 @
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing- V+ y. c, G7 ~# Q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director% q, p( Y& h. k  _+ E
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.7 T1 y+ _) R& S
  _8 i& {/ g# `* ^1 f% W
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
, Q2 j% a. W* V2 Jspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education) ^1 M) Y! {6 D8 Q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
: t4 e. f- d* kcan." ( W: L, I$ P, L# a9 q8 Y! O' _
/ E0 b3 p- y* @9 V
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
* K1 R3 {) g+ welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
4 f6 \$ ^& l9 p* w- g0 Dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language$ l* \) E( t9 b7 l5 u& C
Institute in Washington.3 e* F0 c# j0 ^/ Y0 e
( m7 E6 m7 f! D( J1 M- v
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages/ d  r: S& J! }
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
" D/ Q& l( n3 u. F* @+ KMcGinnis said.7 B3 O( }' I/ l8 m

) B3 [& M, \7 t2 p& @# r"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ M" U& _' _& \2 h2 E4 ?longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
. M( h0 _( m9 Tready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. Q+ o3 f) F: n% i4 A7 {0 w
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
& T* q7 R0 H) _
! s/ S" ^$ ^; u. U8 jUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ u; Q0 I: P7 o* X
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in3 g/ w/ Q1 K& u; s$ I
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 h# k( `! R; h# C8 x1 s) vChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or+ S( P% u" V$ p
on weekends.4 v2 y! q! P% @1 _( Q  Y  W' f

9 o9 }! y! \0 z$ ^3 S6 mThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 P! m0 S& m' h; T
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
% R# D8 |& M7 Ystudents who are not of Chinese descent.
" {; `2 f7 `3 b' Z. G) X; f! `: A5 p
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 ?. ]; a4 B1 V5 q: A7 p6 D" Rproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 H" f0 n% S# b
competition.
- m9 k* t/ l$ T
, x2 k( P3 C2 ?- ~" s4 X"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley' n4 i" O6 D$ b, K* n( @
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
& u/ S( m" A; N4 c) W2 t' m' \
* v3 ]1 U8 h! IFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 U2 N; _2 M  M
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% J' f. o- a2 O! _9 k; j+ [% j; b
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
5 n( w0 o  ?) ]kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students- L% j# ]& @" E" Y, ^+ ~* o  K5 T2 o
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
. k+ b1 S) T5 rthe school system last year.  m7 H; @- c8 W( C4 ^9 u
/ S% V+ q' k! C( O1 ?( H( P
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- q& h5 \2 m' D9 e/ K
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
5 f# S1 `$ ^# T7 U. Q; _6 Z0 T9 n5 {$ O" P3 b& T$ W; P" j
"They have a great international experience right in their own5 O: k1 g- n4 y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( Y+ j1 l  _/ ^& V: k" CChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
! c$ \# \7 w( {9 T9 ?& Shelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 J* h: b, ]0 ]
on an equal playing field."
+ N: G8 q2 I6 V- S
% z; B( M# q9 a9 y8 L6 K) MSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese- A) f' R* D: Z" E! l: M
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* p' K) k/ i  \1 FService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
8 r, d  I( ?" o  V3 _+ VChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' ?( ?$ x2 s  L$ q# _- ~average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in  S8 t5 j" Z& P1 b2 o& r0 B* M2 W
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& M- D- y1 t3 m* X: {institute says.) Q* X& w  j9 P7 I  W) p

( u- Z- M* U% f5 ySevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 m/ u# F7 D$ ?$ e9 F. T; E8 p5 D( p# l
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" v- s7 s4 N" R0 i; F  s- Odeciding whether to take the class.# j- v% r  N9 X2 W9 x8 A7 U  \7 |
4 ^2 ]' T& A. D% X: Z5 E
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she, Y- N) f! L$ h) o0 Y6 X: ]' @
told her daughter.' s, L% y: x: k2 J! \1 H

5 }7 N- d' P0 g9 ^0 ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# H; ^3 L* V2 ^- w+ uclass.' [; X- F) `  j! {
, t- e8 G, A- J% S
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. D8 n+ }' a" p8 T1 k! ^
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" R& f. h* Y; l; _) k  Poccasional frustration.  V/ J, D& p# G6 ?2 R

& Q( L, f9 i, f: @: S( O6 }"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; ~' U2 o: ]- f: c' Orecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
+ |7 p  R0 a% t) {1 p% b  Q# y- o3 _2 A' s8 j: f* o
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he+ {$ w# G% z8 `9 f  f! C
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
+ _- E) }/ B1 F  P  UChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.+ V7 E, D; m( K9 |8 U
" U) ~0 P8 Q! b% G
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul7 l' Y% a* L) o3 F2 W3 H
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn, x, c. L- ]& X' v$ U
as many languages as I can.": c% T" g) a% I3 I# G+ j+ V# N' T

  D$ D/ w1 [2 I' @0 ^7 ^- y0 A* ~Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the7 o0 _6 Z( _, [7 k9 h8 K( q4 p% @
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* L( P7 @0 j! X' m2 |- z4 D' dmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like" i  s: m" L: _4 B8 x: I* Y" ~
that," Ms. Freire said.% x/ Y6 S( G7 D4 m

0 \$ g' N. M# uMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program! y) e  x/ r. A+ B8 l7 H
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
. F: H& u/ v" Q+ [9 m( m& }' gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking/ I. @/ z% L5 u
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make( |: v; t9 D+ |6 Y* B. ^; P9 p' s4 s
room.2 s- k% h# p; _
, v- v4 M+ s& M; f
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
, V3 ?- O( Q4 @& {0 ~8 y' CChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
3 x( l+ l3 n& F# ?9 P! i. H3 Ncollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
  L/ Y' a2 }/ E, ?7 \
* s  U- I8 K& l7 v) d& s"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' M) n" a2 Q# d9 N) f5 gbecause of that missing certification," he said.; A* _! u9 y& w- H6 O! F
) i/ B' p- J4 s6 \& s: ?& Y
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 o4 @5 S9 H! E; wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) Q% k! O! e9 B6 E) \Society in New York.  a& w/ {% O* E9 j. o
- B$ t6 {' z+ T$ p# W2 d! ?" Q
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the) p. N3 i/ u/ |
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 j) i5 x" s  c% l7 g+ d
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
  `5 _2 _+ S5 E2 R0 Y, I/ L- O2 b4 p% n% \' K/ q: ^' E
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our' u' x: g. b- [; d% E7 s
own."
3 |) D* G: M$ v4 K, K2 g5 w1 s1 w
  m9 h; b7 R4 `+ P2 XCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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