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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, 2005
0 y8 U$ y) S+ `; C4 W- G" K* g- _8 i8 V7 UClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 o- ?$ z0 e( U; H3 r0 A. {
. p4 ^1 K- I* y# K' t# _4 ~
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
- ?* E; P5 {: l* j8 m, o2 k+ o9 h  l# [% a& d( h* b
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
" M" P. V( c# ^# D: s3 H/ `United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ i) K  a- h  E' s: _+ V2 ~( c; D! h9 _
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 X8 r1 q2 B! Wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 k$ T# {# ]( b8 zflag hang from the wall.
2 F+ f' n7 s+ R3 S( L5 n/ w+ Y/ I: H2 r" J3 c. H3 Q  v7 E6 b
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( ~, A& m$ i* X8 D. S( Eanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders4 O! S4 J+ }" c5 [: H5 D
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
9 E" r! ?4 r5 h: F. Dboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( q" O& ^- s' L3 Pare already choosing it over Spanish.
" _' l5 M' F7 \9 [- p) \! s* H
9 `! l% y1 U" u9 X8 |"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ L4 D4 e: |2 ]3 h
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
% R) S) ?& {. V- H% _: [* roffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.": ]% v9 ]  X8 Z7 k9 b
, S* e7 h7 l' S! r
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
5 a5 `+ q* U* M5 j# t( Eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* \; o. @$ @) o
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 S) H. F( D* a$ o: e/ Y% E
one of its most difficult to learn.
0 Z3 K& r& o: h1 Y- N! k9 a; J3 Q- _3 [
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
2 j2 x7 ?/ g0 x, _: A! A8 gpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
  l5 i% L8 ~) L. tstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.8 x) g- s5 q, r6 Z* _+ k. ^
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of. ~4 Z2 }, W. N; [
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: `; u: \9 e5 E5 \7 u' _$ o: h+ R
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) j4 e- T% H3 S
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." O1 W$ R1 h  ~4 W& Z

5 y' T# a$ o; }% t: W/ p  LAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement3 k3 a' H% ?* X8 e3 \
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 i6 C% x: v9 G2 c2 H: ^8 g
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to8 @; f- \. E5 r5 {5 y
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! {6 x6 x7 ~5 H2 Ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ }" Q9 M, h: O! M" l+ y- wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.8 f, c* T9 e% S  K( U" r
7 M3 d9 _7 Q' m/ e" Q  V/ i3 H: g
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! x; x/ L; z( ?$ I- Q3 d: tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! ^" C; F7 p& b) Y% c. K" l
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
* C. l3 o  b& S! A7 \" `can." - L# Q6 \& J' b  i0 W. r" P

; z# g$ ~" T2 N$ }, @9 P8 U8 TThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 X# a$ |- k! Y. R1 E* r3 d( velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 t2 F! B% ~/ p7 `years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language/ j# D. W) a  ?2 v: H3 _" ?
Institute in Washington.! O$ _/ r8 ?" j4 V& c, E
& e) V4 l+ g! i2 d4 \7 N! J2 s
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; i' V* J) A2 }) V) Z  ?8 h8 d3 `+ |
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# |, ?  Y' n) o% w; _, q
McGinnis said.' m7 \. ]9 n0 `0 L1 {* y6 g, d

( K# F, J- g( P' K: _"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* r: O, ^5 |" q2 d% klongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 Z0 n8 _. S! r
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
5 K( Y, N3 i+ {. N, uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."4 q" w: J( k& P7 v+ O# f

8 z$ T# @: A. M- y& uUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and0 _3 w- {2 m' @% t1 d2 N
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in5 Q7 E  y5 Y; e
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 Y! d* f: S5 j# I7 gChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 J6 Y' O; q" d' ?  P; ?5 pon weekends.6 M: A: W$ }1 ?1 a% T
1 c) U  M8 `  r& r- ~% n8 S
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* G0 A6 Z  [- y% o; F1 D+ c
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
" ]; a  i, s+ g: Q2 sstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
$ K6 F, V+ ]. I  S4 I* O- v" G  L2 m1 W) y
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, C% e# h+ @4 O5 O. o5 m  ~proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) v+ f0 A* O1 _) I/ z  ?; h6 dcompetition. - W  ^4 Y: A5 I
( |6 V5 _) q0 _# ^
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# P, c1 q4 T+ [
said. "There will be Chinese and English."7 ~1 G8 V" O  C, R( `3 u
, j" f2 r+ N7 }+ }6 B
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
5 R0 O; ~# H3 x! r: h0 Call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse! b, f- ?" _7 n, _3 m0 Y6 e
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& q7 m+ A4 @2 `% U7 k! R
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 {# B3 X; b7 ~
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 E9 K+ P" a; y9 m( L9 f# d9 wthe school system last year.4 h  o+ ^2 G; V3 D: J0 r% M! E

3 w$ M  x; D1 sThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this% b2 G* m9 F5 W% W; ]; V
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
9 q2 S. E2 x4 y
4 a# _! P* H& M  j"They have a great international experience right in their own
& J5 j; E$ C1 F/ F7 n9 ?+ P1 a- s$ `classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
  P8 y' Z$ o( ^, Q( EChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% v2 Z$ R, t& s8 x0 ]9 rhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* h' T/ O  b% e4 }- W9 Z$ U+ F
on an equal playing field."
( G, H6 n7 w& M8 a* W
' ?9 {8 X7 j- R: C* u5 pSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
; H, O6 t5 G/ q  m* f0 v: {1 Fclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign: Y2 c8 a8 ]% U- V% l
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 P9 ]! s: I7 d6 mChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 |3 M5 Z, A" ?. z5 q% Daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
: I" f6 o/ u, U( J% O9 e  D1 lChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the" R1 C/ T' N% U
institute says.% @2 ]6 s5 o4 t$ b( N5 o
) N- h) z# ~/ x5 o" }
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth8 K# v; \- X4 @/ L1 B8 [. n7 g7 U
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
  {- B, v, |! d- x) G7 l" c% Bdeciding whether to take the class.
; o; S+ u2 U9 H. I
" r6 I5 S" J8 g! e2 C: l"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she  [3 K% _* l0 i) [
told her daughter.
/ M5 @# W$ x; O7 u9 ^$ j2 a1 U1 Q
) R: M1 Z. U3 o6 h8 wSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite4 M! |  ^9 G  @/ j0 @
class.
6 [! ?& H: T" U- ^& u; t3 @0 M- B  z7 T6 c5 d2 ]: I
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
/ a3 ]2 v# b* h8 Vstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" j# U  _* h0 ^1 ?
occasional frustration.( s' u( h+ a0 H1 l( N

/ _0 x. k8 V7 C"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: _6 k1 f* Y; d1 x& l
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
' i# ]) R; _) P0 J- ?( {$ ^6 p5 V+ ^
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
$ _& e: `5 _: d' R* Htaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& @! J% @7 |  s& `# D3 o2 ?Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.+ `5 K' v7 W; E, e* W

" x6 h$ K# T3 e"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul7 j4 g5 {- U# j
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn+ o* s( M% W( c/ E5 k1 R8 D
as many languages as I can."5 S' J  ]8 L% j
- d, Y7 _% {" |8 T5 S0 q
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the# N0 z' w# h) n. m
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job! \6 s- \3 [  i- l$ x4 Y
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) }3 s" _' }, \) @
that," Ms. Freire said.* z& _" N$ s& I) C# H) h2 H
) C, N5 f  J5 |& ?  c+ Z9 o, o% R
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program* m7 h( Q/ Z2 f7 {! h' \8 u
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
  ?1 J# w6 x5 ?# v8 \# cschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking; `  p* _: w* u) ?; M- d4 R
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
: _5 W+ O8 H) a- n& oroom.
; K  i5 c, a& d) U. ~& A3 @7 N* g, F" J
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
! v& U* b0 J/ }" J! s1 rChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 N" `: ~, F( A. }  i: _4 v& o
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
( E5 A" _8 f2 g4 G5 K2 l) ~
8 p0 K2 u0 b7 a; s1 ~, E5 J4 h"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
3 h# p% }/ W9 M: J, m# a- gbecause of that missing certification," he said.$ D6 j4 c5 g! g" K8 W' q
4 \: Y( X+ v' |2 P8 T- h1 g( K
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
0 L" q7 ^& ^: w9 Xsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 Z% p4 Q1 d; l+ A* dSociety in New York.( D" R+ g; Z: L; @

7 H% E3 [1 d* R' D/ dSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the7 ?; W. H( z5 k2 m/ {
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from; o9 Y. M0 V( ^! w1 p% x
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said./ z" q/ G2 L( J: A& W; b8 {' s
2 z% c- O# f- @( p1 X' g$ r
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
( f8 I+ o! a0 W) n# Q8 g9 x9 t4 l9 xown."" C7 b: D" Z; j# Y7 |* c2 _

  R! F* `3 o* ?- L, D0 I$ BCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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