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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
: ]4 Q' Y! _  h# V2 ~, A# G4 }  \Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity  c  S8 x, |% x* M

0 q' P8 o' Y" f8 EBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
1 v2 r: P7 G; |2 D, H# f6 D: K8 K$ J1 a) {
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the3 I' i; D! d$ P1 T* j
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
- R2 z9 i/ A+ G+ O8 N5 L( F; s' d0 KSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
6 N% ^/ H$ O% z' v# [/ Jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
* w3 {/ Z/ W, D% F) b- yflag hang from the wall.
) d! k- y/ n% q& d- X, I0 |* s9 u9 G3 p! {  I5 g6 ]
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
4 o2 C8 v$ f, m/ T7 u1 C- Panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 b# Q- e5 u6 I$ N5 y5 z" [
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
2 O+ ]6 k! C9 [; L. Hboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 ]$ j/ L3 R( |7 ]4 v6 ?; yare already choosing it over Spanish.
' J  M: b. S6 P7 L
' \" c, c9 R$ V5 }  s9 p9 `"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal* X3 V7 f6 n5 b" H, l
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, X" |, y$ e" r  w( T
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."9 u- U$ e! i4 f" G

4 S+ ~! a* a, |" XWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( E% ^, g2 u3 Ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings1 ]4 p; {* P+ Z
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* a! f1 s; T1 h) ?' \! S
one of its most difficult to learn.
) ^( Y1 `* p. Z  A8 l+ P9 N* N2 Y% ?
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
( f: T$ C3 C( l. [public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students8 ]( d  C/ Z5 m4 z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# n0 x$ L0 X1 E0 XLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ ?. e. S0 H% U, ]
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
* F- d  i/ p4 y, o, s$ TChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to' W3 p4 H; M  J: M2 c: E; n* [
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.. W8 ~* c; s3 D; ]5 U2 ~
1 l8 _) x3 \  o4 J, `" }1 A) R
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement( k* E) A) W  E6 v  I
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. M3 l. W5 r* ^. F/ z! E: S2 S) estarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; _: c3 g8 ?" M1 M: W3 Wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing; E+ w* S  K. L
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( `  k, b7 j  F+ vof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
! H6 `( F, T( y' h- ~2 I' c. t+ Y# G8 d: V$ m1 \
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; G% [7 [9 S, Y  m7 s6 fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education5 T- z$ A- X$ X: k( [- g8 _
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
7 R) X: Z1 I. _3 I$ [can."
8 ]: N* j" h8 N, G5 u
$ ?% I5 U7 S  s1 ^The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) d. Y$ x4 Y) D3 D/ Z/ Y5 O
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
. n$ I6 H$ J+ B: l& Ryears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ z+ r3 f. G5 ?9 A) X8 N9 MInstitute in Washington.
# v/ y5 h9 w7 O1 Y9 a2 ?
! [' F/ g1 a! |# H8 ~8 I% h"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
) k5 Z" R7 v+ x* u1 s2 A- ]aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.+ z  S0 l6 x/ y% g6 X
McGinnis said.
; g' C( R+ K7 c! k0 Z2 v1 {! p0 X( C$ {0 A1 H+ R
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# Y0 h, d$ T: Slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be& T' C& ?0 C1 x2 k; e! ]& E- G# U" Y
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a4 D0 M7 h3 e) q
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 J, ~" I9 w  j

' ~& Y0 u" O6 h+ \: g& @. N8 C: SUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and! \6 _( f4 \7 G
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* P* L1 r' F  X0 J; K" L% |% R2 r, icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ ?. u3 d8 j- U: A  |0 o! B
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or  C4 s6 N9 [3 C7 ?4 P1 K
on weekends.
/ w$ ?1 e9 g0 j5 x4 x6 o
$ S/ C% Y0 c/ `The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: d2 ]. I+ Z5 D0 T1 s- p
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves+ k; l8 A7 Y% X3 [) g
students who are not of Chinese descent.+ N1 U9 E0 ?1 T" w. Q
  g7 D5 F6 w  `8 I
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
5 _- s6 i; K- {, R- mproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the. F7 V! x! y& @# a' B
competition.
7 i, S! g. m9 ^1 ^3 z! M; q: z$ {' o/ C
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
7 `  D/ X0 E% `. [# E& Wsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
0 z% ~! J9 \6 t. Q7 L% ^' a2 X
' f- \* N2 O2 a& cFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
% \0 b, s- N. Y+ f  Mall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ d0 r9 b8 o& j. c5 W
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from) B' f4 q' e' `- m1 ~* `
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students; M4 V' Z+ r* |" j- h1 ~9 o/ H
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to  y/ d' l+ f+ l: [% s4 z( N
the school system last year.
" S- ~5 e% L. S( C  t: F1 _/ A5 l( T
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
  V0 s# ~0 g8 v& eyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
1 W: d+ ?5 e; r
2 E' h, @# R) K) e* F' a( {"They have a great international experience right in their own1 Z/ \$ d% x; t5 U
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. `* o$ }: C; E7 {
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to# r) M9 v9 Y3 x8 F
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 X2 k! e' \' M. c4 Yon an equal playing field."
& p0 p; r8 o, O$ z2 _4 ^  r+ m8 B* g
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese  H+ ~; _, e3 G4 q
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
( }( H) ~7 o& b% kService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 I: f+ w5 Y( `* C' p1 \, Z% |Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 J) J  i6 V2 g
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in7 I. }2 d  m( X6 D0 `* Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- K9 K3 ~; H7 {; g7 R: b
institute says.7 z" p* l- q' I$ l0 M2 T

/ Y4 d: i1 k  N  D# [Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth# L, n" d; P3 n: U3 M3 S* f
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before9 T- ?: e7 r& Y# h
deciding whether to take the class.
( D% t) |+ }% a" l2 ~1 I
! ^! O2 o5 _5 |$ O5 Z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' g: Q8 j4 R0 G1 Htold her daughter.0 T2 f  [+ L1 I! E& C( f2 Z; [

) t5 p6 ?, r- o8 j9 ?4 k/ WSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# \  Z  n. z  M. r; K- ^2 W. K$ N
class.# ]% h$ p& g. \) T

- i" N: ]' M2 ?0 G% _- UAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 h% }; W4 ~/ k- o! \
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
7 W# u; |4 K. [7 w9 ioccasional frustration.. k0 w* M: I4 G

4 f: \! k6 I, N' l  v0 E"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a! Z# O) H* O' v7 ^0 E& G
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class." l1 A0 f2 E5 s7 O; g

, `0 T% s" b9 J8 k0 \Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* u" k0 k" Z, O- w- \9 Ztaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 c9 @. }5 g3 wChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
9 y9 a- [- p1 p1 t& h- `
$ J$ }. c9 o% ]  e" s1 }"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
, w5 c; p8 [9 c" ]; Vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn1 U" D& Y& U6 D- Y8 a0 h# R
as many languages as I can."
) ^4 b+ i- \$ l/ B: v
) M' G! Y* I6 ]- P( lAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ Q- r3 W! w+ K0 |, k
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 O. b7 {: b/ D" H1 P1 a, {market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like7 Z4 a+ ^0 }! S  s% O! P7 E* x# h
that," Ms. Freire said.; J# ~9 R( @% u

" @/ A2 F- v# Q+ T; xMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) M6 Q. f" V5 d: t$ r+ m( M1 There offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! p! L6 C- W5 X
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking7 c8 A( @: p4 E( Z9 a
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: p! L$ G- Z1 x- j
room.
6 c8 t' @/ z8 L1 N3 J3 Z
: F5 A: [4 R- _Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
5 k4 z1 p7 i- Q3 }$ ~# Y* E1 K; GChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) V0 C8 ~% y3 H' Y6 b3 d4 ~
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
% i/ I6 |; N9 n9 |, `$ D5 h- t2 ]3 S* F# p# ]7 Z. x
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified. o4 j+ T: w0 u5 k
because of that missing certification," he said.
: B, N; U- v) m% r8 c/ {' G) J+ x4 r# y* U! I: E2 Y1 g
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
: E% v) j0 X0 I, F2 rsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# R; k  w/ B7 B# R1 WSociety in New York.
7 `/ b6 N- \( J( a3 z4 J) j1 P# E, F& d9 h! `# S) z7 c
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
% X2 R+ l0 B  lChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 P8 d2 y3 R2 @. \  [
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
+ M$ i0 t$ B6 K. N; z6 c1 ~& ^, j" @7 N/ }6 [3 t
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" a8 N, ]! S0 l( C: m
own."3 t* G( R7 Z4 |% H

. {. q9 N# Q  F$ w3 Q5 KCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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