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October 15, 2005
+ r7 z; P- S+ i9 v1 G- MClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING$ o! P/ |! T/ `7 N1 k# D& [
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 ~* `9 r$ n0 E; A4 nUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary1 b/ y1 _! f% J7 e7 [7 N* M
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
3 T! @1 u9 _6 B, }! E4 Jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) N" k& t! b( N% Gflag hang from the wall.4 j' F7 k. M4 ?% n! X, p
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 i% A( B) ?8 d- {9 y3 A& uanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! z5 \6 Q) w) K% t- `6 m4 tpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker1 F1 t% g2 s) ~9 D% I; W3 I+ F! p
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 h# ~- H" e0 b" O1 K$ Vare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: j3 q+ p" @' j) U% C8 W& a
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city# B% X0 S( g; n6 k3 m" c
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 N( e c% s( T D& C
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,- n' d* @$ @# h# S
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
# S$ L( S! W! F0 r7 ]to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 z% a9 s1 @+ s- C5 A: Kone of its most difficult to learn.
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0 y, l" T2 A, P& k3 XLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
, t; g: }8 B. s" J5 \* F3 {public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
+ [0 k# [, y7 X5 n6 Y7 V5 V4 {6 Sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 m1 f$ H4 d9 |: a+ S* s& K9 U0 kLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
$ b3 ]8 |0 ^9 M0 i# q$ wTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on8 C- ?9 X* a; N8 \: F
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
# [- M/ z( U& d6 F7 @: x5 J( C2 g7 iimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* @$ z2 E5 Z n$ z
1 X0 q8 p5 D- e+ O' K% R4 vAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement0 d. V! w; e- h
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 b0 h, {' s: k4 p
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
/ ]' z! X% X! n4 udevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing: M5 V- {: q0 a6 i' u, J# C+ b
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
z) E7 \ m6 Sof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.* v& W* D0 D; E6 X
: l) g _; u6 g; r( j/ m"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; ^2 {$ e: Z6 r& f) `) x( R- Q3 i- J5 O) m7 Rspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, r2 `2 r) Q9 _& d- m8 ^9 B
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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# V. n) z8 w, XThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from+ R1 k. |8 w' _/ N& A
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 E! e! I: h9 t/ \5 V9 D% }years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 b8 k3 J, q5 |
Institute in Washington.9 R1 A! o O" u
5 R1 j" F/ K( t& T"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 b4 i% O, F8 `
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
' D# d4 o3 f J; _% JMcGinnis said.3 f$ w6 e1 \( `5 p
2 |& M7 L# a. [' r0 [ T8 ]"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical8 F1 D; I0 |9 C5 y E4 n
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 f, h* d' z: x3 K) W4 d8 @ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a9 E) A1 W8 \4 N2 z$ H
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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7 C0 Z& q, @" E$ `7 Y" p0 EUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
$ A7 ?, j7 k( e' Z& }4 V$ Fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
. a) h! ^" h0 f, @% g* |0 ~* |cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( o: I: ?; I2 l2 K- CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* A O! L$ B8 E/ B. p( |. n
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& @1 r! P& J& f
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) b. }4 R% @7 Y+ x* Nstudents who are not of Chinese descent.8 U' g* z; } j+ R& f
) N5 o5 Q* V6 Y9 C; r1 O: WMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
. h8 P0 ^) {, z. V2 G: G9 mproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
; a7 o5 ?! Q2 D4 J- R# {) a% Tcompetition.
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2 B. v9 \" G; S4 U* `7 c"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
8 I1 v( G! E( ^ p4 `said. "There will be Chinese and English."( O8 T" Z2 F9 S- r7 R8 n
k+ z: x" I2 h& ]2 [From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
: T) G) r+ f) M }- E% call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse1 u# ?* p# X: B- h
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
! e& y! p& x: gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students! x% ?* [4 X8 `* ~1 y
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to! ^" U3 p1 J4 _" |- k/ I+ j% s
the school system last year.6 w; M" M5 o! v+ n7 g
# D) b+ b4 s. H1 D4 u/ {The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
" ?3 f a/ R% g Xyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.+ t9 d, |) V$ t, L+ y# T I
2 k" w3 R% @- E2 D"They have a great international experience right in their own
- x9 p' i2 U1 v0 Dclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 R" a8 s8 M. E+ h! {. o$ t# \0 b t' dChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% S* A8 |7 ~+ V, t( H. r0 Chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
: ]% ^2 n! R: ~* [' k+ q+ j' Oon an equal playing field."
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% Y) W9 v {( o3 H9 ASome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 f5 L' O; o- A0 P# v- Lclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
( g S U& G x9 Z6 e( v% XService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks4 O1 B" q. Q. k8 _* f5 g+ o
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
4 }5 T; K- C! Laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. E' e2 E" k# d+ w3 Y; c, g. c& ], h
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 m# m, S. |/ l; Y1 M- F1 k* j& q; Cinstitute says.) ]; ~" P9 S) w3 a4 p
' n! {; L; @+ @! u5 QSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
& r) M: u7 I9 V) x# ?0 p6 H2 \grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) [2 c1 x' g; p! S a, [: Ldeciding whether to take the class.0 V" c" J$ K/ j% I7 u
9 A ?/ X' \% X+ r; d; i3 c9 X. O) {"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) e! A2 \) ], ?, l
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 x5 g$ q6 K4 V3 S) }
class., r& S8 A9 i& B! O- _
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 n3 F# X2 w9 q4 t' ]. d
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without* k7 x( t. o! G* B
occasional frustration.8 V. m; K5 T4 e
0 H& G% @" M$ m. b3 B"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' q5 |% R- K) y& q9 krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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) _9 A# A: U Q4 u% ARaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
+ U& k T$ k+ r% } Dtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
# T9 i& a$ Z8 K* G/ ]* b% TChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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& b8 k/ j% ?4 q: n4 C/ r"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ l; _* I# ^5 i4 c7 y$ z
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 n2 c: d4 z" \" W
as many languages as I can."
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; F5 M0 e" T& f, K5 }Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the' V* r( `$ q. G4 [8 X3 D2 Y# B
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 e# Y9 ]6 ]# K% Y$ Z
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like7 F$ Y v" g! x; d- h3 c1 r# f* Q6 V
that," Ms. Freire said.) C, i: G$ L& ]" j9 b
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% Q6 F0 ]4 c; L3 s) R/ N# Q- X2 \
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
5 a) R K6 k7 `* s+ y eschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking3 W: t5 t+ M; S
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make' M# `# o, k5 w& |2 s9 I- K2 V
room.4 d% w4 x, O+ U# b3 ]
3 I' l( L. v4 yChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer& K1 {3 v4 m: P: I, ?% A
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
) k2 z: N" ^; j! E" @- gcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.5 y, w1 ?$ \- |( `* g# u S# F3 M
' ]% d9 [# d) J"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified# {5 O0 ~8 F2 W9 H m4 m& d I( ?
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,& R, S* u( `" E- j
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
4 s+ x' c' F, ^, Y% X6 xSociety in New York. K2 J4 ?2 v& R. n
) f: V( v5 e: D" U. B' H. fSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* m, F$ p( p! H. | I
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from+ R) o: f; d* ]4 U3 u+ B
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 ?; a+ b$ s7 p2 o
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: r5 D3 @6 {; D {) Y- x
own."
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: Z& i. } g$ |5 c+ kCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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