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October 15, 2005
- b& V4 f2 z6 M' ]( j* bClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# a/ [% m9 e) `6 K
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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* m* q- c1 V2 x4 f" ? A. SCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
1 }/ v$ ?' j2 h+ Z* N7 LUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary2 r% X) l# b" c+ u/ F7 ?
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ P. T3 B4 ?& r2 A* d
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) r; c2 V8 K& M' r3 `: K; \flag hang from the wall.
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' C* a0 M5 Q8 ^: sOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
$ k" E1 @6 Y! m) ? Eanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( _; d3 ~0 ]* A+ h4 T: xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
: ^8 H) v4 a! q& Nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
- d7 w' W. S' ^) w7 T$ Aare already choosing it over Spanish.7 c& @! f7 n8 _- }4 w
+ J( l5 t7 I, N: }* ~0 i: Q5 Y9 P1 d"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal% g6 Y" d \- m9 F8 U% N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 U4 E: ^3 }) ^) x
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# [8 H( c- j7 ?8 o3 H }
0 @9 c, F$ x. b, i* f8 c cWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
1 z; C" p, P$ ?% A3 h* z$ P- Uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings9 \# b* R' H$ F9 y* [5 v
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention% M) ~: t0 `% f2 y0 O& s! z8 f
one of its most difficult to learn.
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6 Q% @* q, W8 G7 x0 U" ?Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) u" v/ J/ ~+ H& W$ Y) S1 E/ Fpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& x0 [: l* J6 I9 C4 U- qstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ k- D; j7 x5 b7 _: L
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 U: h% L9 N9 O* p7 @/ rTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on9 g' N/ e& Q% m. Y' R3 R
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to, [% V6 C% t; p, q4 j
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.8 c% {8 A# w) M/ c D f/ t
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
; Z0 P$ c/ {# s( d3 ]) Y; yChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country( k I0 P6 |! p0 i" W
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to5 F: v3 M. p. i' t8 e7 O
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ G U7 u S8 ?5 ]. N$ q, _
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director8 r7 V' g2 l6 j& n$ {4 ~
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.+ \0 X8 D t. o) x3 W
) a' [+ Q" I4 X" |0 d"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
m! [7 u# m% I, r9 Ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
; W2 b3 g, I$ r0 Y) W4 {Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( L# O0 z- ]9 |
can."
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; y! z& I! |, _0 g5 M- eThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 x9 b$ p3 ~) y9 b \' Eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 c: A* I( D* C o5 r1 C0 [) pyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, q' W H0 x. }) G+ i r/ oInstitute in Washington.
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+ |: h4 j% N0 q0 Q5 M"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
+ @+ \1 W: ~; U, R9 _0 I qaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.* ?5 b2 e: A+ i
McGinnis said.. G- b0 Z; C2 w$ t$ u
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ K0 Y1 C1 _4 d/ G
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
5 e4 _, N. w5 L7 Fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
& R" z! e# d3 a# b. `. V V, {challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."* ~ X9 l1 a) a1 e: F- B
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
3 g4 g% [. f4 s4 I) @$ r0 Usecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
0 X" E( g: U" ]- u q8 Qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of' R/ w- K) q! G: g5 O
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
9 F6 n9 @- D2 }; t+ _1 Fon weekends.- s$ H9 S3 W+ X( T' ]! Z4 C) h( ^& C
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
) A) g3 p' f3 A( \schools during the regular school day and primarily serves# c, S1 U! @! y) c c4 P* m9 d
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
# |( M+ |, r4 G o- Gproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( {: w5 W9 y/ N7 H0 U- A$ M
competition.
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0 p( K' |1 u! W( z+ q" G( }"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley4 X5 ?" g$ N* B) W# y1 p$ b; c3 D0 h
said. "There will be Chinese and English."' @6 M# b. q* x* A
8 {0 `$ _ e0 l' O* a, e6 [From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly1 H; o; a, E* Z0 N3 u% ?
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
8 L7 l; p, @; D3 Hschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 S8 t* a0 j& q: i: I$ }% ?
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students' }9 K6 C) O! ^+ ^" ~( j7 \
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to8 Z0 [) t9 y# R! J8 c
the school system last year.
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0 C n ~, n0 N$ [- j9 t3 QThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# Z* N$ S4 S2 v4 u- L
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." \. W; q4 }- o
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
1 b, i6 ^ H$ B+ ? L9 ^classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 V* v/ p+ l: l( e+ D ?- {Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 K) C$ P3 t! a* E. a% Lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
. n1 P0 m; d! n! }! w p+ }$ H( Son an equal playing field."9 y; S- |- N2 F
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& y. L4 a! G* P! dclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ Q+ _$ R8 `9 y6 p$ i; V
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
2 }; Y' \3 E/ WChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An! _5 q% ~- z: v3 E/ A: q+ {
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in/ P/ c. B. i. x
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the: T9 F/ C# `5 o
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# ^. |) U& V" d8 igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
' y# H4 X' U/ o. U5 V9 B/ _) _deciding whether to take the class.7 l! t( C& p1 _7 V8 U& E. ~! n
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 K* F% X( b" a) Wtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
+ S' S4 `# k. c3 N! r" ]class.; y9 v7 z6 q3 }* p5 O4 J" ^
3 b" s7 A- I% a# ~# v' D: a% nAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 p8 C+ }* [* g, E( {! Xstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
! y- U- t3 j" }; B8 ?occasional frustration.
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* `( c" ]& R9 Z$ h, x+ Y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a+ x# r5 x0 O3 z/ a* @
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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' X- \/ y6 z8 d) g3 w1 `, qRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- z/ h9 J: b: R3 u$ U1 [/ i+ Ztaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with" \5 Y: ^$ G# ]& m
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
: f/ v) C5 F, `said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn* e, f" z3 H6 g7 b2 A
as many languages as I can."
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4 g: Y: h- O$ c7 Z4 V' M0 q0 |Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) P* t! ?- f0 Qskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
" W7 Y, C& ~) @/ b. Gmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
+ v" I+ |( o' E4 v; {% k1 dthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, B9 `: O3 B3 P: u0 H
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each2 L# {2 k0 `9 c6 }( n
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: j$ x) t* N% O0 V m7 W9 \ {0 mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make: ~- T, w& a9 u) C" E
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 r$ S7 q) `! tChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American/ v4 _3 Q& S$ U- X
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.8 t* _ ]5 i, x9 V0 `
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
( d% c4 d7 g: h1 ~' F' N' gbecause of that missing certification," he said.. ]+ ]. H7 p# P) z$ y. s6 _1 Z
6 G! _ t; h. x- kThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
; }9 k/ {# H* G: Fsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 y1 \% N! \4 H6 a: B
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& _% O8 Z4 i. c8 \/ VChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: N+ ^8 `% T# I7 U5 v8 W+ }
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.( M- j8 K# i J$ q# I' S- g7 E
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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