 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005( U7 [) h% U3 V
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' U+ H8 K D/ p; ^$ X7 K0 U
9 @( u6 d& U: ]* D. C
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
. x) }/ n3 e5 [2 p2 T L& J$ C9 P8 Y( W+ F' [7 |. {: {
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 `( A+ i3 V& q+ B1 eUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
' V, r7 S/ m2 X+ Y! X/ E) ^8 V0 aSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: e- O+ s% j2 n! m9 P
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
4 d3 h( f* O0 N9 W& Nflag hang from the wall.
9 w! }5 j# I3 L7 B: E" i! _% ^- T5 T2 Q* J. Q K& N/ `
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
! q/ _/ @ @- m, B9 ]$ l Vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
1 W5 _! }. u4 U) P& K1 `8 J m+ fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( L2 J2 R3 A. I" Jboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
1 h8 ?) @) A# j3 j5 a& N care already choosing it over Spanish.
& e& w' O! B# B- E: X- T( t* b' `
: P- L$ Q" g. V& D+ W. o5 p"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
" `4 A$ @* r5 l4 `) L4 Tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
( S' T. i1 B8 p9 i- K! K3 l- q! N3 voffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
* T( I- D/ U6 g0 G( n. B( s# {+ f5 g9 f& o3 Y3 x# e9 J
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ a6 B) U7 x9 F2 U5 bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( u- e% G7 c$ l- i& m/ O0 x# m
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 a6 J# _9 m) g5 R. z- |! n3 {2 done of its most difficult to learn.
' O5 ~1 K1 |: m5 o0 e( T6 D1 A3 r/ f) i8 q. \) ^: ]
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to& A/ B, K ]- j* R* R5 J b
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students0 \5 Y" Q: q& e% k0 z* U
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I., H; ]* E% M [& M: D
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of# R! i S2 I2 h# y1 C) E2 X! W
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 M. I+ Y1 m" pChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& q7 h: O. ~# k/ ?% f' Rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.) Y3 A1 [! j. O
5 O7 ~: H: ~1 M+ ] p. Z$ DAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
7 L, J5 {$ A% f5 g GChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& H0 Q& Y2 |0 D7 ~
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 B: m0 d4 B4 Q9 k9 Jdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
@ X9 x/ O: acurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 y4 x+ W( D# x ? x9 a6 s) yof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.% p2 Q( }; f9 L1 k0 I* Y, @
1 X; Y1 x9 d, ^) ?8 l
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 I; b( L$ b4 R5 ]2 W. \speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 L( J0 o2 B D. A' F6 p
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
: E+ U9 @ r. M# tcan." ' M# @$ R, H& c: c
! ]* w( b% Z @( [The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from/ x% P$ O3 {+ `/ M4 Q) b
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# M- A D# ]" _& l: Qyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
+ m4 P9 G# F' w9 dInstitute in Washington.! X' O1 @$ A8 ~! u1 A
# R3 l; O0 k5 n I7 Q
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
2 ?) t1 r" }: U4 ~, F2 Waren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.& b1 n* F# b5 D) F) i: C# b
McGinnis said.; Z f, ?+ X6 \1 g
1 ]4 X3 s" B1 C) `7 G6 I
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical3 b7 z+ `$ J: C
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
; P. F% o- y3 B1 o$ X$ P5 gready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
8 `! ~$ N- d0 O zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."- ^7 I* v. ^# U4 N' p" i
0 G9 O: h( _9 A' V2 _# kUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
/ \# j& |" u5 n3 \secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( m3 M" {' [; G7 U7 c% G
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of: v- \& H0 A" N( ?5 b( Z8 B `2 A
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
0 S8 y8 V6 c) T3 zon weekends.. G6 d7 S1 S3 Q; v* k/ T- z w8 I
7 X1 b8 c* a5 ^( ]
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# _# k- q4 z8 u) ?
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves; w7 [$ `" z) a, d
students who are not of Chinese descent.
( A& l, x9 ^# t; w9 d- D7 K7 L2 d$ E' h" i- t
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
. |5 S5 S! m9 mproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the7 @. ?7 L# |; u; N7 o9 o
competition. 6 m/ v4 D) {9 ^! d
* q8 b: s0 R! y0 W, z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 ?1 g6 D2 P) T1 _& l" vsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
* u! V7 P6 S Y9 w& ^
8 L' }& E# k# H/ Y1 V( h: q& Y7 D7 V7 O' lFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. F$ K' P' E* I* I. P) U Hall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse/ B" Y @4 x1 `) h8 v4 t- ~
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 M' c9 ~ I0 o$ Y- Mkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students$ j7 b; J }: {0 A
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to" B& y p3 w" X8 Q
the school system last year., W/ ^- v& Q% I
! K4 o+ C% i+ j" y6 wThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this) j' e Z8 X- [% x3 |4 p
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.5 U8 o' X4 I, ?, i- J9 {4 O" W5 ~
2 j3 D1 Q; G1 x: ?* w6 \* j
"They have a great international experience right in their own
( D5 |% h; ? g8 f' o( V" T' G4 hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago$ Z) \9 R+ v/ b, q0 \
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to% t- J7 U! U0 c: j4 m) ^$ ^. |- M
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
# a6 X& \8 t9 V* T) }4 l1 w5 ion an equal playing field.") i) F0 u2 z1 u# a
- ?1 t! w$ F+ B' f b8 DSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, b" t1 S; \* F' c# U4 D% E, Oclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
5 l P+ X5 H; UService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks' q2 A: c' @1 `; g! p
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
. m, f7 m9 u$ \average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
: Y) f% T4 A5 q: I T7 VChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
% a4 O8 z4 o3 R, Q- Ninstitute says.) g* p2 d% t/ \* P2 g3 l0 b0 H% }
9 w5 x' C' \3 v+ i A3 z rSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! G' X& X6 W. |5 H" c$ L# J3 cgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" h0 S) g( M: `% G; w7 | Tdeciding whether to take the class.
$ |7 t6 W( R% O, E) b6 Q' r0 u
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she g n. Q; X- }0 v
told her daughter.% F& e: v$ _/ r! X1 T! @" X: _& [! b
6 f6 h& r/ B0 |; ~! }) p5 r M
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
$ U% O( r+ z( _7 j3 `+ h9 cclass.
, y+ F* N# t4 a) L$ ^! [( a5 v% @% {6 Q
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( ^) q2 Z7 E- Xstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' D. d- B+ X9 N1 C3 [, ~' M% X1 _0 o3 C. Q( g
occasional frustration.6 i: C) s$ q7 o( r
! y j- e7 f; j; S3 `"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a9 o. U0 v8 ~. I7 D
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
, |1 _" d, ^. g1 a! E, E+ U2 S% g
) A( I9 p# _% j4 \. GRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 g1 C5 @1 W, v% ^, Htaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with6 ?, n. Q' J/ A, d- D& ^6 D4 {) O
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
- O+ R# O! n0 y9 C
% ?, P* @1 z, U+ {1 u% v"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
- {% B5 c$ x% j) csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ f/ c8 i5 h! H' i) }/ T
as many languages as I can."
, }9 c( x l# r! l4 m! I$ P* u
* k$ {9 |' w( w- ^Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* r- T# R2 I3 z4 S- ]skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
& z! l0 d6 w$ O( z3 Lmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like1 G/ ?; X8 n8 K' h! Q u3 d$ M
that," Ms. Freire said.* c1 K9 L% q* g! |6 u& d
+ L) Q1 l" [& d! G6 Q) ] I
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, i7 Y3 K8 ^' ]& Q) jhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
/ P0 m! |, G* J7 U. y0 ]0 N* n0 [7 Hschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
' | L! ]0 a3 M: q2 gtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
- P5 T% W6 M. V8 d0 b0 rroom.- u) h& c9 m% r. I0 o
& D& D/ w \' {. m
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( Y9 Y0 g! S, V# z+ v: |Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
9 E4 F' m; T: `1 f, icollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.5 @6 H& X# C6 K, N
# Y$ L; l- C6 q6 M# _: q
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% W- Y" B. {, l r) S! f3 K. N
because of that missing certification," he said.- U+ d6 N; R2 H. y- m
U5 |5 @. W& L- z* e' K q* m" QThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
: _/ O1 R3 W. T% t: Jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ s! ~, S0 j3 E; Q, I; |% dSociety in New York.) B7 A, _1 Z: J l k
2 K; ?, E+ @1 `4 E; {2 n& c
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
6 v- _& ]# L# |5 F# F1 }9 ?Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
1 p( q" [; U/ k- Q0 ^4 }5 Ithe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
! b- u. l* d! D0 E0 A! b2 m& J* K' s. C+ c$ X) ~& ~
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our# u1 o8 f. {2 s# y
own."- [: Y# E1 y2 T# s( g4 S# E6 l
/ T! n% B1 i3 J* UCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|