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October 15, 2005
+ w4 T# a/ M. {Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the! S8 {0 h2 e, `6 J* Z5 E
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary% a6 r8 z$ ?: {% g. u" ~3 U
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
# K6 H8 L. b' m/ O! m+ Hdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese( I- Z7 E3 c& e6 U, j0 B
flag hang from the wall.
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; b4 D7 L6 i5 wOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
- }4 E) K% o v+ H; Xanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
3 w$ x( I ?$ o" i( w Lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* {0 ?9 k$ g& u% x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
' t0 o; R; Q6 _5 ]2 q, fare already choosing it over Spanish.. G4 f# i0 n7 |0 e. ]
6 K9 S0 P, x7 Y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 ]' B) S) O& Aat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city* Q1 T0 t9 L5 }. ^- D0 }
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,$ i' L2 a' Q, u9 @/ A+ C# v6 E
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings5 ]( p. ^5 k& q" B, Q) g
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention- M. F% W0 D* J
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to( D' a$ X4 }, X" h2 G0 y1 |
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! l7 F4 D- T6 b
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.& p, h, z# X: l2 ?9 \: [; u$ }- B
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; [/ g" V* n+ h/ w, zTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
( p/ Z9 M. I o' A3 l: P1 n9 O3 UChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
' g$ W! ?) g$ Y! H9 F7 [) Jimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 H' f1 N3 E: ?1 u: G
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
9 ]' ^/ i @/ j( j4 ~6 K, FChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
4 T; H* f* W+ C" s3 istarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 R( f' C9 n; T ldevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! i9 a" m2 f! A8 `6 O# d
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
, q) F* l$ P! }* e' Hof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.6 e8 Y b( }1 |( W T6 g3 \
/ Y! d$ ^1 D+ t. @% Q"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 }6 I2 G) G7 ~3 j) L2 E
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
7 }! `7 _2 ^* {! |- T* t+ O1 ^Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 k0 g; p# K4 xcan."
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6 U8 J1 M- f* u/ xThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
9 w) t# e/ l1 b7 lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ q- w3 s+ ?8 [& iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
' B* W1 b! }. N8 |Institute in Washington.2 ]/ G# ^) m$ f3 ]
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages4 ^$ C4 O) F/ h( U) Q1 a2 }# L
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr., D8 W; C8 F) _
McGinnis said.2 u I: \' q$ Q8 A; L- ]
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
( r' Y7 S# s% \: k5 `longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be/ F5 ^/ T7 t5 t7 A! I$ y; \' T
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a9 z3 q& b, {0 K0 u, i8 O" X: m
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". x+ U/ X. D/ i& ^) D
" a" o# |: W: n, |, P3 BUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% R, J4 T; Q9 {: z2 F$ u% s% p) T
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: k# D, Z# @& T+ ^. Icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 i, {; t4 a, P# J, bChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or6 A$ q2 J/ w9 u' _1 \
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public/ y" |" ~4 c5 Q% y) Y* S& z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves# L4 Z/ K8 L ?+ R
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 s- Q8 _2 `5 }. a
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
" {+ z" D' F' m3 Y6 a+ {$ Icompetition. - ^) }' F6 c& S) ^9 {9 J7 M
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
/ M& A; Y F5 I1 i. m2 y3 q$ Tsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. c6 f) ~1 v! V" o! X5 `
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 E4 r& E. a# m- F4 Z6 m
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from$ C% D4 k& S b C k1 D% u
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students% w% J3 S0 S x+ S% x; n6 i# _
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to. v8 t8 h( ]3 F2 U7 `
the school system last year.) Z, q7 t0 X Z7 ^
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this& X, K# u! U1 D7 F+ W* ]5 d# a
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.0 m+ i: t2 U+ q! [ n2 E7 n
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 O9 @- i" H" L1 ]9 Uclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 Q: G+ T% w# T
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* D5 L, L* Y; phelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
. i/ y2 S8 L) _on an equal playing field.". W0 V& U5 v5 Z. l$ d, r w
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese* K; Z7 w8 \0 q1 }
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
. v6 F( u% _6 p+ BService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
6 O1 F- H/ q0 A U/ i8 MChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
, G* e7 v9 h7 ~* n$ t7 j0 r0 Vaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in% L( e* p4 M% g" R( Q9 t
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
" U. |2 A. p, iinstitute says.+ ]& E& [' `/ r3 o
0 m8 ^, Q' P9 l& t1 d7 S( U) H( hSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth5 r) q( T0 w% }' c; U3 M; M" Z `
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before9 C# r- H+ n6 {: P9 p, r, [
deciding whether to take the class.
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/ b! s/ i o2 f* h' p$ `"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! ^4 a- b* h# p9 Z0 q1 Atold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 N+ q# e" u, [: u" y& j6 q3 Q
class.
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* n' q4 N6 z; _$ IAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are c! [1 r6 W1 d3 \0 x& f
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
, ^/ D c) U6 L- p, _occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: R7 [. n3 C8 \/ w% s
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% l" b4 C2 s o
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he: x' C/ t$ |8 ?
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with! C$ k* O2 t/ D' X
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul( G; a# r2 N. v% S" o
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 m1 M* \ f0 ^! }# W- E; C2 Aas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the, C; G* ~8 N% ?& v. q& m
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* _6 I2 W6 e( R1 `6 fmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 z3 D) {+ j4 t4 o7 n6 l
that," Ms. Freire said.
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* _: H0 `5 I1 iMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
1 f, Z! x& q& ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) {8 A. J. g' f5 k+ r. W
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking! g0 d, v# g& W k
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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0 x/ U2 S$ G9 o7 Z! yChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! L+ C" _7 X( Y/ q3 M Y: f& N
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" j L k' [; i- M4 L( }college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 s% A M& w& O+ P1 y( L. b0 c
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ I8 k9 D1 H5 V D) X4 q9 e+ a1 v
because of that missing certification," he said.- o1 L! Z# V/ u2 R( n+ Y% d
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
E9 x# K: S& A" ^said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ F5 k2 W2 ^* `5 p- a/ ^# }) B) }
Society in New York.- o* q; U+ i- }3 j+ S- }
5 c* m" G1 `' \5 `" PSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the) Z( c6 M3 w4 B( P: Q
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- U( _, k' ?7 O2 Ithe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.1 h4 m$ k$ Q0 m4 Q* L
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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! d. X V2 z0 K7 K7 v2 FCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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