 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
/ l2 Z; y7 t& }; |4 JClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 @+ l. B. k% r z0 Z/ E/ S' f
. u& [8 h+ o( q' w# M8 nBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
0 v1 K/ a1 k$ o1 a7 |% f+ p) [* g8 i* f, x" T! |
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
: S; Z J+ `" W U+ ^! a( N" o$ vUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
- C; R' W. w/ K6 j7 e4 DSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; G g' i9 }9 R3 y
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 v- V2 X0 l3 O
flag hang from the wall.! \+ ]; Y7 w. P& c8 Q
5 {0 u; x, i5 i# U/ L4 s3 FOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
; O% y7 @! r; G2 U! {4 B/ xanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ [2 k* z8 U. Z) C9 ~& A
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
# g' y5 _: I- kboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. P. C% O3 H1 R6 q* Y1 I4 Z" sare already choosing it over Spanish.. B! t; P4 k4 u$ |$ [- z! G
* {# W8 [' D" F7 A! W
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal, X6 C; S& _9 h; M- E" o) m: q
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& [$ G; ^! f# U% x# J2 woffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
! {9 o, ~& O" N$ o& ]9 B: B0 M! j/ m% j/ K! @5 v2 @
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
% h7 C9 J: Z4 Oschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, ~' H( S- |$ v& e
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 J, X' g( y+ Q3 ?5 g1 Ione of its most difficult to learn.6 C- i( c* U# N' Y
3 e9 {- v7 i/ jLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% z f- Q. n5 j$ t- ?
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students N/ m% b0 q W+ r8 V% U
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.2 b" w* X8 P P$ q5 a& z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
' ?! `* Z- N- V- W! T6 |/ ?' h& _Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! U% @8 @! K. s J
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to5 t4 X9 V: Y% E* C9 ~
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
; z" Y5 B5 z$ o( S7 v/ f$ e3 t2 B& W0 i! `; Z. E! M! U
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 E" j6 T7 N( ?/ C! a+ @
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" W2 [" h! Q. X8 V# N$ s: L0 O
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
( _: r7 y! U0 ?2 R# A4 ?develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" B+ @! M2 U/ s' w3 lcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director F! R* w! R8 A
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
: ?7 |. z/ t! M8 s* j, a4 a: L G" s$ `) f* C; y
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of! p; `) Q) u O8 W
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
+ C0 }" I) h) e/ DConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we0 ?& r" `' i6 l
can."
" Z$ j6 y/ j( [% W+ I- o
- w+ z0 |4 g1 [3 t. OThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% i& b: g1 c" z& `3 m- ~elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' w. l, X1 k* O- b) Q/ tyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 ?/ q, g* {/ F4 HInstitute in Washington.
: s5 t/ K) J; u6 A0 Z# K
. j5 D, {) h, O"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
9 w3 o) ~3 \3 O, Caren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. G* _+ P/ [$ C2 s: J( G9 kMcGinnis said.' W2 Y5 \& E* G4 m) c
4 a( V& \ }/ f" `3 N
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ J' g* d) v8 K2 V3 b* A! E/ D( [longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be6 h# ~ b V7 l! y9 C
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: @7 N/ B3 F; K% P& g' Q- ]+ Ochallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
5 Y9 Z) I* D2 z$ V
! c/ w% G2 w! W* {/ y9 N% [( @" bUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
! d" Y5 Y: H& D0 t- D# Q2 B6 zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
$ z6 E( R% ?; F, U( a4 s4 ]cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! u6 v" w% |2 u) L( K: E& c0 h6 CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 _( ~/ b/ o/ Z7 E& q% ^
on weekends.
. y: ?5 [3 z# p: D& s8 H3 Y8 @; z/ L; r# k; T, ~3 ^
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public; _# T& G5 p" G3 k$ ?6 o9 `/ d
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves* @; G. K: e& r: {6 F, o1 s
students who are not of Chinese descent.
" s* V2 v+ ^4 y$ _
. D, d6 b2 y% L" U1 V1 Z) S O4 C- d, rMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said) T/ b% h0 x. A& M- s
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the& F7 t# N2 W; Z. R- _
competition. 8 I9 L; d) |1 _$ {9 e
. ]! y, V1 D: m* |: ~2 L"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" p) {( x0 q8 `; O6 a. p r
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
$ q1 |) q/ {1 r
2 s4 Q* \# F8 \8 LFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ e& u: Y: E* M, Q# H8 s5 j2 @1 A" p" w
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse& r9 Y: C6 B6 r' `
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from8 w0 ~1 N" C, Q; ~1 K
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students" K4 q4 h7 I' o% O
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& V+ p, Q i# b' cthe school system last year.
6 L0 J+ \1 z7 y$ U+ E8 h+ Y" ~
8 f" J# e1 b7 M- RThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
" p, b( }0 g9 b( I1 Yyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
9 l! a7 @' Z; r. C5 w5 v/ P: x
8 S* u. P9 J$ }2 I9 [. E$ {/ f"They have a great international experience right in their own* ^! C; f$ Q# ^# b# t) k+ l" C
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 i2 B% I* S' TChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) i; [7 X5 \& L- {6 H! ?" w: Z
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 {% z) _1 {3 \2 G
on an equal playing field."
" U9 b1 L2 N# c8 V2 o. A" }7 a" m9 Z* M$ T. s; T
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese) t v2 q/ L$ b- b" x+ E% i6 ]" s! i& O) J) l
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign6 z! ?: `; I! n! O8 @7 g
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 }6 i" b: G9 U
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ H% ?! V0 V7 j: {. t, B* [% l, l2 _1 Y
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in a" J( G) u. C, P5 V3 N
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the) {9 ^, q: v3 c' E. P
institute says./ h0 R, c* v+ H8 z% J' Q# F9 _
' U. p, k* [# v' ?2 YSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
& z: |! D V4 x( c% h) Igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" }- B! Z0 w* R5 [deciding whether to take the class.
7 O D+ M8 b2 @; H6 ], O2 o
) E8 i& Q3 G" [% m"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
; t" Q" d% {4 W; _% |told her daughter.
g. g E, X; e% C
, B: v) l9 D% p1 y8 WSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 H* ?5 ]' V/ j) I4 c! J2 w- k
class./ @6 ]5 q$ h! y7 z5 T/ ^3 L0 t
1 O: a; m- J `: H0 |
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are6 F# e4 M6 t' z- _
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
6 M0 r# y# v% x" Ioccasional frustration.' g2 K# [+ y5 K# Q
. f6 h- i( d4 {1 Z n3 @
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a/ G" T8 T8 E3 p) P6 x' C
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
5 p7 D4 N1 q" s$ H. k, K4 d1 J
! ~* K/ K- X( d4 g* d1 m& P" L4 a- e6 WRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
/ u# U$ _, x. Q; ?taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 }' J/ d) I4 a
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
3 w3 T. h0 D: y: D
3 w& U' _- Z) J. J, ?"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# T9 f8 q8 s: Zsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn! v, ]) d7 {# I9 l. V6 T7 \1 O
as many languages as I can."; ?. T) s9 G' ^ F7 h* ^2 t
+ f# n2 `; D2 y3 _. EAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ H# _) h! L' bskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
) f5 M" s5 V* j1 O8 Mmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like# c8 { A @& B1 J
that," Ms. Freire said.
0 C, `. I% R0 W/ n T7 E d( Q$ }+ D5 e4 s- j4 x8 l# j3 ~, w! ~
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
# F" q$ @) `. R( B+ y6 E& Bhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 I/ y; B+ x3 G
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 U; u7 A; X( L8 N* w% F
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make! L* }, T2 Z7 a0 Z v$ l W6 H
room.
^0 V9 Q4 M& A
7 h/ D* Y7 e4 R7 @Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 i0 L3 M( X' p0 K3 R0 F4 }4 @& A
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
x2 D9 I8 t: w( u% b+ O8 L1 Ecollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
& Q4 C' c. v, M7 B+ k* s, x8 g4 o/ S5 _# o
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
- V" Y! A7 N- t. u4 n& p# gbecause of that missing certification," he said.
D! ^: P" ^& U) f( z
5 x% b# W V' h. x4 m8 ?# D9 N' Q' [The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
( Q3 m$ E) ~ }7 U! G& x! s' Vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
( N1 Z! K9 Q4 _! Q" FSociety in New York./ x# d+ `4 J2 M
9 c" z# h* u; g: H2 f7 zSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the0 I0 _; X( Y+ X& Y; N. x0 ?, ~
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
; Z6 N0 F- U9 r" h2 W) K3 f. Uthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
0 q! [+ c5 q) P8 l H! e/ Z; S! n
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
" m% V( C( Q: W* J0 aown."! S8 ~( A) r$ g: P( g: X! a
& N4 g; P! G$ ?5 |
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|