 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
* X3 k$ e/ \* A3 lClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
, Y+ I8 N5 j. y& p4 B
) F, L) ~5 v& K/ ~; j9 h* CBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING* w4 g+ t: S1 W/ A1 T
2 _- j3 ~, t% R6 c# _) T
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, l. L" N2 \2 E( m. Y _2 {8 @0 c, W
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 J$ ~' Q9 {2 _' n' m8 b
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
$ m7 X) v: P1 `5 u- N6 `& {* M5 I- M `dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese/ n7 v# y" n! w5 V2 T
flag hang from the wall.. y( H b1 p! K$ f
& I2 I. X! u/ n9 Y- DOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* f! _$ U- m* h i% Xanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' a# I4 _, E4 O7 f8 L# J* v" u. V
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* }" h' u2 Z( e! q! H1 ?9 x5 x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
" q; c; C4 t' G. iare already choosing it over Spanish.
6 g$ Y$ p* S: D: ]: O1 w" s# B
. [ f% @7 i3 Y$ e0 y h9 Z+ x"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 g% p" _$ y0 ]# s7 uat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city" _4 c3 ~- x- v; J8 Y/ u
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
, A7 Q1 g9 z5 F' u6 t3 |/ @0 c, _5 D+ E
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 t2 e* [, o5 E5 y$ n8 vschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& A# r8 h* Q& p% X
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. e. O) {1 H0 J! j% @4 c' m
one of its most difficult to learn.& H7 L+ C# D9 v6 K) k# m! W' B
+ C& I( I* u5 o- E. r" m
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
+ N5 H6 | l! o; M8 _3 o% dpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
6 {: u2 ^0 W# Dstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 x& A1 j: i/ P3 j
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
2 G# C+ C: h5 ~+ m: aTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
& K8 j6 ~2 K$ p UChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 h) w, m$ p+ y; d, d* k* S
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.& `7 T% w5 g% d+ A, T- b
" B$ c; R2 V* Q+ C8 {! x+ ~
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; p2 \6 X- V! o9 K" h! {
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country' T3 e" e. b1 U
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to+ }$ ]/ l8 \; j" w& F7 z
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( ^6 x6 \4 v; o u* g% b% u! h0 L. U- b
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director: @! x. B& b8 R8 K/ x) q
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
/ ^/ V" G; K K$ R* t& K' d4 ^( O/ Q: H! e% a& y& U1 Y
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
u. {; r, v6 L7 pspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education7 m4 S8 T/ R) p
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; Q5 w' \1 W8 N; n9 o
can."
$ b& E1 S I" Q9 w6 W/ g1 i+ E5 W8 {7 m
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from' s6 ?) H4 @& L
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
* P) m( P( s: a& D5 H1 w% Oyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language p. ]' ]% K U5 p1 R
Institute in Washington.' G6 J* I! Y2 y) ~
/ Z- L+ ^9 i# I4 t- _0 ?; b"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; v9 s. }' t' r6 s1 Waren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 b. E" ?2 q* r7 L+ U" o
McGinnis said.7 ?0 i' o( H2 K! X, t
' @' Z2 C: N& o- e6 [& ]4 G4 c
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical% r* q, I, F) u& q9 l
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
; X- Z- @. ?' cready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' Y9 C- O" f3 u+ d) Y6 M- i
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
* p! Z) q' g4 f6 K4 A1 F8 X7 d( [5 g/ x( {
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and4 Y* A+ A3 j1 K1 c# r1 | B! b6 m" z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in9 z6 Z, {2 C6 ~+ R" m" _
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
, s# o) g `$ U* x! t" Y2 p1 u2 y6 q6 uChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! a; S# G, A5 `3 T0 d
on weekends.
8 I9 @+ w1 S& B9 R' l6 O. Z" w+ e f0 w% L2 n% }; ~
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
$ N1 M4 X2 E3 M6 d0 d0 a( uschools during the regular school day and primarily serves5 T$ W& O W% Y" T) a
students who are not of Chinese descent.
/ M) w" {/ U) c- g" b* Z' W. q" j3 @! h2 K( U: R; N
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! K- [& C' I0 mproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
! b# r: Z- o1 @% X) W' Qcompetition.
9 U4 S8 i3 F$ u0 ?! N: k" R# ?% M# K# ~ v$ U: J# K
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" W! X/ K& v$ Y3 F7 d
said. "There will be Chinese and English."5 f# i8 U, K4 t O2 t( ]7 t
4 }, S" O- d6 `" a' HFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 d/ ?1 T0 y0 O, kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
% M' _- f- E @6 K, aschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. V% m6 s$ X7 I9 @
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 B: M$ E Y. Y1 l A7 Swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to; E" J4 H; [% a; Y% `# `7 Q
the school system last year.
/ v6 h/ I3 m X2 @) a5 n" y: R/ E5 c& ?6 q" u2 B! v. T* U3 }
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this P% q. x' o+ G4 z5 l+ E( j* s/ p' _
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
$ o* Y4 R; v6 U! K% b& _2 K4 r
2 R4 P& n6 U* r4 |' Q& r! O, ^"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 s. ~$ G' t7 o0 q$ X. ^classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 S# w2 r2 a5 X# C- W
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
9 w0 ^* [( D! j& Dhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet# l9 ^$ _) l* k
on an equal playing field."
9 |+ h u6 y t# w
" J6 N) c3 L9 y4 Z m8 ]Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 `! C/ T1 |5 X5 H" @+ yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign1 s$ W( H' Q$ {$ J3 E3 g% @
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
+ n2 w0 C- t, T: I! iChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& n/ V I+ `* \! z2 `$ J4 `average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; Q, l, X* g* l4 M- q4 W+ F
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
" M! a. t. E* b; [- tinstitute says.
' D* E0 `+ K p! l
7 H3 i1 p4 Q9 Y7 _* E, q0 B' FSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth6 S. a: h! n# I3 ?. r' p; V; E! ~& p
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
* _3 `+ v: e8 M4 N# m; xdeciding whether to take the class.! }1 G8 J4 o' Y2 e9 H5 ?, Z
* J) ?/ t- K* W$ t, R) j"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( k( d! R; p6 R/ v- I
told her daughter.1 }. T& S0 f, Z
+ |5 }9 q& S2 h5 @
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 P/ D# `' W+ v7 J0 G- ]
class./ c3 K* f1 [( {) }. Z1 ]2 b. Q
! W5 f$ m' L2 z4 y: L7 v5 k( Q1 A: ]
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) w( c& d4 h5 Y$ {0 Pstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
% I+ d1 \1 p7 X; ?occasional frustration.0 i; C/ g* H# l
9 q& W8 T7 h$ }% B4 ]5 f `$ Y
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. D: W1 \3 b: U
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
" _5 d; G) @3 S. c" l& c, v' V
; L3 Y: k7 Y; `& P- T/ s0 FRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 `5 j. D! k; N0 C
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 X3 S8 l0 O) g( [+ M' w
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- _) [$ S, g: ^+ i1 }, T+ }
+ Y1 u$ ]; h- B3 Z; V: s) K
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
( n/ H' v, a; E+ Zsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ T0 D1 d. t8 I9 Gas many languages as I can."0 I! \- ~. w4 Q! J$ |
( b% O( \% q$ C
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
' n% X, n( r$ Z- D( uskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job' c2 _1 i4 x$ e; t: f, [' [3 [0 g
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like$ G% \! t3 U9 R! b. D) m% I3 e
that," Ms. Freire said./ J' z) q" y+ N# \
2 k2 D# V' E) z/ V3 o% d
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
7 @* j5 K3 c' l) e; s' |# Shere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each( ]: g, K+ t2 _+ b( e$ A1 f
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
6 Y( _6 `: h7 }+ Qtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make5 a' _0 X0 _7 _9 p6 N1 F; M
room.
5 O) Q+ B1 m0 [4 o- W& J1 P
0 W$ ?/ s* z: p0 d. gChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! O2 ^9 e* u7 c1 b% Z: y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& _; F- E- J! G6 \0 B
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
- c, R2 |" \- G, l9 t( q$ D: D9 s* G r
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% b$ A+ Y% ?! B9 h
because of that missing certification," he said.
# q; L- K# s* b; L
8 K K) ?; N. r# K4 D, X3 Y: TThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* F! ?3 t3 z/ x- c" V( u7 I3 q) b8 ~
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# Y1 P& V' I; d% n, CSociety in New York.' X. K( d3 N( b8 _' T0 Q6 E% [- X
' L! u3 C! Y6 M( L+ d" a
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 M3 `+ M4 p. v' eChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 B6 t$ B4 {, J- I- a& u' T# R# u
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
% {9 E. x) Q$ A8 A9 Y7 _
( |. N2 T6 j. d1 R( `"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
; u# p( b! g! C, P! jown."
( b a4 I; j1 X4 u& _$ h$ T# U, A
. D8 Q4 R& \# m$ f' ^7 ^6 v ^Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|