 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
5 i6 q. z- K( i* U1 O0 sClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity- R$ ~6 z0 H- R. r
" z0 A f6 L% |: \5 P g) }By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
9 i) X4 K8 g4 R3 U. {5 t
4 k# C/ G4 A6 q% @. ICHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 g7 v6 q: I( B: M! zUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) E+ W' F% \% P9 r# r) lSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas+ X8 m( v6 i0 X# I9 ?# N% \6 `
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
7 V8 z/ |! [2 V: \) kflag hang from the wall.. ]3 v$ _% S$ z$ M7 d
! p6 A5 r! u0 w, k" e3 DOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one u4 o- _( N' f
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
/ w! t% E2 x0 o: }practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
5 e4 U: K0 {5 g2 `0 T; l T% mboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
0 @9 s9 I9 v9 K$ oare already choosing it over Spanish.: a2 n) c, y4 P
, r$ B' }. [: V
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal* p5 |2 Y0 g* G) `5 f1 F4 c
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city# c; S: Q2 |4 j
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
3 o! c+ \1 _; v& ^, [" L4 o" n4 j- [, }: a' S5 r4 o
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: Z. W: l- a3 i3 S' S
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- H: p3 n( g P4 |4 W) Lto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
8 Z! ]. f, ^ p( q1 R( e7 xone of its most difficult to learn.
4 I: R, X1 P& A1 E/ M* T
4 O9 Q P) k" X7 k; ?& U8 TLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* s' P7 U& e" R* b$ F" P8 E% epublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* ~3 } X. v n$ L1 _9 ]studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.' Q |7 ]6 d* X3 F1 Z* K. H
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
" l n' j. h U/ R$ m# NTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 Z3 r% F+ a" [7 |2 XChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
- `$ v- h0 B( \) F" kimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* H" H: ]. }5 B/ v5 ~/ b
* e) A, Y/ j, d/ H/ T, o3 A2 |# JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
7 ?/ d: {9 Q$ I1 D4 }9 MChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
# n) ^0 N, [- z1 g0 b8 E" Ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! O& U& s4 Q% M' h& q
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
: J& ~, C @4 ^/ b7 ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
" I- G6 N" G" @ C7 n- V0 oof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
5 O5 E- ]7 T# A1 K D4 @, \- `$ D, F- ?+ `
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# R2 L9 u, `+ H! y1 f: V
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
0 B9 u: w$ Y; w9 O7 r' wConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 ?' u# ]+ Z/ D, v# Z( p4 V; J
can."
( \& e, b1 y8 h2 [2 {, B
$ g8 A* @6 K, Z; W5 YThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% r T: ?2 o: f* a
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; J3 m4 D8 H! q/ g( q8 [1 J
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
( `: R3 k! w! _8 LInstitute in Washington.
0 B0 j- e4 d7 F) b& V2 F
) P: |3 d; q) U" H0 Q0 Q' ~"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* d3 Y/ d+ \$ g* ]0 N" i' h
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! q) O- v% a) y1 U
McGinnis said.
& z- \4 C- V$ ]# W5 N2 ?9 J$ ]! q' v% S' N
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical K+ Q+ `4 K% j6 n3 B8 B
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be3 [7 a! E$ S3 i7 V
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
! s0 p% C3 A# z" S7 \1 Hchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
) c# U" W( ]- ]$ ]; X% v, H- N! k+ P* m1 f; d
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
" V. C' ]9 x' Z2 `& w6 Nsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
! u' K* T7 z- q0 W4 h, Ecities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 |" G6 w' c/ @& W2 z( i! ]8 EChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
# W/ Q' A/ l! P- L9 r9 Ton weekends.- U6 r N2 u$ Z" e# r. D: W
' p: _+ h/ Q4 |! xThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public' o2 }5 R2 H$ ^
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves' I& e2 x. z2 a( j
students who are not of Chinese descent.
+ H5 R' {# d2 L' d3 ~ w
. [$ X7 w) L2 @' i: G9 iMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said6 @7 X! Q( `6 p d% Y1 F
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 I" [/ [5 @- ~ ?1 d+ A6 Ncompetition.
! U5 N9 \# B) c& V8 i" n
& R% c. W9 |, f& }"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 O- _( {1 E( M6 B( fsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
# E$ x5 x4 i# j" S0 s: J# s8 f/ t0 {7 U9 f) c7 w
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
1 X x* r$ [, [( {all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
7 U$ x! c" ?! ^. G2 }2 s/ N$ C( dschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& n3 P# x+ Q6 S: J" Z8 _' S7 g+ Hkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
8 K! S( _7 w7 U- y' W3 ^who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to, m, e' b! J% k: Y
the school system last year.
# O4 q$ x7 ~2 k" t8 {5 I* e$ A
7 _& T# C" N4 o+ |The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% t; B, g( G6 C1 iyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.% C2 M) _' Q' ` F, o
4 R H& s$ p4 B+ z/ B8 C- i4 q' x
"They have a great international experience right in their own
8 z0 ?1 N$ a9 h1 | b) F m; hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
! L8 A# E" R; o# q3 y6 w5 BChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
" A( r* J+ `! M% ~# Ehelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet( P* U0 e$ A* c; D. k, q( s0 x
on an equal playing field."
& x+ T* E E4 I: h$ Q2 a) m/ B. N' F1 c( O2 o: F
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese& \! P' |0 q. E( v- a
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign! g; p- D; y! |* J4 U
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks" ^( M3 F4 k9 {: k3 r9 C& @( S
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An( x/ z0 S8 Q. l' x1 x
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
. v/ S: w% ~5 H4 ~6 w' |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
6 U5 h' b/ F" Q5 a* D0 g, kinstitute says.
! V- B+ l4 _3 g7 e' J% A5 P# `6 `
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; v1 n7 f7 X/ U# u5 I3 V0 v8 o5 l5 o$ r5 Egrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before0 Z( E4 O8 }3 X8 c! J" z
deciding whether to take the class.
! Y4 k# M, \2 e7 K; P9 L+ j* m
: d: ?7 Q2 D& y) F* J"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she2 l0 l- F9 |( H6 B: }
told her daughter.
6 I+ U# X$ m* v% m3 R; J. {5 ^7 `+ R% G0 s& i# x
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
0 r2 j* k. m* k/ O7 @9 x9 Aclass.: p/ S( i1 f d0 d% N) L
?0 I9 E M4 F! U4 Z0 mAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
3 ^2 H$ ?8 v/ A2 O# Q. G$ Gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
% _# z* D9 }+ ^occasional frustration.) U! z5 Z6 x; w
8 U) m7 f5 |) E/ B0 g# K$ l"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 Y; k# @1 A% b' k5 E& G% @6 n
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.' I! m) ?: F- _( s; k& l
9 }, r; p. c6 t4 a
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ {- I$ i# N9 ~- b0 Y3 b
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 y& i9 a; k. v6 P
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.8 }: c2 C) x# @
# c; _- D# e4 H0 ]. T"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ k1 j5 h8 ~7 [' J, s; A+ G. l2 B
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 u8 A1 s3 P: d' o1 e+ V
as many languages as I can."' |) v7 O: Z! _, |& P* F
/ ?$ }4 E! u( M& l2 O3 J
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
1 Y2 @, `, @1 F/ F; sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job) u# L/ i' T$ A: I- J0 ]
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
. b& j) }) Q+ B0 a9 A9 ~, }/ P, s, bthat," Ms. Freire said.
1 T! O& V! ]- [
2 D* T8 y# B5 M- o2 ?5 U: IMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
# |6 K [' ?& e7 n9 O+ n3 E# khere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
" N! u6 E0 I) Y: j' C' Vschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) ], { Z$ z9 dtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make+ U3 w* X9 c3 E& w+ o3 m# G
room.! l* i! }& m2 o, S0 ]' C
2 f4 x; T8 Y7 P' n. I) w
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
5 s5 @4 v J/ A9 d2 M# S& P( pChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. D) ~* `4 z$ s( ^college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
+ k$ M: O" }+ n/ M/ ~3 I. i. \, U, E" F4 U: z
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
) z. T6 U+ S# J A! y) Ibecause of that missing certification," he said.
0 m9 W9 U7 z3 N! @: P, C& c/ ], B4 o$ A
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,5 S8 ?: v- \# I
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 z1 Q. x, d. ~- R, d0 J. {Society in New York.) [6 T6 t0 ~+ f- n2 E; C
; U$ ]1 ^; s; d \) c: _9 _
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& W0 \5 y: y6 [3 O" |& G, jChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from5 O" e* W. N& H0 Z S2 ~( s
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.- h; o5 y9 L# t, k' n# d) q
1 E" Y9 c" Y3 s' C" F. \2 w C2 ~, W
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
8 X9 w+ ~9 q# r5 R1 E# w- ?/ i1 aown."
" a# z* }6 k% s p0 n# [$ A/ M. C1 i/ _: u
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|