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October 15, 2005
) N4 T+ d6 Y7 F9 B% |Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity- F3 y" K; _" |9 @
! \, [) c% R' t# H9 E6 V: CBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING3 p* w9 S. Z# k, ^
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the6 n* G; Y& O1 d/ G; L0 j/ r
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
/ u( m+ @$ `& I) V% g* mSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 C1 K3 Z) }+ [) W) _dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% \1 A8 {6 s; E: X# s) ~) u
flag hang from the wall.
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! h& L. G) c& hOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
4 a5 Y3 T+ }5 k7 [3 g6 g9 T" }7 G, }another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders B* t8 P7 M9 C7 f- G$ h& b
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! y4 P& T, n9 f3 H5 b: H
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
0 \; \7 X' T/ k A' v' e; u& d R9 `. ` iare already choosing it over Spanish.* f9 `% ]% L/ w+ G; ~7 `& c
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# S' ^* d7 f; c7 a
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 U* o2 I$ A4 t+ s+ I$ H( noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in." S- v9 P1 e' e5 X2 @
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, }# {4 z2 m$ H/ N8 E: k
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 ~+ m$ o$ C% f( Zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* u. W& S& ]9 M* {# Cone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to7 S2 {5 H8 s& }2 Z) T& C
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ r) h! H$ |3 |. j2 z; m
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I., ], o" R, s1 G3 O/ I' u4 l9 D
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
& j( w3 h8 m7 \7 I+ K3 {Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ i6 b) D) A* a1 W& g' `' e& IChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to8 f8 P3 C) c% h: U; ?2 Q2 n
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.7 V; Q. J, D, ?
1 w- g$ S9 M9 p. lAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
5 ~" b0 f/ x2 b7 V5 @Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 J* |- W; Z4 q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to1 @. b+ N, h* B$ t
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
K k w8 T- Y3 W, k9 fcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 W: ]: S8 ^+ ^6 h+ J$ [# j& e& l
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.* F" K2 N J7 _
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
2 f! V9 G5 L( x7 e; Nspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& B5 s& F }) cConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
( A6 y' k( v" pcan." * K Z5 _4 b& o) l1 X, l4 G
& c6 Q; ?0 ~) l" ZThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
+ [1 w" g- r6 K+ q$ felementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" W; d7 c& z V% K! ]( Z
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 \6 V0 S3 l4 g3 [! X
Institute in Washington.
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7 Q& U3 l$ S; b/ V$ W"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
]6 K2 ^$ {- | paren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! f3 x# Z2 o2 s; {& N/ T7 p- C
McGinnis said.& B; ]0 X' `- q1 O# o0 t, }
9 w; B& l; E6 o+ ^$ J1 N' m" m: K"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical4 U" w' ^, ^0 {
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 K7 j7 A, O9 ^! Q) [
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
! J/ O3 H& [( P- X4 V6 ?3 fchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 k1 {) d$ T _6 X3 A
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( ^5 ]* R& d8 z" i8 rsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
3 T6 x3 c) ~6 F1 ^1 C7 \cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of; B2 ]) m& D$ `# U
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 ?" O7 R7 O" {) R
on weekends.$ a2 ?$ H4 ?6 W' V
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
) A* R- ]* M: \& Cschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
; R: X4 w f! g, z" cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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; H# R& `2 H) I2 qMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
+ c$ [$ T4 R! z2 q2 kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the+ S) Y; B( l0 [2 }
competition. / [. @/ h/ J$ J# M9 V/ s% M9 W
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley) W! f8 J9 ?: _
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# O9 d* H" G0 ]0 ball-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 z) I) J( M7 P: R8 L) M6 H2 k
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. k. Y) _! |, Z, ^& \! @
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- t0 I; J" n& B" X# u9 awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
7 N8 h Q' h- Q* B: u3 hthe school system last year.. l+ g' z' _) F. a+ \* {
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this* B/ z0 [% f; {) V
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.8 X' o; F. k5 |, x, u) D
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
/ \! y' N& O6 B+ b. xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
7 f" w1 p5 c2 |Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% K6 _% P6 F0 q& o. g5 Uhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
+ x$ {/ g) i" r) Z' H; Mon an equal playing field."3 P) ~ J8 W/ q: G- ^0 z: F
( y7 r# e7 H& \/ D" v0 J( rSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 U# E" K ^* p9 @! G6 c" N( Eclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
6 }- |4 G1 N( m: p, P3 _Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks7 K6 P S+ r8 ^6 p- @8 k$ G
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An4 l, r$ d( R) W9 F
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 G/ {; G, m% {6 \- oChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the" @' K- s! p; {* }4 w
institute says." D- u0 S8 }' A
8 Y( {+ ?" ^: B$ }Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth3 O( U/ K+ q& J* [
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
: E4 w7 G( [# W8 `deciding whether to take the class.
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% t2 i3 Y" w( I4 e* H; l; n"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she, l0 q$ S6 o6 }: [* O
told her daughter.6 {2 O9 W, @2 f" I% A: \$ g
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite/ q. @; i& t' e' w6 [
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: Y( h" \' l, k% t/ K
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 Z% a1 {, U1 t. f" {. j$ m1 \8 B) n! Hoccasional frustration.
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& z& V7 o. m7 r/ A! S"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* ]( n0 W3 a' e. P$ {0 a# u( S2 Q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.+ g- A- }( }( s7 Q: j$ F: x" l2 L3 Z
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he& I5 e. G/ d- f6 }) `9 ~
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 Q0 p7 C: D* v, p# ], `5 c/ e
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul7 V3 I( }' ]& b
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ Z( X' M- v3 }$ ^as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
0 e/ L, y$ I- X& C4 K5 I: `skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job' ?4 _. b9 O8 n: Q. y4 a8 F$ e0 j
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like- i9 \& j) r. I a _9 ?1 F+ c! ]& g
that," Ms. Freire said.' F; i: t( m3 f N5 Y. F' t
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 q, C6 A1 @. A3 ?2 [0 l+ b
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ `1 W% L% j" J5 b9 K/ }- u
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
# y% N/ p% b6 m. Ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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; L9 n8 w7 v- t7 |$ h& k% bChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
O* u7 G4 u6 A- J0 I8 S- gChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American$ ?/ M6 z* l. Z/ f# d3 R
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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7 [; m7 @9 g/ ], @"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
6 S3 v4 _' y: y6 d5 w0 \# mbecause of that missing certification," he said.: [& }) B) g( q3 d* C" |6 i0 y* L5 x+ b
' }! r o8 o$ Z( _2 SThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States," o3 Z3 J) S8 I& q' `; ?( l4 ~
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- N A9 i) _& G- W2 a# Q6 FSociety in New York.7 D/ B) d/ G$ H- w" ~
! H9 ^+ L7 r [* U _) YSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& v$ Z) ~: \3 G5 J5 W& R. @6 y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
! C3 Q) O$ J9 ?the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our# I6 |3 U& }# M+ u- i
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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