 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
; ~1 Y( c9 t' {' ?Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity* Z R7 M+ O6 B
4 A2 q3 H: s4 L# o/ r6 q ` i
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 M2 c( u% p* `" A1 |
, M& M+ R6 f& n+ E* {4 hCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
! ^& ~, y. N( v# ?United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
0 l; g6 o% Y) a+ |* sSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas- w$ K# x% A" k5 C! _
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 ^. }. q! v3 N/ L$ Q4 f
flag hang from the wall.
1 z4 A+ X/ ?6 N; d; ~" P0 q4 U! b2 B2 e, `6 O8 g0 f1 C
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. r( f7 R; ~# y, D4 V0 E
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders7 ~- E! u# S, r% o" ?. z
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% l7 e0 m6 O3 a5 ?, a3 l; x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( J J8 J3 {$ y# p0 g5 Uare already choosing it over Spanish.9 \ }. {+ c% [% e8 H; `
5 y Z2 j% B' Z5 ~% S4 z1 S
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" w7 A9 n W9 S" |7 \
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city9 P0 \- ^$ r3 X$ \
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
* L4 `4 s# Y+ u# B) |# N: ^' \& e9 {+ j' X9 p/ |9 X, @) L/ `6 X
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,0 [6 v3 H, h/ ]0 ^
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) @) j! ~, f* d% B7 j3 j1 f$ bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention Z5 k5 B0 v7 c e% m: @4 o
one of its most difficult to learn.% f' a9 P* S+ _# b- u0 G" b( c/ i2 i
) b7 d& G1 F7 k. bLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to. r* s) A- N0 F) U& u& S
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: o. S7 g: F! ]9 c- _4 @0 dstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.7 L4 |! @- g% ]
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 [& E( X/ d0 i7 v* b
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on9 }( f8 U9 _9 s6 d8 h6 L
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 \: W" N7 ?4 B9 }
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.# m0 E* Q$ I1 M( P4 p& g: F$ k
0 ^: N3 w2 p# q [
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
E( b" R/ V4 M7 T1 o( ]Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. u6 L& ?! s5 E! h+ b. `starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to4 m6 ]2 Z6 L1 l5 z. O8 c7 I
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing, c; ?5 u* N$ ?2 _5 [" ^. U- R0 m
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& Q4 ~ }. n- f1 rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. Q$ I# T4 ^; R5 p. n
3 t( a- e- p; g4 k: z- V
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
. z( d C: n5 o$ }9 b5 a) E: {speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
5 m( v: W/ ^3 y# {4 U. L" EConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( |& y5 i" G7 x
can." + v1 s$ e' B% ?) v* o
3 a2 T. w! }5 s5 v* I: P2 KThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! k' I' X: f, ^) c( F( welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: _9 ^, C: Q* @6 K+ ]years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 c' w& i' S9 J, j1 Q# [
Institute in Washington.
/ U$ h/ w8 {3 B/ b$ ^' \5 P/ G* ?+ x% S* [) Z* M$ ?3 Q
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# o7 s# i# ]1 Q; yaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
- m! S2 u0 F( H6 ^9 F+ lMcGinnis said.; u$ I- H8 l. r+ i2 a: s! R
$ b: R8 n' ~) a) ]"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' L6 Z0 W+ J" x F0 p& n4 m
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be2 I1 J4 i3 c1 Q9 i6 E8 _9 P
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: J+ E; d) e" u, G* q, z1 ], r7 C
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."' k! Z8 A$ D9 t% j1 Q- J- R/ c; I
& I n7 O1 q0 c, D) z$ z% J# O
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 k2 C6 W2 ^: O; N
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in6 ~3 b! I$ j: M! n
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( d3 m: \% B2 b h) M
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 F- Z* J ^3 d, m# \3 e" X
on weekends.
* p$ G2 y8 M! x
! U( Y* x* Y- G! }& i8 ~ j0 B4 fThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
1 D: {0 E7 }( ~6 q- Aschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, B% e3 b% r+ v# n+ j* }" dstudents who are not of Chinese descent.5 F4 S' w2 f, M0 o% E" z. ^
- i4 ]4 r4 c. q5 I) LMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said1 _# q, S3 x; s! L* I* K
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the/ n3 h z! i" m# V7 b1 R& S, ], O. ~
competition. ' W+ Q6 f7 k9 O& H
' u# o9 q* j U( a9 J& v"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
! t2 Q6 b/ F& T' ]& Isaid. "There will be Chinese and English."4 R% t7 \& Q: p- i
* l0 ~5 E4 E* b- E& q5 G+ ` m" kFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, w( i/ M# L! A) D0 Z# wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- ]$ L5 Y/ B2 W5 L" \ }6 Pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& j) c' m' w/ Dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 G5 I+ ^ T; [4 U: d& Z. b0 o
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to3 V3 T/ o8 S* m9 D
the school system last year.
7 _9 J9 e8 t/ E: C
$ t, }: G3 b" d) W3 j+ g* t* NThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this7 l0 D1 q6 A# Y$ u2 D. M! C. {
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 o6 `4 l! \" q9 T
) o2 {* s# x E6 t- b
"They have a great international experience right in their own* n9 ^7 l* a# h, c& Q# s
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. [9 T( x& X9 {2 q1 d
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to& T; x4 d! ?% e: x& V5 f4 S
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
6 y1 s) Y( E- Z4 Pon an equal playing field."' I; p9 p N, g, R: B: M
2 w. Q& Y* h" G
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
' H6 q C+ O+ Z% b9 fclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
; w- V: I1 V% _) l2 u" uService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
' m) J: L$ M4 m; I9 ?$ k EChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' O2 N7 J3 J7 ?, r. @3 j8 i6 Kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
# ]: ~( F0 u5 IChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the1 @ D; t6 m8 N5 G' k
institute says.7 L# H; s+ H6 d, M
& S. b$ ^5 M# F" |* f6 Z# H% |$ i
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ ?- L2 I+ Z ]' a
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ b$ j$ J2 V9 u3 U. C7 r
deciding whether to take the class.! [: C; A' t. ]1 X
6 z7 O: k( i; t) `" z& F"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 h% ?$ D1 D# l) \% }told her daughter.
: Z8 j ?' s5 T" b! I) @0 U
5 a$ W# @4 _$ }' pSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
1 N- m2 N" q4 ]/ tclass., d' Q9 j" ~# q4 ^! l7 v
* J$ |( }5 o) [. e/ M, G
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
% j1 f! r' }$ |+ t: ]& u. F5 Jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- r" O' D- Q% H/ n E/ N
occasional frustration.$ G G0 K" G$ n* `1 |9 e
H' Z/ K D! q# H
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 {) k5 b3 m; `4 ?recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
! m- f0 c0 _5 ~& q: ?
2 O' I+ W. W5 F( s* YRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
. n9 N7 S8 {. F% Q9 q4 [4 ~/ Utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 L0 i3 J3 `/ Z
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
' l' G" N" z! |# X6 Z
$ V% Q5 _' u @8 y"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' h, r) p) i6 Z5 o8 A
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn3 s# a' Y8 O, f: N/ m
as many languages as I can.": \5 V H" F6 B \) i% e
3 u F T) @9 S8 _; F1 |/ _
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: H3 h# E7 }) R; D3 o# x0 Y) `: oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
! W) B. q) x2 H) j1 jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like V( E0 I0 O4 X
that," Ms. Freire said.
. L+ J! P. }) }6 {6 t" ?( I' c% [9 C. Z, }' D9 P7 g4 ^7 I
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
]' W# F0 y9 S6 A2 O1 Lhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 u2 {8 C7 T# X# N; |% Q r; Xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
, o2 u9 [/ A( h7 W/ w5 Vtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make. n7 |8 C* q5 M$ k* a, }; [
room.
2 H2 c- g7 K7 I6 t3 @: B8 q
2 F% H K1 f& G9 u" e) R* CChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
& r6 T) [. t( v: |3 l' ]! J4 S2 nChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American8 G' H/ v$ B5 w* K# `0 z) h9 O
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' p. `, [9 ]. x1 f
/ z* G" ]# ?; Q- u' h# n; m"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ D8 \- u6 o4 k& A9 ^" j
because of that missing certification," he said.* ~3 x' e+ O7 m; B
( S$ O. w: p- ~
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,& Q w0 i, x( U" s5 U4 n
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia7 r! {/ v* B: p; J4 q
Society in New York.$ m* x" B" v' Q) |; ?7 a8 v
9 ?$ s7 a0 ], ?" r
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the0 k1 `- v- X. X$ h
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
4 `; p; t" Y4 i, Hthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
0 R) n( W$ _- H' }; J" x4 Z) O: g- M6 ^' D6 y" g- c
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
9 Y A# C! [; K B4 z" T8 h* \own."
# u0 E2 u0 @) `1 |# D& G- v5 i* m
$ u! c; p4 e, L# K) X) _! B% n- kCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|