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October 15, 2005
( l& _6 S9 ?# vClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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4 J" `8 @# d0 q: WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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. C5 W n0 l' d. K. o( s2 z4 sCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the1 P& o" C- P3 a" V O2 d* g- Q( k
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
! J; B6 Q0 X4 w8 J7 }School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* `' d' M/ n% H7 P2 g, R/ y; V! |8 j* Adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese' B) n" B* ~/ H0 a: m
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
" r# N& Q6 G9 ]8 ~: V X. Vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
6 t/ x, K* R* e: x* @+ |- M) \( Tpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 v% V7 D( \3 _ y6 g0 g2 \
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students+ p% a I9 h8 k8 q% w- `7 n: j
are already choosing it over Spanish.4 h/ Q4 p! t) m. G+ Z2 G, D' H
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& S: v6 Q) q6 v; \5 n9 h. l+ y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
2 P) v% \0 N! `9 ^; q& z; `offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 w2 M! [1 W- N; \* S# L' ~% b
( X7 d( \- i- g% b4 [. s* LWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* u, J5 l' V) }9 [8 |; H6 K
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings$ D: R) E& A7 p8 G, T5 u' Y
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
$ f- T6 g& B V: u: l0 H6 ^one of its most difficult to learn.$ p9 g7 U5 S. @* o' {
2 g9 c4 t6 ]/ [1 t: WLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% T6 T: t0 T7 [2 e- L, Q L6 x7 }- a
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 N" J0 t7 F" G) Y
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 F- H$ i5 z* \. e. J, oLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 U7 g; L# u! g) ?0 f0 ^
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
8 d7 w' l# A) d9 NChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to( {& X- t1 T! b, w
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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! A3 x/ \4 U* u3 R. M' oAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
0 O8 e+ p1 f4 M) X" U4 OChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" k" ?/ G" Y. b; A
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
) [: y; G4 u+ [ ?8 S, E9 m/ P5 hdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 M9 `2 t/ o* Y* M3 {5 T
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
1 U# M& D' R' d! c+ Rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 I4 M0 | z# T, e) n' Zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! }- ~" U0 G' ~$ s4 Y
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
- \2 p( Y+ l8 w; z, kcan." 3 m% m" U" f# P3 g
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ t& \7 U1 _. X
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, r9 \9 { U0 \. i# t
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
' `( f+ l) J2 t6 h8 a/ H& EInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 K9 v5 N# }- }4 w; L) R! Baren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( U: M! E) N1 `+ r4 K3 g6 E
McGinnis said.% A! U) F& B. P% |: }, T
/ I, B+ q9 R' s V0 p( P* ?"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical5 e3 t3 G- J* X4 J; M
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be2 y; v- Q+ A4 Q& n% k
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a, u6 A0 z# [) n/ o. o
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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* W+ O) G2 N8 \+ EUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and O+ S- u. c9 i
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) J" f' o* u' X6 P, ]( m, x6 jcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of! D3 |* Z5 V8 D( C" }. I2 H
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or# l! E- M9 f; e; v6 X+ ~7 j
on weekends.9 K; W$ H+ B; F1 z! @8 A) O
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public4 {+ Z3 H6 ]/ @1 F! L" ^# v2 b
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
1 t3 ]# R5 ^$ x6 J! m, B9 [* Istudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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5 [; \1 _3 V. f9 ~, qMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ k/ N0 _& v; n1 |1 [4 Y' w
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
& d" ^" t/ @: V" z3 }competition. % u7 ~& ^1 {9 `) F" m
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley$ C6 u ^, J: q. y0 w6 `1 @; T
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly& X6 q2 j+ R% J8 Z
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ V; q9 q8 p9 r2 jschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 j5 ]. b( s9 r4 ?0 u, D7 V+ H3 c$ ] Vkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students x5 _- f) r. ^& N( X' P% P( i o
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# i( S& f$ \2 d4 R* T
the school system last year.9 W+ @7 D z6 H6 I1 b1 R; U$ b3 C7 Z2 x
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% M* t2 D" M8 N4 _( b* x; _year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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, j- G2 Y; ?1 ?8 c/ {3 f: X"They have a great international experience right in their own
& A& X# V. M6 S! x2 a: A& Z# B# tclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 G8 c. F+ J: Z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to: X) i# o' k# C7 x g0 z' b$ }
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
# |$ D+ h& a' O- [* t7 ?# P+ c* Von an equal playing field."4 I3 ]% L) w M0 x0 {: {' @
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
2 N2 Q0 z( D% l$ U3 Vclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. E0 g6 L8 w0 Z
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- h0 P; }& ]. i7 P: M( l- M
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# w- O) H& [2 ^4 ^/ Y* ]
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 f7 e9 H I5 e$ Z: P( `- j! `
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the; M+ x6 q( x+ [' w
institute says.# ]9 D5 Q) A7 K7 T+ A/ T
3 {4 e0 b/ C( t) C7 TSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 o$ B! {# z2 F5 U3 K M0 k% Zgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
7 W: e1 T, p# Gdeciding whether to take the class., Q) c0 S& n$ P8 a$ o, V: x; D, M
+ c0 @5 ~% n; y* m2 N2 H"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
& M7 Z* I0 m% @9 q, `told her daughter.: A1 O: o$ _9 Z7 X) l9 Z& Q
2 X, Z9 i* A- v4 _! R. D5 n+ kSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 X. G+ D2 r0 A9 \0 cclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' C {; D( v* e) Q6 i9 a, o) ^6 f1 Istudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 V2 F4 K3 R- p* v, k! k: Joccasional frustration.
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; m+ f0 E' s5 r/ J"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' m% M# J: Z. R7 P. m* z5 Yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he/ `2 g" R; Y4 ~8 ]7 `$ b, }6 v g
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
2 h' S, m$ P$ J7 d! G- gChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.5 ]4 Z4 P4 o+ E, n+ T+ G; b
/ z& H: G& V2 T- t f"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 U* B# H1 U, a/ O: I H' p9 ?3 Y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 E3 B% c- K8 P- V" kas many languages as I can."
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" n2 k8 p3 s4 q4 f# @8 P3 XAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
9 t! Q$ _; i7 e3 q2 n! kskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
F: b- d! b; R/ w. L2 R" kmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
5 p( Q, I; v! ^+ x; ?that," Ms. Freire said./ k6 ^. x0 y- u( L; C K J
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
/ Z) d7 E- Q* V ?* h* U8 xhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each, n9 W6 k6 g- j) W0 u8 i
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
- B, Q) D1 n1 k8 }7 `" Otime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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* P, \. |+ g+ D1 g4 {Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! H e3 s: \0 N& Q
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 C1 Z' c; g! Q2 N$ j/ z* u$ K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.0 p" m& T: d2 A( B$ Q+ e
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified: @) o* W: O+ m- X7 }* F
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 o5 P8 ?' {* a- [+ M+ vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
! K; n- C& _3 L2 m4 w) RSociety in New York./ V6 q+ l" \$ p3 M4 ^( M( l
0 o @* E- w) s/ u iSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
7 o7 X# g* _ m" ZChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 V0 e* H$ ?; g+ H2 J+ P8 G
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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8 v+ u+ ]. w6 f& ?) Q5 i- V"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
. Q9 j" Y: R L1 t- o% C! [+ }own."
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9 C- w9 g5 U) E# F$ eCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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