 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
3 }6 |" P M) L4 o0 `Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 S2 Z) X4 }) F+ M" P4 ?
/ `0 p+ R% v% d) j; X9 ^
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING; Q- a$ r6 L' f, Z: ^! [6 x5 D
4 G2 \* E' t8 Y/ p& h) u. i O, @
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
, U4 C, Y$ ^, [! r8 f( k0 K6 nUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
2 ^8 a% ]7 O4 bSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
# C$ f# u- B4 ~" M8 Gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ P6 h1 i2 }# r) f4 T4 ~! eflag hang from the wall.
" A" U. p; l2 m. N$ D$ ~* i3 L' x) n6 h; S) v
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* v' u* s* h" |$ Manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders/ X p8 X- V1 |/ B% ?' s: W
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- O9 {8 N5 p7 i+ r9 M) ?0 K8 |
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 r8 _/ ^ s) I( ], M
are already choosing it over Spanish.9 _! @; m) @! J9 j
/ A' H8 p/ b* K d- X6 }$ g( w
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
6 h9 O0 j9 e2 O5 O* H/ F. pat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
9 B9 i v; j; o6 F1 }0 foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."& P3 S# ?; ~0 M4 M1 Y
}% c# m. P/ P' r0 r$ TWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 q# \& r/ m" {7 N1 [schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 H( \& `6 X lto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention1 x! Z- i3 f C- T* U0 h4 H' u- S
one of its most difficult to learn.
/ k* G. h+ N( t& p7 I
+ g; W- F; ~0 J, f4 U. YLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
+ H! ^/ b* |; H- |) kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
( f# \! y3 `" Q4 _+ Pstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.2 e% J9 @) }1 l$ p
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
' f2 W/ `* `& z) gTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on6 ~# \; G! U* [% D( d
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to4 |1 h5 i; @6 Z9 ~# `+ k- `
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
; O% {& K3 P6 H$ M# A2 p* x2 x7 y B' S) O, J* f, e9 R1 _
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
, Z8 b/ A7 U9 b1 D U' }+ IChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ |# k- r# w6 Z
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ m0 s/ L) r( n* }* Z2 K
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
' G9 ~9 u4 e7 Q: Mcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director2 x3 g9 H4 M1 `% M J# m5 f7 Q& p1 u
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 P% N% m; [2 T' d; i* O
! m( K- H0 b* |"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of6 j. m1 w8 {1 W; l: x( }
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 `- ? N- G! y- T& y+ z Y
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
! N+ H- B; ~, H0 [can." 2 ]4 `0 I7 J* b' P
. {! U2 T/ M7 Z+ ?% _: oThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! i/ Y, g+ V) Pelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
6 c5 W1 Y& T6 ]years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language! }, J/ Y- a9 ]9 v; d- E
Institute in Washington.
8 s. J. x+ X/ o. l, |. ?
1 P; |$ u8 \- w5 A"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages9 l# q; k/ f: H$ J1 z) e( S
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr. T' G+ P5 M1 u F1 L
McGinnis said.
& J2 f2 C9 s( P, t; O
. P' \ W f- e"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical% m; e6 D1 ?1 ]
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 b, ^2 l" n8 b' b0 ?& n$ X% O* Gready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
9 ]2 U3 w- T; E; a0 k1 v& W; Hchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
6 l% i4 S$ F9 O7 X: V* }7 Z$ Q. K# Y4 _6 Z. N8 Y7 q2 A1 O
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
1 S {- [/ z7 Z+ f' a3 bsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in5 y6 d$ s9 l6 f- h+ K% L$ V
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 @: v! Q" S' g: m( l8 oChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or8 ?7 V/ w9 s0 ~# y
on weekends.
2 q `9 y8 W/ W9 g' q+ T* O% H! U4 C0 c) W- N: e) x# {# Z3 o
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 ^% P- ]3 q" e ~7 T" Hschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 Q% n) M/ k& Kstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
/ }3 \2 s' ~, W( U2 _5 b) I
: Y D4 H* x5 AMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; U/ ^& J" k9 ^3 c( Nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the3 d$ a! k9 G+ l( `5 ~9 {
competition. 0 `! B! u" ~6 d) n H7 S t: \
j. W" Q$ v9 Z% m4 t
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
% B" M( I, P8 M3 d# c( Vsaid. "There will be Chinese and English.", A7 D( S0 B6 ]; d
9 K$ R/ y" ^8 ~1 h8 T! A" q: `From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
t- @# E6 Q: g2 O+ uall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse" t/ Z# `9 j( @$ v2 u
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
: N v$ ]6 c U3 ^9 Ukindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
8 p/ E" n4 n2 h" F9 Qwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( I9 O9 E4 T1 `$ o# M1 B8 E! A" j
the school system last year.$ \6 e0 R, a' ]9 W; p
7 g5 \" G3 y3 P0 @8 k' H5 _$ s' d! `
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* d6 h( t1 M4 F3 j$ X* I, r. B$ S. tyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- [& ~- F' G4 W' R" x$ t
$ \9 P8 f6 X+ x; X0 B
"They have a great international experience right in their own8 `9 c* V+ b( `& r! |% C/ S
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago( `' d. s2 W: G3 `4 i. H% f7 L
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 \, J- T( G9 Z8 U1 w% f
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
9 s1 @: b& A4 D* o) r- b6 Con an equal playing field."
0 _0 r. k* n. Z3 s1 u& m
* j- O7 y' `% sSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 I6 Z$ |- {& d) X T2 _/ _# o. Jclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign, E" a- c7 P! g- N4 S
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
. j6 ?- O' s% _& o7 F: B }0 eChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
, E/ u, { ^" i: p6 K/ Qaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ N! t8 C7 h; r/ a7 B* NChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 _* {7 z8 d+ h1 y; `- w- T
institute says.2 B2 B8 r) K# o; {1 n
, J# V' Q! `4 Z" y2 aSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 S9 @/ Z& c3 w" N5 a; M7 y* _* rgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: K/ z s5 ]6 ^! A& N2 Q
deciding whether to take the class.+ N) G, @6 R, u- Z' s1 G1 R
: G1 Z4 b4 h& j( q# B% K"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 Q% j$ z; |. D$ h# k
told her daughter.
, X, E$ A5 G; ]. F% [6 P9 Q5 I
; G" [: p' |; }, Y) \; f# s% ?6 c+ m% ?Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
$ ]" j4 ?+ I N: S7 Gclass.
9 o( E2 F) ? n* C k8 _5 f# c
/ T" T U% H7 M# o9 L3 [8 `/ Z4 J0 yAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are) y) y& j& Z) Z/ M
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without6 P2 Z3 [. n0 m6 F, F' Y1 c8 z" o+ h
occasional frustration.
- M5 y w- t7 o. N7 r- r# P- A- k! R l; \1 B: z/ T5 n& w E; m
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" F# u+ l' g' o/ e mrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.. J/ S2 a1 Z; m! R
/ B- N7 g; A1 j. ?9 N" A- CRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! C9 U: Z& ^2 v% utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
# ^5 Y4 `; b |% e8 n; IChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
; k% K) I6 X# I, M% Q/ E: Q
9 j" Z/ g8 `% G. M' `# f"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 E8 Y3 V, i: ]/ A3 w. Z7 ~
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
( f" N' I7 ^5 A4 Jas many languages as I can.": i5 _+ ^7 ^* @$ e
1 c9 \$ l7 i# ^5 tAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the# I2 Q" O+ L/ k: t! `. u2 R: i
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job/ ^( Y( Y+ B6 a( D( F& j" C8 R3 Y8 E* [
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like! @- s9 ~$ V4 B7 o) i0 j$ o
that," Ms. Freire said.
k8 k- K0 `2 x6 P3 u7 z2 J9 Z6 f. e' x1 `0 }7 Z8 |2 U& M4 i2 i
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( S5 C, ?4 F1 l# c; S% R! H3 o5 Zhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 P! ~/ N& V" m9 H* H5 X z! L
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 F+ M V7 ]4 E
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make& E* }( _$ a8 j7 `& z0 c0 A9 R
room., {* ?; z+ K7 `7 ?; l
2 \5 q! O% p& \2 \1 NChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# f0 ?, p8 u3 T, ?8 sChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 V, X: D4 |: f
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
6 N+ S8 j! n; U1 T" S! r' l/ i. o' r; |" l, r
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified: @) [( e9 A) q0 f$ U) v2 C
because of that missing certification," he said.
6 k9 t9 i2 K1 m' I% w3 X3 B# ^ K# H0 S8 ]2 T
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ ]- q3 R* [+ H8 M
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( F5 e8 v& a& t* z% d4 s$ n7 c5 j6 h1 i
Society in New York., r ^% T5 D; I7 Q4 |
. N3 P4 v& b( M' E# eSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the( |+ c! O! k6 w* ?" P. p; z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from% d s. o! [% b; l% G2 P
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. [$ P7 l! [* C& C1 E* K. R5 P
6 Z3 k" q; \5 \0 _1 f8 R: N; {"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our+ c9 P6 v& a0 K- p. U
own."
3 R) J/ p* Y- F2 @7 g! C7 R* |5 f6 Y! E6 w/ B3 S3 g |" s E
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|