 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
6 r4 T: G. P1 q( UClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity" X9 ?- b2 z2 M+ m$ p8 L
( B# }+ U! k' n; _3 }; c
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING2 l0 J, r# Z, ]4 c) g
9 O1 Y& D2 L; O% b# bCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- W6 U8 ~7 H! m6 pUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
4 ~! v7 A6 P O# x m o" v, tSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
9 \0 ]* z# o9 |dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& Z* B& T* ~2 d7 v7 w; o8 u' X) jflag hang from the wall." T2 ?0 o% ~/ `7 n2 o5 w4 \3 s
9 K, W0 K, O, A1 g3 FOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one* t! F3 A7 {( v; E1 X0 ~
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* {7 V6 h( E. Opracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker5 @4 @: \4 B- k% U1 A
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
{! |5 A( y% E5 `& F+ Uare already choosing it over Spanish.
4 q$ X% X. x2 A5 R: ^3 `' ?4 o
D; Y6 r5 G8 F; S c2 N"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
& A. M) ]3 W/ p( r5 X5 Pat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" z d; N/ `8 [, d: Eoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 L6 y0 R3 R" B% U/ z
7 [" e+ D( O) v9 t( z* pWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ R( F/ i5 R0 S. t( l ?6 V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
0 G) j6 ~- h! T2 ~2 k1 qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: Q3 n5 k2 }/ D" @one of its most difficult to learn.9 l) I, \& l3 N. b* |( }
$ f( w! E% r/ w9 J4 I: kLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- }2 c/ i+ {- u" |public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students" U3 @/ W2 U8 R% a
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
- O) b A8 G/ @Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 p# e. Y5 Q3 O$ Q0 y i! a
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
M* }$ Y' ]2 \! y; _Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 \8 j C' x4 b/ g+ C0 Dimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
: a) _- j% t$ `0 n
9 E4 t/ R; d, X1 Y6 _1 V# ], Y$ {After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 o. W* t) i+ @
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country1 V- v3 A. P) l& F( t( D
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
! j4 {3 X P& ~7 x/ I& Bdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
. C9 \ U, ~% ^curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director( a! F0 j. M) E8 i& m" W
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.! g5 ^1 w: u" G
( F+ g: x5 ?4 q* y$ h
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 b, G. P5 z1 h1 d( R
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education6 ^/ Y e$ F/ b }6 p4 f
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
' A0 [# x& h. u9 |% x5 `; g: U/ M( Jcan."
. t% _! e0 B3 Z9 |4 P$ }( b4 w/ H! I3 L0 ^1 l; e! y
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from' R+ q5 l0 g% T: P7 _8 b
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10' B2 k! D. a5 b" H( j
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
- o+ _7 a" G0 w3 h2 BInstitute in Washington.6 J9 i4 _+ t. i6 t7 [
# u: G1 Y: l V/ q9 n"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
8 L; g( b5 e: Daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
c- T! v$ ~8 DMcGinnis said.- E0 I5 o, b* S* \) R2 j
( R$ {0 r* c) |6 Q, e& @"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
: q0 `1 l- X9 Blongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" e* X$ Y9 Q- T t5 V( ^1 H
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. `8 K+ I3 k: o; k4 G; H2 K% P
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
, |1 L) q! P: l- r& V/ E/ Y3 L6 [# G
% [+ Y! _6 l* n4 H2 ^# d h5 y% gUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and4 h# B8 |5 b3 G. k0 U
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: i: E% T$ ?8 v# V% T( y8 a, [' s
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# g* Q* R! t9 i( o
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or. k" f& l: ^- U8 H
on weekends.
; V& i( V: i' X6 m9 s! `# |3 M
/ j% C3 e; L' fThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public6 ]+ O, c& _$ i! I7 `+ }
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves7 d* J+ U( ?+ ~5 d: p: R
students who are not of Chinese descent.$ e- ~0 d6 W. z" a! |: b
K. V/ w! B9 r$ h3 c. ]
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said- ?( Z! K+ @3 t% r
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the/ Z1 v' }7 T8 x, X
competition. 5 n, y8 _4 \2 }" ?2 x+ r6 y
8 Z3 {$ O1 }6 L4 o+ z- L0 V# }"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 _: ^/ o6 }5 X# g: g9 W5 C! asaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
# g$ Z! d7 p) o8 t0 K9 q+ z0 I F0 B, Q% H1 W3 L# f/ ^
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. ~$ ?5 R. d9 z- [3 v1 }' Hall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
3 m: k/ V) o1 ]$ `3 Q" Hschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
B% T' S, Y1 H% v- \3 P9 D" ukindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
/ V7 t' x/ |8 R6 H# ]who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
: u$ e& \. g0 B9 qthe school system last year.3 r7 [1 Q5 W M* x
& \3 V2 S7 r: a5 A7 x- m
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
- ^8 j* E! W! w+ ]; i/ h' x! uyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
& m( Z! E' F i1 N) W7 z$ l; c! p+ ?" O- L( s1 G6 G
"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 L1 m Q8 t0 Gclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago3 T$ h& m; S9 H
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to3 e# h. Z. w6 G( ?3 E+ S* ~* l
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet% K. S7 @' Y( l7 I) s; L
on an equal playing field."! E9 C* W! E! E$ `
: y# g3 a e1 L' I. g+ n' hSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 f' o6 T \; B* x7 @1 E# |
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 T5 G3 ~) n9 h/ T/ D
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks2 s- e# ^, Y+ {: Q; ^: c B- V
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An7 Z w* I6 f K9 e. M; p
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 u- ^) {5 R3 N1 u) x5 kChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 O6 W( n; B, M3 m/ w# [institute says.) Z. Q' p" L; n5 u4 D1 H
1 {+ Y B1 b; W/ WSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
) m. f. ^: H5 @* W: ?: U* bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before" H" J' l/ i b' o
deciding whether to take the class.: g1 M6 ]9 Q- O: k' X" H w/ R0 X
- L. X+ |; I* o: O; P- O* m
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
& V& }$ @7 N+ x0 ?. r+ X/ wtold her daughter.
2 z. w* e( t g6 F: S
3 b7 F4 P1 }, O9 n$ ~7 F! SSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
( {( H5 t! S8 ^; \9 A% g' rclass.
" h+ z$ h6 s; |* f
4 B: w8 e, v7 }% U9 k9 X# ?% FAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are% z. Z2 S# H/ B( B
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without+ ~" H. s& j" C/ V( r
occasional frustration.
7 ^- a- Q$ {+ L) y: S8 }' O4 h7 V
, f" e m( A6 \0 a"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 y% s, m" |3 M6 s v
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
' ]% U9 c) \! o- R0 w+ c4 p6 {3 F" C- K# _& I
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he: G m% f* ], A- X {* ]" w
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with& i7 P, P7 p% [1 T2 m7 i1 P
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works. C# X- L. [ ]/ F% W+ Y7 O: r; n$ s
: ^$ x+ g; D8 j9 v
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul# j/ S1 f% ?0 L" p& s' Z: z
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn3 y! I. R: h; p
as many languages as I can."
! N5 V! x" U/ L1 s- ^# o" H% c7 H
) I9 f3 x' R& `7 Y8 [* B( |4 H. `9 {) I# aAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
, F) s6 t# l% @0 n4 ]skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
/ z1 [! S, S6 `! G8 Tmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, h- R1 \3 M+ K( v2 ?6 a6 A* z* vthat," Ms. Freire said.
' E( V( Q, {0 C1 j8 Z4 f
( B" Z6 Z! T* B. a# h; a1 p! vMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
6 R. Z) J' I' v9 [; `1 rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each, S2 E q" `! |
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 O/ n Q+ L9 }time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
+ v6 \7 E+ G- V3 Z6 q" M. Mroom.( @8 c$ G9 Y, s" ?* ~
8 l9 i' ~3 d6 k6 c- ^Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# H* _" `8 A1 c, r4 @+ rChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 n, T4 j l3 }% P) B' J6 ]3 Ncollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ o, L+ e+ {' f0 O8 b
) l/ B% u- R* Z# T
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
. G" g; M9 P; C/ ybecause of that missing certification," he said.
! J" d+ D: Q9 d) t' b
# N- r. d e+ H/ dThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, _. h, U' i: T8 F+ O
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( J$ N* X! r2 I6 J5 R
Society in New York.
% H4 l4 z& Z2 n3 z; w& ^
5 F! w& o0 e& }+ u" e' V# M" Y# JSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the" p( C. R& A$ [+ n7 v
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- G9 I* l5 h7 x D( k; N" Y8 T- tthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 W* f0 P' L) k: h7 B' S1 i
( c1 M0 [4 s, l i"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
0 d) x K$ O5 l: _) T, Vown.". [0 }9 E0 j) @+ Z7 P' e
, L0 t4 R4 m: ^! LCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|