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October 15, 2005
' W: E9 T6 F% m. ]/ qClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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( p* _' E- h8 ]# X- {- p) \2 G- uBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the6 u9 d9 V% [' K& S. e% U6 v
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary* |4 e% W, J! v
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: h& b e% ^1 _8 b8 ^( q" \dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese- F( v/ t/ X2 }4 X9 j9 z5 v; \# _1 q) z
flag hang from the wall.% o. t3 Q/ v* ], [4 i
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
! F+ y& f: g# }1 oanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
4 v8 x# B9 J; @practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker+ Y2 `4 I% \# g; E. n7 O7 S' E; \4 ]
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
# _* H# H. c8 k/ H: Oare already choosing it over Spanish.$ V, \0 u4 M5 ~. }6 |! K' W$ `
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal, j( T) _' s$ w. Q# u( O
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ o1 N+ s9 g0 q- e3 L2 ^
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ ?3 u- B; k; N5 F& L# C- E! m8 |schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. D5 {+ S1 n' f; D# I/ dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention! c7 G- S8 t5 V
one of its most difficult to learn.+ p* |5 H. V8 A6 @( S. Q
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- X! F+ E# k" X# B' q+ Q2 q. Qpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students8 i3 _- Y. p, E6 P! V+ g6 y8 X( @
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& M1 P6 v: F' _7 Z& _% DLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ x' i4 Y" \4 I1 X/ f% S
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ \* Z4 f5 \ O5 E5 f2 ^
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to/ i! a g* R f/ c2 S
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.9 |$ }+ l6 X7 h- @
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
# D, }/ {' @1 k, R9 E% W& NChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; F1 O# R/ ~% k; W' W
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
- }" \. R5 X1 w B; wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 R& Y# d9 i K: u# P6 M* J$ t
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) E. E; U c) s. b
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.. Z) p8 z" n! ^7 |' b& \
( s/ D `# V8 ?4 Q8 ?8 s"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of C @% z* `6 H0 G
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education* B* M/ ^' ~/ k4 _4 m( m ]% F" I
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" p; X% m6 F, N9 o) ?can." 0 F% o6 v2 H" H2 N. e% w6 {4 d
: y& J. \& b- a: l* r1 |! X0 xThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from( V& S% X0 I# ~
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; v* L3 k: p* M' v2 S2 y8 h7 hyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
( M. A' q, m* J! q! p! G: }) UInstitute in Washington.
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5 i3 c' Z8 ?% l& E# _"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 E7 s2 |" k! ^/ E" s% H# \aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 b, A9 A* d, f7 n; X8 {- |. z8 ~
McGinnis said.! J+ I1 f1 b$ k# Y
1 F& X7 @& f4 B |"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 L2 K, P0 b3 l ^2 C4 H nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
; |/ C6 P& I ?ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a/ T* h+ S+ h: _4 G
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& ~- U( _' M" R* P+ e
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 v1 v! E A% C& ^, b- B( o
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
/ p/ B" u0 D8 k# i% kcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 `. m% F, }. J/ c& x
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 ~$ l1 t! x! A$ `) n, m# fon weekends.
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9 E# s" d0 Q9 |, S7 EThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 [- u% E& I# A9 F. w
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
8 y! i; G1 ]0 l! } ^0 F# Cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( ~8 G% ]' z- m; ], Z& ^proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* b: Y9 ?: {% W" E4 P3 `7 ^, V
competition.
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* K2 j9 Z2 r1 I"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley$ m W: K, i* Z) X. r6 @5 w% v
said. "There will be Chinese and English."8 _3 } M& T T) [0 h7 _; }
$ B% e4 F! \0 L6 ~. wFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly! j3 d' O1 Q9 g+ c- n
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse l2 p! N! |* c
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 y6 } n+ s- E/ T* H: m1 n( n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students- R3 j2 K# N! E$ c* l
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& H: |, F% P% ^ V
the school system last year.# \/ [6 J& j0 ^; \
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
4 x# O$ P2 n6 u- ~' \) {year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year. T# }3 Z% t5 ` L2 Z6 o1 S9 H
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"They have a great international experience right in their own2 R, K8 E6 x; X! q; e9 C9 S
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 E5 A1 b$ H7 H, a, CChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! N3 j: R* ]! e9 R# q
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 j! L+ J2 M* K7 ~
on an equal playing field."9 @# M- {; G* B4 T" x+ W- {
3 k* c/ G6 Z" N6 X' rSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
. R) H, P) v* ]- w/ J5 m3 Yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. B7 E9 H3 X6 }: I+ {
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
6 X t+ E! S! K; m- eChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* [6 o2 {4 f8 G! o: K
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% P) o9 F" H5 v) M" {( [# Q: jChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
2 L+ e6 d( Q; \ Ginstitute says.9 d; S" w5 r: M; C% I+ w! X
% G$ ]" k! ^( g& Q$ N. T7 TSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth2 ~9 N- ] N5 D( ]3 o3 O
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before; O' |( y' R1 @" e/ X1 d
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she c/ `" f" n, n' t. d
told her daughter.
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4 g/ {1 d" \6 RSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite2 {+ s$ i. e. g6 B, O
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are" C. E$ @, _7 r3 O) ]
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 @1 C8 `# s( x9 u* ~8 O' Xoccasional frustration.2 h: g. z6 z* Z/ l- K! E' B3 T
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
u9 d2 _. u9 P8 A- }recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
4 v$ G0 o4 H1 T' b3 f1 ]! u' Ktaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& }2 t/ O+ H& ]& G MChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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/ a, v! p3 K8 H0 w( o"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul1 B6 Z! [( C, {# C
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 |6 Q( Q3 E3 K7 ias many languages as I can."; ~: w. Q. X: }, f- l1 t+ o
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) f, ~4 B, A3 N8 Bskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: {' U' ~' y3 }, v5 O2 U L; N
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like$ e# D$ r$ u% W0 A2 K
that," Ms. Freire said." ]0 @7 A- e1 m1 q2 ]- F
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program9 G; S1 o8 S' ^9 d) b& U
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each2 g- k+ G4 s- U9 q; ?0 e
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& D& l; f: x. o9 N2 e( t btime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
- W$ ~% V% ?" r2 k k1 n6 ~& Y1 F3 Hroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer( S+ `/ J X/ p
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
# _. O/ U; \9 l" @4 v9 ucollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
: ~4 J4 T1 y8 ~0 k% j hbecause of that missing certification," he said.( b6 ]4 l' q ^1 w3 F. k* `2 u
" o8 H, P" D* W# m1 KThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
& F7 d8 `# {& M, \, ~said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
/ @6 v) ?# g9 B3 JSociety in New York.
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9 d% {; S6 s G8 A" A9 ]( z( iSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: f8 y: \* x2 N
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
2 R5 v0 o* {( k8 z" ~- Rthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; @' m/ R7 A0 g+ I2 B) d0 D
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 S) j- p, s" t& B
own."
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9 R# j( n, U8 Y: ZCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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