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October 15, 2005
! s& ?0 S* H" f6 Q2 `" {$ Y! V* oClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 s8 F: v2 d! U$ d
Z9 m/ J+ L1 {6 cBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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, \) x* k5 u% I) u! MCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 g8 {8 C9 A3 h( N; H: F( ]United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
& m, ]/ b* ^8 n$ A j; s3 f( vSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas. q9 u6 x/ g s/ @3 C$ Q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: S. @) P7 s+ K8 Q6 ^ y$ _# C8 _( f
flag hang from the wall., Q( X6 e: t- J6 w
9 \$ a* i- Y8 p( C- ~0 L. nOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
) q1 y0 e9 c e5 q; h$ sanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders8 \. I! t' v) Y! D6 V3 Z/ P
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker A. Z6 A, f" G5 C' e& m
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students- a( v& [4 ~6 @ g, p9 w
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal( H- q4 M" N8 {# \9 [& H; S
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city4 Y% P0 z( N/ C( E) D4 z$ I' Z+ r- ]
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# }+ r. l4 q2 ^- I) q t
, Q+ |# M( \1 \With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( X) j1 l0 V' v; ?& [1 fschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' d8 ^" B, j" l) i
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 H: \% v0 |" F! u) h fone of its most difficult to learn.
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# M" M {( x3 F' {Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ i" k5 ^( M0 v j& \' s3 `
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students: _! h$ U6 _) T3 m2 i* q9 R& @
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.% {- J9 d: _# {( ]
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
9 q2 _* l8 W. eTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" c7 |& U) u' R+ }Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to% f/ \; C4 P& D8 W4 m
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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: m. c( }0 a+ G3 FAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
# }6 L% w" @& K+ @Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
^. h' o# i9 ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
2 a; e G, @. }develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing5 S( A0 O# Z/ x$ q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director. s! E8 c/ Q G f
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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, `3 d( X, S* R4 m9 R/ v"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of7 M) e& o* X# k# S
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- C9 p& O6 K) k- n9 _) r5 @Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" R4 f& R: b) E$ D% s: b$ ~% @can."
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5 n8 T9 E5 ?6 x6 T7 L- f; wThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from( }9 R e. d6 Q% O4 K
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 E9 R8 \: c1 C* L
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
' L( O* S3 [1 y1 EInstitute in Washington.
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6 M* {' B0 G9 r"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages( \- o% E& l* G6 i: p, V8 u
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 p9 ]6 o) ]% \& G! P* u
McGinnis said.7 x* C6 I. l2 K$ ^% {3 K5 K8 r
; N$ V- s5 [7 j! t, J"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' I" N' n$ v+ E9 C2 m* Z6 z6 v5 d% z
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be! l) T Y2 ?+ ?" D
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: @0 Z* G! s7 |% W, a
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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+ m& w5 b1 X# R1 v# \0 U# `. nUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
* R9 U2 R. g" G$ Lsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
+ y: c- k7 x, G: b7 Ccities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' N. _+ x$ [. M1 G' O' R3 P; m: HChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or% }9 |7 Z. z( T2 w
on weekends.0 P( U5 E a! F9 a2 m' v
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public/ r" n# b9 e7 h( Z2 n
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves8 @- \& E) j6 P" s$ c
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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4 Y# v4 G' @" B0 lMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& t, ^! j3 @: i9 N" Sproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
X& L& ]* j+ p- O1 X! q* Ycompetition. * o) E. F) f) [( r+ B% S
6 F) F# n% y4 a"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley. k7 r, |* N' C# H# a
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ L0 W$ @- ?* w: A0 U9 dall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: H, T S& l" rschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
4 i7 H: E4 ^" d8 r# u2 y. Qkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 o. j, E% n# ?
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 E9 g; f' z [' u0 x& b a
the school system last year.
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# S% P- x& k5 O: Y9 A1 w6 fThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
, M: f- b% v" wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 Y8 f' v, s: c1 i3 [
6 B5 b: ], G* s" a1 m1 ]"They have a great international experience right in their own- c# m; G2 w! V3 q5 Y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
6 ?+ o) V- {& w; b' w/ [Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to+ l6 c: H: M& u
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet' C# `, a0 a+ T2 ]6 K
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese0 H! d2 R, }* d. j$ {$ a
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign) D! S+ j; H6 ~, C& k! q
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 h7 z/ ?: u3 ^% _! P$ q- ^
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' @6 w$ S6 P- h, a; t$ j- v% Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in0 D( a# g9 `2 n
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 m; t! W; J6 w7 a/ I+ Oinstitute says.+ t3 E! a$ |: z2 F6 Q( e8 I
$ @4 K& J4 I( }3 ~, g0 W% iSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
1 M; b) }4 R# @4 |grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
X1 Z! h7 F; Odeciding whether to take the class.
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X# T4 V7 M; K! k X. N"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# g9 T/ Q6 ]2 q" X4 ?/ ^told her daughter.( i& l2 y, \- x2 e9 o
& R8 x ~- Q9 n3 ^- ASahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 Y9 t4 R" I: J( w# @
class.
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& |5 l, r2 |, o8 O- n9 ~6 q: JAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 B4 n( }% R/ o$ mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 n4 a. S! F) H6 v5 _7 I! e. |! k
occasional frustration.7 H2 O& h: r: n& S) c
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# E- A/ z$ d1 W! F& M
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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9 n( I# T) Z' M! k, G; ~Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* q! I6 f- w2 V3 v& b B# ]taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 ~. X, E# Z- V. [" m; Y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." E7 D1 s5 U$ T8 m% {
. X0 F- y, w. k"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 P: T/ s0 D9 N( a/ m" ^ [
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn& f! a0 l6 s& T2 m# R. f7 _% C
as many languages as I can."
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. }* a5 w# G% R9 c/ ?) R. qAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 }0 M" P9 ~! _3 L6 P4 G+ s" H2 m
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 ~. |! z9 ^9 y' Y; umarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
$ W& U$ |8 Q( N' Nthat," Ms. Freire said.* J. _6 J; H3 H
; r2 c w$ A6 a. m3 ]Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
6 A7 o. M8 X. M# X6 ^1 ^0 R; ~, ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
6 d( I- W I3 O& c/ Rschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
+ _ H: Y4 S$ y5 k& ?time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
1 r9 X) t5 K! j9 D% @4 Z. Mroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer$ m/ F7 }. \- T0 e! i* ? B5 a% y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American( e$ g, R8 D( I; {2 ]
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.0 j3 Q& K4 k, c; Y, T' h7 h
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' q+ P% U* S. z; Tbecause of that missing certification," he said.1 ~) m. _( r, C% [! \, Z5 G; |
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,' y Y' Q4 O7 o: m4 p6 ^2 M
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' y1 {' O) V( }4 d3 N. l0 |
Society in New York.3 I+ n0 K1 T- D2 {
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' S. a, j0 d& I8 eChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from3 Z$ A5 E: S, d! a8 ?9 Q' [: g* A
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: n4 x: L7 E; x: X9 Y! D2 H
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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