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October 15, 2005
) ~* u4 w8 o2 }% g; C! WClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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7 c; f( J3 [( f7 z# `4 bBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
% T/ P( b% R6 H! ?United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 ~9 Y6 e2 f0 D# f
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: @0 E) t& O' x, L: J
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
# Y6 ~" g5 u6 z0 Q) Zflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
- r6 x$ j, Z% j# W# {: A7 R( f- i# ranother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
3 {5 D( H9 ^5 S4 jpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; d/ r* u" S$ {3 Q8 S: S
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
) a4 w# `5 W. L! {are already choosing it over Spanish.
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8 H" t# q5 O2 p! m }2 Q5 U"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& `6 l$ I/ Q0 j1 H" ~& K0 v
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
; L- Y: X) S! B% _* }offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 ~( |% ^, P3 p, dschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 Q' R* S2 G( N6 R
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ @8 P& H/ A7 z, p' M' q$ |one of its most difficult to learn.
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3 B7 ^: ?* ~- ~0 s5 d6 sLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 w/ X; t0 q. N! }' p4 m7 i/ T
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 {1 \9 m, q8 istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. P$ \: w" j( i+ s& m' l
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
d3 Q# \, k( H2 RTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on. i( E( ^. Y; D1 a
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
r V8 n/ |$ C% [4 \improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.2 }( X+ b* l) M f+ P! Y0 P8 Y! s
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ g& f( g7 A) F$ aChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 O0 d1 W% o' c& b/ k; ~& Ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to" ^ Q5 @7 R4 p- \; w3 u- o
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
6 F' s3 y7 J9 s( {" [5 p: Y& F9 V# zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
/ Y8 ?% O3 l4 m0 s1 n. s; f9 ~- rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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) _6 p+ m8 E: } W"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of0 [/ ^: J. A' s
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education- x4 L" i8 _% b- |' k
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
o$ \+ U. h. F+ Pcan." ) @- C' o; _) `3 s
% t; Y9 x, b& _+ b: n2 s. U0 PThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from& |" T6 o9 M' e: C
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 l4 I8 V/ C) d4 ^- R8 b1 j' [2 E, F; myears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 P; ]1 |+ v) O8 O6 \; FInstitute in Washington. M) N C s0 `8 e
( u1 K4 o1 }. }9 V"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 A+ j4 ^# N, Q& L0 W/ {
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. V: |+ ~4 n4 tMcGinnis said.
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) M5 f9 h. ]) f. W* q" F"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical8 N% H8 q6 A/ t
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 J" T0 ?3 Q! e
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
, f) o6 G" B; c9 c) \challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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5 R% S5 e8 l! E6 W1 G9 R4 |% }9 }) l& _Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and& L) }; L' K' p3 R
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
' {3 N( @# f. s1 L: j+ Pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of4 G: C% K" r0 i* ]: N( F0 g
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 \# G; z3 T; l$ N2 g! Zon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
0 y5 p4 I! B1 w0 i. V& Yschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 N+ w& t+ G& b* K7 ^students who are not of Chinese descent.
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' }2 Z6 ?8 ^3 ]Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
+ s$ i, \8 _# v4 v [, J4 ~proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the7 R" [$ e1 p) d" @+ U- T$ X
competition.
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) s. q' F! |8 j% L5 G! c"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
: N; }( D9 ~ U9 D. G# A! bsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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9 R/ {7 e& B9 AFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly( ]5 D1 T& u, y0 i
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse) @& G; @4 _) B7 L
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# F9 Z3 X5 V# L7 a% H8 W' }' \kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
" N) e- ?/ c1 B0 n+ G( H3 Rwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% h! |: J' n* I) e' X
the school system last year.1 Y# z3 m/ D# f
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 C* b2 ~9 E( @0 s+ {9 r
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.+ H6 l) w' P a
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"They have a great international experience right in their own( Z6 D. l' ^4 _
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 Q7 t$ ~/ R- a: EChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) \0 z: I) _1 E; l. B" @* }7 p7 H- xhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet. E6 ~0 h' q& m
on an equal playing field."0 o. e+ L1 x/ ^- F
; I4 y! H5 r( B% r6 K. ySome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese0 n5 n+ S- z& ]
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
& a/ n, I# t: v2 @9 ], [2 AService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% | D0 `+ ]( Q5 {Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: s7 D# ]. p, R4 ~( E1 c3 p
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ a" V( U4 k X/ X$ r
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the( O/ i6 \ i4 d8 s* W, d4 ^
institute says.
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4 T) u5 Y5 C' b7 q& FSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
7 B9 [- j5 y9 w1 x, qgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
, G: P* P- _5 [8 `deciding whether to take the class.0 t; S) s/ i0 }) T5 K$ Q
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 \% K3 S6 H* o6 B' i/ h! k1 y# A
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
+ V$ T7 [8 l, T' L: f: aclass.0 {" p0 V+ w5 w1 G% v" i
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are# K$ |( w& v- {# E$ ?3 W4 H5 k
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without( u$ w; |$ F0 o: E k4 t
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* f( j- J3 O8 n" W
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.7 T( t _0 L) ?) j2 v* H
s* @( P- _) Y8 sRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he% U( M3 {- m! |. c6 R! K" ?
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ _1 z$ j6 P1 D* [5 y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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, U9 @9 l) N7 X' }6 o( g4 n* \"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 ^% C" s0 l; k
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 g0 F7 Z( {1 D1 ^; [3 ?7 s
as many languages as I can."; q( m; E+ b+ T* A( S2 ^8 W# l5 d
, e6 ?* d b: |& g& l- k g8 ?Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- m$ ?/ R# O2 \1 |4 [8 qskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 o7 F ?. @! D: k8 N% m- ^; hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
( i, K5 N: N, r; w2 r8 G( Cthat," Ms. Freire said.: H$ Z4 D5 E1 T* \" Z% N5 v) F3 O
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
$ p& X% Z6 S, P P8 S1 Q. chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each l0 f. t) k4 |! w4 Y# Z
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
L7 P' E8 B- R" v$ r) ]time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
) m0 f' y; n9 ]0 y/ H$ J4 x2 a! iroom.& v9 h' n* C$ _7 |; k. _/ c* B
+ v; k# |8 S u6 x( q5 ^Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer# z& O; }) y- k3 ?/ S' Z& x
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
$ }3 E& ]9 U- A6 ~1 U; ocollege, 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
7 @0 |: h0 B" N4 K" j( O! p# cbecause of that missing certification," he said.1 A9 l) Q8 m" U, H1 ~/ g- q% q
( o4 G; i8 F. K$ ?! J) M& C1 p+ ^9 qThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
" ?0 `/ D% j$ Y6 j0 X# a; q9 v* W# o# }said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
& e6 c w4 h/ ^2 Z7 E6 vSociety in New York.+ U3 ^/ L& O! }1 s
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# R$ I/ j# |1 o5 \
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 ~6 B$ y2 t7 V: D, s2 w" \the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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0 E3 N% ?; L4 L$ w5 U. o- i+ {"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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1 I9 C- Z! _8 n- XCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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