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October 15, 20059 ^, @) _% L, r; y/ k) N- J0 w y
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity. Q" }' d3 [; d/ p3 G, |( r
) O* q% I* e! O) {! @By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the" }' U5 x# ^4 @# H9 g- i
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary; m# D7 y) T% K* A
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas, c) Z3 M$ F' r0 t$ O, C3 O8 G: n
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
: w6 a2 W3 [+ y$ _( mflag hang from the wall.& m$ h- p1 ]$ v+ F) j
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
) a+ N/ Q5 {* B! ~another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders: p s0 l* W4 Q q' e- c5 l2 k
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 I/ k# {8 { y- Hboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
a* X0 N- F" ^& j4 e; yare already choosing it over Spanish.4 q; P, k# w8 z* m* U; I
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ h5 g9 R; E6 W, [2 h
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city7 W. l7 o" p1 |- Z5 W
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 l* L0 n6 \2 n: x' W! ~
8 H3 _. h: n# |; @5 y& pWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 }; j* d1 ]+ q: w! F/ Y+ I: qschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
9 D. ^ X( s5 D1 n6 }3 t$ m) n% Y4 h1 v0 `to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 p7 p( G2 v; K, y: g7 N- ^! Oone of its most difficult to learn.3 b% g' s- a! K$ T0 o$ q- I+ r
0 M4 c! C; v) r3 ]. e# E0 f% LLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
, M1 [) d5 \: ~public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, j. y7 j2 U- g9 B4 i1 y+ _studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
1 ~, a4 Y6 ?& ?1 SLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of+ F6 E" b" i1 T9 T& n: k* i
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ u" t' s* z: P. O8 rChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) h) X% [$ V3 timprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.' y. P1 g' T+ z- O2 p) @4 S" B
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement# x+ C, ^. P% _% ^! K. i" z8 l
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country8 P7 {! \, W' x4 n0 p' V+ \8 n& w% P
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
9 q5 g ]; _, M1 v$ \ Xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ b; W. `( ^8 G7 [: A
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( c+ A2 }+ W+ W: P: H3 Tof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. k7 F7 o' F2 v; I( }5 x
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education6 I' S( V: A3 Z8 l& h* F
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
8 S. _* N" h& M6 Y8 f; pcan." " }0 g8 R, r8 g1 W5 t, L5 g; W
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. P# y0 U* K' k7 S9 J0 z0 L% belementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 p. U" }3 I- }0 X0 [, `
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; O: i. ~" X% C$ a; z8 XInstitute in Washington.
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7 c" d+ N, L# G7 i6 h"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# j9 ^1 @1 N( @5 B0 ^
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.1 b% L9 R$ p- P! c$ t
McGinnis said.) n5 m4 T1 y1 x0 C' e$ u
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical. R, t; Z9 a: x" l% ^
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% A8 A7 b6 d3 g" pready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* x3 L& f6 k& K9 O* X: ]4 p
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
1 s. X9 z! ?9 N) z- F+ Jsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
, w. y+ C3 J- ]2 l1 U( q, h" T0 lcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 J Q. b5 f" Z, ^. x @3 G, SChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
`) _* Q- q! t- a& K) ^on weekends.# a4 t- P' Z4 A$ Y# X( c8 I
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public2 L. H, ~6 X$ ~- J6 r
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
! a: G# S( T; {; Ystudents who are not of Chinese descent.$ u" U4 t6 a- D( t$ y
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
. C' B% P' D1 ` O) m( hproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
. O5 K9 [& M8 v& N5 ?, Tcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
: A" U* u7 ?5 H8 L, P6 Z( v r& ]said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ m% P+ e7 B4 \0 @" n
& `9 E% D5 C: F! g; s; }% \/ A9 CFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
- Q" k0 X, z% z: Gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
! u9 c. ~5 D2 |6 Jschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
) r/ V4 U5 F1 J. ckindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
# D; z! C4 B9 {who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to; J- E8 T' E, l
the school system last year.
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0 r4 ?9 [ }; b7 {, ^* j1 N+ C8 d' HThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this6 A1 ^# m9 X" Y; A. Z
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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, c9 y7 x% N3 S5 G# e, k7 N* s"They have a great international experience right in their own
' x" F# t, V6 L6 }' Tclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago# ]& m0 T6 q% X( K, |, T( o
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* Y& f6 N7 _% H( b9 c' x/ _help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 f- W4 s7 O0 `# b& t* [% `on an equal playing field."
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- J5 D. o* `; p8 _& \" }+ QSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ l8 C _/ L. ^# R$ fclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 j) y( c: ^' s- NService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks' Q9 y- z, i; S2 l. D t
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An7 i% {6 @0 c& ~- B U8 M
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 ~* S* q0 R) O: x2 P% BChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 s/ j! {# [! o0 |" O9 Linstitute says.
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) U- `, P' J( p9 eSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
0 |3 o- _4 \% g% _! ]: _' hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 t2 O' R" Z$ k, K7 b$ {0 kdeciding whether to take the class./ Z, n8 O, }1 q4 l, N w' ?
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 S" C3 S8 b1 p2 _. Xtold her daughter.; J9 d; f) ]0 u/ R" P
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' F* b8 S) e% d. G# h6 _2 Z- d0 Q
class., P$ F! T( s1 ^1 N* z
. p3 \6 \. M, q- t; W% E6 u# ^At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. W$ ~& ~/ d' S( Z
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
( O3 u) \ d$ a% b- k' ]occasional frustration.9 r( K' J2 U( u3 ]( _
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, G0 @$ D$ T1 D. B9 r+ hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.! G. d' {# B2 k0 n1 E
6 o3 c. R% T+ s2 `! I; aRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 X! q6 X8 v- t5 D. |" s+ W3 e' O
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- k5 _6 e( L' W/ lChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.; X: P% o, {4 d4 H* g, ]" A
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 {6 q: @! S( p" n1 s
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn! b. J$ z% y8 Z: M
as many languages as I can."5 K3 d3 k1 G P) J$ d/ K
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the3 Y0 [2 y" L9 |; `) h P2 s+ F
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
% _1 N* v5 x$ N9 imarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
2 o1 U% ^3 `" J/ [6 P5 V; g) `that," Ms. Freire said.4 y V0 B; K- T1 @3 e# J! _
2 S4 t9 r9 |4 R# \5 H& j$ O# BMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program+ `. ]' h P7 G# } K& E) M
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each. e, Y8 W; X' M$ \2 \
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking8 n% Z4 A5 \: T, d
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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+ ]9 P" o* j3 b: [Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 e9 q$ [4 p9 s/ `
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American: N" J3 Y h+ r6 U
college, 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
2 n, t! E3 X5 K b7 p C. wbecause of that missing certification," he said./ w* O" g+ x! p& t5 l
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
: G. ]9 E7 D! ]9 N. ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia- K( L# y) M0 j+ S5 b4 Q
Society in New York.0 J: @% y5 M& u$ g' I) S7 ^
* A, I+ A" Q0 X/ r- ]) sSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the4 g; }) B& a& B; X
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from3 g) F* ?0 ]2 H) }: f7 ^- B
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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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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