 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
% E, o* f4 q. t% e* v9 k. f) CClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity- B+ B: N5 `6 Q' ^3 T v4 {
, R% q4 T8 K5 R, Q2 L! }* ZBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING: D; D" f, b6 B/ W( z! G
3 N9 z p# L4 u( ]CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the# r% k! c( ]) ~ x
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
' t6 M5 [# u" m5 E# b; O$ R3 K; DSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
- l3 b6 _! [2 t8 D) u! z. {6 G! B) Bdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 b& L7 l q/ ~" {flag hang from the wall.# J$ h) ]9 x6 M i% N
" ~! z/ t! T0 m
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& B2 w+ v" O/ W) A+ l
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders7 l k! n4 ^; t( E
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
* @ }8 e! @$ A8 Wboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students& o' G( m. j8 n2 |8 c
are already choosing it over Spanish.
* g' S& I8 x) i
' @) t1 |6 i, H0 T0 P+ |9 f3 a"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& |3 X4 V5 w: k) v6 n, Z) a! D" K
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city8 N/ L5 ~( r8 o. P/ L7 G U( R) P
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
9 ~- _1 `, Q" S) s8 N$ N
: z. \ ]: M+ W: S' i+ dWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: F5 I P5 l. r2 [9 d( v
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! X, v3 }1 n" V0 k* n/ \to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
; Z r% ~) X% u9 g, b- u, j, {" xone of its most difficult to learn.0 p! W# C. A% ^) h
$ y' M$ d" }- E$ o( _! KLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to7 k8 d4 c8 G* y* n1 {. d
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
' d" n1 ?; i& D1 ustudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
) B: K+ q5 {. gLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ w3 m! i8 M8 j5 Q" D& T3 d
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on7 e. W( j! I' S4 v+ J
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to! j' h4 ~5 e& G6 {. D
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.5 t% b4 k( w1 ^6 \. F7 L& r
7 h4 D9 t' S3 @# B1 V: MAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- A9 G8 Z4 k9 ]/ QChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, {, Z8 ]. B5 n
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to% h. r, O; t \0 O4 | N+ q
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
& r, g" j; A2 y7 I; @9 }7 Z& c0 ucurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
! ^! j6 ?5 D5 K, ]- z8 rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.6 ~3 @+ j8 w0 [% i1 P8 V
4 \. z$ r+ ?0 j* E
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 Y* F7 l3 z! Nspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 F! N: @& h: ^! N! D
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
, _3 s6 b `+ z1 w3 }" fcan." ' {- }' _! g4 O" Q2 U6 h
9 k8 I+ k$ ~0 i; G
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from2 B" A* L# e- `' U7 E! ~( J, Y
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10& a) m4 Y& D: E- Q+ g
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language6 q3 ^( H8 x* w5 N$ |
Institute in Washington.
4 G$ ~9 ]9 f" O5 f$ m! i* l! f, i5 u3 m7 _) |9 ~4 e/ Q
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% G8 \$ A1 v/ |9 B# p6 ^* V
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
2 W" X$ b2 n( ~; b( ^McGinnis said.
) v$ \ c- Z- M' i1 B/ H& U }1 Z' k( V! T/ d7 G1 c
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
9 X% @4 b( a" O- A4 E; {9 k: ]longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: d+ v6 u3 P: o* f3 ~2 Y! |ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a7 L) l! h( O5 q8 `; T/ e" N$ _
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.", x( w6 d2 `1 X t, {
! s( g( O. m& u0 kUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ Q. z8 e8 O3 Csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- u* n7 A. h: ~" F4 P9 fcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ W( u1 {6 Z( w! q) W. ]
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or# d& `/ R6 D5 F, I
on weekends.- p* i% S' g! X f9 ?& f& ~& x
. [. R0 f4 A4 ?/ R+ E+ O: c
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
$ _- x' O1 P; s( {! q8 Fschools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 P8 Z0 ^0 T; X6 ~3 l m F: E
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 {6 `/ Z6 D1 ^: N$ ~) e/ z+ c
3 S6 j) C) ~9 D4 r+ QMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said& v2 ?3 p8 ~- n' g# O$ l+ f8 ~
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
; b5 q- w( n. _% ~* S. Ccompetition. @% h% N3 [2 C4 p3 @5 V& y
- J' n0 a+ Z3 s% q8 i
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
) C8 K6 l2 r0 Y9 ?$ ]* esaid. "There will be Chinese and English."9 u1 r% y. L" W7 Z
3 `+ z! W- t; ?4 e- z* bFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, w. M9 L, y. W2 \all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse9 n8 [) s7 a3 @! e3 ]! ?
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from2 ^) I& P) ?8 T( u5 C
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
/ t- X% r: {* o' v- G1 Qwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 w( e2 ]8 B/ W4 q& `, f+ @the school system last year.
# b) g0 N3 q0 ]% Y# w# v, R2 ]8 `+ u& o) s7 c- y: k. o
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this/ ?. J, t& J6 ~( G' r3 G, g
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
5 W5 m/ g/ x5 c
9 I4 H9 A& t. v$ m"They have a great international experience right in their own; S+ e& d2 u( L6 F! [- C* f5 r
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# U6 p5 q6 a1 j5 ?. o* Z3 W6 ^) FChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) w3 @) O3 @9 j! e5 u" l) D Xhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
; K. _9 ^9 B: R$ \on an equal playing field."& i! r6 }# Y4 h" O/ _3 x8 ~2 e
4 w0 }; d" h) k
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
; @$ Q5 C8 k4 L7 q$ I* R! Tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign7 f1 x* @. j; N6 T
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 W% N7 P0 g3 q8 J& H( r s1 aChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ |& I6 C, `: l( _9 Q) w" E- u
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in* V% e4 `# a7 i
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the/ o+ R( `3 F5 \! C: ^4 ?
institute says.
% }/ b5 c, G/ \9 h& _5 k Q+ @
- [- u; P5 O% \ U) ~/ vSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; a( j& Q' M, w; H! |grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before# b5 D! E' @6 U0 Z$ S o* V
deciding whether to take the class.; u' D8 |' s& R5 A/ \
) U1 M: s f% R
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she, s" }; z" Z' X( ^2 a3 [7 N' }
told her daughter.
/ Z! x+ ~" v) j8 o& M6 @" ?0 d- W; t4 T- a( ^
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 e9 Z6 m. \ u: s# l1 _class.
$ k0 W0 l0 _8 ~- n" t R+ u" d Y2 F, r
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. E7 a$ e2 g+ Q5 K; ^studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" [6 a' @, T+ x% V
occasional frustration.& i! f. R: X3 h2 |/ k. B; T
" ?% H3 m7 P3 S7 G" K"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" q0 E1 R2 Y7 O: |0 B4 K; s1 {recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.7 l) k4 h8 V$ f8 V# h
, _, s, \) v! C. ^4 D! y
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
9 m! z- L# o8 S8 z+ C1 t3 _taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
) K' [% b( }8 _7 y1 f" w, _Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
( a2 e! P5 |- }1 _0 q& o+ z
( u0 y6 D# \6 r9 P! u"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
( j' U) V, y5 _1 c% qsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
6 P7 P& H( m. R) y5 u& Q! Eas many languages as I can."
3 U1 {8 S$ h9 F# L- G! v' a2 e! M1 V9 L$ B/ U; B
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; J) ^6 B6 C! s* }skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
e0 j) A) V7 b3 U& A2 v, M9 W& `market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like9 g& O7 D j T1 X9 Z' P. M
that," Ms. Freire said.
$ `7 n3 W* G- j! d" u8 l+ n
* J2 F/ B3 I4 P! WMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( ]0 Y! @( Y0 K/ x8 ~: U+ m4 q# @
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each, b/ i7 V' g* `6 o. ? Z$ N$ G
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( z- w8 J2 w( o8 u' @ }' d
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make% r% x v, d/ b8 \
room.
' o. B4 T' s: V/ e( N& {% B& J+ t% D8 B; R2 N$ t
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) t- n7 N7 v) }7 GChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American7 f% _5 ^' ~' E9 X
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
" X; ]+ w; d' S# Y4 q/ X! f: ^4 U7 u* W; g) O) ]
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
8 E" J, X: l& @+ F! D* K! zbecause of that missing certification," he said.
" Z) P T1 S6 P: _( U% q6 q! L7 t+ s. b. V
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
# ` g7 h d: u( x8 p$ D; L4 Isaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
5 Z1 B3 W( X# pSociety in New York.
, U' V. p$ C# [, n6 l. [% |( s1 F* S) i: R' i2 ~$ w: O6 U* z0 A
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the2 l( A4 T G9 W' `* F8 ]/ m
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 U- g6 h: U1 w S3 G2 u. Y' R# f. L2 A2 Ithe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ C! Z2 Q. I/ R2 Y; G
) r4 Z8 q5 T8 V& K0 L
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our$ l' j! T) Q2 {( ^7 y0 S. O1 @
own."2 e2 h: b$ J; f. g
+ q) C/ B5 l$ U6 l$ l. u( wCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|