 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
+ V" K+ U. N! Z w AClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
8 M G9 I' q1 g( w" G- P0 [$ L1 O& c% `$ w- X5 W1 j
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING$ @3 h& D9 n* z9 d' b! a! |
$ F9 u# h5 j( t- W+ mCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ P6 d8 h4 ]' x- I) f4 A& P
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary( q( u& _* m: F( t/ N) g1 R/ G6 U
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas" B+ ]$ c& D+ l0 P! ^9 `7 h9 C
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 k5 ]( z* @0 v7 P5 [
flag hang from the wall.
, W* C, z9 z* m& e; { T" n {4 x% t% Q# }/ r
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one R& ^0 V( b0 D) a) T B
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) O8 o+ i# e1 p i* s% W- S- s( N `1 Wpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker: q; B5 o" M/ M- e2 [% a. |
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 X x2 V+ V3 e, b0 G" T, c; X" W' K
are already choosing it over Spanish.
" N5 G0 e& F1 g; @
2 Y9 |0 G" X) p; s2 d7 _"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
3 _7 F$ X6 t& _0 q; ?. lat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. e8 |5 l, T! \7 L% k- z3 Uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."; q# Q4 r L# t5 @% }7 y
* K2 `# ?! A( m" a, ^( a/ H7 n1 VWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
9 l/ W! F- v: \' e- {0 kschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& K" n4 n5 u3 U5 I# C! qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention, r5 N# X2 I% l* f7 w7 I3 v
one of its most difficult to learn.
! {! p1 J2 _+ ?: ^+ j3 U0 o2 O' z% z
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, K. w8 J8 b8 ^+ I7 z$ l7 E1 K8 I* y
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students4 `/ Y, v& |2 {% N6 Y( [, V! I
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I., K3 j5 ]9 D, P+ Y
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
3 m. n% D* W; ?( {/ a. r6 iTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 ~7 e, p7 s1 L, B4 P: KChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
4 U. Y1 |! ^/ a8 {5 s3 d7 T# Vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* X6 S2 K; V% Q2 e2 V/ u
! @, }1 x& c1 Z- t# V [$ ~After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement( R% c# d+ r( W5 r8 M- V
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country# Z! t) w) x9 A7 ]2 H
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to4 K8 w; _& \9 K3 E9 E! r' L2 \
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing" b5 X) _2 U8 g6 ]6 N; t
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; l0 k# F2 P l6 g$ _2 hof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board./ o% W5 s3 y H! v3 C) {
' l; B# O3 v$ |! L1 H# J
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) n* n$ ]1 ~4 }2 ]5 d" c$ V! F7 z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
3 t' I, w9 Q# K5 |8 FConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
3 F2 C3 |5 T7 f1 Z. _# `5 qcan."
' Q; u; U1 E$ A9 O# g8 ?: T
9 x& \0 V' H1 Q* c3 q; k, SThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from! V7 |- r6 h1 I
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
9 d8 U# v, t* `" Q; X; r4 tyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language! D: Q! p5 O; x7 L8 A1 E& c6 C
Institute in Washington.& \9 K4 l3 F/ D+ w4 D$ j( u
8 } ~8 _, N1 s% k7 }4 o6 _: t, t
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages! y1 B+ R- I1 ?7 U) c& K( _) N
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# ?7 K! `$ N* w: ?: N
McGinnis said.% _/ H/ P/ T+ i6 o2 v3 s4 G
. C" B9 M5 ~) |% q- h
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! _+ v2 _! J2 @$ V: ?longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) M$ @3 W1 t w- ?% k1 V
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
9 W$ g' Y1 u7 z* z; wchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."4 W; ~0 m( t1 R- G, ~
9 g8 m7 d8 w$ V$ C3 q
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and: n0 w" O5 n4 n
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 V) \! }. ` y3 J, U" tcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
- X! l5 w( K" l t: b. JChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 v9 c: Q$ v5 d# _( j
on weekends.
; N4 U0 I( P4 k( S2 |' }7 [+ H/ I" }+ N" P/ f+ c {- S3 k
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public |3 p, `. f8 T& y9 F# P- x# q
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves6 i1 s1 h4 R7 `
students who are not of Chinese descent.5 w6 @0 ~9 d1 W J5 z& k
+ `( @% V+ }/ F0 ?4 o$ P0 t
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 O9 v v1 o/ i' l
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ j' C* m3 ~( x9 Y" s! Mcompetition. - y% [$ C6 |3 s2 @
- v' S3 K3 A+ J% K* m2 p4 G
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley$ i. p1 F) Y% o: @/ w: w0 B
said. "There will be Chinese and English."% K5 }8 H1 R4 d; J# G
! L& Q; q6 p4 Z& E; n2 VFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 f) q9 Z _5 Q/ W4 |- g, i5 Ball-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
! q. H! v) T K# Lschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& C0 i' x4 x# f/ X t$ z8 Y# nkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
. f+ ?, b' ~* q+ N0 Nwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
; P0 {: c& ~7 gthe school system last year.8 D0 t! C" b8 B. f/ d) K( z2 `3 t& a
; x Y* M4 D4 Q5 s4 |3 _$ }6 ?, H
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
" J" M/ {* S% }% N: _year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." r4 t' E/ \: o& \0 @
/ R8 G* ], o: v6 P7 P/ }0 L
"They have a great international experience right in their own
) W8 X8 h% J- W. aclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 ^: p/ N3 l+ ]( lChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 E. o, N7 x" z8 f
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 \; G' a7 }2 M6 K/ r: q! V. W/ C
on an equal playing field."$ x( K6 p. g# Y9 G% `
) m9 [# ]9 T! U8 C$ V: n( [4 LSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
" E% x/ }7 \5 ^& S' wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
4 y0 ^" L' K& D+ yService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks" b. r2 _, _) r' L9 U8 Y
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ ]3 p( ~! }! n' o4 p q; p3 ^
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in/ ]! |/ J' ?! b7 V1 e+ p! I
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 Z# _7 ~; f: _* _& Q6 {! N7 L1 |institute says.
. u# y3 N% m% T) Y* I7 ^9 E9 l# c
3 l [8 h( J! uSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( V% G( ^" M& g' X- c; m5 `/ |grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before& i1 Q& n9 z8 n0 {, H
deciding whether to take the class.- k Q+ g( `# X3 U" R' `9 h2 l8 ?
7 F. W) e" G6 p"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she; m; _" {6 h5 Z: P
told her daughter.
" F. D+ Q6 h) G& L7 J. I) a$ E. {5 n" G( G0 A" i& ^( e+ ]
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
) F4 a& ?; M y3 u- Q/ zclass.
3 u& b' m5 n, O) W4 r: f5 l8 {% ?9 _; q. Y# ?. y$ N
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
" }8 e4 ?5 _0 |6 X" V% p" {studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* A' @/ h2 J6 p0 K: M4 Ooccasional frustration.
+ ~( Y- u9 ]0 i
/ r+ e# k: a% s1 }4 b5 j" T7 z"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 d2 S, g [& [& z U
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.. P' v6 t. P0 L3 S& M
; K: V4 p [0 T& D8 HRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- T; Z0 n' I6 x( E+ x0 ?5 @taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
) N: d9 t% F4 _2 \Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( M) z3 _+ [* i% x
- z F) s6 b" H: r' o2 h4 a"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul; i* o! t( u, Z8 c- l
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" C5 z; ]( U6 s+ R+ yas many languages as I can."! w/ M8 P& X4 d6 k; P
# Y. E' b. S' g# j2 z+ a$ w+ |# [1 H5 M
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ e! G; @4 v- W+ [( oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: P0 d: `3 ^' U2 P S: K3 d1 Y, R! D
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like" P8 \( U/ E5 [7 W# @6 A
that," Ms. Freire said.- ]' w: |5 ?1 ?# x4 b2 P5 ~$ s
0 G; }, q) Q) T, b0 h PMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program; b9 F; ]9 k. k
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- h& }7 T$ b- F& Dschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ f( r4 B: t8 _
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make. s5 t& \) r8 [1 y1 b& m5 p! u0 I4 y
room.9 v" ]% K7 j' E: K8 G$ A
7 ^; J y4 O+ i R2 N0 f- w" MChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer0 N6 z7 z1 o0 i' F
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American% w6 c* f' b Q+ p8 O" h0 S# w
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.1 @: h2 ^# V7 S) g1 H/ s
* Z. W% Y. ?) T e* B7 r
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified: u+ ?* o* L$ {# H. m
because of that missing certification," he said.0 k, r |" W6 c; n: g
$ _# v2 S7 ?5 ^6 j5 G7 F: AThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 t( f, f% o9 V4 s4 @& ?9 Qsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia U6 s* x, O9 ]0 z
Society in New York.
; u* q4 R/ _7 I( ]
4 F& }& [3 ?! }" {1 kSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- V3 I: j( n2 M' l# S
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, J6 d0 @2 L* q. n
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.+ t4 q# Q/ Y5 {5 w7 T6 V
9 C' A6 u8 n: Z) K"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our/ W5 [" y5 `3 J
own." _& J& M9 ~0 J" F; { q
3 d! S8 n: S4 V3 v
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|