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October 15, 2005/ o$ a% A2 A" M$ C. ]( ]8 b8 a; n
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity$ g. F2 v: L. R. {; ]; d5 w H! }/ q
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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' H1 E6 n% N5 C. PCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 u3 Q% o& z* v* G/ MUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 ]% A, O' M) ?* dSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# C& k |! e& e
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; s8 ?7 R j) x9 V& Y9 p. }& L1 ~
flag hang from the wall.
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; o- T* h/ e. }7 q& S- COne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one' U! S% s& ^7 ?
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
& E" Q0 Q' I: ?6 dpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
: `9 }" p8 ^, m" l$ W# vboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 D6 x- o! Q, }. M7 ~0 k
are already choosing it over Spanish.. j4 y) B" F2 p- }
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal1 {" B" D) q: o" X2 c4 G# a- N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! N5 J, A7 A& q- l; ]offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
4 m1 T( i, u5 O5 l9 N2 Eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; h' Z# Z' k/ U K! b& v' f: H
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( d( U+ J4 h% i0 F5 w( h# \one of its most difficult to learn.3 {# @% V) ~" X7 n" T) ]$ Z
, k4 b& t# C- H3 vLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to* b& v3 e# o0 N, ^9 |" N, a
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% }7 \6 V1 M# q% S& A0 I/ Y( G- Qstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: \6 U$ M! o* j8 h4 H5 tLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 U! V# g' `. W! K3 y% i
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
! f9 [6 N' S! r AChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% |5 c' g. `. Himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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% x/ P2 \% r& e6 r6 R7 JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement/ e& P, \9 ]4 T+ }. I2 ^
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country: V' w" _7 r% X" S
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to4 C( @( Q9 R( ]1 X
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 Q* h0 v* a G* q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director, h' V2 E7 G8 A# I
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.* W8 e4 D# q. h& N' R# H
3 R6 K. z7 |" q' M3 u; a% a2 @"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
8 M; u9 K1 H1 V S3 l- T) Aspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
9 t, \3 n( H$ s9 M2 s% V2 |7 T! `Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
0 h/ X2 ]* [8 h) A1 l5 Pcan."
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5 k) t) y# p* [The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ n& w1 Z. |3 }% R( s
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 102 N6 E0 D: I$ p2 x3 G
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
8 k, \3 p! }) L5 J4 oInstitute in Washington.
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$ p2 @& Y i1 \"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
2 V7 e0 V% E9 V* a# O- ?+ Varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.0 n) ~7 K: Z. J; W! n( Y7 b
McGinnis said.
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% A" D) X6 r7 K3 Y. q6 W% Y"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
' o w! b: ?( m K' R' Hlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
# w0 w# P4 {* `, L4 Q$ \ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 s3 W* @! s+ V2 schallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."6 f: H! ]# q* e/ ~3 I' e
8 q0 p ?. t- V, C( i' XUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ }; B6 @* Y3 [" {7 Wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in$ [( U3 _9 J6 ` o" V2 _! `% u U
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
3 _: q: i1 B, MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
) e `0 y8 e9 e$ c, Kon weekends.1 n" x, ~" P; E' e
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 @& d! E- M6 R/ gschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
+ N5 y7 a. ^( f* o" B& b5 a3 u' Hstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 g3 d* C! |0 b3 @3 K) x& Kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
0 B3 |! t, C* F) Mcompetition.
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4 B. U g& E/ y: J5 |* s7 }7 J; l7 W"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
& P5 [- _0 W% t9 Q& V) A3 X1 gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."( k5 W# u X8 H
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly( w+ n) U7 a$ F
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse' u2 H) G3 r: J6 ?3 N9 P! ?
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
$ r/ j! x) |- W" _- d, T0 W: b3 gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students+ i: s1 w& ^; S/ c
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
g$ n, Q! _ s; m0 Uthe school system last year.# { p' a% r) E2 n
2 R: d+ j% x# K% V, V) `The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' l; ^& V% T& G+ V
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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1 T: _2 ?* u+ j$ E"They have a great international experience right in their own
- L6 M5 D {9 K5 B+ p+ Nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago `) p- L7 g5 E: M& v
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
3 K$ J) D1 M( M+ u( a9 I. `. p6 r5 ?help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 ^( }; z2 J8 X: ~/ y. y' ]on an equal playing field."2 J) y. @6 o1 e$ A; G
0 ], G# t/ K4 s3 G- bSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 u4 ^$ C( L1 g) s8 |$ b K tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
L0 x& B& {: qService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
, W& k! P3 |" R5 X. T: G/ u: I( @Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* Y$ u- o9 F c. |) R# ?average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
! D; L- @4 l1 ]9 ^Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the& A3 ]2 f2 S& _# ~0 e7 g4 K
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 A6 D) L' O1 m( ]8 {; Ggrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) H& k2 o5 E, P# J1 ^ w5 p. _
deciding whether to take the class.- S# B8 e. R5 S
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
/ D! J* O# {2 a6 R- J1 mtold her daughter.& H% ~7 N. G7 H% R/ t1 Q; H' Z. `9 ?" P
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
/ G9 c( r2 j* J2 C1 c: J5 Bclass.- W% P8 h' I3 ?/ C1 L" `
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
! f. a" c1 C: m' Y' ^2 z( A8 H; bstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without, R, T5 f- _# p+ O, O" |
occasional frustration.
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+ m! F0 L2 y/ _- }"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
6 ^6 H* j& h/ X( D+ A( h+ ?recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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; X8 A; ]; J' l. z" ERaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
4 `' S9 {. q8 ^taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
8 M5 P6 p6 J8 N* c' ?$ E$ QChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 _& r# u9 h7 R2 b8 Q P$ P4 u: g
) c& X- _7 C) x0 {( t"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
! D& g% m, X, G* nsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- u. j5 f4 H7 J% U# @as many languages as I can."
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0 p4 @: F4 P7 wAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 i3 a1 L E* Y1 Sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 O9 t* m" v8 h
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
; p# j4 | F8 Q$ h% xthat," Ms. Freire said.9 x4 ^! i3 n. }+ R6 D6 l2 L+ x: i
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
% l" X1 Q* F+ v+ J2 Jhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
x: F) q( ?2 z7 xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& _, y- s/ C' \ L. J5 n1 Btime from classes like physical education, music and art to make# f" D$ a+ q6 f2 ]5 H8 c7 L2 k
room.. z# [0 V0 _6 S9 H+ c3 {: U1 U8 Z
. i1 D2 N: N: Y6 W' ?0 W7 V7 fChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
9 @+ }( k/ [0 T$ F# q% {Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
) Y3 C" o6 A5 R3 ~6 @$ Hcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.5 A- Q- K' m( Y/ o& Y; a# I) k
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
9 i) t6 a0 t. L6 Nbecause of that missing certification," he said.7 x6 g1 a( J+ `6 U5 W& a
2 i9 Y4 |- m$ r# J9 \5 ]
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
/ _; q. G3 f/ [$ Vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 q$ B. u- X3 b1 q* C8 p/ i9 z; [Society in New York.7 }7 r' ]0 `% w1 f
# Q. O2 _( R' \- d5 [Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, Y$ ]" F: F5 c. |9 ^. g# q1 q1 W$ [8 O- y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
4 B- U& c& V, X8 Sthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. \: W. ?6 O5 M2 v
% `% Q3 }' {, l. a7 P5 W"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
% h: U$ H" a: D8 j' uown."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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