 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 20059 Z: d) [2 M) S$ d; Y
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
3 v" m0 }4 r- o/ {) G
6 w7 O& I. s0 G$ R( OBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
) w# Q. {2 O, I
1 ~: y- s2 u7 E3 uCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. \# p. o8 n/ c- W% J
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
9 R* S3 N- ~! A$ Z- v% y6 ]$ y; qSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
{' O- v0 z2 Z2 R$ d6 l) |7 [0 ]- bdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese+ U* O( X# ?& g S/ M/ `6 E
flag hang from the wall.
0 ^) a" ^: r( h
) e- R: S, e1 N/ q+ jOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one- K: Y( B( U, y; H6 S% ]+ ^3 ?
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
8 }, G: y6 `9 {. L6 y$ {6 M! `practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker) y$ X8 `! |; K7 R9 \
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
# D( T2 f$ u$ b7 B3 `& ?% Sare already choosing it over Spanish., ^# w! u6 Q) \4 e
- d) U: ?! u$ @" X' o"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal0 v i2 k2 f4 Q! b& N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
\7 M5 S0 `' B& |$ t6 G$ y7 doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
. ]& n8 L6 n$ X% e9 G3 V5 r. M5 ]$ E2 A9 j9 c6 q
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
- a& ?* {: D, Zschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings+ U$ x! e2 q! D, N! r) D, ]
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 m( k! n Y' ?! A+ E! h& W& T. Rone of its most difficult to learn.
4 x$ d m, N" } Q/ s3 A& ?/ z* b6 b' U7 f2 p. L
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
4 G5 _& ?6 Y0 y1 \7 {$ xpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 p/ p" q; j! h' nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
! `( p* _5 z( T& q2 Y: @0 H5 @% G" YLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% e9 N+ r8 f# {- i0 qTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. p' X2 S! f J3 I8 f5 [* \Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" p1 d1 B6 e1 e0 e: W5 A
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
3 F# U3 c t Q0 g" l t: p( U8 Z5 j; A4 g$ N
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement" n- r* h" {: S- d4 P9 F
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 t1 I" i2 O* [+ `9 H; Z4 ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( R2 a3 V$ g9 b* m5 _
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
. g% o. {5 P( l X# X" Q. Zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
% V* u* ^4 L6 A$ X/ b$ k8 v! l% h, oof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.+ D; g( f3 S9 R% F( }
& k( Y) I0 W0 E# {
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 }4 Q! o& f; F/ w& }
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education1 K6 Y5 ~: l' R+ L- [$ ^$ b% B
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 U2 m% Y7 Z& |, H) {* X- R* |can." + I: a: I# [9 |* M
5 U2 L6 X9 g8 Q) R2 _% ~" s
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! E! ~( @ P& Pelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
8 D4 G% S3 d ~ l. o: hyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language: H! I! r# c/ u
Institute in Washington.
# V0 ?$ _' U1 [) A7 i1 @
2 A6 {$ `" \4 f6 {"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 ?4 a2 r+ h5 Q8 z! E6 h8 E: T% r
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.* V! q$ \$ y( R2 S! ^; q
McGinnis said.' n7 l; a9 n" V& U, c0 ?" g4 ^
( s, H3 |% P3 u3 M; ?4 w3 a7 A
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
}, g. e4 n( D# e6 T' xlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 w/ Q# m; e' Y8 r1 dready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) n& C5 X% n% _; J- z' Lchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."1 l! L+ e/ q. O9 `" e% ^2 q
2 [& i* y6 v/ WUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% [, L z$ ~7 b' c3 }! b: H6 Ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) X, j) I6 K Rcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ f$ E# i6 k0 Q& }: o7 j: U J8 |
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
( S# H9 w( _7 H0 `$ A* qon weekends.
; R* u1 M) D# W6 l7 g
5 E6 L( ^) V0 ]4 LThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
- R; s* `) Y4 P3 x8 J% qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves1 [- x" o- t! h' H' i/ ~. D2 m
students who are not of Chinese descent.- {& f8 Y# {& ?) x
" Z% c* V/ }+ E1 W
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 I3 R8 o9 v' J$ I, v8 B/ Vproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the1 }" O3 Y- j2 i
competition.
/ i e1 V; Q. b$ Q5 R) i4 \
; a) |$ e$ A, |5 k"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley7 \& g; L( D: V& y) U, `. H0 x
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
& @/ t8 `3 o" w8 Y* M& R H9 l
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly* P0 b) e5 O' }5 a, \( Q1 n- W# _; P
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
+ S, B% s7 ^) ?' Xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from9 U' d. Y+ k) e6 c
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
( }5 U; ^ v3 a& ^0 G) w+ ]who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- p; {# r/ _+ F2 p, e
the school system last year.
. s- S, e, j0 z; U. U
2 a8 e5 j# |" e3 r$ AThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# T6 M6 h7 o2 U5 i( dyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
" ~5 L5 R1 x/ a& r) p6 f5 `" L
; R" |" w, S% s+ U" o"They have a great international experience right in their own \6 L$ S% V/ _
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, d$ l! P {1 a2 i7 w2 X
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* O& T% k, v) _. C6 G L/ h
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 E2 |6 e8 n. N! }+ ~! O
on an equal playing field."
6 Z; x0 {+ N: P' O0 d( z
; Y! e1 \+ O2 i$ F jSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese4 ^! Z& b H4 ?, F
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! ?! Q& r& {5 }/ y! h) FService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks# Y: c+ Z( k- n8 V6 A4 p' n
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 w- Q: ~. E( caverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 d* ^1 d& F& i8 i% LChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
, `* q- L7 Y' R* einstitute says.
" }# Q" m) O# ?, B; l& F% m6 {% `
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
, y/ M4 P- ?" i0 `3 u, Dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
' H$ L) L0 U7 S$ F/ `deciding whether to take the class.
+ a' c$ k. a( {& e. e) j/ O; s$ e$ V7 @1 g1 b D
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
4 v: `0 N3 _1 H: y% g5 ] Ktold her daughter.
$ n7 i0 W0 l: t* |# a" b
0 s5 O" w* r0 z8 pSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite2 G8 L( L& t, G2 z& p9 i
class.
6 X/ G( t% N. Y$ ?
1 [; Q. v4 @4 Q. D3 MAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are# K& B7 E( c- @! F5 w0 d3 m& i
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' ?8 c. k% Y! z# e7 Zoccasional frustration.
9 F2 i. U; D4 ]7 M5 n; z
% I" a; X3 r- I+ p"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; S' B& s1 Q2 o% ^9 G* n7 T7 [7 orecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
; u5 }! I! ^! a+ x) w5 k6 t. M3 K7 [0 Y# D) t
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 l5 g9 o' d- @0 x# X0 }
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with+ e! N/ }, s3 k
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 q4 j" O, u7 |5 c, j" z- S! m
8 c* V& ~( I% \7 p% k"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 }# F9 f. s4 J
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn) t4 s4 t* C: f( Q
as many languages as I can."
) L9 X& M& p8 q0 ]3 h% P) g5 K: {: R1 X
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the5 w0 y( L/ u/ g# d4 k* K
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
! @+ D( }. ~# r, s, w8 Jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- q+ A2 v3 G# W" k% h0 U6 ^4 qthat," Ms. Freire said.
8 O7 |- l* n6 L
, Y, E& k/ d9 R, W, _6 g4 ]Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% I% i {" p5 O6 D6 x0 E! v" @' {' s0 q$ o
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 D5 l$ V8 j+ f
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 K5 ~9 ^1 u4 s( F+ Q+ u, O
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
/ A3 y; u7 ]- ?$ Xroom.
( P; [ M- N9 n; T9 S
$ k* u) x# |7 U4 h- n0 y& c# xChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# h' Q6 ?0 ]; p2 f4 oChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. h8 p1 U7 P' Ncollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
+ P. T9 M; x' B$ P6 M7 z, v) o. t5 m5 z( L6 s- F' }- k0 {% A/ d9 ~
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& w9 I9 z/ z L( d3 ?2 U
because of that missing certification," he said.
' D$ w* _3 u) O! D1 R
" J8 \. V/ D2 C. I0 K: qThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,4 O% p$ w( E! C
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% Y5 W9 f, j2 E! F) d5 n/ rSociety in New York.
& T( q$ ?) ]' z! P1 i: s
% ?: q% K: d- v' K2 Y; N \# \Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the6 f: I0 T. D) z4 _2 V k4 {$ T
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from' K' ?, \8 w8 k+ m& E% k
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
4 @% {% O$ V6 o! @
9 p$ k+ C( _* ?! I"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
2 i$ D$ I& A$ y4 k4 ~# ]own."
- I0 U8 h2 Q+ u |5 s) w
. f3 z# Z( f7 Q1 w5 Q7 aCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|