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October 15, 2005
/ \& u/ S5 c9 j1 V0 KClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity6 m. f/ C! ?8 l; e6 M
6 q$ U( s; N: v8 e( YBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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+ m( @, l& ~+ `! |. M) gCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
* A( e) w: g4 t8 RUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, _$ q' I% w2 _
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas, f$ U- F# Z- R; s) U/ J
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
- h8 Q0 W3 ]# Eflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 `1 P& }7 f' ^, Z) Panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ ^) l7 y4 T0 [# A& }
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker9 G. F4 V; r* D2 O+ G
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students' I8 w% j$ ^# n! E- ~
are already choosing it over Spanish.! O1 r5 i1 e) D) `2 r `
. g! P0 }; t) e, j% n5 i! B"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: Y% {7 N8 ^4 d ?8 A
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city& i8 w6 x1 |# o, Z( q# {
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") k; X6 P/ J7 D' V
( V( S8 `; m w) QWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,# x5 U" H Q; U3 }% f: Z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% v3 d8 s0 b' v+ ~& a$ A, y
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention( ~. E; L: g p& w9 D0 r
one of its most difficult to learn.
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" v6 m# o [' oLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 Z) r$ C* ?7 B8 Q! O1 ^
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) r5 j9 T& Y! \: t$ U' S' R
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
/ ~3 q$ s+ {+ ]Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
' G# W2 V( I$ ~! K8 h: n! \, u* \Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on d( X* s6 q! s% s4 H A& X9 o, S
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
2 a/ j0 B( Z# V" f0 J, @. ~, simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ b- y. _. e, ~! S% ]. G
' y% ^2 v9 d3 ?6 f5 qAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
* y9 v8 P$ Z& R& H7 L3 e' cChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
: Z2 `3 G/ s& } h$ [! k2 Jstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to1 V5 F, e* M: |. t7 V8 `
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! S5 z" O! |1 C. r
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" _& m, _. q- j' Y! w5 \, y
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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4 ~9 W4 U# }. v p) S"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
4 C8 s/ \6 y, I9 }speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- o( }8 R: O# l% y- q' S3 LConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 X+ ? M) Z: k% Scan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
0 v/ \* h) n- [' n" Telementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
% ^1 {, i! j( Lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, R( b- ^; {- l' a1 X7 eInstitute in Washington.
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* K6 R# ~# S. Q1 o) E, x1 d"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages3 A* V4 I7 b6 Q2 n6 `8 {) I
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.' n, V2 p. [$ `, a/ b& R, T( i" ~
McGinnis said.
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: o, ^0 i8 J1 T+ Q"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical6 N0 x1 h" N, V4 r: j
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 S! y; x2 M% C: r oready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
1 g/ E; p( S; U' X+ N3 r* zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 u* s3 H' K" V; e! L% ~secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in# {! v$ Z8 o7 G/ q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# q! P0 K, _5 P& MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ C6 K; }) P& s0 ^1 A' {
on weekends. i% j' Y+ d. F8 V9 u+ O/ q
8 C' ]7 f6 m" AThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
[/ M+ z1 h1 `. `/ l+ Nschools during the regular school day and primarily serves; K6 Z- ]7 Q. s w9 u5 e+ c
students who are not of Chinese descent., |4 o: ?# f9 D$ Z( _; f1 p% C8 ]
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said1 M# B1 F2 V* L: }; s( A
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the2 z4 U6 ]5 V/ j, D' L4 |
competition.
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/ Z! Y ^ y) h" w"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley7 _+ d D1 O; F
said. "There will be Chinese and English."9 A" C/ ~* T4 P/ Y5 [, b0 M
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
% y) h( ]4 c0 r' Y2 }5 X iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse# B5 z# z9 j! g; t- o( E
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
. C- p. q: T; mkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students' P6 B$ n% w: m3 ?$ L$ }/ Z
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 e) m6 X1 B( x* }0 g0 Q2 gthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
) }# y: f% l$ W* [! I/ |; s2 M$ z; Z0 jyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.& m* F! K% B7 ]' N* T8 u w: \. p
i# ]) k/ P5 |9 w* t! M"They have a great international experience right in their own
7 ?' U1 Z4 b8 c! e8 E) }* T! Nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 g1 I f: G, J5 E: WChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 ^/ m$ H0 N* r, i5 T/ U* ?$ u
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet. R& ^6 t7 r2 d% `! Q: t9 \
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 S+ h$ S4 U8 w! j/ Q& G
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
% |) U4 n3 F2 j9 Z A; @Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks/ J, y0 b! h X3 i: `% N
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
: h6 D$ `% I! }' S" daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 @. |1 F' ?! x) s8 s4 p9 @5 L1 mChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
+ f0 H0 V8 g( i9 s; [7 Xinstitute says.
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8 n' J: `5 R5 G0 ~Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 I9 U* X; A/ ^# V+ }grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before6 }% r( K# n* S8 F
deciding whether to take the class./ T2 ^; E: e# W! ]' F2 n6 `/ [ y# f
9 x! [% q8 ^: G$ O o"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- b, w8 D0 |0 W3 [; Z8 C# h
told her daughter.0 j& L2 P0 b9 l; G9 w, ]' Z% T
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite! L/ w7 S4 c" ? X8 y1 g5 u. m# S
class. T. l. _! A; S7 C1 R/ \
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: O' ?& o& j( ~0 Z
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ h$ a' s. e$ p( C K. n/ Uoccasional frustration.* i0 y: b0 e' I5 ]2 _1 B2 \
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 J; u1 U: b5 ^+ N0 I
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 ?1 `! ]: \4 _% y
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* j7 _& C/ ]+ e, D! wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
' Z: s+ r1 J9 U# e# w: ]- ~" _Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 E+ m3 A# t4 d+ C
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn' v% i2 [0 t! _4 I# j0 H" r) b% d
as many languages as I can."' i- m' N3 G8 ^2 E
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the' j1 r4 `9 _/ B# X
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job, y1 _( f# B- b& Z
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
) V$ ?8 I- O1 h/ N5 @; P5 M$ Uthat," Ms. Freire said.# s! b) T% G2 g- i. ~
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program" I0 E; ?8 g9 M9 T
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
l4 m$ {8 z% V1 _8 Aschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 s1 G4 ^9 N8 f# Itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 H8 L W4 g4 Y froom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 _% q" c, x7 m# ?; E% h' j) j
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American3 a* d% x6 N" K' Z, w' P
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said./ B0 \: N8 h- W4 [* h
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
" L2 z8 C, T$ q/ h, | Q4 }- vbecause of that missing certification," he said.8 H% v, y! t, G
6 l3 g9 P+ \4 x! N: ?* f1 A3 `The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* J$ I5 H- s3 D
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
/ r9 ]# K2 O9 v# g+ R2 d+ gSociety in New York.' D$ S- ]+ n& H, v2 B
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
) |. |0 A6 a% }/ c% {Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
6 t* U. J, @4 J" `4 othe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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9 S8 o1 l& {" [4 X$ [1 f"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& \; h2 f- N1 T) p! |- y% t$ d9 O
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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