 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005 \. M( i5 s* h& y5 Z/ U) A
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& s M! T# u+ w! x0 t
: E: A' I% P; X3 @5 W2 Y2 }' M
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
: ]% ]( E2 S; D$ Q
( z2 l1 ]6 N- BCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, O# N; H' f$ A o8 J, F
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
9 ?% G: K( h* F F+ TSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# S. \5 b7 l& @ P8 j
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
5 |/ E# W( g5 s. T2 h" Aflag hang from the wall.
& {8 ~ l- N8 X
6 \0 ~; c' q+ v4 ?One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 U( Y' X1 k9 fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 z0 K0 m$ ^! {- I
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ K, c$ J |- r
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 B5 h( T' o2 x6 b3 [. ware already choosing it over Spanish.5 B2 u. x* v' X" q/ X" i
/ v* [- v- x$ d- J# [3 Q
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
0 h% z" S. b7 v, {. {' W8 N% Nat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! v' _% I( A+ a& goffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."7 M( `4 N' ^. S! Z3 i
" F4 J3 p8 b' L4 ]% y8 ^0 J6 ~
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
8 q! M, L, Z. u$ yschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
$ l g5 i ^& u Cto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% C" n8 ]" t) l e% w" B% M, y8 @one of its most difficult to learn.# i- j5 D7 J* v1 \2 ?4 R/ o" A" Y
/ X0 O- p0 ~+ r3 R8 eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to6 t/ k# E$ N h* d' h
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) ^" A( O9 Q- t& G- ?6 q* C, Cstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ w# y) p1 ]* L% `, X3 i
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- Q+ j4 b1 d5 x: P/ HTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
7 r* E/ A. E5 {, G# \" x4 HChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" Y) e4 l$ `3 Y, rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
5 Y' H& H* s0 p5 S- y3 y: T9 {! }& x/ h' G# I6 x
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 _1 k: i+ A2 a
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country- y5 e+ o$ [6 ^0 ]/ F1 j
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
3 Y8 t! F8 R+ R) k- R- B1 ndevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing; p( |6 q y; U% h
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 D! i0 ^9 U: @, h' U$ e9 mof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 W% i5 o3 A3 p* w% _; P0 E
6 [9 D, f" J- u. U% m9 l) I& u2 ["Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 [2 v9 }& U3 ] M% M6 xspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 f" x, r. P- c* U2 d- ]4 C6 T" F2 TConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 ^) W+ i0 d3 O7 E; ]can."
R- s' @0 w0 }1 B/ A" p# }8 |& |: j/ g( g0 R x2 H( o
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) X0 N* ?( f* u' m' O
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
% k. f4 ~7 f1 Yyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; [- S2 Q" ^7 ~1 Q; x
Institute in Washington.+ A4 v* J1 V- O9 D
9 s; }9 o8 u, Q: F"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# N+ g" A$ t& ?! v( Z; k
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
5 I3 Z2 }! [- }0 ]( DMcGinnis said.
1 j$ H$ W: j# x1 `4 P8 [# A
, c- i% l% a. o5 Y0 e1 C"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- w8 y. _& g' e" G+ i' Plongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! s- n: d) F$ ]( w, Q% ]ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* i# A+ ?$ F1 i! r
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."3 K4 K. o% H& v% U% z, ]
" h) J9 O; [$ c2 f
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
" N# ~$ @" ]; E M3 D- osecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
" w5 X( b* D2 n9 R) D* o( C# fcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 C* W) t/ `3 V+ PChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
0 m) j D6 v8 t" E$ j9 ` X0 ?) don weekends.
5 N3 u2 K- H+ E5 G+ Z! z
. M, @/ g1 d) S7 MThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! y! \* h4 p% Z/ d r& |
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves" Z8 Q" {) S$ y R* d5 R5 ^/ h
students who are not of Chinese descent.1 P8 T% G1 k M9 d) ]4 r; B1 b( X" x
% |% x) {* y" j7 p) v
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
D; Q" Z* E: O- H6 @proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the9 ~0 L* }9 v: _! {: M; j U
competition.
% B e2 X/ b) G. j/ }/ V
; w8 S/ S- L7 E6 T"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; b+ O# y6 ~5 i9 G4 w9 g2 T/ ksaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
, T) J4 U- B- ~8 N, h) c9 @# h% d6 h+ b2 _4 K% \1 p0 J2 y
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly; Z" o3 t7 I) {
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
% A# E" D0 w: L" _6 Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# r- q" n/ r4 C! ?% R5 ?, ]) O' ]4 Dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students# ^% a( Y' \- @) h% A# U
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to s+ d- T2 `! J# q. y
the school system last year.. Z9 }) G0 d3 @$ G! c. u4 S
9 ~" U6 Y% u @9 @8 f
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 W, q; c0 M. `% Hyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
( B2 T; [2 T Z0 i+ s: P4 E7 v& {7 l& m- C
"They have a great international experience right in their own
+ c6 E6 V1 e: y+ S6 x Z/ r4 vclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' @& f. I! Z- F! b/ ?Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; r' I F, ?3 G& O" a% u% S( i' \; ehelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 j( V( @ \! S+ E* t
on an equal playing field."
" Z0 H: ~6 `- a" l3 e3 }+ D4 g+ a4 d/ s
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese D: t7 f9 f4 U
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign) O" P& E. D0 ]- p6 @- I: j" k' N
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; u; E4 P! n( s3 V1 TChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* @ F2 c4 }/ l) [ y, Aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# `$ a3 G; I7 m# Z( u* n
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
+ A' X# P: X7 L$ i8 V% _; pinstitute says.- L1 a6 y3 L/ h
5 V0 J- A% t( |6 Y _) k: nSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
$ l' q% {$ o! ?4 a Z9 m) g8 k' Tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
5 w; S; [ k p0 B0 Zdeciding whether to take the class.
4 `7 s6 R) X$ h4 b
8 X7 T5 u# \$ N) e% O3 A* P"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
; ~9 ~4 v$ M$ T: R% R, `9 \3 vtold her daughter.$ D" d) v4 @$ D9 ?
! K1 D+ U7 x! S5 b- N s- @Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
+ P1 Z8 ?. F' ~6 Q" ^; H" z! Bclass.
# A% F( a5 d; {" H. G' y T3 }
( [0 W# f! Y3 a% WAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) a) `4 f" j5 j3 J) Wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* J' O7 X( t+ r, q7 }7 _occasional frustration.+ N. b& n5 I% \7 Z6 _! ], O: y
5 p( ?% a: s f$ S( G6 Z
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a5 K. ]) i' ~/ y& [: t- z% @
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
" }& `# n' q& _: _
1 H+ O: h( s! \% N3 p% KRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he Q8 Y: a- ?2 \
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with2 l( ^: C- [. z9 Z( V
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
/ F! T& ~6 ]+ e5 g1 Q+ k$ J" [0 t! }0 C0 b2 j( M7 u
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
/ j- ~- w2 C/ n9 f% |7 F$ c: isaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( v6 r; B7 k4 B, s8 s7 U- P. b
as many languages as I can."
' J2 u4 U: o7 R$ ` c; V
7 h. D/ O/ F% U7 n8 Y0 o) ~! rAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- g1 F( O, [) w! E2 Vskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
" Y1 C7 w) U6 d' V: xmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 E9 O* j y! M( s" R( Z9 Ithat," Ms. Freire said.
J; q1 S# A- n
7 H v# z" _! M' Y8 pMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( ~, j, R' y/ I" v+ @9 }8 b, rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
# v3 _0 W% u4 p2 }+ M# pschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- K* e4 w0 r' s) E/ e8 \. Y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
- e9 O. m; L# _! \room.
5 t f, }* I. O+ z# {' I# X, B5 |2 I1 i. I
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! L' F% s |2 Z' Q2 G+ z
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) ^0 W6 e$ S- y; h p; u/ S- H
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
4 ^0 F8 d) u6 m; O @6 a' S3 R3 ]; C& C7 {
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified9 ~% H. L; L( S; T5 g
because of that missing certification," he said.2 g5 z/ p& U& x* s% V% v. \
$ y- y8 m! H& g k. D; xThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,8 g# m: H9 I3 E9 `7 T5 Z( \
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% P; B9 a. k- ^% R, JSociety in New York.
* B8 {5 i0 @8 w& i, T3 q0 Z/ B5 K# v& S$ g- A3 b- _ o
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' n) T$ s$ D8 u" {0 fChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& o: N1 ~4 Q- E1 |the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
/ E7 b2 L! _; `
+ S5 \( n X8 `"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
: v5 }3 c, x) N0 d0 xown."
6 B, |" z. u3 g6 `4 ]: p: D, m9 C6 O. c
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|