 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005# Y; ?' G G D# @. F X' C
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
0 @+ L! T- _/ e l: u" u2 E2 p6 j
3 ~6 G' `5 O3 n/ b# V% [' g4 V; rBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ U" D5 Q: D, q0 w; \" N1 W0 C& `# j
2 I. W6 H% m# |1 h" A% iCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the0 D9 U6 z( j' S4 B B* M
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
8 M4 T1 K; I1 x+ zSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
! W6 i3 Z( e7 ~- h8 Ddangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 J& {* T' R- K. B- ?1 D
flag hang from the wall.. b: Y5 p9 n: y9 ^+ Q
, T; Y3 j& }0 d9 g7 Z. dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 u p0 v, z; K" ^
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
: j( X6 F* O. {( u5 }practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker: ]% Z: C% V- p2 F) d6 U. h
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 E" v' `* s4 ?9 t3 l
are already choosing it over Spanish.
( t- }. }7 z/ C+ d: \/ v8 t1 h" K4 K0 D+ f4 W0 z9 s# z3 z8 p, ?1 p: n
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( _* x( \; D$ {: vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city2 h7 l; u! A' m) e' C. S
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
' l m; y- x) _0 K& W8 z3 L0 ?0 j$ [- a2 K
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 F7 o) O" T! p! `schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& A! X9 U, X. m1 Cto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
' Y& @5 ^% Q0 u6 Xone of its most difficult to learn.9 P3 p# m( e! {; `
% I, V1 d" z2 KLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% r2 B$ s6 `' z& V( v: W+ h4 gpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
$ Q/ Y8 R; C3 T" Wstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
5 @: ~8 \( D; ]6 dLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
. r9 I: T; j, X* I, \Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' d" A9 R- O6 f' kChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
{& X5 m9 o4 \/ dimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." r3 k9 T& K6 P* h
$ }* }, n" ]8 ]- t: \ |4 D9 w7 SAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) O7 a$ U5 y: DChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country$ M; X- |8 s* W& _; {% `4 J
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to# U. o# L$ [! B& [
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% O$ ]- y7 |- \$ u8 @curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director: G# b- F' b% j* K4 V4 n* q4 ^
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
* ^- }0 |# k& M: k$ D' r! _5 R5 J
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' m; O/ ?) L! a) l. ^
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& H9 g& K6 R& _1 I( R
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( ]( y4 `/ ~4 {: o% x B
can." ) C3 N2 A0 m- j: {3 D$ q
0 m' D+ E( ~7 Y; n
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from/ V/ C" C* B7 x- K- ]. m3 A( g
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* u3 T9 D2 t: T/ m# w( _
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ i) K4 V" A& K4 SInstitute in Washington.
2 V1 G* T; C& z( \- s" G7 V- L( q# p/ ?, d8 }: \
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages+ G3 u% x z7 u" s6 t
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.& x' U( n! _9 T
McGinnis said.& z3 r( m1 A8 {6 ^$ y0 b
" t; q+ j r) Q/ f' Y6 k
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* j6 f: ?3 ]! z: _. a/ qlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, u) @- A/ x" b7 s# q; d9 A, xready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' d2 k* b/ V0 Y* J6 B2 i
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
3 ]1 n1 L/ J, S# l
( E/ Y- A. s. I- C3 k7 `Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and) T9 c3 m$ a- p7 R- J: j' h
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in3 q1 V& s! b! A0 p. D9 @
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 Z/ W `, O: e# T6 x# C3 Q$ Y- nChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or. L8 H# a& a& y' v" a w |
on weekends." j3 A2 H& }2 `0 b
: x/ ]: ^) d% W: M. a- MThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public% Z1 V, p( u% z i
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 v- q( w2 n0 k4 N$ K7 w- _6 Astudents who are not of Chinese descent.( F( u0 ^. Q: W- P
2 S0 o) D, J* Y! l, mMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said& E2 J, C" y, O) u5 d2 e) w2 p
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
2 W3 K/ `$ ]2 |- o3 p! b: Ucompetition. / H. v2 I; W$ b6 x
4 _- X0 w0 V# n% G+ p5 C9 Q
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ L. ]$ `* ^' F, D8 B5 hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
9 \, t W: l: A
' @( k; v0 U4 H& W% EFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly! R/ O$ z1 }2 M% N
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse n$ a: _# [& q5 K) H
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. e& ]8 ^* m6 D; @( U- d0 {
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
1 t) H! x( |/ u e, q- w @' r6 _who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 ^1 z7 Y7 q5 c
the school system last year.& A Z+ r7 A+ j0 B
. n0 D9 T, B/ c$ b, X% A
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this0 p- m1 z1 ^9 b. Y1 ]( U0 ]
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year., s! d$ c" g& e- T6 w" p$ I
0 ^ L `9 i. V/ o5 V& T9 Y
"They have a great international experience right in their own: W. s$ f* L0 B/ X
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 c9 w: C& H' l& ? a8 LChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 T% x! s% A2 Z4 g6 xhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
: F( b4 ?4 Q- o% Pon an equal playing field."
% r+ }" T! e8 P9 @$ r- |/ I8 L$ z( |4 l
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese4 i: W0 M9 X; r
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 g/ q' `" ]6 d, R3 }
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
' w$ H" H. @* ~" e, `Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 V+ [3 K, j5 _7 N {: Q+ aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in* B N' W* g, }5 Q6 C; j
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
9 {; f3 W/ b9 ?0 j- \ @; a: ^institute says.
: j: l6 C) Z- O+ V* v1 H; {8 P7 [1 w+ {: V# p2 `1 \( S
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; u" D ], u" i. m6 d
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
8 [+ y: t8 t: ~7 `8 T" |2 }- \deciding whether to take the class./ R0 D7 V7 J' s2 B* J
8 T. _1 j0 h) ^
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% W1 q& L4 L: \- p" U" E) e* htold her daughter.
+ r' \$ [% ~5 S# W! [2 F8 q/ o" B0 V8 j, G
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 C& E* {( c! E3 y. s" P: n( S* t+ N, i
class.
+ [# l4 O7 |, s1 D2 |' D
f- g! ?2 F5 i* ]2 U; O4 HAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are% \" W# l) \) t1 x
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without9 j8 Z% m2 W- |
occasional frustration.
3 L5 K0 @6 a1 ^# }# a8 d' B l5 s8 P4 w! t
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
7 | B. K4 `% ]9 p+ m+ j' x6 @recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% x$ S7 w. J4 c9 q
& r5 M( m% K& q, O% [( i o# WRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 R: b% o& C; W1 y* C
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 C" |# I' V* A' Q4 b
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
6 X; _5 I3 f6 I8 S. S$ c) \) W
7 a$ Q1 `+ x" B, Q! D1 z) d"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ @; Z$ f8 ~; D1 w3 ]) T6 S1 g
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ K0 \2 F7 V6 X, w( I
as many languages as I can."! W+ d: ]1 c( J" G# G
6 s% o4 S {# I6 u0 |4 w* r
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
5 v7 g1 v) f0 N' S* @" I% C8 nskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job8 G3 g% I. P7 [/ A5 w9 I
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& N' t5 J' _# v9 k
that," Ms. Freire said.% g) o3 n+ R7 X, J
0 {0 s7 V% d5 q4 S8 p' O0 C. |& c& u: ]Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. U3 v8 I6 }' C- `+ J& |/ Mhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
, p1 u+ `. ^1 _school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
5 d0 s3 J8 S) {" y: Z5 P' Jtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
" v" Y( L# X+ [+ Rroom.
7 S I) d5 G1 i6 J, A1 B8 y- c3 @6 G: }1 x4 }, d1 x" }
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( l& ?' A3 D, ?4 T" W2 L- e3 hChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, I, k6 V, j5 H1 h9 Bcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.0 _- `5 U/ x3 n+ b5 e6 a
6 W. s4 V9 v- R: k a) i"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
2 L9 ?$ A" z2 }because of that missing certification," he said.
$ @2 q' l* C/ o3 {) a) \, q/ D1 T0 h% P6 U" P, h. \( @
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,4 C5 A6 S8 I0 T
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ h7 g- H. I. a4 o% B6 z3 b
Society in New York.
4 a/ T1 U& k$ J5 ~3 Q) ~5 |, J: ]: v2 ?; x/ A
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
1 L2 J5 a9 i& e* Y8 NChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, I2 b2 `2 a O$ K1 {$ [the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.1 T2 m2 \5 n" w y
4 l& e# h. ]: {6 y. B% \) \2 H/ a2 G
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our% G) r# B' `" E* J! s" K
own."! `! O+ n, f6 g3 I; a
- D1 b, V# H) ~) w3 g9 wCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|