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October 15, 2005/ A5 k* \3 [! {: Z; o
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 A- F- Q: e( `# z. C5 R( L; _
u1 u2 [8 d( x0 nBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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& m. l3 ?; a- y: W5 _CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
4 c; `; w& L! e& h& E9 A% aUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary& ?9 E8 B: Y1 d1 l" p2 b2 ?6 }
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 u: F+ P# x! Y( J2 K
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 T. I5 x/ R( F; T5 H4 Rflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
% ]1 X* [7 [: \+ J/ ~' banother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 D9 P8 A. y: V N
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! a. y. P9 j8 x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
o% U6 R- Q+ M) Xare already choosing it over Spanish.2 @+ c. L2 {/ Q
0 s8 u% c2 X c"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 q2 s) T8 g# ?% g5 j8 }, Fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& k( U- Z) z) u) poffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 r% M5 a; \& Z. l, o
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,6 r% y2 D4 r! n/ E: j
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' y0 F" @" r/ ]" z: J0 N
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 C* H4 O7 i. h, A/ Sone of its most difficult to learn.& u0 }; l$ \* \9 `* T3 h
- E J* I) {6 y4 P4 \$ PLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ ]% B& e! c2 {0 N8 T4 \0 G
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) L. P$ b9 T# z6 Z3 C! V1 {
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.- _2 E& ^. ]/ ]' K ]" X* D
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
( [' j% b4 _4 P! h% dTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ U* r2 i2 e3 E& [Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
5 d' [* |1 n" a$ C! yimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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1 ?2 ?, V m/ G9 pAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ ?5 z6 l$ ~% b, e
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country# g6 {2 `. v7 O/ v6 x
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
0 @" \& q. J, J/ p5 m# Ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
8 \7 Q# M O/ wcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 X1 K) B' V2 ], @$ `, j. n9 m: H( y
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board./ Y# J$ v A2 o/ Y8 C
, u3 ]8 g d) e"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 Z' ^' l( y. e4 R2 uspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
5 M% r- [ _+ d; K& l4 u0 R, RConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
- q5 Z+ B2 a# f$ L% I0 J) c7 F5 N6 Jcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 N( J2 E1 w: p; x# |- r) ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10/ b2 t& E3 Q, D; u* b1 ]4 w0 D2 F
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language& D# l* C( L8 N9 o! A# {
Institute in Washington.
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" P; b& K. G8 ?0 O"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 ?/ y8 X7 J- r5 x% W9 Oaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 J) y& J; m& _" h( VMcGinnis said.; Q* f# E$ w4 _: M
2 p2 M* z! f$ ?/ z7 Z"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% G/ g, h/ ]9 c5 jlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be K$ {3 o9 w/ l0 u+ Q: @
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a9 @% _0 |6 w( b+ i' l; J( R: A
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". E5 j6 d" T6 F8 }
8 t2 U+ G0 v, A; c1 UUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
1 t4 D& J. u5 I( T# ^secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: s2 z) N& a* X& Qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
: l9 b) f& v# c7 f ?Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or9 e9 @9 ?0 {& H' B0 u. ?: I
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& \) V# I/ w2 B' Cschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 A" z( Q& ^* L6 Z2 V! `students who are not of Chinese descent.: Q- T2 }! t6 n, C. b
, K4 Y' V4 w! Q( W: r! vMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
% v0 H4 c: y' F. A t) _/ F4 @proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
/ p @7 r, i _competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
( b4 t9 |' v: P" j1 s( Z1 y) [5 nsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."4 L H; b( v _& z1 M+ ]( s( H
# f6 q+ g; E6 }From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
% T3 h* [) Z/ f3 Y) F* P6 Lall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
( V C" \ G$ u: A G. cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from) G% N7 k9 n" l
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
. S/ Q4 Z' V* |& C7 Q! L2 Zwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
m% x" Q+ ?5 l* jthe school system last year.' |+ s# [+ j; N; f4 ~6 `
+ E, w! D2 ]8 _# g4 rThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this0 `3 r& d) m, v
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.: c b5 k* D# Z) H
- b; d$ Y( l7 N) X"They have a great international experience right in their own
1 d0 X6 m& s) E5 V9 d" Z/ uclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" l; H v- a% G5 J9 y6 ~- n2 J
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 p R- \$ @% B& h9 _
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 p) s# y2 a" t+ i F: Ion an equal playing field."& X* |- P& x, w
7 S) s% ?2 }9 h6 c" n/ G& M# l) R& L$ i1 iSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 X* ^9 ^# c9 z2 Lclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" n% V9 Z% M" d, T9 Y, i/ ~
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks: t4 M" k# z y, d2 L
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
; Y, z- _3 ]6 s' D: [' Zaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in6 n& a$ _" e9 Q# O) b
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- z/ ^. b7 t; T
institute says.* L2 ~( o# }: [3 C2 j
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* R. Z& @; s. [, D% bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
: ^& P- m* S" x4 bdeciding whether to take the class.7 i0 t- Q- V5 _4 l5 k- H
2 L: C2 p8 @' x"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
9 m, r( w' C* g3 Y, dtold her daughter.& B }, G) S: B x
3 Z4 s H( b+ Q- _. @Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite4 o O' f2 P, i6 _' e/ d1 y. W
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are! Z0 } ~! ?( L0 Q6 n8 q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: Z2 C; y; D6 e; b/ A8 W
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a% L# b& g. v; Q2 m" j( M* C
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.$ `3 F2 X1 e8 i
0 e$ _8 \% a9 P3 eRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he0 S7 _! T& N2 Z4 ~; x$ e! m; ^
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! y0 i6 ^* E* y; E* Q. HChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 |3 I2 _6 d$ N& g% N4 j
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn; R d4 K4 _ I. R% k* G
as many languages as I can."! _! ~/ r+ n8 f# u4 t1 E: q
* g `% b* f: ~9 @/ j DAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
1 l/ j0 n/ k% F! k+ Bskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job. l' b6 P0 H. [$ M" E
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like3 i7 e- o. Z" e/ W
that," Ms. Freire said.6 u% `4 r$ j* w
3 O& n. s7 w: H$ Y0 C3 q& G7 XMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
& v6 \$ r- r1 P( _. M/ h, ~here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! C) I7 K& H2 a& g4 H, n
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
( R L) b+ P( l6 ntime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
- D+ j1 I! T# X% z8 e% Hroom.0 x$ Y) x; l O) x8 T1 `
$ T( F/ ~2 M" ]& x0 lChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
& O& M' F! I. L0 M RChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American" Z2 V1 r( I: `
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ `0 c5 K' _ v8 E
; }/ s$ b, p( }, e5 `2 [9 s5 Z"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified# V* q3 W/ L, H8 |& K# F' |( m" J
because of that missing certification," he said. e9 D8 q4 o* H& \& F. P
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,: F4 r- u& F5 P3 R8 D7 X7 m
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia3 m% P: q; J( B
Society in New York.. x1 J% A! O7 h! b
; d. p2 Q8 V; G& k) r E" gSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& F8 V2 l3 D( z% h- `# kChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
2 E& J( s! t5 e3 ?1 Q: jthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- M/ B) F u2 @4 J8 x
own."
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) Q0 p$ h) i% |Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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