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October 15, 20054 a6 F9 {" i. d9 u
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 O/ |4 J0 t* B$ W" M4 ?6 g
+ O. V$ |/ _& Q6 TBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
3 ?7 K: ?0 b; P9 U* U, b( q' v) G& e6 N+ s3 Q% O0 ?
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the: ~% b% g! o+ Y+ l
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
, |+ W9 z2 f- P, t# O' w, l8 aSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas8 E" f4 L+ q0 o$ O$ b
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
]( H: p* ?2 V) X9 K, N6 z5 jflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
) X, }# R8 i* o/ T0 w {another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* h5 S: g* X5 q
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* p+ a, X; t* ]# @9 F
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students/ n5 D* l! [( A+ i
are already choosing it over Spanish.& O W4 K t# Y5 i
( N- \' G- ?0 W# M1 o" f! b: Z"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal \& v- u6 K4 d d! j+ F
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ e7 O$ ]: z; ~offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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4 S: I% c0 v5 o7 SWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ S3 V f( M: a. o$ K; e# u
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings$ F, w; h- ] m/ h9 ]+ W9 K2 p0 J. D
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 r" N7 l/ ]$ Done of its most difficult to learn.' `# Z3 a$ v. w% }; x4 _* a. G* I: H, J
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ z4 t/ J! v9 ~
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students/ u5 o z% v4 J8 X0 H" |- z7 L
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ g4 }- t0 G/ U. U. I. h/ ?
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
2 g0 k7 v2 y2 d3 HTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
( j4 u. I5 l) m9 k/ \1 PChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
Z- r6 ], o/ u/ s& J+ ]& }improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.1 z M0 |. |1 Y8 x% L e
9 @! u; L- Y) C$ zAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
5 g4 l3 t2 [7 sChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. w% r3 u/ f9 i! |2 v+ z
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to% U l; U/ N. ~# n" e' z) S$ g
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing" [1 H0 p. [( G2 I: Q7 m
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& Y% l4 Y7 c+ n5 iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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" H& N- Y' R! Q# W! ?' M5 T) Q"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 G Y, S& B. I3 x4 H0 ~! ~
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. |0 X$ _' W6 T) F6 oConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
6 V/ g! T% `" Q2 b E7 w" S9 kcan." - X4 H1 }" w& }. ~ v5 e
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from" k5 x: l1 q1 ~: |) E
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
+ \: `/ E' `% B. |; myears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ F7 H- h V% l9 b$ ]) M3 n2 nInstitute in Washington.( V @' v; B. o- M7 L, G
( z+ ?% {, F! _4 G! H0 u
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
+ q8 t1 |( B* c9 k. z$ ?; ^aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! R6 r0 M0 G5 @: S& jMcGinnis said.4 j) Y, r* x7 T l0 @9 T
+ H- X6 `" r( N: x2 v
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ g0 Z( p" ~6 b( xlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be& s0 C' ^, ?, {9 W e. d
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( H9 w7 |( a4 f: W) Uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" u6 S3 G7 B. x/ D0 H- F$ v/ r8 y
2 g3 Y; l7 _) ~9 S; MUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
9 }) O: j& f* w2 v Asecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
/ r# w D. ?0 z' C) ]$ h" ecities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 B# |2 x4 u; |0 D! zChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or0 |/ q. W9 W+ U
on weekends.
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/ W3 }. d, Q2 l" e/ ^3 |The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" i% t R8 A$ A8 g2 E6 @ qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
# b) z3 L9 \7 K* k0 m2 F* `7 lstudents who are not of Chinese descent. N+ I/ ^: Y: d& a! [0 N" R
P' ^2 r" i/ ^Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
3 L5 _8 x3 V3 f" |: Z; N; mproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
: H4 {" F0 E' ~8 O: {competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley6 s B- R9 S/ I1 {* f9 G( R
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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7 X: |6 {) y7 D4 c5 g. a ?! r8 @ EFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 ?/ r7 h2 u( D, \. Ball-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
$ p L% J( K) {2 o: u% o' K" Bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from, N/ D# ^- @: i7 _: H' {
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
( S. W9 r* M$ D6 a4 Swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
* b0 t+ k( _% A' F' H4 k% y$ h" @# dthe school system last year.' W- x. S- {2 M1 y2 m2 j
" L. \' r- V+ H- a$ }- S! M% @The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' L7 K( \, l4 o+ T& I/ X
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.5 J9 G/ l2 y8 [- ?5 }. ~6 N4 f. ?
" J8 i) I- g2 k+ B"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 @9 R6 b2 \% |( ^classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 w6 W9 ^( |6 P8 e6 EChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 v( @& a: H0 h; ]! p4 I# t6 F& i0 Phelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
* y, Q) I4 ?. \+ A1 K* [8 j: ]" Bon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- _8 e) E v Tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ k3 t% n) n. g5 R% e# `
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks/ N" O3 j+ k% u1 c2 G" h
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( [, S/ z5 _2 A- raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 h% h/ O/ E) p) r Z, Z* [5 fChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the3 B; n1 L3 C+ V, g# [ I
institute says.) {! ^8 U( i' Q1 ^! Y8 T6 P
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
3 k, S( q* b; j* R( Kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 v0 x: C( `" I( B; M4 S' r
deciding whether to take the class.4 J7 K2 j* R6 P. W/ Q8 s1 ~! i9 ?* [
$ x" f! I6 }& \
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she' m4 G5 ]1 u" S
told her daughter./ ~& K) A$ f+ `3 @; ~8 s, q5 _! d" ~
) n; A) ]8 E! t7 V, _2 ]$ E% SSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
+ W& x# y& Z2 Z' b- t( Y: h# [class.1 `$ A; q- w- V' q
' L; {) \0 U; U+ D0 p. OAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are% `4 e8 Y1 w+ W G4 ^; Z; t0 a. [
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
6 H1 ]/ X* H8 m: ~5 S, moccasional frustration.7 ]% \( S& x# d0 T
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 X+ I4 m' d- s7 _7 j$ v+ L
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.: `" c u4 ~* y( V7 d( s8 _
3 J1 @* Y% S) X, h8 LRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' h- K- Y7 q( x3 G6 e* I' f$ a& h$ S
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with, K1 W# e2 a* R, V1 q$ f
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works., x# \. ?' D" _. K1 e1 {+ ^
( k% i9 ?: A$ r. K2 ?"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' Y1 L3 m* T. v. o' m; y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn: ^" l- T2 r/ s
as many languages as I can.") D: j4 [% f q- n( C$ _& y2 I
" e+ G# h$ j8 S# FAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
% r5 N1 Y+ _2 c" c5 t/ iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job# p0 Z# N' P1 D9 M% E( l
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ I' g; l9 F+ p, N( z
that," Ms. Freire said.
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: i7 D3 A$ ?4 a) H' MMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program X7 Y5 Y2 h" H3 U9 u
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each# W) v" c0 X2 @$ l& i# u6 z, A
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
* `7 C J1 ?3 D, x6 E* ^4 A0 P+ rtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
' J# m, k0 t4 W) \/ ]+ w% M& vroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
$ k! _3 F7 @. C7 m- H2 F( R. u' gChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 ^/ K& t! g1 K% E3 P: ]# W1 ]$ a
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.: @' [6 O' m9 m2 Q0 i' |. M# s+ }
# I% J# ~: E+ K* v2 ]"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% I% G) M0 ~2 _8 X$ |1 \& P
because of that missing certification," he said.3 s+ q& W) j6 S) n. g
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,7 I- I7 \0 {$ C" z
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia! b3 C; p/ [( F% w
Society in New York.5 |+ H1 s8 y2 s& O4 Y
1 n0 `' u4 s0 ]0 U8 x3 J. ` cSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
" u1 H" C, O" K( {. Q& wChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' h* M- s9 k$ othe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. a! ~: G7 a* c; r
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
! l2 e7 @7 V5 C. J" Wown."
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! W W. l2 k5 J" [$ vCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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