 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005' y# I8 }% \$ y5 k- ~9 j
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity, I. M. U3 d* y9 ]; U% A* P
, c$ N5 K; e3 b0 R- zBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 Z+ B4 L7 Z c2 m# U( g O
9 P& g4 ~0 j- RCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 ~( ~3 j8 b5 Y/ V# \4 GUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, U: w/ s0 Y* _/ X% Q
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
, I$ O* U F' O/ M0 ]& x/ }2 edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# [% I: @2 I( H6 m* S2 y
flag hang from the wall.
& q. `5 K5 h6 n1 R( n ?$ ~
6 X; r' y4 h5 L' `- `/ C b7 jOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
: L5 n2 P& o, _; }6 I W8 w5 ?7 Manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 q6 N1 y# g2 q' L
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! m% @/ g: [3 ^$ |/ g* Z" ?
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( o: i4 z3 ?7 f+ \4 zare already choosing it over Spanish.
8 @; [' \. P' K8 ]5 D* `
3 P7 q+ Y0 L; ~( Y! D: C"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
% D& R7 p# X3 g) K9 `! o* l* Nat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 C+ `0 k4 e/ R2 n5 Y( k
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
3 m! ~5 p& x: i2 j, U9 Y9 \: }% Q8 B. k
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
, I; @5 X8 W; X4 w( I( Dschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( O6 {, x( Y1 k2 L( y5 P. X
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* o8 B3 `0 }& c" @3 }- rone of its most difficult to learn.
2 v* Q4 `6 A( a; F! `- e! p1 Y' _0 _3 q- m
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to& e% h, e$ I" A2 X# l$ ]' |& ]
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 [- u6 c" ~4 Z( V. d7 W0 Lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! @' }* _* V' x1 O( A' m
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 d3 [& b& J' B* M2 Y! i- VTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ ` O: n1 P0 hChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
2 v$ `) G" r# f: Ximprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. ?9 T# y# F- I0 r7 L
: n! g+ u2 R/ C; k
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) X- c# S* g E7 u$ U( p& SChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 \/ G8 ?' L3 M* n9 cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 l) [4 f# W0 ]. l* ~1 `; I6 W0 B+ jdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ n- V4 D+ a' j4 B* hcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( A6 p5 R7 G8 E. G; ~of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
! C1 u2 f7 y$ X
$ _8 M/ r! T3 y2 ~# s7 C"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
5 c! b( O; Q7 Lspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education( _- O' r# F1 c7 ~" u, p
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ _$ o9 r* z: f! t, Ucan." 6 Z: s+ O. H: N+ n# R) h2 N! p
5 ^ [/ D" f5 K, W5 [! ]( ]
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
; x; E" Z: U0 u: F/ C2 c1 d! Oelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 `: E" ^ `0 D8 T# W1 {7 ^years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' ~ I: I# @/ Z6 `1 j7 t' z
Institute in Washington.- P" }* i/ \: @
+ c- W- i+ B, D8 I$ `"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 r/ g) A! p: U3 I# A8 @
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
* z% ]6 U8 k8 ~5 }McGinnis said. \; } j* E& t" ]/ _
k( q7 D" D. _) o2 d% H"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
4 @/ M$ G( l: Plongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' O4 ]. v' H" ]$ z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: p/ P/ P6 E. ~- _! u- A
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ B' V( I% f- ]' Z8 g$ G
- c+ E; \. B2 K1 YUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 ?* C% B) o6 y9 d, K2 c
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
/ W9 V: a: w! T/ A8 J) gcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of. i0 J$ v2 z/ j. `1 r
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
1 Y' z, C- C! J3 P4 H6 ^: ion weekends.
% {& o. N/ H. B9 q1 K y1 N- Y i7 `+ I# j
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( F7 Q% g- V' `/ \1 h
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
& O; w# H9 M' p9 @/ Vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
8 Y3 V) g& B; L5 h$ y+ a4 G! \( @2 I- L
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
1 d) u( k! [; p- J1 V3 nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' ~/ \! F" t( D: n" p2 O6 J0 p# fcompetition. ( Z* j- k0 Z+ ^& r
1 r+ ?- X, C# [# M4 l"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ ^3 G9 g) a/ l
said. "There will be Chinese and English.", c0 v" K) D: |# u) Q' } M
& Z; A4 l. c+ }' e# B: z& QFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly1 [8 o8 y" Y7 B! s Q
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse M. I$ j: }* k
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from' y4 X/ m& L% l4 x0 G6 Y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ D, S' Y( s* O7 |8 B: ^( x8 jwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 n+ G8 }' @! m a9 v ]4 Xthe school system last year.0 @0 @1 h/ r7 @1 {$ T# D# a
: u+ j/ G1 n0 q' ?& H1 HThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- x }3 @+ y7 v3 |3 M( z. N3 {
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
( h' b7 f$ v1 I2 y- K6 I6 G- p3 s; ~
"They have a great international experience right in their own
$ [" [) ^+ y2 ]7 P9 Q( x4 sclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! }+ \3 F" `; C3 B8 |4 @( j
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' E1 x# p. j `3 | Chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet/ L5 e; _. o5 B2 j9 G# C
on an equal playing field."3 _4 X8 i3 L& M# f( K/ n4 x0 p
+ f6 k* [/ Z* E, }0 {2 x
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese0 b; d5 ~( h" i, T3 X, B: {" I
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! k4 G# T+ ]* C: TService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 b- M- z4 `2 i1 y+ p: l: C( tChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& f1 d4 N, a; q6 eaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 R+ j) k9 z$ n; W
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
2 b5 d! x# ]/ t- p, q& @$ linstitute says.
+ }, {( J1 r# z+ ^* K
& r$ C7 c7 ? BSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
: k# U: v% ?# f* v$ Sgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ E/ W" E) }; u( k- ]+ T4 T
deciding whether to take the class.0 m5 s# e' q3 `! e9 a
' a, a2 V6 Z2 d" e
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
0 j' d! X- G# @0 q B9 D+ [told her daughter.8 h' d& Q% h- R! z8 q7 ~* J& A
5 S9 B( n/ z6 h9 y- [Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ b4 m3 R$ B( ~3 l5 T' g: P
class. [" |2 Q# I2 x4 j' b
3 j& U* w5 Q7 m* E# Q9 |
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are1 Q, V7 z; b# Q) j, q" f3 O& \
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without; ?! l+ }' g; s& d' [# n1 B3 f
occasional frustration.
0 F( w0 N* s. r/ M+ w0 l
9 e5 P- x% e+ w- l"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 i8 f, E& d8 }, y4 |
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
+ D0 N1 |: G# i1 u& x4 {9 `3 |1 Q+ k1 m4 x' R
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
; o5 S! b9 }$ f7 g1 C: @' Z$ T* ~taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
+ k! |0 }& t+ \2 Y oChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( h% ~* ^- K7 E2 L3 P9 L
6 E. {9 ~% p' I"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# Y8 R) Q3 z/ r9 J9 jsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
. L3 o6 C) V# xas many languages as I can."
. s- Z t- z, m$ u. a9 I; D ]2 H3 I8 S( K8 [
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ M- n& t/ p4 L7 E/ T% wskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. Q6 V- N! y$ d6 Y/ H6 P* Omarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, K6 P" E/ \% Z1 ?# T: x' e2 v* k
that," Ms. Freire said.
4 P' T0 o \( N$ R9 m6 \" i. V8 x2 e& `. y: j$ _; e
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program/ _$ a( G# h9 w9 u0 Y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
! o/ z3 r+ X: x5 Y1 ~) B1 u+ Pschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking9 f3 x4 Z5 |5 w9 t
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 o: h$ w6 g* N' j3 Y1 Sroom.( z: Q; j# ?' C' M6 _- x$ y/ o g
8 a* L1 A% N# W) F: m1 [: E7 W
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer) R8 h- P/ q* ~2 T& b
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, D3 u0 U* e* Acollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
- ?) s4 \& z6 A$ B/ W; _/ c
' i% r- G4 n" K+ t"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
) j7 K# A3 O# _! ^+ t. ?because of that missing certification," he said.8 V9 ^+ F7 R& F/ U
& O. e, l* U) B+ ^- J( h! y* L" aThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,% H" J: F% e. \1 h \$ E
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia {, z# A. {$ k3 b/ S
Society in New York.) Z1 ]1 S1 h$ h
9 C: t/ _# d) n1 r7 x# D
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the2 u/ Q) {- V/ g6 a. \$ j+ T% t- Q& E; v
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from; b `+ S9 F- |8 |+ B
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.2 ]4 K0 k) } N8 k$ {# p2 X+ J
1 Z. C# r% p: t3 ?3 |"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
L0 K5 q7 p" |own."
( ] V1 S2 u: S% x
1 R& {! @4 C2 l) ?/ ^) y5 ~Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|