 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
* H: t7 O) ?4 o/ N# wClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
2 h2 F% f4 c4 o7 ?# d" q- F6 S( J G t" u, [/ z
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
0 n; H7 C: ~6 _( a: ?$ C7 Z/ ]5 I+ m" G
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- i e4 T" F* _3 U6 CUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( @% I$ r3 b- m" \7 `School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; j1 ^- B" F. `1 Rdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
# C5 C/ y' z3 F. v1 |flag hang from the wall.) X# @7 H) s, d) ~. }2 l
9 u% I1 J3 g4 B, WOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
& Y$ Q) E) w* `4 ^* ]" vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
2 E, j& w0 K1 spracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 w- M# k; [- |2 z" D) c; J3 uboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students: S4 l; w$ H ]7 N" k* s$ {" z# P
are already choosing it over Spanish.
' m6 E8 V5 ^" \4 J6 k. X2 Z/ Y
0 U1 O( h7 \$ `" d"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ D+ a, R+ s- c2 l/ }% X+ wat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city5 Q; }- y' S) f
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
6 J# Q7 W' r) E5 ]& H1 ]# h% O
, w7 e4 o% P: `, t2 ], sWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,; \# V7 b" q- z v: t+ I, S2 p
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
* g* U; H0 L( S0 h' xto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention' R. D2 s, [, v" I: g& ]3 A2 |
one of its most difficult to learn.8 {. x$ n- `$ [/ c+ R6 N0 S7 J
, @ f* P7 a+ N- \2 J
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
: }( i2 f- A8 V) ?5 Ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students; O; T( R0 Y# b) p: F; L4 ~. }
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# i4 \* X; o- [: G( [Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 \' |& O) R7 l6 c& K) d- h [* {% S
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: c* v- H& d+ p# `Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to( ~7 I8 W* S6 J$ D+ X# R
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* R* A: {* _/ y, M+ Q( a
3 U. ]! g4 n% g; B1 n9 T) v! a
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
; Z$ @: l9 l7 n8 Z' [Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
' T; Q6 A: A `4 R$ |: Lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
9 D+ f, }& c4 }+ fdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ @' O! J- S. X5 l
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; Y9 h6 H, }; B$ iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
k5 t9 V- x8 O, R2 H: s0 y
" s: P2 _4 W, f# X! J; {' r: D"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 M# y% I! _$ Z6 T
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education. W- C, h4 h1 Q$ U9 w& _/ l( @5 E
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
! ^9 n7 a8 V9 Q& o$ acan." 5 J+ {! f4 |( W
+ q9 A" u7 t; R+ C
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from: C; g: M% \: j" }: {
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 107 Y0 {% t% R7 a" w8 W1 |4 h
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; h* D9 K( A V3 ~. {* h# z
Institute in Washington.
% p0 }/ Q: @0 H' L
: [% Q f( W1 X `; V Q"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# p$ P, G8 q3 P* N' F1 q+ e0 Y# b
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( l& j T ?" u6 p( v) I
McGinnis said.4 ?- @) Q6 f5 _
5 E8 B0 W; ]8 L/ i% C# X# W/ l
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
) L$ L4 u& g$ ]0 @longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 a$ D$ {) Y/ \% t% jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. Z) c- H$ L! [, v. kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& `8 s8 {+ }3 q9 _$ A
6 f0 E1 b8 O5 a' H. X" x9 d( g6 E! B& e3 ~Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and$ I' s1 h( D7 r* ? i3 [% E
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
, d7 J+ ^9 v G2 z7 x0 J7 wcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
- J7 h) _3 x& t) S2 k; PChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: X+ Z. b# g C1 M3 E2 C
on weekends.
% }6 w) l4 y1 Z- s
! K9 X) _8 W+ k% F0 C: aThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public" W. Z/ @7 T2 K. F+ I! x
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
$ V4 P7 x& i$ u1 M, F/ Vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
: y/ \$ `' C1 |' l7 N, \( [) a9 J% D G% y' M2 J: M
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said9 p2 ?% _- ~( |0 }5 _0 e% x
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the) L6 J3 v4 H; s" P, Z! @( z! w
competition.
# D! |6 w) Q0 M \% y% }1 x0 z0 w0 o: z y; \0 U' s" G
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley2 W6 y. f9 ]4 p5 L; T
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
8 L P% Z( P7 {; n9 |* W: a1 D
6 g1 K3 m3 J5 g9 c, o0 G1 vFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# z& F, t7 ^' ]/ }! tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
7 W0 p/ ~' V, s; zschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- b/ v* y& a+ {# w- G. H! Ykindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ O" i# G/ [0 |who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
% ]% T' A* N3 `/ e0 N! ]the school system last year.
* V: U/ K6 Z2 N
/ U9 f. T. l# b0 g qThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
6 `2 U6 J1 \- `" {, ]. O. E! qyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! |$ a& K; E2 p6 v1 Q, s# s7 a
) j8 V! ?; F- p( z+ z$ j"They have a great international experience right in their own; I; `) g9 ]8 l% T: |- ^: V7 X, z
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago( O" b/ [$ y* b# l/ S
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
3 {: p1 p6 M6 } ?) a0 I! [help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 O6 {, Z/ b9 v* }" ?
on an equal playing field."% C' r7 ?3 s; w9 [- M# Y
' w9 _& C! T8 o0 b6 cSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese) G% {3 M$ ^/ R5 ?: Z
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign% _' q1 w0 J2 p
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
8 S$ C) |. H C3 AChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
0 f" P1 ]: [+ {) D1 B+ q0 @average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in- X( N e0 z6 g |8 c+ t8 M
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 M+ X& |7 c) m4 K. ^+ H5 {institute says.0 C2 J" E6 c! e4 v: f2 o
( j0 v1 }) S! N+ }% p8 B! p
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 Z: U% J/ }7 b, E& e0 cgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before e" s3 A ?+ T
deciding whether to take the class.
4 W, J& m5 ]6 P; R. W/ @0 m; ^& A2 {5 l3 r" a E
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) D$ a! C1 j- `/ o$ [: j# r
told her daughter.1 z" n; g' K6 [7 j1 W6 a+ [6 B7 n
9 ?- U" n% r6 h8 OSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite) G( O/ W0 x# V
class./ i0 v* l; @% h1 d* K5 J
1 e* j' N, [/ f! O; @+ b4 e- ?At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. R H: v. n1 Pstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' Z5 [+ s' ]1 P9 g; ] Koccasional frustration.
! N5 t; W) S* a6 `% l9 V$ P1 a$ O- z0 S) H" B5 G0 E4 P
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
7 |- d' j3 S; krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
0 x1 c3 o* l \, |# g0 B, I
' @+ F& n9 Y# j4 b Q7 V) ^Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
; U( F; i3 ?0 N3 `9 }taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: F) S* n5 F4 P( A6 z, A/ v1 W
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
1 O6 s) P2 S. W) t
" z+ o! B+ ^* e* [6 g"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul& x6 R/ E* ?8 K; p, I3 }/ w
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn ^, T/ A* c% c7 ?! N
as many languages as I can."3 ?. j. |2 g4 n) q, Y
2 G% R5 s. E; O* jAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the; z0 v, H0 |- x' P
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job# O; L, \& H; C. y* A) S; |/ `
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 b9 h) ^% ?9 i4 {0 f/ a
that," Ms. Freire said." A1 b) ~0 u' s& B' b
2 Q% I: v: e/ I6 \Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 N: d6 M9 `6 _3 T t
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each% {! L- B) N/ B
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking$ n9 ?, Q0 L+ K6 {: M
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
' C' o: M5 N" k5 [room.
8 q1 f% r0 l7 E6 r7 L/ q" c) h! ]! v
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
6 c6 u9 z( r3 oChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
# R1 f% `- W) o* A; u; ^4 o+ |college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.: o6 p; Y; u% d9 ?. [
; f" @7 Y0 P5 a) g1 Q; j
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified2 O4 c9 i0 D- q3 q+ e" O0 s
because of that missing certification," he said.$ U, R6 w l% Q1 A
( m% S6 n1 S4 a6 R
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* s0 R( Z, ?: S! H k4 o' t
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( i* ~% [; P$ c+ B0 g& M! V; E
Society in New York.
5 k$ s& S1 d* j t- C/ L( |+ v% H
) s. m% O1 U' y: DSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the. a7 U1 J8 M" Q9 ~ B. U
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from+ j+ g' t! h7 ~- Y$ V0 T1 b
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.* A) X3 i" ?( ~: C( ]8 Q( N6 k `1 E- n
* S& a( U# H4 @; E: e
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: g' }0 H/ k" |; @1 o1 a
own."
0 B( h$ i7 o4 k" R/ w5 {0 |% N' ~- c2 P4 P- r5 L8 M
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|