 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
- H9 U% H3 h+ L& O) x1 D6 LClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
# l7 v! _1 P$ y6 }- i& E& d+ _5 j% Y0 o. [
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING" ?/ Y( c* x' r. P
, J" U* c4 P/ q' S. e. q+ |8 R
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the: W/ k; ]; G! C* d; @: n
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
0 V1 c& d) c& c# o8 e8 \School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
0 V2 b k2 r! X+ l% o8 F6 V3 [0 Wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese6 f5 T( Z( h3 L. |8 C" b
flag hang from the wall.
a" S! L9 V1 O- r7 Z5 _; j
4 Q7 }" V" v8 N- o" W! N7 V' c+ TOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& c% A1 d5 }" x$ d! y6 z
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) r& @ B) J epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
+ G7 G8 a8 H* G2 pboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
7 o% c: D6 k/ i5 g8 f rare already choosing it over Spanish.5 D* q- `" F8 }6 I1 F" O
" m9 T6 i: g1 m1 \, q& Y. G0 Y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal1 U4 q' V& V+ g( ~: W6 e
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 S* I; Z1 b: u0 A: r/ Q m. ~; O# Coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
; S W% C; \5 q2 s6 g' z6 V
: Z; t: V0 O) h/ d" NWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ t; k" y) ]# O nschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, |1 A2 R! |/ h' U- l: a
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
) \4 x% d2 }# G6 a5 {8 `one of its most difficult to learn.0 P" p4 T! j. z+ G2 `: y u
( j0 J# u$ R5 Q! e3 ~$ ?4 o, D7 kLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
. y3 Q% }6 B6 b) Vpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students* {4 b8 `- N2 `4 D3 ]6 ^& J7 |
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I." Q1 r' |( `5 K) I% r' f
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ M2 W: M# p2 N- N/ dTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
* K, R3 Q0 F7 ^; m! r8 ZChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" u+ m& F( }7 N0 D4 n) Uimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ P! b0 i( M! L; O, k! o7 F+ z
/ @' x, d; E0 B) C& s4 q: x, f# [5 F
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
7 M# v5 L7 j0 I! U, jChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; ]! t- Y2 P: b. @. c% L7 }starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
5 k8 C8 L2 s7 a" e7 h! l, {develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* D! G6 y, |* M) g0 P5 \- u
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director1 O8 w. W! w0 |& ?- F
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
/ l/ f. }8 X( h- m, j
, q" t; w1 H/ ~2 w"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
B# j7 C4 h' j# Espeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. y! s! k0 l8 j+ l1 KConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ Z$ _4 Q/ k) `. |
can."
6 ]+ S$ z3 ]( m4 I h
' M4 ?2 r* }8 c( v" \The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) b6 @# d- n7 P( v/ ~$ Velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 109 }! X u5 v1 [1 o( D- Z8 `
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language3 U p! O0 c: N! q) i6 U+ p
Institute in Washington.
& \5 [: s) a; d6 M
1 j+ O2 }! |4 M"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages) ^8 ~; V/ `0 Z3 r/ M* M
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
+ G) J4 @" w4 D) H, G) D6 A8 i% iMcGinnis said.1 `2 G3 [; y, v `$ ^2 w7 C
, e( D& F. t7 M& z2 F% E( I"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical( h) G' x9 M# F% H9 U
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ Y2 t6 [3 w! ~# h) P" W
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
# o0 @6 x y, |8 @) ^challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
5 A+ a @" I) r7 N: m2 H6 B# N R3 r# ]- t+ t. Y, @! h
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and6 `& n( {* f7 s! u- P
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: N' _' c9 v" t H2 ]( a/ fcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of6 O" N3 U" E; \0 b5 |: u
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
7 N7 k! B4 }$ C4 J, oon weekends.
7 i5 [; y# }: m
# q% W% H0 c# g* f: c" nThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
5 P1 |6 Z8 c5 G3 p! y. {schools during the regular school day and primarily serves V2 X. F1 {8 g, C3 A$ y
students who are not of Chinese descent.
: b# s' K; n, L; D# U2 |0 m) F3 @' T" p$ @! ]3 y/ v; u
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
- f4 z: t r9 x8 Vproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
1 Z- E$ x. y2 ?9 e7 t0 U7 Gcompetition. ' r! x) g/ s" D7 O0 E
4 Q$ k, m* j3 R3 S) o8 S"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; ?. ]0 L) S" Q5 F0 ]& E0 t9 `said. "There will be Chinese and English."1 D, Z5 ]( x5 T D! ~# a! ?
+ H" s6 w m% H: V7 s; a1 \From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# N0 F# |% ?% ]3 K" l6 E1 n1 I; Z
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 {' @6 X/ M5 L+ h. Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from$ e; k7 J" q4 o! F/ V( S1 B
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ G J( L6 @$ K* l
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& \( ^5 }, ?6 ]$ U' |
the school system last year.
/ S7 y5 ]) |) Z- n `
! a2 P; {' Z* x0 a: kThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 B9 [) `/ n) h Gyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
& }1 ]+ d v7 V2 }6 p, d( t# H6 Y8 v7 s7 P4 a& N9 I
"They have a great international experience right in their own' }5 f/ z, @& _
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 Q7 G6 \4 p2 O8 s; m1 BChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to/ p9 a# K1 w4 o+ E/ L9 x
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
) |" S5 ?9 R4 m* w. a1 \on an equal playing field."% g( T& `) ~6 t% q; F
1 O, c9 {2 U6 c" [
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese0 b* d' \8 q8 D# g1 g) J' m+ ^8 u+ Y
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' l1 R' h5 ?. ^5 [/ yService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( _ l3 O0 Y: S; _' yChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An% A" _, Q i, l2 T; W/ o
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 f! x% _) x# {8 `
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 y4 e7 Q# g) ~# Ginstitute says.# N" C! w. S! P) X7 W
1 M, G3 w& z. k. C; n! P- n
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; |$ _+ \+ l' P- z- ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
* `( J- d, P8 @' k4 y3 }deciding whether to take the class.
4 i1 v/ y' \" \4 O8 |1 D7 e7 ~/ B+ _( O, A# w' G" K! k& o# D9 e$ `
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( G. }1 L# }* H& L0 u$ X
told her daughter.1 u" [$ Z+ T& |( _; Z3 t
- O+ K! y6 Y* r
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite. g2 u/ I# w+ y% P
class.! }! `$ G' I9 R% v# _ K2 U9 ^+ {
4 B6 Y: \+ E5 ^6 L7 g8 v" jAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ M! L8 w( @' \7 f+ {" tstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without& ]2 v) R5 o' X) J% R
occasional frustration.$ B. ?" A: i* f) R0 A3 r
) c6 V) H1 G# K3 {"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a' m: K+ L/ E1 l' [; E
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
. o; D* k+ d* q1 ^6 C9 I: B! t0 g8 J! x8 ~
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
$ z, M1 `8 k+ o3 h( otaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 a& \% [1 ~1 h" pChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.8 Y% y( t8 }3 H& G q1 w; P9 `2 J
9 G1 G/ n% U( G9 V6 E
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul7 y# h9 }4 k( i1 N; t$ F! y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 D# {7 O$ d+ n8 f( z: l7 @
as many languages as I can."* Q7 o" N8 Z& q y
6 R* ^ |, h3 ?7 M1 ?/ TAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; I7 r. q& o7 p, Askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. }4 }# b3 _( i- C, H3 V: {* [market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like5 i8 G% s9 t( v3 T9 l& _
that," Ms. Freire said.
3 A2 {5 L3 a" C3 r
4 s2 l6 n; E& @! k; iMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
3 E: {: I m/ L+ u P6 L) @& K$ T# shere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
7 Z/ K* a G5 ~' Q Cschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- A2 g2 `; V" `' z+ @( ^: y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make* f, m; v2 ~. U: ^; s( {
room.. p( P0 H( t+ C0 @0 @9 G
, I- v7 W* [$ d3 Y( w# CChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 ~ \6 ~* S" F$ sChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 [. Y! [) e6 @: o# U3 v6 `- Y2 H
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 C1 r, m8 l2 Z6 C
: v/ x- c. x1 X
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified z- w$ i; A- u6 K
because of that missing certification," he said.2 k! F' y9 j1 ^, R/ l8 d
# l. c9 J$ U: m" k& \5 W
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! m& c6 \/ m: d: W8 \+ X9 Asaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia" z4 O2 O/ U& B- E$ C: a
Society in New York.. d- O6 q# M8 @6 N7 p0 K
4 V8 O7 g I9 T# O% C) f0 \
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
; R9 j( r. `, L$ `* lChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 _5 b4 j; [. [* a4 c" R: j
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
$ t! k. L2 a" A. C
' F/ k2 p3 D# I8 v3 [) z"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our* W9 i' b' f6 N5 R* r
own."0 @! S7 |! h- Q" e0 `7 S( W8 h
& S' u! S: ?# zCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|