 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 20053 m3 e2 D+ ^; U/ K$ t5 E G
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
/ Y' Q5 j2 }. M$ E* n' \$ A2 \) W8 K r- j; r
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING% ^3 [9 w" v. b5 _9 B4 a
1 c7 f4 p1 B2 Q3 n! I3 i8 D
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the) B" v% R4 c" M, ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 u2 H: p; V# u' _1 R: u# _
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas1 E+ y7 U- \6 U* f7 w
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 a* Q+ [4 r4 Z! pflag hang from the wall.
" @& S& X& q8 A. i) O" J, R f( W v* ?3 O$ t7 Q
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 G" @2 {2 j4 o2 m2 manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' T' A+ }+ v. n9 {# qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
- _5 e+ N& j, }* [, @boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students! d. F! [, l! q) c. I: J3 {5 l
are already choosing it over Spanish.1 B6 T) f) u/ \1 X. ]0 W7 y
5 y5 @( W0 F& n4 `" c" a4 {7 C) A
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# r+ i2 S) I/ ~& Z" `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
v. q3 v9 z% {8 Noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 ]6 n9 I. I- s4 J" g. b2 x
. Y `- Z: x0 e# \4 NWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,# x+ ~, o6 [$ Y. [. \- ^+ b" h4 d
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& b7 Z1 s, w; ?( v1 \to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention# Y& U# [ h2 D2 I$ W. O
one of its most difficult to learn.
" g% Q+ c9 I: ^# G' P- x. T
0 e0 T- g9 T' v* V0 S @$ u* WLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
$ E, X: C: ^8 q2 S/ y( spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% b, `) W$ _, d0 H3 y1 a
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 K* b* d. }: g: u! d
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
[4 E9 i1 e. w& Z/ |+ YTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. X5 q, F, B, A! Y% c$ k* u5 D5 c/ |2 |Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 h$ W/ w) q7 g) l% c! X
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.3 V7 e0 R2 S& J( F
3 _: V- r) l4 q, m. k6 H
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
8 N9 _7 c q- X) uChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 z+ ?/ H: p; G# g
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
* W$ b8 \" G2 K2 E* k0 kdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ V" y3 ?5 z; c
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
/ f# R z/ O1 y @9 \7 Aof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.; m6 O, m3 ~0 v! z. X2 H% P
9 T0 }2 _8 ^1 @"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
8 F5 Z- D- w$ d* y4 b' kspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
* [! [: A& F$ a! D# \1 |7 TConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
# _) B- ~, O+ Dcan." 5 N. }0 _- i, Z& M! {- Z9 B! y
2 g$ c1 S- _: }! q: p; EThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
- g8 q: L8 ~! \- ]8 {elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 105 e E1 o4 O1 T6 i3 R: Y' X
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
" q" f* d: k, [( SInstitute in Washington.
9 R+ t7 g9 h0 E) K. P
+ y; T; V( g3 s7 H1 ~9 w3 X"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; N1 ~+ c4 S& W- K1 R1 Earen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.% M3 X0 ^6 z0 D$ j1 H. A" k
McGinnis said.% ^+ G& _1 |0 K# W6 @' x3 c8 Y
0 j1 C, l0 M( t% p, S1 [1 o6 J' A$ z/ ~ ]
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ F( J; Z ]8 I
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ R) ~# g" L& g1 C5 e
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a, V" Y" o# f5 G
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
% A9 p& T) D. S8 M( S" |7 M- x
, s8 s' W! y9 \0 M' _! qUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
" A+ C. ^; u( ?7 _/ `0 B: u7 psecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; ~. F- }" H7 `1 R; A
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of, \9 ~0 K. U, N( P! E) A
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
" V% R9 u F" d1 W& non weekends.
4 k, j+ A' A6 n7 Z0 f& m% c- O: Y9 e3 S( I$ K' x! M% i
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! I4 I& f9 G' O, v
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 g2 \! \0 W9 X- Y) G
students who are not of Chinese descent.
' T7 r* K' |- q3 K: J+ Z& J, a, C: ] l# B1 i& H) }. d
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 g# s J* [4 `2 Y! E
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
% b% P( l8 Q; ~+ X: P, kcompetition. . d: y' L' i- M @# w' w( m3 t
# {: X/ e3 h" m' S& Y
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley' A4 m% H5 j4 @' ]: E' I9 E' J
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
2 F* H a# K4 @ r% Q7 D. N! ~; L& L: s y5 ~( e# S
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( _7 y* T* [0 B5 q( v" E# {" mall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse, e/ D$ s' \* o
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from c$ B0 ~9 @6 m6 O7 s. @7 K# b* n) U
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
( A2 m! t. d( J' O+ `* Wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
4 w$ _& J" k! gthe school system last year.
3 ?" w; X) Y; D2 [7 U% B1 e+ e# a/ r& d+ x
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
0 T+ X! V8 z+ E% h4 myear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year./ U, s) Y1 s) K6 E, @
. s; K: v5 p$ W) ?; w$ ? W"They have a great international experience right in their own: Q1 ?# _2 }* i. J% T
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago/ f+ r' h( w0 v
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
2 R& @. y% J V0 e! Q$ }+ a+ xhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
2 S7 j! U' v- _( ~+ ?on an equal playing field."
9 v! U9 s$ l# \8 m
# e- M& ]! H5 X) ?Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
8 Y) c2 j( b$ a4 a: _classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
4 [3 u# }: z" O( ]9 p$ X# d8 vService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 x: g, W: @0 a! x8 G5 T3 U. k9 GChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An! s9 c" ~9 j$ H. T2 ?( a* f
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in! }' a+ ?; M- ` H' s8 u8 \; O6 x8 q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* u' O( e8 |+ L3 @: B$ \' Y* a& h
institute says.
7 [3 N) ~& I0 t6 q' Z0 B) h) Q! L4 e1 Z0 ?7 T- }8 u6 b& t1 o" h9 [4 j
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth, H _; w3 X- q
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: U1 K' p+ ?7 g9 z# q9 U& ]: h
deciding whether to take the class.
) T! y! z" }* c' _* t/ J4 Z
; {( w7 ~: A' b1 G. a"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
V/ L6 l$ B# k. N5 y/ ^5 qtold her daughter.* l* R( f* h( {
4 [3 l+ u1 J: _9 lSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 Y% j; L G' Z' c6 lclass.
" y* |4 g9 M; y+ @+ i! c/ X# |/ B" U7 G0 Q* L
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are7 c6 \- N/ P! H" Y
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without; P& Y8 C% F9 F8 n% C6 ?
occasional frustration.
+ h. s$ k7 j( b
5 u2 R/ E1 }/ S' f) M"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* Y/ ?. Z7 J1 N7 e( k) H# y O
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.+ W! J! f/ k2 E
+ _4 ^# e: i; Y" O
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he; g3 Y6 D+ w3 J2 Y) @! J) O
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with6 p: v( A7 B/ D9 S
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
! ~& v$ _& c. ?$ t% c" o+ y, ^# t# s8 i0 G* q2 c1 c- f: W
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 b6 h3 x4 ^4 I. y/ dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 _1 |2 `( f1 L$ xas many languages as I can."/ |5 v" ?/ O9 D
! d, I5 G' E2 E. W& k% Z. Z6 s
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the- [1 f j7 b. T) o& A3 Q
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job/ m: ~( t1 R# [: K2 w
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
D2 p# l3 B& nthat," Ms. Freire said.
% X5 A9 f. m6 x) d
6 k* y9 t0 {9 I1 N( X/ OMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program1 Y: W9 q9 f9 Y9 h4 f
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each6 _2 t7 h. M6 z+ u
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: e& w7 K t5 M# M& t. W9 @' B5 htime from classes like physical education, music and art to make( p7 ?2 H2 n/ T! C
room.
9 \! ?. T8 U* }* k' V0 f
[1 c% P5 t7 G- ]% EChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# r9 q: L* r1 W! |: `Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American! G a; G7 Z4 |2 p+ ^
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; c- u8 A+ v: ^* F+ `
, P7 c8 J5 w% x9 \, W"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified n' Q2 H, `/ Y& ?- f% @+ g
because of that missing certification," he said.
, y5 ]3 |: w3 I5 K# {& \+ r% _1 l' D9 ?8 x
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 \. z! U; \: D+ ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# P5 k/ `) w# H9 ]( n7 e# q iSociety in New York.1 H" P6 d! |5 [5 I2 t* b9 y: V% D
5 s5 \8 b# x- I$ z" f
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
2 l/ q: c/ A; s M* |2 TChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 b2 A0 P' V: `
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.+ p4 a" Y# P9 S& y8 u
( ~" z/ F9 H+ h% x! W
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
. E/ ?% L! t$ X7 Q s4 G" z, fown."
8 H! C0 i% P+ {# a
* M2 F& T. k3 V: nCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|