 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
@' C1 S3 x# i* p9 v9 rClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
) }, z) R" n5 X# m9 g S, G/ W/ F9 C/ A( G7 _2 T: Z
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
' G5 Q2 w: \$ _3 e! g+ i% k0 Z7 Z, O$ G7 j0 O$ e% E
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- ^4 c+ R' m2 P+ t9 W- JUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. D j) e2 D7 F) N; e) A2 [) ]; |School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ b% j) A k: m* c9 L- _- z
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" h& T$ I) k3 V F: D# fflag hang from the wall.! t) z6 y5 F# C4 m1 n
1 Q& s, J$ S0 v0 E" m' X; F( gOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, a% D# p5 S% `7 T+ s
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
# }8 u' `$ C0 `! Q8 t2 Qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* ?6 @6 m& e5 ?/ D C; U6 Z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 [: ~/ r' v. b, c( F' \/ x
are already choosing it over Spanish.
* F- ?8 v6 K) ]+ `0 r
$ A$ N3 ~* e/ ~! ]6 g1 r2 T"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
+ M) h7 u1 @5 ?' q2 U* a( H& L+ Gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city* z; n v6 w% g& ^: Z' m
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 C% @" G0 j, b1 u( W m
) [% h# k' E1 A' C
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* D9 \2 [6 H: o5 I- Tschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
$ V" q7 {1 [& P/ i9 o" }- Ato include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
" n6 c) J$ r1 Q. Y8 k) ^2 hone of its most difficult to learn.6 I6 A: b& T# N, C
# `, A) A8 t: L8 T% PLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- ?4 K: N4 s+ z2 }' \
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; p* J5 n% b* s0 T wstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
5 h" K9 G, }5 H& ZLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
* m ^" Y; u$ p& jTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* ~& P- u& v" {3 M0 R$ p
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to' W/ Q5 f' ^) F# x: P" `
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
9 m. {# O, o5 x4 m$ H! n
9 E0 m! _! G; MAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 H3 D3 |' N% r+ w/ I
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country' K1 y- W/ c7 J# b1 i1 ~
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to9 S: e8 I$ |) e; i. M; f9 F- A1 |/ Y
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing/ ?$ N% W* V9 w9 ~# W7 b3 K
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* Z/ u7 L$ \, [- {6 ^
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
3 Q) p- T" F9 }$ L
+ x/ k% v) \3 M7 P) J+ p"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of& \5 x7 \( w+ s
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
, l9 Z2 c, {* Y* k* R4 v) rConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( j% a3 h; }7 q
can."
: b) v7 Y2 A1 }1 B6 W
) B j) [; H' H0 k' Z0 TThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from1 a1 G- e- {7 J/ Z
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 j- ]; T$ ]: \9 wyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) d! C0 Q) |; o( v- w" EInstitute in Washington.+ D& ?. U i/ c) f) F! V# ^6 S2 U! r
: P8 L8 L7 x6 j, ~3 @& I5 D) z"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; c" ^5 x, b! E6 f: d
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ [3 B2 Y) o% wMcGinnis said.
. ? {4 \7 y. i5 T- W8 d* t0 e$ f7 p7 o
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical$ e6 P) u, r# \$ a& [3 m; E
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 W$ \; U' `- E" d2 cready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' A, ~5 R6 _9 ~1 Z" Y: ^
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."9 h1 X3 G8 `) k' Q9 A9 l: u* ] _
/ `7 i4 w/ o0 V/ X/ U( s
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and* c! K5 ^8 N- X5 l8 a' U" b
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
! g; x+ x9 [. f/ k9 X2 jcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of* H& l' `+ q8 O$ f+ Z" l- `
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or# a! R, u: f- _1 E, l8 ]
on weekends.
" T6 }; t6 Q% n8 M2 w6 C7 _) r, }0 |
, J1 J4 T+ @, WThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
8 p2 h( H: [) D4 B r' Hschools during the regular school day and primarily serves& h" k. P6 d8 Z$ X) b
students who are not of Chinese descent.
8 R5 L# E" L+ C+ y0 ~9 Y# Q
2 A5 Q: d" @1 h+ G" U1 r' _' BMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said% t: U$ k$ v/ y& e
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the. _: b X, F2 _$ A4 }4 r. s
competition. 5 U/ T' K# u. R: h
. y% f. Z$ I# B+ h5 H
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 {2 x5 r# W# f asaid. "There will be Chinese and English.", i, v* W$ M7 |( U# r1 D
4 i' n; p+ y' j6 J v% vFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 u8 L) H9 {, B& l+ D7 yall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 g& j1 j; r$ x$ p o
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
* c- f6 X; S/ E) J0 b, z: r$ {* nkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ p* G$ g7 i- J' V( `/ o, H
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to! W( e2 G# R ]) f: E/ ~
the school system last year.
) `% V. `' F+ c' i( E# X' P
4 h+ x1 ^* B7 B2 B6 i' ?& U1 NThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this: Y2 ?3 F) G; `" y
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year. o8 F) u) `. m1 @
4 ~/ p9 J- k$ S" a. s* p"They have a great international experience right in their own
, t2 n+ u( |, [5 D: o4 S- qclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# m& e. z" ^) H F" q$ F8 dChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* [& B" ^. S) V4 B& m7 uhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 l8 i+ z9 T+ {/ j) C0 f0 _on an equal playing field."
6 u" w5 S- R( b' i$ _1 f7 k5 @) ] n
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese8 O( h" x! `) `' ?
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! N( a% {" ^/ `+ D, lService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks! {% J3 o1 Z- R. L
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
; [) |, V$ K; k4 Waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ O+ U+ h: a+ b
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
; ~# _: K& {6 ^' x L) sinstitute says.
# n& S- a1 z9 o% H8 |
/ S4 t7 u: t' h7 ^6 u# n1 |4 sSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ }9 j4 r! } Bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
! s* g* U, f7 F+ `deciding whether to take the class.# h4 d7 U9 v8 L. c7 v4 B
J. Y! b T6 c+ W
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( e4 u9 A0 ^1 T! l
told her daughter.
- h2 p/ }8 l2 _0 M, e
6 I/ m( {8 o0 v7 C- s1 T* `' h& fSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite1 a0 e: i' W" V6 d3 i
class.0 }# [+ E6 z% k. T `
5 o; `! @7 N* J: I/ |At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 R8 D) {% @ [) X' ?1 |- n$ ?studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# B' m5 s6 i4 s$ B& y& S# }5 d; w3 Noccasional frustration.# B0 B, `4 T. {; k# M& s X
' m q8 @) w1 b W6 i( G; g% z" t
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a' F |% s* c2 I3 l8 ~7 d; I' Z8 O
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
1 e+ s* p( e5 e- l5 i
4 O6 |: o1 ?7 Z! @9 KRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 q; f# p$ [ g9 v& u* Z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with; G, |6 z, M' B' o' H4 Q+ D" |& \
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( v3 Q- ^. C* Q' `; W' |/ q
0 Q6 { {8 `0 }% e% z- A"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul) [9 B8 O0 v0 B! ?
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn: z# R+ j2 b" Q9 Q8 d. c
as many languages as I can."2 T& m. T7 _# `; z- A5 g
: r) |, w( F. Q; P+ l+ N0 b5 JAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 @+ T$ s" G# b( |( A5 Fskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
/ j9 B& U( P+ U3 `market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
. L5 Z8 s& k: E5 c, g( Gthat," Ms. Freire said.8 e* H. ?. S; _4 r0 F
+ p7 |; R k1 [( f5 i9 p6 c2 x
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
* i( j5 {' P* S( b: _0 z# }0 ]here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 ?- P5 T7 V5 |% ]9 R0 V, M% V( x
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: U* _$ H7 {, ?5 D2 jtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make0 _. a- R) z# W( p4 s+ a3 ^
room.8 ^3 G# C" {6 g0 o5 l2 X
2 N9 p) e. C3 w9 ~8 Q% h
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer; S. T/ s: h2 N, }* J' ~$ t
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American% t7 c4 B4 }7 t8 Y, p! K* u; Z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
% Z4 e" R2 p$ q4 }
$ |, K7 c5 n' P o; A"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified0 H' ^$ {' h3 X( A( H2 S
because of that missing certification," he said.* o R2 m4 @' a) G; k
6 i5 U( y) w- M; n8 l
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,! v& W6 ?7 Y$ Q, p$ g
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia2 I6 d3 s: ?* @" w7 {4 k/ g
Society in New York.3 W9 n' @# p/ F5 k) F
# z2 N- x/ d6 Q/ M; C6 g
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 _& X, ^4 M! l) l5 |Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& L: [* j R3 t( I3 W% Y P' J
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
) @, o6 P/ M( ?/ k' j* C8 f6 |" O
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
9 a5 h; i8 B! Vown."
5 F6 t9 ]& U5 x" x0 I0 D: R; N# h! U' G. X* q7 Z( N9 E) t: u
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|