 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
7 u; {/ a* a5 ^7 }' K7 g% iClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( X! g g5 u, i) R, S) n
4 o1 V: O% F6 [- t9 D, q- VBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
9 _9 K2 ~6 E9 Z+ b
( f: o* s, I! J- N/ \% oCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the/ r6 N0 q- d$ R- `3 V
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary* |/ z9 f5 G4 A1 j1 \4 T6 {
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' C5 a9 Z2 n0 j$ }dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 d4 k) b0 y$ p) wflag hang from the wall.$ s; n$ _5 W7 I {' R( j
0 D" @; l( b* N+ J) M
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 X3 L6 |% n# panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
0 t# P1 }2 F) |, v- Gpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker: j8 V1 O# |4 \& E' M3 Z: y, o1 K. E; s- b
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students7 ]/ c# s3 F& Y
are already choosing it over Spanish.4 I# Z# Y7 [2 z- z, R" F( ?( ~4 u
1 x% a: _/ P, b4 C: h d$ l"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
$ ?+ u) v7 E+ [+ oat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 u' w# P, N3 A& x+ M) H$ d. ~offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."! I6 O+ s4 e5 Z7 x; |0 P
& P. u T8 L$ Q1 N! e9 G- E0 y
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,6 Y5 B ]; g* E2 Z' d$ a3 }8 N; w
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings5 y3 O) z9 e0 w- ~# l
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention3 k, t9 V z7 Y' J0 Z0 }$ U% u; P
one of its most difficult to learn.
% Q [. }7 Z8 q5 \, K: V: Z8 L/ r* u3 C& t2 E; W" i) g0 X
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% c% ` {$ C( G+ C- ?/ `public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students# z- Q1 M- }& P% ?3 j% w A
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: E) T5 r. n& k5 i" x g6 H
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
) N9 G* y/ @/ k& P& E* z* C4 F# rTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 `" X7 ^& v2 _; j# GChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" @& N3 T% _' L: Fimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
% S: M* i9 Z$ s. S/ ^+ G: _7 F( f$ Z4 c
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ e1 s( a2 [. p) h, B) v; z& g
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" a, e+ r" Y8 V
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
$ p8 W! N& { z9 C2 O4 P/ U# X6 @develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 V$ f( u% T: S% w- k7 i
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director% K; a+ P* j' t4 y2 O% m$ y5 Y
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.1 s7 N( C( n; r t* }
% B; F% I& M+ Q+ f"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# ], g2 @2 V' z Z. z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
7 S+ c( m# o# k! oConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we6 f, m; _( z$ N; D X
can." / v- p7 t' [3 ?! ~, p) C) w- Y' ?; g
) a+ X* @ w0 {3 w( T* W8 SThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
& _/ B l/ A6 R- ?. X3 ?: \elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, d( k$ e1 E/ V% \& R. |3 o
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 ]3 d" @) M& O( Q5 e0 c2 T' RInstitute in Washington.0 Q. u% V/ l* V
5 M1 [* E3 z3 B) n6 C"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
$ A& b0 X8 O4 ^9 X0 Xaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.1 P5 {5 r$ A, b! L
McGinnis said.
* h" o' F9 W+ {! E+ o0 J
& O' B" x# c' |/ \# z"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
5 n6 d" b9 w/ H! u. h& V+ Y8 R- dlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be% g9 J, a* O6 b7 u/ N4 P
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
1 R. z6 l2 X# D1 K4 l0 i1 r- ichallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
5 k9 V% h' M7 w: |2 P
9 O8 H6 x0 J# f QUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 @7 R3 B, W3 N& {
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
, r' v6 d K9 t0 fcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! ?! s# a6 B" Q2 a: p7 N* aChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or, n7 d4 b9 j2 ]. H
on weekends.# ~' y7 W* e4 V! [
% |5 X. M, h b6 R [
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public' K$ O2 W, L& v3 ~
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 ~/ @- g: u# `% G7 Vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
4 d" M% Y! f) o3 i" x7 s1 d5 Y& t$ @3 A5 F* x3 O; j
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
% K" g) g1 @, A* _: C' v3 Eproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
& y! ]! H+ v+ F4 Ecompetition. ) h; J, j h4 h, ?6 E
* l' P7 d# `8 _" E5 _# j; U"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley7 D- |; I6 A* W1 h4 V, {
said. "There will be Chinese and English.", a5 e$ u) E Z# K
6 X' E- s( B. vFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ E6 o, p6 X! j% i/ V
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
$ e* r& \+ M/ U: C t8 pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ P7 M+ P! [+ |# ^kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
H" K: R7 a+ h7 x# r3 q: Lwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, ^5 u' G" g- z8 k' @. l6 q4 R0 Kthe school system last year.6 [5 u$ y3 ?, M5 u# l( ~
. |! I1 G5 }* z" l/ t: WThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. y2 `% V$ }7 Uyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
# p7 ~5 m0 u Z" H! V8 p9 U' u4 @- e! \( \& A$ }
"They have a great international experience right in their own; T" ?* Y! }) ^, V- g+ @0 X. S
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago4 ~ K1 V7 z# v4 W3 x9 L( m* j
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to, [3 q# j; J7 J& [( S; y+ E
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet: Y. Q( U4 A* n+ I* U
on an equal playing field."& L C/ Q5 }/ v2 e' l
4 l2 ?; T* Z0 ] M8 V
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese* H( ^8 X$ w, z
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 z/ K( G& z6 X" K1 W- D% N/ ~
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* X# G# Y: d' M: S' k4 }Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
; x7 |3 \" ~: T2 I, A* `average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# k0 E$ P4 y2 k9 O
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the; o t8 I6 e) A, U6 u$ I
institute says. K8 h' Y, x" v5 S5 D
) f+ \. ^4 z$ |& p0 s
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
F* P+ Q' S0 T4 d" p* P8 l) b* @% igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ u7 z$ N. p) P+ k! _& n, V, r4 g' @
deciding whether to take the class.* A! D) i8 S/ h8 S6 R; _- o
( |5 n' Z4 k4 u7 e4 }) ]"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) D2 a; f( Y& S
told her daughter.) `; }0 s, a3 i7 o# V
6 W0 W0 h! S: u
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& X5 h: {. B2 i7 n
class.; \: D9 ]6 w r$ p
4 G0 X, a9 x, w5 ~8 jAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' ]+ h5 M) Y; Q" e0 Cstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without8 e8 Q$ [! C8 m2 Y5 V9 X6 N [5 t
occasional frustration.
1 u" U3 X. V& u( L. |" G/ D6 h0 x2 p$ u9 h9 S
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. |; _- D$ Q- O" i3 K5 [2 d" Rrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.7 H( [, z% m$ Z% b2 E
' _: N/ B9 {. \* ]( f( `# d6 yRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he- C2 }) L/ g2 Z5 U: r, ~4 w
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with9 `) A% q3 @$ H' p- i+ j
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
5 b5 v( m. E3 [+ F+ q7 z
. a1 i8 p4 w7 P- j. n! ~, Q2 t"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
. g3 _$ a/ _+ b9 S5 C) |! d# Csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn' M3 u9 m# _( _$ [. e
as many languages as I can."
1 u5 Z' Y/ L* x3 b. e
, v3 f" J; u6 V: l" {) mAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the: u. Z- n' [" S1 x( J1 e
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
1 v; O4 i3 a$ S- S. q3 k' \market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' N K5 ?/ C$ i4 `6 ~+ Q. j. C
that," Ms. Freire said.
0 K4 s' t* u- V3 d& ]" Y7 R. M& J8 g- ~, w
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 \ a$ f/ z; L3 i; j5 _7 X" O, B
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 p5 `* q) x: v2 }+ ] H- ~ }% V
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 S a: [! }0 m" n$ e6 M
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
8 @4 S: @- N4 [2 yroom.
/ M6 P! w8 y6 ?9 n
8 |& @8 s, J$ a! r3 D' uChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 U' ~$ z& F( z- z) c
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% n0 u' `% C1 [ Qcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.. R; w2 ]/ y* e8 R
1 F- M+ {4 G; }
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified9 }: u' |0 R- u' |/ i
because of that missing certification," he said./ `7 i' d6 y) }+ p9 x. J% U& h
! p+ C0 _# w5 F1 \The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,& q5 u: y. [( [- n$ Y* J
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia" O- p2 u( z: T/ U) D* n9 n
Society in New York.4 |8 B3 O9 E% R' T4 X
) u9 c0 v7 B/ j8 A4 sSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 b3 p1 ], n% x2 r$ @. i
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from+ a: X. d/ g R4 _! c. v5 o
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
j, b) k+ B1 M8 k* `& g, _, Q
d4 [# O+ p, R3 F0 L"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
k! _% d" `- q1 O* Q4 I% a" B3 T4 qown."
% K/ w8 m& W. a; \$ j% w2 C3 y2 n1 {% I6 M
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|