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October 15, 2005
1 i' L5 V/ |2 d4 fClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 ]' S2 C7 ?" f9 W9 _
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 N. N( Q: H9 M+ V6 ]6 eUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary+ R% w: ~/ k+ p3 T$ b9 {
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas% ^( B3 _$ i3 P( u
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
% E1 h+ p" l1 u7 I" M9 z1 @# g5 Kflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
: T' x; c; T$ T8 U4 Oanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' W' d2 f- b; f' T6 U" F
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 o/ ]- O' c6 _
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( F" f8 m6 K ~* @7 ]are already choosing it over Spanish./ q X r6 Q7 s9 @. K" ^
/ D6 l; d. Z% i! q& f"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal( i+ i! X2 Y3 m4 H1 n" @9 L1 N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
0 z! a& X- ~5 o; _+ R9 foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# g5 F A7 s6 Y. c4 V J) K i& q6 Q& \
' K9 u4 I8 C0 }4 K, o4 V! _With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 k; S# k" ]/ L8 y V3 xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
' e2 k M9 ?/ W* @2 eto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
" q8 z6 k: [2 q- x* T# h( A+ L% D& Zone of its most difficult to learn.0 o' A$ a) |2 t; B, I! }
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& v9 w& H# \0 q8 r/ k& \3 Dpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) J# n: v4 F8 [5 G3 D% i. _
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 |& f% F# m9 T2 i% }. p
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of, a7 }" v& c/ M
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 s; x0 S5 _9 X9 cChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 D1 h# N% ~! ~, N
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.$ x5 M; B5 b7 |' h2 G7 z
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
Y) A; h* u; h" p/ T! _Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 }: _% Q+ Q& R; ?; hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 U2 b6 V$ y; [develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 r* r/ m8 }& D) |2 X9 |) @curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" a/ O$ |* x- [5 t( h
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) [4 E9 L; M, q' E5 M c) |
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 U7 S1 L5 N/ `; x' s
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 s: p. P! ?$ a+ G8 O& e
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
. f3 ~1 I) f' h- ncan."
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/ Q; ]" B- l& l1 {$ S% q; N/ E GThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
- e0 r) q, x# T0 F2 V5 pelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 Z# i8 _8 Z# {' Q/ Ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 [7 ^9 C6 u; t; QInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; n+ i/ B2 N2 ]. \6 {
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( S- \% A& ?1 L: AMcGinnis said.8 i; N$ f1 |% Y! @
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# Z. L; r* @$ A7 a% E
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( a8 U8 h- C; z2 \
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: t# v2 q& C0 Y* s# i
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 F$ \0 ~3 X6 E- T0 I1 E* I' ?secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
( o9 a4 y: |8 u; Z/ K6 D3 Rcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of' @( j* j$ T% W, V; k
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 D4 k" g2 W) B; S( h: ^( [
on weekends.
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7 A1 x R8 r0 m3 i0 XThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. z6 T9 R; C# f" D Y
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves* X0 M/ U# G4 C0 {
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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6 V% Y5 X! i. R. f. ]Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; {8 U$ \3 V% a2 t K- t
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
; E9 K6 J7 ? g3 v0 l) kcompetition. % V8 b1 K( E( a, |0 T( h" m
8 I7 M! M* g4 [7 Z. g"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley6 i/ C& G& `: C: k; s# _5 u
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 n* W a" s0 W' d' N
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 e7 K! C+ _4 ^8 u
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from8 n) q. d* o7 L2 f* ~
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students. \9 y N/ }9 T. E. P
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( t4 t. `) {7 u% ~/ _1 W
the school system last year.: g. o R% F% g" V: @+ s
: ?7 K+ q: T' X+ z8 f# ?8 H- d% QThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
) n" h0 y, k3 O. Y4 Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 e9 Z+ q0 z) c! u
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
+ ~9 X! P8 t l. Hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" C. o8 H! c, n
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
9 E. V g! W/ E, L7 X* Nhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
* X* b( B) p5 ]( e) v- H$ ~# C3 t2 yon an equal playing field."
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, y- Y1 W( k# k$ r! O) @Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 l' V7 s! D% p+ f. \classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
( w% v/ a. j9 O( QService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 X( w3 }! G6 x; ^# L3 V* a5 g% `Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# U7 i. \; A5 [0 E/ W
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 H4 s% D! G3 P& S4 _* hChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 P: z) A. t. N
institute says. u% S7 ]6 T) z# V
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
- H7 a' x" h! jgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
3 r/ e7 Z% f. ]deciding whether to take the class.( R, A/ r3 T! k9 B/ {
$ K1 x5 F& f2 d0 C"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she6 c x& |8 m0 P5 [6 T
told her daughter. U9 Z; \: x7 Z- n7 t) u% v
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite: V% S% G8 }& R3 I a0 g7 b0 H
class.
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! w( C |' P8 C8 V' t* g2 ZAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( _. w9 i* F) ?( i3 e% c1 `; a1 L, S7 Dstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
! U7 R8 Y _& w4 i+ d$ @ Uoccasional frustration.' n% _$ ], m1 O2 r
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ e- Z3 J& Z, _. @& ~1 \recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.. S [# ]$ Y. j( s2 t
9 Y" v" i1 P# H8 bRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
& M5 a# [9 v9 G3 m6 jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% c e' N) B) f8 {) d1 s' N' Y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: ?9 F8 v$ k# O, \7 j
- ?8 I2 P' x5 {- C& X; |"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
' z1 m: f, u& i6 Y5 H; o" |said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn% v( ~; v+ Q% X; s
as many languages as I can."
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& x. F* c* X# k% H" HAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the+ d/ M/ i" d2 f" z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. U: m) ^" ~6 Z; Amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 ?8 K% q9 m' H3 p' l" bthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
6 X& d% p5 F7 ahere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' i7 |- Z4 j* |8 Gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
# u% D! w& }+ E rtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
5 ~: T4 q! O; \+ R f# iroom.
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$ V6 Z$ r; N3 w2 C$ GChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer& [1 h; v9 U& x3 c
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% [, |) O, }7 L% R7 Q9 {6 |" @ Vcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 q+ m. I3 q' v. Ebecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,$ B' }9 b9 i0 E' }; _# G! `8 i
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
* r& d. W4 M1 q" pSociety in New York.9 V* o: s" m- ~7 u- I
: L, z7 O8 z6 d& bSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the. ]" p; Z* J9 e; g5 P l
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# }1 A! o$ m3 j' |
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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7 x; K* W$ t5 W9 L"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our2 Q8 I: n `% p4 B0 u& U- C( Q
own.", l, q0 e* P2 H1 k0 E% G" S5 d
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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