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October 15, 2005* \' \4 z' g1 F
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
# X& s( h& s, i: D2 ]4 A; r% I# y' \ v9 N" O! X* y$ d; T, {6 ^8 j& r8 j; h
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 r. e& ?, B# S; C
* G# o' @* l( }3 X( iCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, E0 C4 P& w' g0 h! g/ N4 d
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 e! Q" m8 ?. c; r
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: P; g1 x$ S) |/ E( u5 \9 Idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
: U3 ^" y& \( R; @( \flag hang from the wall.
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- `3 @& v4 @0 I$ ?$ ^One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 E! ~8 N: _1 x2 h! |% X/ {; }another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders( ]# C# C* B# q7 Y+ Z; m6 K
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 e3 g, _3 h5 }, o, f* M0 Pboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% u2 l+ a T7 J3 |are already choosing it over Spanish.
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% K' j2 C, [& ?) G"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
9 r5 W* A9 K' |2 Rat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. F6 l3 C, d8 U4 l& C3 Toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 T! H. Q3 B+ e! d' x3 |
7 }7 n/ L- D" E7 IWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
; ?+ |) b& C+ F4 L# xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) E$ D1 k1 e5 `
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
6 h2 l; L/ S3 mone of its most difficult to learn.1 c2 _/ l5 l! _$ `7 B1 G
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
; ^4 S4 R+ C- q% }- Spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
? \- U* W( X7 Q- g9 C- q6 ?: Astudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 ^2 z/ U6 T n$ D6 k$ `, s
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
+ j1 t; A: G$ _' \3 cTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 I& ?; Y% D. S& _- r* r( R7 v
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
* I0 x4 I' d4 [! H' {improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.6 ]( [5 L, C/ A6 d1 D
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement2 d' Q F- W9 ^) c% E+ e
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, i/ w+ S' a6 s2 d4 H1 _! R
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to3 u% Q8 z: g) j3 n
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
7 i( \2 u& [) T8 ?curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 z+ p) k) N ?3 X3 Z$ nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) g+ l( j3 P+ n( {6 {
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education' k4 q0 E' Q* Y
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we- l5 T2 f2 P8 ?* L& F
can." 1 D0 P0 X5 E7 o
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
+ k1 t8 F4 g9 T1 E$ lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; z: Y: f$ M( z) v- U( D( n3 o2 ?years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
6 B# s9 f) D6 {Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages2 E8 g! f: l! }6 ~* X/ K0 E
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% v# q( o. }0 U5 R% e% uMcGinnis said.+ C! A* |/ ]2 S( d3 X B# y# e
6 Y9 p8 R% _1 Z s"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; R1 T6 }+ b" L+ \% e8 q) glongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! i9 Y, S$ V- N T$ c4 u8 lready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 o/ V/ [/ i( E C8 Wchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."; _; X3 S+ x9 z; |
0 H/ }) U8 T: D) WUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
8 c: i: E( Q. }$ t# W3 M, Zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
9 R6 r, a5 `2 t3 X2 a) Kcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of5 G! l) l# ~5 Z8 v
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% [) B( O" B S# U8 Z. o0 c" N4 N. M0 lon weekends.
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; f- a) e2 K3 ?8 ]/ p# IThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 j3 V( [0 S4 t$ a1 H$ B Aschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 {! @5 T+ F# \- v8 m# M5 ^students who are not of Chinese descent.8 F4 P+ d) Q' A3 O
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
. g- y ]& s7 H7 x4 `proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the6 _9 l. ~" o- C8 L) [1 y0 c
competition. 4 l/ m4 H& A" j. ^3 {, {& M1 a: g( r
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
" B8 e8 m0 x3 ]+ wsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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[+ X# G- h8 `! O8 p" [From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ Q' x4 H& B: a" ~/ ~
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
8 d5 O0 n" ]* j/ B& y5 k( {' I' U9 gschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from u% b1 I, F% c3 }3 v
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: Z4 g. | I- k: D! I6 k4 `
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
! }! ?% k6 O! w) r+ }2 N6 ?" Jthe school system last year.1 t9 q2 P% h/ I$ ?+ A; P% X2 L3 X
+ V2 y" j; c& j H' X( D2 q) w
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( b1 A* I8 t; ], B7 Lyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 X* }2 B2 ?: A$ j9 G3 |
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 c2 g6 t/ n7 L4 `) dclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( Y8 O3 p$ n6 q( B* F& W! CChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' _2 \! Y8 c' L! ^6 e8 h* |help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 w7 D8 p5 T5 V5 Z9 con an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: s0 K" g: w) L& bclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign% J& b% _! t- _3 g9 z* r
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; V- ]; f# R0 }+ }Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
! u7 m0 G- U) f; Z0 @; Paverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. b1 w3 F' l, X3 t. ~: N) z+ _9 m
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the9 U% Y* l4 A7 {
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 s H7 E4 I+ D' wgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
Z( R" A' v/ P" Ydeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# q4 O9 W2 L, F7 g% Ttold her daughter.3 ^. t2 C0 @; ^3 A
! @. T7 w* t( w1 _/ v6 u& JSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
/ f" m' v2 p. }9 h% `1 A9 D4 E. }class.8 ?" i' g( @) X4 t. ?
! B1 l6 D d. o4 N7 u" j4 ?/ gAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are0 x0 s8 g. T$ _$ w) N f, U
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without) d5 @) U, B( p& v( H1 O0 a
occasional frustration.; T& z* n( ?( s7 X8 l' @6 ^
4 j" B: j, i; F$ {) q2 W; a$ m j"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a6 e1 U- |* Q4 R, [* ]+ \
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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; f7 `; ^; a/ Q3 A' IRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* `. r% k7 f1 |7 E X' i1 Rtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
2 q- s7 p, Y! p, {0 ~% xChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.$ z8 I( U1 S# ^& g. m% T; a
/ s6 l/ y. {) ]: H5 z: ?# S"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul/ `* e5 w) _3 Q2 y0 L3 `* t
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 i3 `. m$ u' }+ I0 C5 q$ j
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
' @6 [0 ]$ P0 G ^skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
- f; Y6 K4 G6 qmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like- t/ V. g' _( q0 X
that," Ms. Freire said.9 Z! f4 ]' S2 ~2 g& |8 W
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 n+ a$ C# J0 }. r# ^here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
5 Y( z1 j( L6 \' Dschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" v% u& e- K1 G8 c
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make, t5 H: i& P; [
room.! F A$ J' _- u; ? O+ I5 Z
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) b0 i# q+ f" h5 SChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% V: E; ?$ Q6 @: `; I9 T+ P& Vcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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5 S$ u/ E! F" ^8 A6 B# f: K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 t# G& n* U4 Zbecause of that missing certification," he said.5 {( s5 S% }5 ?' N
7 _. K( b, ]8 g6 @. E: P7 t. oThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
$ T. O" V+ ]$ X! O4 E4 Q6 C' Msaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia! ^; h6 S5 i( T/ S* u" C& E
Society in New York.1 L7 C5 Z: J. s# X
7 F4 V+ ?4 v* hSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the6 j; B6 h6 k1 h* x/ N1 ^$ x
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, w7 p2 {9 T7 u+ ?5 w+ S5 g9 h
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
+ B* V7 e: m/ b' J! Z) ^own.". S1 x0 V* h$ c8 |2 i, b: B+ k
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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