 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
9 k( b% B9 x% o4 C6 }Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
( v B" P; J; G5 r: v1 H9 Y% W/ `) `1 E6 `; l& ?' k& l! g0 f% E
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING6 d9 i/ c a; p! `6 h! g. b
) a$ z6 E y" K/ h, I) b2 T
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 E0 k4 _" r( Z. a2 t$ U! hUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary! L/ l" l; p* @# n6 c
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% q+ |3 J( P+ n+ A' K! edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese1 [: @) ?, ~9 t$ w5 U5 ]0 D
flag hang from the wall.
. i$ U+ P$ z/ Y. s' g1 v7 V5 \- k2 F- ^1 @( w! ~1 K5 S
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one q9 X. p( J& y5 g2 y/ q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders( ^$ r' u8 p9 {8 y+ S
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker k* N. N6 J6 H% I& q
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
/ v- M/ c) Z4 g- I: u. o. eare already choosing it over Spanish.( Y- O! D. K5 b$ o1 R( L, N! `
& Z, e( [& K/ ?' F1 s"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal4 L1 M3 I9 k- h1 g% i
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city7 T) x% I/ A2 A: }; o& G4 N
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 R0 Y0 E& Q+ O4 }" m5 M
; H, _) F1 j+ p- U5 a0 n- h! a
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( w! v! m ]) V c4 X
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings7 s7 r: t: H T
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 }! `0 ]/ ?$ d6 hone of its most difficult to learn.+ c9 l& O1 a$ g, v3 j% R
9 Q$ L1 A1 d) D4 K/ k9 ]1 q: BLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
$ n* M- w9 ^* C" p: U3 X# Xpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
0 j! M# R' d) x4 o) ~9 o" c+ I- nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
1 p$ X5 @/ a$ F4 a* [8 Q& }Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of+ V/ D; y# r$ w9 J$ Q% k3 W9 O
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
# v* X3 ^; }8 S4 p, M9 }3 u% \( f* f, yChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 ^, C% E! L, ]+ K0 Vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.7 [+ q: o7 | K( l
4 P* Z+ y0 B _8 ]0 P6 o
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 V, o" Y" O% C8 p1 R7 [4 gChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
- z0 ~2 j+ i* s6 w i7 F% y( q* dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 J1 I8 e Y: Q1 G& q# vdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing7 A4 c w) k. H0 \) @
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 I& G6 l8 U* }; m/ ^1 V+ y
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& B& F) s! e3 e2 `9 U. \
" V" Q/ c9 F8 S% K$ O2 {* R
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# Y& z/ d- H8 {1 d/ E- Z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
7 ?! z* A) ?! z- O% x! z9 [Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
* Z- O* `" ?5 `3 a* Z, K3 C" ocan."
/ e$ J7 ` C$ _ y9 z; U5 A
4 i7 j+ m, D2 x$ u& l! K3 jThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from: K5 U. U& T3 F- V
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 f3 b% u/ `# I2 b
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language: B( m& K5 k! I3 q3 _6 W
Institute in Washington.
1 h4 u7 x- T5 P N+ ?4 _8 i J+ B: v' O% Q2 @- `9 s
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 ~$ P$ q( [* r6 w3 h2 E
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
+ U5 r; U2 F0 ?' f( d N( x6 eMcGinnis said.
/ h$ D. @7 O/ e8 ]
: S' J! ~8 }, e. `# p"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
: k5 A6 {) `: o5 l9 Plongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
p/ e3 e: \: r5 k2 vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( [6 X+ s9 s% B' M$ N
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ ~2 Q0 n5 ^9 o& V1 C& x% d
0 G+ [' K% x) }8 L% X! u
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
, m3 {( Q: V& f. msecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in6 b+ T4 i j1 z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of* l- V, k* {) I2 J( K& A$ A7 x
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or+ S0 E5 H q& o6 J/ m8 U5 |2 I
on weekends./ _! d4 q+ q! p5 Y+ j
% K5 h/ @, J% l6 C
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* T+ J% [6 k4 E# l. sschools during the regular school day and primarily serves; E$ K1 N4 j8 W, t5 w
students who are not of Chinese descent.1 H; [8 N9 P% l/ E2 M
1 v; j, d/ x& w V8 d
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said Y- b; Q* M" @6 b6 U
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
" {& ?. \9 o' z6 L7 mcompetition. 9 L+ Z H0 {! y$ W+ X
" b# G; A2 p. X3 ]* ?9 ]! I"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; Z5 t! H. Y8 H1 h3 [+ @said. "There will be Chinese and English."
g W" A, S& H. D( V, r( R n* V% c% z( Y
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
/ v: e$ c; q" r9 ?all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% J I7 t- O7 i8 _! u
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from- `2 i# s8 J) u3 W
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students O3 _6 I$ u. E- N, o- }6 Q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
' q+ O" U) U. c1 f; ithe school system last year.
, D5 W* X% A: U+ @! E! w# Q% K2 i) F) a5 U. |7 o
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, ~! V7 |5 Y& `8 K2 l& b
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
8 h; D- x, j' H7 |$ m+ E1 c' `% C- \4 ~& W7 E
"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 T0 I6 M1 g8 D( o6 Y' Jclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
7 a: a, V8 v5 i! \5 JChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to. Y2 i& p7 T) Y; [2 `0 [& X! ?
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet) \4 s* G! W; R5 i1 y* @
on an equal playing field."
3 q: ?/ n; c+ H7 r2 N
+ [6 b# G" ?3 Z: v! { RSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 v" Q _6 W. t' kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign8 O7 J5 T0 ?: d5 v
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks3 n1 o$ `1 W9 g1 b
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* Q0 v& o7 O0 b
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in) P# B$ K+ ]+ ^
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- K- I8 d' v) u% q2 R- n
institute says.' B. D' r4 W; {- ?
& y5 T4 o K4 sSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth. h: N* F9 S7 `- c
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before0 I# v# s. _& t5 N7 B2 a
deciding whether to take the class.- m! A! U. R4 j8 G# i
% Z- h- K- P! }0 }
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
- H0 Q4 D- Y" {told her daughter.# l5 t/ I$ C# }1 k: f
+ [6 z4 P4 M6 q# R6 L
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
1 U( L" @- f4 y7 [1 N) }6 pclass.0 P/ i5 u0 R" p& Y' I: s
, S% l# s* B9 B! c6 t( C
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are7 E- U, d: A1 X4 B- _' x5 g
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ q" e) ^- Z% G* noccasional frustration.
8 C" L7 l: T( p% s: |1 C1 b4 y$ X
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' C" ? C' w8 h4 Yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* V) Q% O, ~% I! D( ?; j/ w
2 J* ~" N9 k: X# [% qRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
U# L! Z* f2 A Y, W2 h W: ztaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
) f% e5 h. ?6 w6 l8 C; K! i$ D7 QChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. ]2 Y6 l# M& n* ~# x' s% c
8 F% T" l6 U$ B8 S; Z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul# f4 R0 Z$ o, a3 D; y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ q1 m% e# m6 D+ las many languages as I can."* n2 [5 e1 q. d3 e9 E+ n
1 u- |0 H! t1 BAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* I p+ R2 n; y8 {skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
0 S- F b, Y3 b$ jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 d0 d% W' @7 x2 c+ d. O9 l: v
that," Ms. Freire said.
( |! C ^' }! l! P/ E8 ]
$ A+ G. d0 q3 d- v0 LMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ S& \1 P1 |2 C3 p! W
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each' f" p! v) j4 |0 f; ], m& _4 ?
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" t0 J3 e& u5 ]- k' e6 r
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 h) i) C5 c, h1 F9 [3 Q _; Wroom.
0 n7 m2 R: |7 P; c! B, h9 G8 _/ f3 N6 C% @& a' m& j6 m
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
9 O: x, k- t6 ?5 H' p9 RChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American! c a! Z0 L8 Q1 D
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.8 g7 {/ }( _( |% c$ l5 Q; k7 W- W
( `. \* ~) ^1 X- I4 @
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ A8 p1 W, K$ s" O- F1 j4 b wbecause of that missing certification," he said.
1 {' V* e3 [3 Y+ X& ?% f/ d% w
/ ^! w, e0 m9 }5 E' OThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,) b; i& e) `4 n) b O
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia& ~* i' q; l/ \6 r7 p' L
Society in New York.
$ `6 }4 m) R" B+ u) X# l6 Q. z% W s; O2 y+ t
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
% k5 [6 d0 a9 j4 `0 `& d0 dChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 J" e- c8 H: d9 i sthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
& P Q2 l4 k9 \& X. h
" q0 K s2 {5 q& U2 O2 Q"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
+ T: I0 y0 v; Q1 l. ?' Mown."
" R& Q6 `% p" F3 X# n3 ^
! ^5 C& E, D k/ Z$ CCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|