美国纽约时报关于中文教育的新闻

魂游天外

October 15, 2005
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity

2 ~: w) N) w: G4 q& OBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
* F$ ^4 m$ B& K# c# x/ x9 o
0 I; j) z7 @+ k' S5 @4 ZCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
9 k7 o- P* @; V! s" c2 \United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
9 R( c: A8 S. l1 L7 _7 k+ NSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& n$ G5 R3 R  I- jflag hang from the wall.
6 u' }9 X/ B' [6 w/ E5 Z/ R2 k
1 q: ]  q' _9 W  B' x3 ^One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
4 G" l, x$ Y- i: r) \+ X/ z( Ianother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* H7 `1 h) B1 }( }0 R3 S+ Apracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
, s( B6 L$ ~6 [' s! Bare already choosing it over Spanish.

"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 y* R  O- |% @offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."

With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: M! E; u, Q' R6 P. ~schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 t1 x; i9 b1 none of its most difficult to learn.
& Z9 X8 F: z" P/ x0 e. v
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% w2 N1 H1 y9 b' apublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. B3 j$ B* H1 Lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
2 S0 b$ c7 B2 i3 yTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
+ O4 h8 ~- @% J8 O7 Z  {improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

9 S2 j4 E4 c, b* |1 c; L9 e" ^+ {# YAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
: F9 |% L3 W9 n- I% x% A5 a" sChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 M" ^1 E3 D4 \of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
3 [; N$ v! Z7 y& s. k
/ Z6 W0 N3 n. Y# B1 N- p+ ^( }"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
, ~& D  B) a3 S  e% Y7 Rcan."

: q/ N9 w7 M2 O. ^" e5 jThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
Institute in Washington.
  c' I3 {! f! i) W8 Y
; e+ |! j6 v# D& u. ~, p"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
McGinnis said.

"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; `5 u; L+ j1 V) P* ?" _; u0 wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
# l2 Q: ~8 u/ y$ V5 H* Nchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."

; V  W. M8 z/ h, _! g4 fUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
1 b$ ^2 B; B. s$ G# K& B0 b* }3 Y' Ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: s8 f2 J( j2 k" pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 z) I$ W+ H4 j6 Z& B6 U) lChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ u1 [1 H5 q! M* O: f; ?/ Gon weekends.

5 s! d, }- k  gThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
. g9 |; f& e0 n( K# [- Fstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
+ x: `. ]% c$ s. O
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
2 k7 V- Q- {3 y' l. g! sproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
competition.
, B5 W# ?0 v  R" `" Q6 e# |
1 |) h0 i9 ^0 y0 t/ V+ z! Z$ C9 L2 H7 i"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
said. "There will be Chinese and English."

From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, I* V8 k* E9 m2 {; ]2 c. V+ \- Iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
; m: W6 Z1 J! e3 `' {, E. R- Tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
# S% i+ O, {; V! l. r1 z8 uwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
/ h. ?" W7 v8 f5 C" Uthe school system last year.

The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.

3 d" `! ]+ w5 L; \$ Y/ U"They have a great international experience right in their own
& z) v" }) h+ J6 ], p. {+ Dclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
- o$ D7 d9 `$ i% q1 F& X+ F/ D" y5 PChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
3 e/ r7 p9 h3 |: xon an equal playing field."
2 U9 f( K8 t9 {1 ^, e
6 u$ c# [. Q" {  _4 U# I& m1 i6 w3 ^, ~Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
) W9 o1 H) Q" _# \8 r8 L% fService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 A4 `$ j% X% O6 U0 ^8 Ainstitute says.

Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
  s* N6 [( @2 E8 r7 v/ I7 Hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
- F8 u- P. z+ V/ ^deciding whether to take the class.

) r8 a2 C  u4 U) e"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
9 H* G6 }7 _/ z3 D; ~told her daughter.

4 V  }$ I# J$ m8 W$ t6 Z& GSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
class.
$ y/ t# q, o; b: Z1 V+ T& M" \
7 u4 e1 Y* s; i6 c& M0 G5 fAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. W- }. }# Y2 h0 Goccasional frustration.

+ I: B+ s! r- ^% D"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
0 F( e! b  c* _6 {recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
, b. _+ A" s7 `
# b3 ~# U6 @: T! ^5 S- hRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
; q" p- d: P+ J& }2 h6 \taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
$ }. B7 I, U6 F
3 Q; V9 F7 X8 P' a6 M( |- n"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
as many languages as I can."

Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: N8 T4 \) z. c+ {skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
& x$ m7 t% `. Bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
+ q& d) @, ?: |" a) g8 Q# ~that," Ms. Freire said.
3 r$ V; L5 _+ m  k' \. W
0 w, d' ]- `4 u; F0 G: ]: ?0 @' QMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" T* e$ u3 I3 S1 e  hhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
room.
( M- c) `  e7 F$ _% a3 P$ g1 a/ ^
) g8 v/ P' Z' WChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
( M2 s1 }3 a! vcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.

"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
because of that missing certification," he said.

, t4 Q( \9 z1 S8 ^' z, bThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
/ S/ C6 d7 y% s9 n" xSociety in New York.

Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
* Y- o: P' R! X4 `* ?Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' m' }6 h) M/ T$ _6 M, u$ Dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
7 c. C$ [7 A. a3 w0 {* u9 x) _
* @1 K4 N% I, X% g3 }6 n/ ~0 J( W$ w5 n"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
own."

2 r6 _& V/ y* A+ ?7 ^1 ^Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

魂游天外

落山风

能译成中文就好了。

Zhujiaolian

Originally posted by 落山风 at 2005-10-18 13:33:
能译成中文就好了。

* v% D! f$ G+ T6 J) Z) e
文章摘译：
6 x$ B  y! d* {. w
由于中国国力的增强，美国再次掀起中文热的高潮。从以下的一些数字和发展情况中可以略见一斑：
3 o' c# F, T, \" l文章开头已以芝加哥的Alcott 小学为例，说明从今年2月份开设中文课以来，越来越多的学生放弃西班牙语而选择中文课程。该校有160名学生选修西班牙语，但是有242名学生选修中文。校长说他们学校是北部地区20所开设中文课程学校之一，“每个人都想学。”
        上个月美国国防部提供70万美元给波特兰的公立学校资助中文教育。康州民主党参议员和田州共和参议员提出在今后五年内拨款13亿美元支持中文教育的提案。
        由于2400多所学校表示兴趣，明年起在美国各地会有不少高中开设中文课程，为大学入学的中文考试做准备。
' X3 \) i4 P% z3 ?  {+ k$ L9 ]# v- @        中国驻美教育参赞表示，越来越大的美国人认识到会说中文的重要性。
        美国华盛顿国防语言学院学术顾问Scott McGinnis说，在过去10年当中，美国从小学到成人教育中的中文课程数目翻了三倍。
        专家估计，现在在美国中小学校里学习中文的人数达到了5万左右，在很多城市如纽约、旧金山等，有著大量的美籍华裔学生，还有很多学生是在周末的中文学校里学习中文。
* O9 h8 g0 p7 i% N9 t        芝加哥的中文教育之所以令人瞩目，原因在于它是把中文教育完全放在公立学校里面，而且有众多的非华裔学生学习中文。
        市长Daley先生说，掌握中文对于理解竞争至关重要。他还说：“我以为这个世界上将会只有两种语言，中文和英文。”
1 x. o& Y9 y, k( c        文章还引用了一些家长和相关人士的评论，并且指出现在一个重要的难题是合格的有执照的中文教师严重不足。现在有6个州已经或者计划与中国的教育部门签订由中国选派中文教师的协定，以及派美国的中文教师到中国进修的协议。

        文章摘自：October 15, 2005, New York Times

细雨

Originally posted by Zhujiaolian at 2005-10-18 03:51 PM:

) i9 A" J- n& e8 A  B1 v- D' k" b; R
文章摘译：

由于中国国力的增强，美国再次掀起中文热的高潮。从以下的一些数字和发展情况中可以略见一斑：
) K: A8 K: _! ?& N! p5 u. [: K文章开头已以芝加哥的Alcott 小学为例，说明从今年2月份开设中文课以来，越来越多的学生放弃西 ...

2 H- r6 P; R$ f谢谢翻译!!!!!

嘉妮

谢谢！

nothing

gooooood