 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005* K# h$ {( H, k9 N! C9 u
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
9 V# B/ i, T9 h" F+ K
" E8 v3 v0 W, @( w% k2 S, P0 x9 e2 CBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING2 ?. Z& h1 G: |4 u; u( K2 J
3 L) B Q1 }' l& t% HCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the3 T# o( |/ ] h" ]* J6 X
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, K4 m( A9 S6 `5 T! x8 N. `
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
9 z _: O. S2 Q9 B" t% rdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese5 r1 X5 U( V. A7 V# K. j% s, S
flag hang from the wall.) e+ f/ x: z( o
( ?: K+ {1 n0 i XOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
" x; o) I- p( {2 x# Panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' f& Q ?, p/ \% [# Q/ Z. @
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker8 x2 x- T9 x* n0 \+ O" a/ _/ `
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 A5 o9 b4 Y* S0 S6 O
are already choosing it over Spanish.
1 \; Z; N2 I3 {; d) v# w1 E. J3 V Z0 }
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- h% X8 [( j& R9 A
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city: \3 p8 A- u, h. t8 p5 l
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."! q5 l/ c0 M1 F
9 ~9 j. I3 X2 P1 J: G3 M& I, f! s0 rWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( y$ c& y( c6 l2 o5 c1 I- f9 Oschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 H Z9 O4 c9 ?- g* U" tto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention2 V: y, q" @ ~6 ^: F* j
one of its most difficult to learn.
9 q* a+ v" [4 O8 H6 k- Y- H
% D2 Z$ r7 b. |- a$ D5 dLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to' {$ D7 j- s$ r, W2 c" `7 f/ M
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. R, {1 y) i$ G0 j$ ^ lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* {7 Z$ N v3 QLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" G2 M( n; ` H# M
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ X; G' u" ?: m6 |
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to# d( u7 S; A. @$ u( X/ @
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
0 H) ^- J" d! [6 j9 q6 r* X4 w: T# D
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement4 I" h+ Q) I4 P# B7 P1 J
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 M- p- r; X! J% R5 w* g4 qstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: p, P$ l5 f0 {& U! V% z& m
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
( ~5 D1 M! Z* f! f- u/ C+ k( K0 ~* Zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
2 A8 K2 g8 P" N1 D2 n d1 e- o2 Jof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& q; z3 n; ^/ {9 Z7 M
: @3 j0 u1 V$ Z# S7 ]% b' ]2 w7 U"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of% k+ g" }+ |" m4 `) d! U1 i/ q
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& L( h `5 ^7 t9 w7 V
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we- t5 H2 l: A8 ?& S6 c) b+ r
can."
8 L9 f) F! O7 ?3 w4 ]) x& l, B5 U2 x) u* l
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
9 z0 S& P% z, ^ Kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 h9 s0 v- c; u' V% j9 b' V% qyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
: i) S* r8 n0 I7 U* aInstitute in Washington.$ G& B ?7 o, Z3 w+ c# V. U' H ]
6 f, d. _* G4 N4 q/ ["Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages' ^8 f/ ^& |+ V% [+ v$ F# z5 R
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
7 M" ~" W0 H2 `3 I/ ~' z* XMcGinnis said./ T; k5 F) L( Z) B5 W5 k( f
# c9 }. g. y$ r3 R$ _ p* k
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical4 c) z& P2 |. v \! g
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
' [ }% P4 C, m7 F; y% Bready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
* I% [4 Z3 H' h0 P, Lchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."9 o! [* k# ^% v% p7 a% ]
8 n0 w5 U; m0 n( p0 e' l
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ l5 [( k9 W9 U8 \( wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ V# Z1 U! N! |
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of, ~/ w& w8 L9 t5 ~
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
( u. Y5 y9 ~. V: X8 P. `. V! c; R8 Won weekends.. v/ g! |0 s! b3 H f
4 O: L% \5 E( `5 g* h0 q. K
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* W9 {0 m) r/ pschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
' a% c2 h% e9 j: s/ cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.( ~2 Q8 d2 X2 Q* O
$ l9 B3 h2 S3 q5 F0 P! z
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 Q7 M1 f1 R6 H! Y; `
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 Y& Q Z! y& C5 ecompetition.
, B% J3 m7 v' j: U1 T4 K, b0 O; Q4 }! v, H8 B
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# w3 @- s- n" A) |said. "There will be Chinese and English.". \2 ~* r" j2 Z& q
: w" l9 h; i+ U9 x$ v* j" t# V$ D8 G: B
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
/ c/ Q. l( B4 X. iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 \( @* N+ s) n( U! Z( k* _schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from' ^3 T- I1 P7 P3 o! Z3 S: n/ D" N1 o
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, L5 M+ F7 m* v+ A3 B% Y% _- qwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to9 Y) I3 y/ m( K
the school system last year.' N2 \5 Q4 M- \0 K4 B ?, b( b
7 V% N4 X2 K3 [/ u4 c' c3 mThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# v' f% a* {' s; ?2 K1 b0 Tyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; u1 n& g. }+ r! w! |
, Y, h) Q' Z: g. J' E* R0 y9 U1 c
"They have a great international experience right in their own/ @5 d' K' {8 }
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 y0 E" j- L v4 B! K4 \Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
_# a5 g, k; z* I3 m" B( @help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
2 z5 @5 O0 P2 }) K; }- ^6 aon an equal playing field."
& s, n, S. g) d" x
: t0 T+ z% G& \! Z" c" |3 aSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese: [: F# { Y: S9 t
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 Y. \0 E# V7 E$ y8 L- t
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; [$ ~& {% q9 y, Z" d
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
; {' w) N2 R+ }! \average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 }4 f/ |. ^& q: P+ T) v) T
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 d6 p0 Q' w( u+ m8 j! b. Jinstitute says.
( m9 \; Y% Q& Z- E
' a0 D# G6 u7 ZSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
' B- E: [* [# h& B/ _/ Hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- ]7 ~7 z$ l: U0 Y
deciding whether to take the class.
4 N, p }8 g9 j4 f3 C
/ ?( r( Y* H7 x9 o- T. O"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' ~) S9 N# O* }8 U; H$ wtold her daughter.2 Q: S, _+ y' H; A) N
' V1 U9 m0 ^5 C6 J2 e
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
6 H* B8 h C/ ?class." V. M _3 g. D4 L2 Y# _
/ y& G- P! N! t% c8 D6 _3 c0 e _
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
1 K9 K2 G: p8 V% `studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
7 [6 h# n ^5 Voccasional frustration.
) D5 x1 v0 a: N" T- Q* K# {5 ]. h3 ~& w) C+ Y
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* T& i9 I9 c3 x8 D) W3 z7 I
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
8 T/ n. G% C4 R. ~7 ]
$ k' [& Y$ B% ]: |1 |/ fRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 O5 e/ n m# V5 P$ d, E- `; \taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
1 j @* O: [+ D; @( w5 TChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
# R& |7 p& v, y" ?& u
+ b2 O, [* E( t: y: ^# e1 @"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul5 P/ V* k/ y9 ?# y3 I% O! v% V
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn% w9 A; K X5 E( w
as many languages as I can."
) _8 I4 T: e0 L
( k4 g; R8 k" v$ h0 R3 Q; _- b4 kAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& m' K6 e G- \1 K% o) i
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. S) Y, @* m0 b6 o6 ~market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
5 e+ j8 J/ V A4 Y7 qthat," Ms. Freire said.$ v6 a7 {0 Z; B, F' i* `0 [7 A
9 S- C( [+ B: ^7 Q9 qMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, x* c! ~* _0 W( P$ J
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
, l' z1 I9 P; b" R: h" K9 Ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 V% K. B8 x8 `+ e! y, @+ p& o/ G, N
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make* w) Z6 ]6 F7 Q+ Y3 b
room. D" a5 s/ n2 t, q* G2 y
' I+ Y I+ W0 j4 Q3 q" R6 ?Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
: U6 @* C6 E& n6 ]& lChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; q$ I( e1 L7 u1 p0 O1 k) {9 D
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.: m8 d4 o9 E f5 e. I- t: a; A7 M# e( r
( Q: ~& ? M. H, z2 z: m9 M. ]4 C"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ I. [3 H% J# |8 dbecause of that missing certification," he said.
4 q6 u; h+ V% n; y( d# J* w! Y: j7 y, F% l* |. R- P
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* X9 f* Q- J t2 r- B: f9 F
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 m* D4 |- }$ `6 P
Society in New York.
. J, e! T* k/ U7 t" ]
) Z# A9 f. Y# PSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
# o2 o( k" d2 O. f" @" zChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
4 {, m1 Y$ h7 ethe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said./ x/ W% |8 E; C! C* r
# \. p1 u1 n+ i) A" s3 u' `"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 d" }) [. x9 [2 g
own."0 C1 d0 h5 z8 V( W- G4 J
. N- N& l( F2 R* ^
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|