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October 15, 2005
- k( U2 f# w; F. U3 q# _% ]! f4 L( SClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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2 H$ j- j& H% L' J' ?; ABy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
1 J# S" J$ s, ? P8 c! h* @
% m& T- I+ Y7 O9 R7 E& d6 c3 cCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) v' r. |! Y# M8 B. b* W) `United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary2 p( o5 q8 L0 h3 N4 h2 p: S
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas4 v+ H0 t$ h( V/ E# i: X T! l1 `
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
4 J# ~- ?: ~ o9 H! b" hflag hang from the wall.' U1 x) o% B9 Q" ^
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. ]! h. S r( u9 i" R1 J% i
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 d# ~4 g$ g2 j9 C: {
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 S O! ^, M4 ~2 ?$ a
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 p9 O1 R! ]# Z Iare already choosing it over Spanish.
8 p* x7 `7 ? C: F- Z
) ^+ @5 P" j/ ]* C9 G' v$ Y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
& x/ W( w3 W0 B" A9 N9 lat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
8 T6 M+ h: V. c1 n3 R$ \% }offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# C8 _1 r, g: ~# B! m7 o \' W
( |) q1 S$ m! `2 ZWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
6 a- m% h6 e3 ?4 ^ g7 Mschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
|8 [8 F$ l2 bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
6 e7 i4 l' i( |- bone of its most difficult to learn.' h- \9 B# }. Y3 I9 t0 Z, L
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 d' T9 n/ P$ q
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students. W4 b V. ?6 L
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. H7 S9 t4 G9 M; g$ `% \9 o- D i
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% D) a5 V* \1 `8 \# rTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& S; |/ e* T: l% l* S( ^
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to+ `; t0 c, u/ K. W3 Q& ]
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.! S/ ` o% j$ F
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
2 @. M% @! \+ KChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country: s1 C$ y; v( `' B* W. s
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
) q) ^$ n7 l1 |% y6 s* B9 K1 ddevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% c$ k6 ^* c( ?; Y" ocurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) w6 N) L0 N, [$ u" R
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.2 p- U- i/ l& J; O# S! n# d2 B5 {
1 v* \* x# e' v3 C: }5 \6 G7 o1 K"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of! E7 _+ [: M- N) m8 i
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education) W( b( K2 y( M" f: ]
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we+ }* x9 g7 r: x; v0 q% p6 K" e' h9 F* G
can." : c, C( V4 g6 Z
, f5 `* i/ o; m$ Q3 E7 |0 `The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 a1 n1 H$ l# xelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10: j& E" Z9 }" B- B: ]% a
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 b0 l4 D# h6 WInstitute in Washington.( h, ~5 U1 l5 o. d- K' T9 ~
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
: D0 B# {2 ^/ H# W% O' m* C& karen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% {4 \: i" _' ?" c5 mMcGinnis said.) l- S, [ z& w7 q' i
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ S( q7 u1 m$ g
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
" \0 K9 k& @) ?. E$ o6 aready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a0 q8 G% o! r4 ` s5 d
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
* w+ P6 T, _7 X5 ~: psecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
' X/ L" x0 t2 X" ~# e6 g+ ?cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of4 b0 E4 [# z% m
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 z' r) |( M! y+ mon weekends.
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! \, w- ?/ m* s+ B# {The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: m {0 Y0 G3 w) ]4 q
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) H& v# i/ _# W9 |% O0 W9 d4 W! Ystudents who are not of Chinese descent.9 z- p' r: f* \" Y* ~3 o
: |3 }1 p$ f3 f- i) T4 U, SMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
) X9 _+ y7 j4 d& dproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
C2 a' C4 I# f" s3 G4 Q3 W% |+ fcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# H' Q# I& }& n/ F! n/ n/ hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
! F- I0 `! Q: r% m b6 t, {2 Uall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 j/ s% P3 \6 j8 P
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( R3 X$ n O0 w* u
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 @& X' K# Q* I7 A% @% _& z. Awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
' A, l, [5 s3 k; U2 bthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, E5 |( |3 K9 {6 l$ D) _: n) P$ N2 J- `
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own. [7 R/ B& m7 M3 X: _" t: L* ]
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* l W+ r- S: _: \Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to |+ `% b# _* ~2 O& N8 |0 L
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" Y& F5 o4 N4 H! ` d4 i
on an equal playing field."4 M C8 t3 U) Y5 D* B# M# _
1 i* U6 @ M9 x1 ISome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# F6 v5 M/ i5 W: S' f! a2 ^classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign7 v# k( A; k% C, o" b* [
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
) {& E+ W2 O/ g( J: [- LChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& a% P8 ~0 ]8 B% g6 @6 v6 Daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" u% Y8 x& S' G& Z; W8 XChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
/ _ ~6 ~3 L; i3 ^& `/ y+ jinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' Y) ]' @) E' Y: O% @0 C
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
! O% ^4 j9 S9 P! X r% qdeciding whether to take the class.$ L' Z$ ]; P+ J) V" }
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she n3 t1 K- o/ h- {( O% d( C4 Z" F
told her daughter.
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0 T. ~3 |6 ~( ~: xSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# p% i. Y: K8 Z( ^9 ^# _/ Q" S5 S q, x
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& [& l* d* Y- W& k
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. Z( A% r$ Y8 c# o/ X! Poccasional frustration.
3 y2 C, D( |% }7 w/ p4 R) {- }) F- t
: V h0 U" s6 o% L"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* {: K) W/ Z# Q n
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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, U ~! T, M; J- L% P# pRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 N7 \# w4 ?$ x, j
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
0 Y ~9 O' t5 K$ \5 PChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.8 Q& Y% F2 _# ?) D1 K& j* F2 k
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
4 v! I% V, q% Tsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn7 w! }% F- N4 A7 ~; _* F3 l" v
as many languages as I can."
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- b1 k& _5 v# C, J5 N4 c; ZAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the5 L* {" t* q) _2 a9 Q7 N Q: |4 w
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job3 J( M& ~/ Y, X a- s I
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, }2 e0 J/ K+ q5 z2 y4 F5 N
that," Ms. Freire said.4 I. S; T, s: \& p) [
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 {. `4 O* A- D* F& }
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ s* Z* y; E3 X8 w! s
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
# p$ z# k/ K" `. R+ ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make5 z) r! k& k2 a! V6 T" {
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* ~) _/ X/ @. s7 }7 }' ~: x
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 q4 @. A. b/ ~8 I) E$ X
college, 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
0 V4 E+ ^* J: p" o' E. E% {because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( \# s$ ~( h, D; q
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 r9 F3 {4 E7 ~Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the; E! n) |" c8 ?; _5 w
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from3 d2 `4 ^ N. c3 I) U$ O5 g
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( t. c& i: \& r0 X r* ~
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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