 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005! u# ]* s$ {* n2 f/ b
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity. T3 E- M, R! S) r) t" |
- s. w" r$ t I/ Y: X
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 P+ {0 A2 t( H9 c# h( Y
2 G& ] b* U0 o/ h" ~+ B# LCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. `- D K$ v- C( Y9 d& e: s
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
: J3 u$ V9 Z& ]3 WSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
& B" v) K Z( G! |8 }# H, edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese5 d; ?; p4 m; c# f A R
flag hang from the wall.
4 l' A. u& \% O' A1 l: l* D
0 @: ~% l" N7 b/ d$ J. OOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one( G) ?6 f; K7 \
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
; F- X/ J; f2 B' a3 s, Fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker$ p% x3 U% D2 ~3 }, `8 c
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* r" S. i5 X( r% R5 bare already choosing it over Spanish.
7 ~8 ~' D1 D, w- U+ {, R
0 W3 m# R0 Z& b! h0 A2 [0 D"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 g, H& W: L* F$ \5 ?2 Sat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
) `7 ?/ Y6 K/ i9 Coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."! H) a7 ^: e3 @' S
' P( P% d# w2 l6 RWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
, F4 S/ U, R$ i* N" P( Q/ @0 ^8 Qschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) H9 a0 L6 e( D- F- h' [) Wto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 b' s) ~ V! V3 u6 b _one of its most difficult to learn.& `4 B+ \* [$ R8 m3 e
% ~; U: s# ]2 T8 \3 D
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
3 a. W- j$ }- ^$ npublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! o$ t8 A6 ]0 `# u% ?
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.6 T7 U1 v, a6 B3 Z8 M) D! K
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
6 D4 H: \8 E5 r6 k& e4 _- qTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- r" E; C( B+ f' _- jChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 X }& j6 q$ X1 o2 G' l# V: L0 Mimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
, g* _/ y; ]: J1 C/ R1 ?
% M; Z8 K4 O$ R) _5 @# EAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 W% Z2 e/ X s
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
7 K& s. I* X8 \6 C5 V9 g, C, @0 o. Bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to# b2 D3 ?' [- X- E3 @
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% n6 S$ L j* ]) S3 u6 G7 \6 ^curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ O2 m k2 _5 Q3 e" \& Z4 Iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
% o) ^6 m$ J7 y5 q7 G" y: T8 _2 Z ^4 g
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, \" k7 d- c* _; v- f X
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
( S3 |$ n7 A, [; E7 k5 @Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 x# ]' b3 {" {5 R5 E1 l
can." ' N! ~+ T& r9 \4 u5 V4 e2 f# I$ J
* a, ]+ I$ k# s1 j& e! n) o
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, L6 ^5 V* m. P9 D9 `0 ], i
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; K8 j3 v& k b: e0 Eyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language$ O' y5 V. r! J a: I, q
Institute in Washington.' s; X' u# J, J( K6 K6 c$ {
; a8 O# p, S7 y2 ^
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( C1 G/ | [+ K c" e( g1 }5 U5 Daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
) p* L, {, W( s6 q% y1 I7 w6 @1 jMcGinnis said.
8 G! Y$ N# C x5 j# n& ^ Q+ d9 B" D- [1 W5 z* y
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical. C7 j9 r. A: j+ U3 P- W
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be6 h T8 s i; z; J7 l0 P
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: F @' y. F" S4 M- r- B2 Ochallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" d6 u2 y0 C4 n3 ~0 }* w+ ]
6 l7 T5 q3 h8 D7 G* IUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and6 ]% \7 Y% J8 B' N% a* G# R
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 g% M0 L1 u4 P# J) ncities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 h! b) _$ `5 ~) GChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 ]3 D+ J, ?3 O8 U# T, Ion weekends.
) F- U1 ^- ?6 Q, u3 k" [5 B$ ]/ E) z
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
; b" |# W, [2 O$ S6 ?& G$ B/ Nschools during the regular school day and primarily serves' v! c7 s4 I& Z: {" n( @
students who are not of Chinese descent.' w* G7 T4 Z% r5 d% t
9 w8 X) _4 Z( M" Z
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 K7 g' t0 }) l- k, s N
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the" R# d* d7 H0 e8 h! F: b: d
competition. ) `6 v) x E/ @! o4 j
/ Q- I9 R! r5 H+ v" m& p"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley& O. K7 x- J! [
said. "There will be Chinese and English."6 v: a6 ~7 D2 O; N$ g
# M4 Z, `' q2 o, w$ y5 QFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 \; @) H" N* i! t2 X2 x2 n
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
" ]$ P+ X. h D. G6 n9 b, tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 {4 Y; ]+ Y2 t) s1 Z# l
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 E6 I& p3 L8 L% X
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- |6 U: [, O' `' `4 O' Ethe school system last year.
; i2 O9 Y& J7 v4 ]$ k0 a9 }3 h# b5 D5 l4 v3 T
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this8 Q2 ?8 V+ B- Q) O
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 V4 K6 S7 C3 P( L/ o; G7 k
0 |4 c" _; ~6 g) ? f" n"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 T0 W+ A3 n8 Dclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
7 e6 f8 `/ o( n4 V7 lChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to( { p! K+ P i1 _
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* e: w+ {6 H- s) E1 I. H/ V! |
on an equal playing field."/ z/ W) F: [' O) x8 ?# I
$ f* V. n! O. ?! v
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! ?) C$ l# P) f' E' k1 d% a9 a( J+ ?classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
( y$ d- e3 [* ^( j4 X* PService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks! h& W" z6 z" J. t
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An( V) ]" J t3 f A) n& n
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 ~' \. {3 f0 A# o
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the1 O& t* \5 U" J4 Y6 P
institute says.! K) l3 g7 \' u5 A! P& @4 O' I6 z$ N v7 C
" @ I8 V+ d$ x, l! V
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth8 A' H7 H/ k j
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ `2 O7 i% z/ p5 E& w- [
deciding whether to take the class.
$ e6 N3 J v) Y7 G
3 C! m+ H" u+ _- x"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 V/ m0 o" ^, K$ e9 v1 _
told her daughter.& o5 K% p7 n. @- g
$ n& o. d6 N) m5 i
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 A6 A* ^& U, k2 e& p o
class.$ e8 \0 K2 f$ x* @
, l. X( a. S+ B, ]% g4 oAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( w( W% e, G( T( cstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 I* @/ |% L4 l L9 Y; boccasional frustration.3 _8 |4 C: j9 \ g" @1 i7 X# f
! D+ ^7 S' \8 X) ^! T) X"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a9 W- _& \( |7 c8 y- s- `5 e, L
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
& @8 N& d( u Q: k* B6 m7 N
" n) | U$ r* i& Q" ^Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he: }7 o: }# P4 P4 `5 N! v, X
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
8 T" n# ^3 z$ }) [9 lChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 y1 r% A5 S# T4 e6 }$ N
. S! o, ]$ }9 g$ r1 g8 k
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 _* X: h5 W9 n) P; M) b9 K/ J( j2 E
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
# K* `( }7 K" h1 {; m vas many languages as I can."
" p3 `; @/ C- t# ^* o5 L
, B1 L. i( n. I# ?. ~ kAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" I; Z* P4 ^% g4 E6 m: E. j8 Gskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
: G; b8 Q. s Y( `market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like8 P; e4 l* k0 Y* d3 c
that," Ms. Freire said./ r; w) M* ~9 e+ R3 J
7 t: N5 c o& ~# t) G* q6 TMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. T! n+ b4 c' }here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
% g7 N A8 X/ u5 q) \school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
' f5 L8 ?! r% S. V) z! `6 Rtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
7 x2 z5 o+ ~: K/ _, w4 x7 g) sroom.) G! e9 W8 [( X- C! G
" l$ a6 Y i# B6 x/ ^Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer: W U! T/ W9 W, ]( t. H
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
' x' Q- v6 x; z8 i* @college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 H* A' A1 X9 h# ?; ^
# I# \0 j' z' G/ v1 N
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
1 q" y" ~: U' O* Pbecause of that missing certification," he said.; V+ d i7 {' a
* f( L( z% m( N- l+ j6 }1 eThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,9 D. E' d; T" Q' l
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
1 q3 t4 i& N; [; h" OSociety in New York.
% `/ t8 U& V+ A2 m& D2 B0 i: k$ Q0 t! h+ R/ V9 ~! Q, U
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% E4 s5 ]) ^ t9 L4 j6 T
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from! K* ]- Q$ z v2 G" R
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
0 u4 v# c. O3 {' ]! t, g( l: T6 B2 Q4 o9 v# b" H
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our. ?9 Y$ F" Y) ~
own."
- i# b, P) B3 ?" X5 | S' ?: Y8 [/ d
$ ~- c' B% m. E" y; Y( g* @Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|