 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005% q$ p4 F& U! [ r4 b! V/ }
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
( [% C/ ~% t/ o2 e
; [- x' b- H7 G# D% U" z' k) uBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING6 e3 i6 X8 ]1 p4 M7 @" n
' G2 w% i! t: ?+ ACHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 |5 s: L# f, c6 G, Z* {United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
! y2 D: p8 q% L; T* d2 sSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* n1 \- w6 b: b5 Qdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 S3 o6 f5 M( v) E% t' g! P4 aflag hang from the wall.
, r# E; r0 V" v! ]; U0 C9 L, A! W) v2 D
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
3 d, O' p, d2 aanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' ~: C0 D" f! I9 Gpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ g a6 p4 o; c2 u7 ]( U3 i" Y/ W+ j
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# `$ p& {9 B& V# m9 U' s$ T* P+ _
are already choosing it over Spanish.
: h+ g& t4 F* _: F8 z, q- J0 W; L3 u. P6 l
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal4 V7 [, ^' B, l1 U5 l3 m
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
* J2 R( G; y5 w3 @8 Q% e* A/ Uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". T0 O2 |. i% N K* j
8 r$ V9 F$ h) C0 Q0 K
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
" `- Z5 ~8 ]$ d9 y9 y0 F; ^/ ~: mschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# m2 U- c( o: G* q& g+ Z
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ ?* |# h' ?1 L3 a& d/ t1 Pone of its most difficult to learn.
9 W: A0 K4 D, z( d9 f6 C' L
- u: |3 M) `, ]Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
, |+ |5 c8 P& h$ Spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. |8 I) u/ _; g( R; Istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.8 V/ u+ J5 w2 b2 x4 {+ s Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; C8 E9 ?; K, k% c3 H X
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
8 w: c1 w, a7 p( O4 ?Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; l, O) l0 p% z! J' n# ^! Aimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.; o, x- j1 h( q2 {2 Z
' x+ X+ C( G& ]After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
9 W2 Q# X( G0 H2 t. R BChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country- [' P5 O7 O v: h
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
+ x x: `0 x! s: p/ e: Ndevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ ~/ t+ D. K* Icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director4 w' y! A6 f9 i# Q; B
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.7 n- u! \) N, T8 B [$ c9 I
4 z: v7 Z! ^, Z5 M
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
' F- L1 e( e4 k+ Tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
( w5 z: s/ L3 c. W; n* GConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we1 C9 r# \3 z2 ^ _
can." ! s+ ~9 t" ^1 c2 j9 F
+ l2 J& G0 y7 N$ U- L, pThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
2 g6 ]! z: r2 g) P1 H, w, Uelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* Z6 R* ]7 S5 k! K1 d
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language9 a! ]7 `+ ]" I) ~1 v# Z+ V8 I
Institute in Washington.
5 _# g" C" N7 n e! d5 p6 z- I
0 @+ f/ z, P m8 f8 {+ x4 y"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* s1 {2 m& |/ R' c" Z) ^ m/ r
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.9 C" g V2 ^* b2 L5 h+ p
McGinnis said.. d% ?% ?; g+ V
& {2 |& e7 S5 C& ^6 y4 S
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical- P3 j3 i8 l3 S9 O
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 O( K" ~) k+ D3 |4 {+ |ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( F! ~% ^6 S. G: N, k$ G4 N
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."% m8 F3 {2 y0 M! A
, I6 X2 P" @( \- G0 O' O, I
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
6 w# U l6 z2 Q: ?secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
9 M; U: t4 i1 Z X; Scities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of9 V! I( h3 M8 H
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ L0 n9 r/ t! L; ~& V% O3 W3 j& mon weekends./ m- Z; n7 h# C. c" q4 L5 o
+ L/ X5 ?" X2 BThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
- z' n( C! G- k, p/ i, g( Bschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 g1 b- I5 G% x# A# t2 Dstudents who are not of Chinese descent.0 A7 H0 Y* \% q& c- I3 S* H a1 v
% L! G& {! ] TMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 ~7 g) G$ J' p6 X. p/ D3 M& r( {proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ O# T* H1 p+ F) c& P
competition.
# z( n3 ^5 b0 C
7 t2 ^; d9 h* W+ Y- }"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
* R- t Y9 X# V2 s4 H+ e3 q, msaid. "There will be Chinese and English."/ t1 R& j: z3 ]& }7 d, w9 L0 }# O/ J, b
0 L3 {. H1 K* A; z1 J' t9 |From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( z$ P/ U5 r/ l' {; W, s! t) rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ e+ y5 J6 N0 u$ b( E2 u
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* ^% q. J9 F" X5 E, w) v/ ^
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students" F4 X5 G5 r2 N: G6 a( x$ F: T+ {
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" e' V% M' N4 L; U6 b# xthe school system last year.
9 i# _- }" d% h& ]
( `/ o! |) f; ^2 }The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this8 }, Y+ N- u( E8 T) o8 u
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.5 g2 Q' h) Y/ @4 o, o4 u
1 _2 e7 e, I8 X2 `"They have a great international experience right in their own* n. M5 Q7 p) U w( |
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 X: ?7 ]- \# U8 o( n
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
3 ]9 F* Y r) c# A8 Chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 f5 o8 r e/ W( W* K' D' l- G
on an equal playing field."! @% ?+ m% b3 o3 y4 h) n
% B" q! m( r( e4 s- k+ m
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese A/ d& \% |( Q! K. e$ U/ D
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 W9 O+ s2 Z: D. E; c( VService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 M( R6 ?; _- CChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
$ p3 m; _& i) ?' Kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in& B8 w" D |' @- ]; x
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 M _% q0 J0 E- oinstitute says.0 y! h( ]" x6 P" {/ u% D! o
9 a# C" i: K1 c1 @( _: @
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth* d/ @4 s& i1 ~1 u( O
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* V- f5 p; M3 U% X. q. l9 c/ y
deciding whether to take the class.( t- u( B& l1 N8 d: P5 Z, e
: o+ ?9 m# s9 \"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( }9 U. J R$ h ?/ d+ H7 K3 ~
told her daughter.. X/ f1 s3 l- ^# s
* L+ |. m. `6 N6 t$ m
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( L2 } X) ^8 ^8 p+ D% w5 s2 s
class.6 ^ Y* u' |2 Z3 f) |3 s
& ~8 A9 Q S9 R3 T. H' n/ f8 O: H
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 b& a A$ c% ?! H; {& R% I
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
6 \' L( T6 c* r v3 Z# v; boccasional frustration.1 {: B. b: A; T) v
5 d& m0 f h0 t3 z# I7 R
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: ^3 r$ N# Q( m z, c
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
& _! m8 J5 e9 f' y4 \+ L1 h7 f1 m! ]5 V$ G+ m7 { B: i* B; e! _! q
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
/ n5 F4 M ?* h ]3 `taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with- l9 n1 G3 H4 U% D& f2 V
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
1 q$ V( Q( O) I z: ?1 d! M* q" ^% x. g( R6 F& g
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
- U1 O2 B$ b% f4 X% J* J Dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn) i- w0 S3 T Y& B. y
as many languages as I can."1 m, W5 H$ F$ r! D
' a6 h; o" N* t+ h9 ^2 @2 uAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 e3 T1 N( e9 V, g8 f- w, }skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job3 L& m, X* \5 p/ I* p* L
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: F& K# q* ]/ `) B& Hthat," Ms. Freire said.
0 r+ V5 w* m( r/ q' R& e, I" H( V) V8 F- b" t A$ ]: L7 x3 J% J
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( q- E5 f8 \8 f7 H2 ^6 p
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each# y7 e7 O+ W" e- g. N
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; O0 e0 g+ K9 ~; ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make5 p& }, w9 Y8 {( S# s% q
room.
4 ~5 K0 N6 V- ~7 e8 I
- W( c# `# C, Q4 xChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
3 A3 l: {4 S7 E4 LChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
6 U5 G' j0 ~ B0 n) p( i; y7 ?college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- c3 ^- w* q& s
" F4 M3 P9 O0 \# ~, |2 q6 L
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& ^, L6 J' o# x0 A- L% n
because of that missing certification," he said.8 u+ T/ o$ n! E# ^# O1 N" G# n
! \* q2 o! W- O9 f2 Z
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 \( K8 o# ^* M: ?' {said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
0 p! \- H2 Z5 ]4 @% uSociety in New York.
}+ s' B6 A$ Z3 |& [3 ~* P( M5 ~( b3 a" l# k" e
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& o; o; `, r. s* XChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from1 T3 g9 ]5 t0 L# c* {" r+ t0 N1 _
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
; B* ^: B2 S+ Z* N* H `* v
; D2 B) M2 q1 B"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- V9 N* y0 a; N6 W+ Y# ^0 C& H+ D$ A
own."
5 `1 ^) R" G, T7 V% d' \0 f; q% n/ {
n) k) P' R$ u& d- rCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|