 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005" a, c9 W0 i& v: S7 h( D
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
* H4 u& ^$ e' e K3 W5 o* K. |6 A0 N. {1 f" p$ c
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING4 y; i0 S& H! J/ d8 l) \! V2 p ~7 U
7 B& Q: j7 m# U: M' y. pCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 Y! s/ A6 @7 dUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary" _ j, q" ~- b% l: T
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# U; j# t7 r( }' ?' {
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; x9 b! \0 q- F# f5 z
flag hang from the wall.
% K5 ^; h, c$ j; C: J. L
8 |2 ^$ [& B7 e7 u Y: p- o, VOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
! W" ]7 a& o% B! Banother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! P8 C- ~+ }) Q2 ]- y/ t4 c$ m$ b8 wpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
" c; `# \! D% J: l4 [boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students, H/ d* R; P& c4 m7 m
are already choosing it over Spanish., u4 [* M- s# W
8 e" O: @- n7 O4 Y4 ^( _: v"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; K+ U# T; _# T) W, w8 oat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city- M) f# F. u5 x+ n" q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
- i& w' M. ]9 S: l9 ~, Q* i2 J: x. D, a% H+ A. F, ?0 x
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
4 ~: c, M( B6 S% U. ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 j2 w3 y/ d! s' p/ [" zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention3 |) D6 E2 P5 P5 ?4 P' D) k8 f, B+ ^
one of its most difficult to learn.+ O+ I+ n* i( t+ s2 I) P
- Z$ I7 D; \) }5 J/ s6 w0 q+ bLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
3 _* U% I, ?0 [- d9 _& opublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 ?7 e1 ^9 X) U& i$ M$ Wstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: X" f: I" y/ S- F/ H7 A0 A2 \
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of) v/ ]( m3 }9 H, n) L1 @% c
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. n7 f# Z- n- _* pChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
' C) o+ p! N- Z; W% ]improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ I/ c# \7 f" M% A; W5 n4 K
3 M0 U$ U; o& vAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement1 o# D5 s9 K( C
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, Q8 L7 j2 n# O. c% F5 ?# }starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to+ {+ N$ Z* t' p7 P( W4 a2 A. D
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* u' D5 m8 A. D8 C: e$ D. `# W: O
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director/ f* o+ F% m. ]3 D0 e& b3 `
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
4 {% Y1 P+ e2 }3 f3 j+ h9 b) V& E' e! P% T/ H& @4 E3 ?/ I; _9 G
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
& M* h" I5 V# z( n* s; Y9 ^speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education% b4 ]2 \& g- I$ l) \/ P, A
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, j- |6 l& e) h% q& z! M* x$ ?4 L8 Q
can." + H) v4 E2 S0 L6 z; g1 a# p
% z4 W! R" ]; B) MThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! T, O Y1 Y, ~+ Ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
, B) z g; t2 y5 \years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language0 R# `! q' `& v5 N/ O! _& L- K
Institute in Washington.; \& J0 i* c4 w
4 l$ ]9 h+ L1 M' k
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
: e1 Y- V$ Z+ i2 Waren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
4 N1 B6 D0 `& W0 `. x) {+ }! tMcGinnis said. N3 ?: x! b: i# ]1 }
; n" w. e; B+ t: {
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; q2 H2 T, V: W# H1 w: l8 l, ^
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
& |) K+ H1 L5 }; |8 ?; _ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a4 q/ h* `, x3 P$ _) n8 k8 V
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ _7 `0 m& @& c6 K
- E* }% E/ ?8 O. nUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
! H, F, w8 t7 n! X" o+ S2 R) C4 isecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in8 f# k% A8 X9 V0 k
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% W$ j, r: u3 B2 `- o2 j
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or6 ?: Q6 [+ ~* ^/ D
on weekends.
; J- y2 X& c4 z V; C' |, l0 H' i" W, Y0 H
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
9 s+ o3 M1 {6 c @' H6 a& s' Y' j! _schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
6 Q$ a) m0 E$ f5 _" d$ @# Hstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
2 O; T0 I8 Q0 M6 h% j5 B0 Q" A. P, U8 Y+ ^% a/ n
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 {5 k( W% {8 S }8 l2 kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the6 d3 m/ V, @- r" ]* [
competition.
/ H p# F* o" `$ B+ s$ P8 J6 m1 L/ |0 ^; q3 f. O/ h/ c
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
b/ v# Q, U. u) ~& v. dsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."2 g2 N; a' n- a$ Y5 E: W
0 P7 G- y' X: i
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 ^2 p! G. b! w1 Lall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse- z2 ^' a9 C, B# ^7 j% ] \
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 x3 o% B2 R; W3 w
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students$ S: a2 @. e0 K+ K& L2 C% F
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- D) _6 r8 h6 R( q2 u, A
the school system last year.
' n/ T1 [' W# I, _0 ~* k8 j) K& L3 R. o4 c
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 X+ M4 x! d4 t6 @, k0 D: v- O( H+ P
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
3 N8 O' @0 f5 d8 w7 a) r' s% X7 H# N/ A" o' l( P4 X. V! W
"They have a great international experience right in their own7 E S& m8 t, A* ]# O/ Q
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 A+ y, j1 l6 W( I
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
5 k! n# Z% h! S* v: }help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
, [0 a! R# F1 o# Aon an equal playing field."7 i; [6 G! H( X2 P3 x7 B/ T
& I0 Q& b ]3 K+ W. _Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese* Y7 V8 \8 e+ p! x& |/ D/ A# d
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
& d- w l/ R; ?9 @& A( ?, wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 H7 c, D; |5 g" wChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
) L: K- M s# ?5 z3 C R9 uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
( z/ j, ]7 u2 c( ZChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* A S" A6 i. w3 |' X
institute says.
; \0 |, a$ y& j) ], U4 l" u9 v- u! n- _1 Y) |
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
, q( j. ?2 g$ I$ D; V. igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before' V0 X4 {& ]( O3 F/ p/ E
deciding whether to take the class.
8 x% r! o. I2 R7 I9 a% F, j- X; _# O
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 J# E' u, g2 l+ q+ X
told her daughter.; O: O& e4 F7 o) y# ^ E
: s W' T- h1 Y4 L
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
0 N1 d* L' H. M& S! U; Pclass.8 x6 l( Q8 W _+ Z
2 L; i T; p5 b+ i# c BAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are1 U" i2 P$ B& n% B+ a5 X
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' C1 ]; v' M9 j. Y. e3 ^! }
occasional frustration.) v% [* N/ c* `; ~
: Z$ ?$ H- s& _: z1 a7 s7 {
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
9 \( C; \- c" {. b8 Y# Yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.3 Z2 ~+ h" \( ~( u( m
' u. B5 Y. |/ k( N7 Z1 B4 j6 A
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he+ l3 o( h1 O% [8 U: ?, F0 v
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 k8 V4 ]# S% w* ~8 `' A
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.9 g. t4 {, Y/ w6 V8 a# B% o. y
7 k2 w5 B- d; |. f' U& Q0 g"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 \7 ?- a B% x4 I
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" H) \) p: {( z7 M$ {, Z
as many languages as I can."
% O8 s% D; A9 u+ G9 M x( ~& g1 B0 s- S8 Z0 H- [, f
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 q8 P1 @* U2 s1 _; E, P! m& F( U# x
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
& y, h7 F, `1 D2 ymarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like0 ]2 M% S# D, K' m6 O8 G
that," Ms. Freire said.
/ d1 d6 `5 ?$ G5 R1 @8 Z0 P
7 k. z6 n* u) ^* T3 ~5 t7 o: PMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 _- ^' S0 x! U3 \# x
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; }& h( y( x, J2 Q9 @9 l
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 ^* Y# d0 t Y+ S+ p
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 p- \0 ]! A! ?3 ?
room.: Y7 i( m S/ D2 D z& _
6 T: m- h: l8 [% u' X/ X; C3 xChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
k9 f( \6 ], c x% aChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American3 s# C k0 w1 k+ b4 d1 c# K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said. J' l. y8 W8 j! {5 ?- v
: @8 u! ~3 } C2 G"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) \7 S& E- L) v# A' C
because of that missing certification," he said.
' Z1 j. _3 B9 x/ [+ U* i: a! b* ?3 h2 y5 v( \; F
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,# U* n. N7 R# x) V+ U) P" V
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia6 B2 D6 \" g/ K8 N9 u
Society in New York.
6 M' E7 ^. O# l/ j5 j5 c
. V# G* {4 U) \$ kSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% Z @7 O K& x9 a: d9 c7 \
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
" \) n# W7 {. T" u6 v* sthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., F5 ]; a2 e# F& r- S1 J8 r; h
& ~# R2 p* c) t"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
f k5 W/ n" f% L K! A7 o! rown."' T% V! `. z" o3 T4 T% H
: E+ ]/ m% v! U( i: Z! G) r& }; r
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2005-10-18 09:29
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
楼主
