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October 15, 2005
3 o% r# J G" Z! e/ ?7 e7 [Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING3 z7 D9 d4 n6 q9 ?# c
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the8 I' h$ f" h) Z+ r8 |6 ?. t) F
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 E* Z$ f; x# S1 b& K# hSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ ^2 w" q& k6 {, q: N" ]
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" ]" b& S) \' E& C7 u: B3 s9 Aflag hang from the wall.5 |$ Q6 A* w! `3 p( b1 K6 q! P* ?: q
- ?0 g$ @& V9 U: q, i/ T! z8 `5 c4 EOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! _# P+ l; A) f9 ~" U3 [& S- Q( I6 V
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) n0 q( i9 Q- I* e
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker4 F1 J% T' t& w+ e- ]7 i
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students: ~7 A5 g) T6 [8 ^' l; d) p
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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) K4 u- G" i7 {) e) |"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- t4 m. s6 c" x" _
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
: e9 n0 Q% c2 D! h( p* _offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."& g. m& T1 R; E- g- b! i! _9 }
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments," A2 N( R4 [9 G) E; h" X
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* ?$ a* `: m0 {/ x# X
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 W1 C9 c9 ^! w
one of its most difficult to learn.
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# u% K( v( K1 O7 yLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to9 v) u3 k. R( ~1 U/ M
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students: R5 y/ W' P8 L/ K5 ~4 f) m/ @
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) ^$ p8 g; ?& X# r" D7 I
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- Z6 p2 z6 R" Y( n: U0 vTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 z; _! f" |" I, }* t t/ S
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 U% r5 ?7 u/ S
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.: d/ Q2 O0 d6 ]" T/ f- X' ?
1 S/ x& Q8 y, z& l |8 pAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ w4 q( H+ a0 n8 P6 X' h- e
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. \, s$ Y+ [8 w) v4 Q, O
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to- e8 a$ |$ s- `+ S4 r! L
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
2 o! N# W$ b/ h* Scurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 a6 @7 m* ]' K, S* @ R
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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0 m# T, b) i6 g. I0 b. @) e"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" L0 i* L1 i5 \) _
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education" V7 \/ {1 X% ?2 W8 J4 x4 y2 |
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we' t, P6 c$ f1 C
can."
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8 ]. C1 K$ M# J2 a% g# dThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from0 L& f1 ?- k: }) C; m
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# E2 E5 s+ U3 T4 Y. ]years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, K$ F: c5 f0 y K2 z+ W3 g" x {: j
Institute in Washington.
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. l0 y/ S; ^/ a8 w! j"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 T4 Z. I5 ~4 r# m7 D
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.' h% t- S/ W) u/ q" V* L" ~
McGinnis said.
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# x8 P7 w k/ M"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
/ `- e3 `( a0 Z: j p, g7 }, ilongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be& x& F: K7 d" v% O9 o3 [
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 S! S, m0 Q# B( B$ l. Rchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") L9 S( t+ p2 h
* U! c; ]& A6 S# M5 U& xUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 w2 N( L- ^$ V- r. }3 Z, P( N: S: qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
6 C5 a- m1 g- v; s' Bcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) P/ R% c- S- G; m/ U$ LChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 A# t) c* D/ M p) L$ D$ Won weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public H! ?" b) U5 V' O" Y6 U
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves: ?9 g2 D% [9 V6 N7 v) ^
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" ?$ c. z' P. P8 @8 Qproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the" @) S$ }( H5 V* ?$ w
competition. . Z1 V& u0 L* P* Q( Z
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley% z- `/ |1 g/ Q2 F% X" ~" X
said. "There will be Chinese and English."6 |% q L7 i1 T! o
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# {( H9 m: f, f" eall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse: ~: I: f( i/ r5 A- x" Q' r2 l* K1 _
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. D; J2 L) X( Q t
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students" T' T2 _0 w Z, x
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 o* ~4 f. W1 t% v( `the school system last year.- ?; E$ W/ U K9 I
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this3 Z( w' c$ u" Q: F c' W* ?
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( v& ~4 F! j) z+ a$ x$ A8 o' a) z( G
+ u5 p2 ?' h5 }"They have a great international experience right in their own# ^$ T% B1 M8 I4 K: {8 T
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' F( S+ y! j2 g0 ]! nChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 ^; j9 ]4 {3 ?/ l! Rhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
; Q" c5 d& T4 F. B0 r2 u* ton an equal playing field."
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2 h& W0 N0 h' Y' rSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese8 P+ `; f7 x# z( y& J( X: k2 |
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
; ~+ o }6 ^! r! t0 GService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
8 E7 r) o; B$ ]& ^9 L3 k2 K" w! \Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
/ ^0 q1 {% N" Y! c9 Raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 i" G0 G x0 C" }+ z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the F6 q4 U# p3 q4 n( S
institute says.5 B Z! z" j2 D4 A9 y
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth4 t/ _% k: K' D! ]
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before2 ?0 f! C- M" o p( U
deciding whether to take the class.0 |/ Z* d- c# a9 P/ g9 b
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she% s" ?$ t9 h6 ^/ Q
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
5 H" s! i, }" `' \4 xclass.* k1 _" T5 R- R8 K% H
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
2 C: g- I. K. }$ Z4 W( O- Wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* T/ Z; X- z S# V& n' t$ Poccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: x2 c$ I- j4 R& r$ f1 s5 V
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 L! R, M3 _+ ?# u4 F7 I
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
5 Y2 ~, u' ^% i, Q) o, n9 ~! pChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.8 J6 q" v% Q* p9 N1 h: P
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 r# v( ?( d$ Vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
8 `$ m; D# i; |9 w. A$ { [as many languages as I can.", C1 E9 @6 K( m" O2 l
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the( D( M: O9 y7 S9 Z+ P" \0 j1 o6 m& i3 y
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; \2 c: \& a# Q% {" `market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
8 l; J4 z: k) G+ Gthat," Ms. Freire said.
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% h" p9 u0 e- a4 q7 yMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% C7 t5 W0 G% a# r- Q; _
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each' v3 r& o% ^6 ], s0 E, V9 @
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 s( \8 d* Y! i* r4 q# }, t" k+ M2 i
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make# _0 s) U. `( B4 I# o6 C
room.( x9 y, K' X7 m* t3 Z
. i; T* k) M0 c+ R- iChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* h3 Q5 U& a7 O/ p" y1 T
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American6 P) b. i+ ]' Q7 P
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.5 q, J0 q( k8 y I- Z
$ j' \) A% Q* l1 j$ O' U$ r3 Q K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified5 |; e! y6 m l/ f3 k2 T+ ^
because of that missing certification," he said.
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8 _$ _& e' S- p5 qThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
1 ]) s6 W' W! N8 A3 `said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, U% ?) U% a# S' CSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- |$ ?! y$ G% q0 p; _" ]
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from. ^8 X9 i3 o7 P( T
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
4 H" V6 w& c; n$ i& B! down."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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