 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
% z) e4 q, K$ q4 Y7 HClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' X) r+ F% y- w5 Q! k0 ~
4 e, O& ?. D0 p* V( |1 ^
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
1 [% q' s. U9 t9 u. ^
; [7 w' e* r) ]CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the4 N1 h. Z& x% ]3 u. f' ~0 I: ~
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
8 \; S9 r& d+ dSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; u! [5 R7 T5 o
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese8 y7 r) u# a. l- j; O$ B h
flag hang from the wall.; [- ]2 |& j1 S
% W# M. ^. P8 H' E. J
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one( ~/ l/ p3 U; |! ?% H( z7 c6 z
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders- Z7 P8 c7 F9 o; G1 w$ G9 ]
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; n7 k+ n& k5 [; c
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
0 X, l& G0 x1 D+ Lare already choosing it over Spanish.
" _* r. f6 `( Q3 `( y- ?+ @* y1 u/ P' H
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
+ v$ P; ~$ m9 m" U! V% w. v- pat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city: {5 r$ f" c# a( Y3 J H
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."$ r& I/ @* A7 d/ f
: P9 L% b. y' q! X: o. N/ HWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 e, u/ M$ E: F/ d; |% ~1 a' q& l
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# ^; @% g _( `( X" l
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention/ f6 P% C d# F. R" `8 f
one of its most difficult to learn.
, y3 e5 K E& J/ E: m1 J
5 @2 Z% Z: t0 D$ k: O0 zLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to! `# e" x* ?! k
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! { l9 R! D! o/ p
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I." ?8 G7 ]: \6 O5 D
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 V2 z' [% M! J8 w9 N
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ y2 L; s7 j: E
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to, y5 O, k! [6 A
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
- m `. L/ T4 T4 d) z% \8 Q
! [3 r r* P( P( ^After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement( W2 }( C7 g5 @' w5 w6 x& N3 s
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 j) h& P M* V# w+ T4 z2 I! bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; A& B0 L4 z4 [; d: |$ [1 udevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
u( C) \% n0 e i; c# O& qcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
) \7 x: p: z) J! Y* P6 jof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
4 G+ [( {! `, M+ w8 v. S! B; Y' T3 Z; P3 e9 v8 [# {8 v& M l: g, M/ o
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of( X1 B: J' f5 C. d3 E' e" @2 g
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& \1 k/ u: |& F! M* E
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we3 n v5 g9 u# [% ^9 `! ^
can." 3 {7 {* S2 d, M& A+ J% N
1 k0 I% e& G7 }3 b3 D" \* |4 EThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
( v u7 J3 G/ _elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10& A) K2 o) Q" x4 w: f. M, [
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* L2 c$ J( j7 d$ vInstitute in Washington.! U' s1 [& Z8 @" Y0 ?- x, V
* ^* p: Y& ^" l! t0 |"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages' y6 q" n8 g% l
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% j" Q: `3 P. M- O3 t4 p8 C: RMcGinnis said.
/ S2 r6 T" x4 G0 h k1 ^% K) L: X& v% y$ \# l$ T) L
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% |3 o5 q$ z! ?* d% R5 s: ^ ~longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
0 o# v! i) S) Z; W9 uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% {2 y1 h7 x T0 E# S# Wchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
$ q2 [* H3 O4 K. q. { ]
3 k+ M; P4 h u0 zUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and4 W: l) b2 ` A# N7 O7 \
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. M" Q" m) V0 Y
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# z$ O: y; I6 T% h8 V2 kChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or8 |9 @) Z5 N" q% Z& T6 Y
on weekends.
9 d4 m% S1 B' d/ W
! x- S6 F; u7 Q6 v8 k9 y. |! ~The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& Z' P8 N& O$ w1 K* ~, {schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. L' o" T0 d+ V1 ~; T
students who are not of Chinese descent.
' L! O$ g2 \9 r( v I; G+ }7 ]9 _2 X& q$ {$ D
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 F1 H) U. e) l
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
2 g' m; n% |1 Q: g9 P# u3 \' @3 gcompetition.
9 Z: c7 k' f! R" r# s
s4 ?+ d i% X0 r"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ w6 w# P6 k; `" {) s4 osaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
: d6 X7 V. p& |" ?1 j9 M4 _7 m7 e8 ^1 V& a0 S, f( ^' |
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 O/ q( Q2 H' R X, ?& T3 Rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ u( P" F3 q8 M$ W& uschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" R8 r* Y+ X+ U7 o5 V5 g' Skindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students- g9 c o4 ^! } Y
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" q" E# h. c6 @4 r3 ethe school system last year.
9 l+ a L" f3 |$ T. D0 d; r- H) O
- x) r& u5 }0 J. U8 P+ PThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
: }7 _1 Z) o' d+ P; yyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
5 H% m# Q5 t4 v# U& w5 D4 t, g; v. w4 {
"They have a great international experience right in their own
8 r& m, I6 `: E- p3 f& w; X- uclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( W$ i) C# h9 S- l$ kChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! E! v; Z! w8 E B; H8 b4 u
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; x5 |7 x) q* N; O( Y
on an equal playing field."% y/ D/ q3 Z. Y1 M: }! ^' r$ k, E7 }2 k
" B& _1 y& ^ O" z$ ]0 K5 u6 |Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& t6 w" g# D* Q& s( Z) W0 C# U) [classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign7 c+ w7 ^' B. C& ~/ `6 E3 R. y8 e
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( M0 P. F8 l3 w+ o) l. oChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 f2 n w& m5 P
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. U4 X0 b! [1 n ?
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the" G4 N1 K" K1 J6 c" r2 g( k7 [( l
institute says.4 `, L! j# V& t' u, K0 }" ?$ {
7 w( Y% w& s, ~$ g: H" P4 E
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
- h' C2 ~2 v- }/ x/ T. I/ q4 `0 Q s. ?grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ W8 g8 ?; D0 L: U! r
deciding whether to take the class.1 h# D! ^6 B& Z2 `
5 q" r3 V3 O- k* l$ R
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she2 t9 E6 B: {4 {# b8 U/ e
told her daughter.; t/ y' l7 O1 h' b% Y
4 C( G* {6 u& Y5 HSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ [3 U1 g1 `2 t/ @. O$ f
class.
2 ~& G8 J0 s6 b3 q' s5 l9 v3 @. V) k5 Y* s, U
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are4 h/ d9 q# m8 e7 g* V
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without. p6 ?! \" {/ f {( N
occasional frustration.) V' Z B( h5 q- Y. f5 O
5 b* R$ q9 ]3 L9 {
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, p, L1 d; X( @1 k4 a# d/ \recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.7 G: x- ?: U3 m
' W) z. z) p% ?$ ]) s& w0 t+ f
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
) n' x! K# t' w* E* l* t9 {taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
. C% w: V3 P% R* t) ]) O( [Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- j5 w, a" i% Q+ |0 [
6 I7 ^* I( a: H( d& L2 ^
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# X: [2 N. E4 Y% g8 X& dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn9 K' c! v0 O0 v+ Z. ]9 H+ y
as many languages as I can."$ R0 e* N" l) P6 a2 p* Y
- E- N$ U$ x- J& [+ Z; OAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ W# T% {# F" @' v& i
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
$ ~ x9 j& |' |3 y- N ^# kmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ w' } z$ ]! f/ m; e/ [ h, d: I/ i
that," Ms. Freire said.8 R$ M" H+ c: [! x
7 i' p* H; w+ i1 O, @% n) [
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program9 O! y* c: j$ h# J: E$ v. t
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
7 z7 h# t' `2 w, W2 @school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
9 d+ s; E: U( P2 o7 W, w$ Otime from classes like physical education, music and art to make2 }- \, e* U) b# B7 h# ~- z' C
room.
% i3 [+ n, I, I- U- ?( R1 l% R7 I1 X( l) }) Y" P; t% E5 U8 ?# ^0 B
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 x7 q8 z: Q# f; iChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
* L; d* z. G, B9 T" Q! vcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
9 `: Z9 X/ |( @. N3 t
6 w1 M5 }4 @6 y3 x Y. H"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) S. r- i; Z5 B! t
because of that missing certification," he said.; [! g0 g9 `% c8 l: T5 V4 a( i$ r
$ F2 Y. f# D, Z: A9 ?The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 s3 K2 b/ g/ P) |) R: T" Ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, b- u/ U9 [, G' W; c, H
Society in New York.
8 {+ F X- f4 E% g) B2 b; W: j4 |6 F8 _5 P
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* t5 w7 }# G% m2 z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& b2 _! B; u) r0 J1 ^4 K' J9 A; o
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
1 v4 y {. j. |4 K# }8 N, b2 u9 [0 r
& W9 x3 ]% D2 ^; Y+ n"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
2 L% }$ s+ x* Y5 y5 k- g5 Z2 }own."; w8 ?2 W; I" f- p2 _9 o" K. m
1 I6 n9 ?! | |$ `
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|