 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 20055 N* t) I; `! r
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
; ~5 D t4 y6 |8 U" ~% ^3 c( F" p4 w" y$ r% S G
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
$ j7 M* z, _2 y! d4 U t" J7 ] Q7 b* p
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the0 N. j- j% L; u$ \& s @3 M
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
; G& B+ _9 x- hSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas6 g; I9 f1 v1 G3 g$ D- R
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 _8 z2 W3 E3 o+ Q: m$ V
flag hang from the wall.
. m8 d5 z9 N X; D, t J% F T. d/ [" w: H3 D6 @, a
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
/ v h, I" O- t7 r* s `+ lanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders& D0 x9 Q) W) T
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
6 u" o3 _6 ~0 @6 t/ |( oboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
+ C i# \' B9 r- Rare already choosing it over Spanish.
3 t) w* V& I! ^& }" \
3 X8 v7 \+ [6 N, [( n$ c"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
6 U* t% X3 a0 ?at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
% a" x( I% q. j3 M( H# Toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
# N$ `% q1 E8 @" m+ B+ p3 L, P: Q6 s- s5 f
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments," h9 W! y: X# F4 E0 W, V2 x
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings k( L! F$ A* J W$ \+ @4 K
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention; J. u, S/ d- W) c$ u- o
one of its most difficult to learn.4 T; P8 ^% o, M4 ]
- ~! `( p5 z# H# l7 W' O- i1 ^
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to" A9 A: P K; J9 I) ?9 C
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
/ q. N% ~( b* ^ M% q. i5 astudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.* s' X1 E8 T: U; c
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% b; {# T( M: X3 m* B+ Y& J
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- V" ~. I* j+ C7 s$ w$ wChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
4 n6 q l/ e8 I- j- X6 l4 ?' f2 j; Oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
( V9 {/ f6 T) ]% c7 x7 T. v$ e0 ?3 k
0 H) k; S% s4 l) gAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
3 U: k& h( z5 hChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 ]' U3 l, Y+ H. [" a+ Ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to, \8 G3 D# ]9 T3 [
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing" q6 S7 t' _* \; F0 j1 `* _, b0 {5 L
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director, y& I8 M; g: d4 {/ N3 p$ g8 N+ `
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.! Z( C* w8 c6 u
; E% R# Z7 I7 p# }"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 r, l! e+ C+ w2 ~
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
2 Q6 Q: b0 Z! p& m \' @8 T1 eConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we1 `+ z0 o' H* }, S$ R: J1 E& T; @
can."
9 e4 j- z! z* h& r* {9 r, F
4 e. l' e$ o2 W% A8 k0 P; @The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from! N5 ~" V) H; i( c& T' S
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
0 w$ `+ H$ F8 f/ S# byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language2 f1 \/ ~4 @+ t$ J, z& X j; @
Institute in Washington.: P- z2 \, f( V* K# K
( j' N* D% q+ y6 G. R3 A+ k0 D
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 J; ?9 _5 A. M- Raren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
2 h- P; R# C2 `! J; JMcGinnis said.8 i' k# X9 `8 C3 }, M5 }+ ?
" a! ?+ l6 G% X" \5 t% L
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- Q; z2 C, ~ k4 i" olongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
/ q- `' @& W6 c5 H$ \3 Yready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( c: R4 R U1 ?4 b% }' P( q) Zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( t8 a: w$ H/ f5 Q
' z2 |, O* v, RUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and! V$ [+ C" @. E$ t6 p
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- f. F9 {6 [/ b; f0 q7 m2 wcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of5 N1 N2 l' w- z* e- z
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or% F! N% o) \. b3 k8 N
on weekends.
4 m2 I& c( j X6 ?
+ S% z; C9 E) i4 s: L1 }0 NThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: B$ L# N- y! j+ Mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
' {6 n+ y+ f& t2 k" P$ }, ostudents who are not of Chinese descent.0 F( P7 f5 z1 t- @/ f& H
& K' f5 F' v* ^Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, D! _" ~% ]% I: ]4 Fproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
8 a) Z, i9 z, S6 Scompetition. " C) J; k, v/ E8 M
o7 `! }* I& ]9 x9 K. F"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, i0 E& o; R7 c) ?9 ssaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
Q! V \! C8 p% ^; c6 j
7 r+ d% | T) D5 Q7 o8 [ L- V+ V. VFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly) n8 y$ V/ z+ M/ y0 X7 o/ {
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 M {" I+ P8 }: h& O! o& N/ L, Z
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from E2 K* T$ V5 w: Y! y/ }+ g
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 _) S. b" B! x1 K( {+ R* f6 Vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
9 N4 Z4 [3 m$ e, [2 ?the school system last year.
5 _$ s) `9 ^8 a' B) y+ b
* L- ~8 W" x+ B( C2 iThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
2 w, K: _/ \' A5 Ayear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
7 j4 K( w; e3 e+ @1 I( @* O4 r
6 O- Q, K3 ~" e- [ ]/ \! W; q"They have a great international experience right in their own
% E$ ~3 h4 C1 [7 u7 Wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
& A- B5 B- @8 W) k- P& S7 k" t6 T" [Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* v) H8 F7 M/ R+ O- F4 H. n" k. r) Khelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 e3 z# }4 R" e0 T! A% Zon an equal playing field."
a8 e( O. B/ s4 B2 I3 K j0 N' ]: ~6 T
" O% u) Q J0 w: I3 _Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese# S7 ^6 K2 q" g; E* H* p
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
6 Y, e* @ E: b. L: Z) a/ RService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks3 L1 ^* q$ J1 ?* e' ~+ d% x" v
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& S( ~& t& j) r* F/ Paverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
; [" U# x2 z7 @" R1 ]( f" IChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the+ Q' e4 p0 C7 X, D
institute says.& w& ^" O$ U4 a; F9 ?% L0 x
. W8 B* d- w e& y0 ^3 J' b
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth) S- k3 E" C1 I9 J* s( e; i
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
7 y( M0 ~1 H U/ ]7 ?1 Y1 ydeciding whether to take the class.
* O3 e2 A( r8 k) g& [ d1 P3 D% O# A' \
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she; p4 f% P3 @' v v8 L) c2 j
told her daughter.
8 B7 ]# O! P" c; m8 b1 L; m
. |$ i! i1 r/ i3 `7 CSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 W( v( O. s; z4 j1 q m
class.* y' ?% F" l8 D# k- \3 ~2 g" P& K
( X6 H! }" c' \/ G* W) P
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are% \! Y, Z/ v$ {2 ?6 E6 f1 J
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
- i% V1 k$ P# ~9 ^) X4 ?1 joccasional frustration.
) x' W# Z6 f+ v6 `2 y4 q9 ^% T2 c1 x4 z @2 _* {
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
1 @. D$ j- J& O+ Q5 Wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.5 A, G9 z r$ i# o
0 q/ h$ g5 S/ \1 j1 [6 k/ Z) e
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
" U3 B/ H. v; v1 a$ Ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& @: k: x" m2 F0 g( X4 ]Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
# A. [) k6 l& k* w' O# M$ C& `0 s/ u
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# n0 I9 m0 ]( B" q6 ?$ K. H% `said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, S- I0 o( L. |4 n" k8 u3 eas many languages as I can."( [1 u- k% Z3 V7 E S" A
8 ~2 F7 p7 n) R0 J& DAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the- i; T. j* P. L
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job$ ~# ]" r) Y3 k' b- v' ?8 m# H
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
6 T! j& Z& H, B/ W; A* n" ythat," Ms. Freire said.
2 t# B; k, V) I8 v& K6 V" Z, F' `' [# A5 o( B7 \0 m' f$ Z
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program6 m+ a2 k4 w0 e' X# i
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
: F, J* I- w/ uschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking4 S) l" r' U( N
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
' [' g& X# V/ n5 B) mroom.1 L! f0 A- o" j% y
3 ~2 E' w/ r- \
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 d& o, {' m* u* s
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; v* r' V% I) ]$ ~: @
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
- w) U' p! D# K5 e" b
5 { K7 C. p5 A8 x"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
& L' K6 B! i6 p+ F/ Nbecause of that missing certification," he said.
# z- o: h; _6 j2 X
0 U9 }+ U1 }9 r* b! kThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 c4 o6 D( }# k0 B) A
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- i( {! ~7 Q/ bSociety in New York.
# }: ~) h- |0 F0 b' @- M) e' O8 l! @# y* P+ l$ y! J8 v7 h) O
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' m) j' S; u5 | G
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& K1 w% f4 g5 \( t7 Sthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. x4 F3 e1 I1 U) R2 a
. X2 P4 I1 u" P0 l9 z4 ?. `"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
( ?; B+ V7 b; O* A" k. Xown."3 r/ o: O4 q8 I. _$ d
6 t' Z: k f% q1 o. ^' GCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|