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October 15, 2005/ t, d5 @' X! Y8 P: i
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% H: R1 t! I: ?- L5 G8 q
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING; A' k* s+ `! _' [1 s7 w
, l7 G( b$ w$ M; F; I5 X7 j' TCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 k* l& O# Q wUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. V/ n! y8 h0 ]School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 A: B3 A U0 A6 _- hdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese- K# R- f$ F- D% o$ b" P. I, I7 ^) Q, I
flag hang from the wall.8 }; \: W8 |: \0 ], V: f3 o
3 l' B2 ^( {4 a" H! v, o d2 C( {One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one; w, m2 O( H; L& h- |, Z
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! F& u8 [& o cpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 `+ J" h8 G. i4 x$ s$ z* q
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students; w, S. _8 n% \# z/ j- z9 [. [
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 Q9 Y/ a; J+ f; l$ mat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 F: v0 k/ K2 j: A/ T# Soffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."% A' K7 q! Z: z+ _6 \
2 ^# I \) h* q( M- [With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
6 ]- A- d8 _9 T8 B y' v# Z0 Xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
; q/ |0 V0 I7 V/ uto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: \- n# T! |- @ u4 G! Y
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to8 c3 X, d3 x0 [0 y7 Y( `
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 }& Z' C( F1 C# R0 Y: hstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
" S/ ~, x3 a! ]) G8 c \) rLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ [% X" Z9 L4 O* [3 X6 n( o
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on7 t: m' ^8 {- I L( j8 F9 b
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to' S9 {, R( A- N& N5 b
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.2 K2 @2 p+ h: f: ^1 ] h
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement6 D, Z; q% \+ d w% D$ V3 l0 H- p
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
: T" y7 T8 b. }) P4 mstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to% S0 B- U6 w2 Z
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ g8 j2 E. Q$ Rcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# E- i% A0 ?& g; c% [
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 [( x$ `! H' I! N' C* G& H$ N
: y' y& x' K8 n; g"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 M9 J: u+ u1 L a, k, w: u
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education# ?6 o$ S8 | ]
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# c. i$ H% i: q" f% r: l
can."
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3 L1 ^5 r* H* U4 x, wThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
; n! _; F' [) k0 a$ R% z$ g* \; |- Xelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
4 W" v% i! o {) O( j% T7 Z: {years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language8 n' p6 v$ ?7 q) ~1 J. O2 v V
Institute in Washington.
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8 V8 b6 X8 u8 R( W" G1 o. v8 A! [: q"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages& w0 q; F3 `& _4 f/ r
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
3 u0 g5 i6 `( u# J* }9 R# MMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* ]# C5 V: C- O. }8 e9 w0 {longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be& [8 t$ m% F# G
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a4 E2 o9 ^" Q6 x2 I) f5 @ `
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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3 ]9 O, R4 b6 E/ Q# sUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
* }& p3 U9 v" |: ?secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) G6 J9 A) e9 \' E# Kcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of: d( a1 M* F- u" ^, H
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or% Q- \4 L$ |/ p6 A- \ V
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
1 F: j; Q; e* B( _schools during the regular school day and primarily serves" v+ J* Z9 O( c' o x
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& G5 \# O; X) S' Q% C2 ~% z! d, E# eproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
1 @: w) k. _: q% ^- q8 Scompetition.
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7 |! r; j( N/ @# A6 g"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
( s0 k; g6 g5 f& \+ I- y3 Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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+ W( v9 u$ h6 b3 {' j. FFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
2 T. D! A0 s. A, j3 Oall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse$ `4 H) k, U* W& w" U
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
) r$ X: h1 I& x, Wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
8 ]" ?/ g7 v* O2 o6 T+ J% _/ swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# ]% j; h0 z2 k2 ^ N
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; N" N1 q, ^1 cyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
) `8 l6 Q0 L" Mclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 I8 r, n: C9 D/ E! C/ Z, uChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 H8 J; j5 Y. k9 h- @help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet! ^ z- P2 s9 P& ~4 z
on an equal playing field."
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7 g2 k3 i7 B5 z2 F! ~& w2 P" {Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese$ {% \9 Z+ n3 y' l
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! ?% T. b2 A- U0 bService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
0 m! C \# ]: D% L% `Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An; Z0 e. f9 W& e
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. G0 M$ n s7 Q4 b" V
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 r l! I5 k F2 P8 `3 w
institute says.$ F0 Q1 K0 r$ f+ W
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
) B& _, T& z- _4 i% m; ^4 Cgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
! D) a$ S b) m) M, pdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
C" Q' c, Q! |told her daughter.- `. g1 {7 M' U7 o
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 i! f. D6 i9 E$ z, ]# K
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
+ I; ]* V r) F4 n6 P9 nstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# Z$ U- @/ U+ A( a7 h Qoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 {. |6 w7 W, r# D
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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, E& s( u* j4 ARaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! G) O" ~ z- e: `taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with+ u/ X- c1 Z- U
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
{' h7 r: P6 Z1 `6 |said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn; ^( `! W B) A; p
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" _8 h9 ]( O ?" o* g; I, nskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, K1 k/ v0 b b; `market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like7 i* N7 w7 Y1 Q; e
that," Ms. Freire said.! J+ Z" }. |7 X0 p/ i3 i6 \
4 q5 @3 O" i: C; s9 OMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. c' P' _7 U9 c) R, n7 {5 uhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
* I2 F# L; F/ _# nschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 X% i' K1 v$ H- k! L
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 r2 @1 u2 g; w1 x( Y" D5 Y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& [6 J5 `4 G& S
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.4 W) }( p* e9 G" l/ H
" f( C- W' f' F+ o+ R }"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% \8 u: y9 i* f/ i
because of that missing certification," he said.
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4 k0 j* r* n& c6 v' nThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,' @: s# M! H6 V9 q* J5 w0 A
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia! }8 y% f1 A8 E3 q1 j
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
1 R: [8 |, E# E+ EChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
1 x/ u4 `8 ` {! w" Rthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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: l9 e, d3 D# U* T6 f! d" r"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our$ {! n/ Y0 ]; r9 c
own."
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