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October 15, 20057 x6 h' y$ Y \4 p; P @
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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9 p7 V$ f, N9 xBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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; b. `: `1 `4 T+ eCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
: d1 m0 G. F$ C5 S& X9 bUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
: v+ v& u& E' @School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 v q! n+ \+ B# J
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ |2 `. t1 ]5 `; @0 f- Kflag hang from the wall.) j4 e6 K& o4 m n9 ?- r% @
6 f; ]5 H$ x* q: V& sOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 c. |! J2 r* k. i- [# Canother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 v/ p3 g; J* @- n1 C1 z5 K
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, q* S$ C4 {# {" @6 `boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students. v3 q9 F( L5 R/ E! Z0 ~
are already choosing it over Spanish.: T R4 _5 A4 |3 t5 t. [
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: q0 D) N% C) h* v) d/ Gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# ?$ g6 H- X: x! L9 v! uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
2 g7 V7 L7 _9 m7 V4 uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
1 a* H2 b6 a- {2 o- O# Bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
' y3 A* d2 x6 i6 x# M4 [one of its most difficult to learn.
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9 Q: o! k# B: p1 \Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to! @3 _( k- B4 }. ^" n
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
8 {, ~3 [# x" D# k0 gstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.2 U! N: F% f. v
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 E! u! U0 h2 o8 t- C( P8 a
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ e: l$ j$ T V3 [
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; X' `2 L& T! Y! w0 L+ ^improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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' v- v# O* i# CAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement7 S# b9 R; d1 I+ j' Q# ~. ]
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 e, `) i. D( L( @) u8 N mstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to& i8 l" x0 a0 h( r3 p
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing7 ?1 X5 O3 H1 g( ~& B' }* d
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
# l. v2 k5 U+ ` F' o X" _of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.8 R2 r) h1 l* O* e+ T3 _) e0 y. z
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of* q$ }: U; ]: W: E
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 f- l, M: O/ Z
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
# D) U, ^/ E, I/ kcan." ) V, R; M/ [7 H3 c* r
8 w) _5 O5 @6 HThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from& M7 e5 r: M% y7 ^" \# x
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 q* C$ j T6 i6 E* Eyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; s9 G& w" @ l' `( K
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
+ V6 H8 v+ w$ qaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
: T" H9 t2 `" YMcGinnis said.& X! e4 Q7 R6 I! ^' ?
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; O9 Y9 F2 I9 ~
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" y1 w- _* L1 G( H! V. n+ Y& h
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
, {, b# w( H& A: I* H8 p; Uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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- B2 p" z2 t" N. \. OUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
$ \6 X1 o5 @9 k" @2 k& msecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in8 B+ `6 j. P6 `) E& D' f
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 F! P$ \7 g3 c& }Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% q; T2 R" a" H- g# g7 q4 t+ Ion weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
/ u% [+ e+ e! F+ E' S" mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ Q$ x9 D3 z3 q7 O
students who are not of Chinese descent. |) H. S- ]. I4 N+ l+ u$ Z- D; v
. A" u1 M+ B1 \9 S) b9 ^( AMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 u3 f& O) ?' D" Y {7 t; Zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
1 k1 }$ p+ r, M' hcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 i8 M) X/ f/ ?% x: L
said. "There will be Chinese and English."- g7 ]; z* D( r% H# f9 o
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ h+ A1 L% r$ X6 Iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 K8 r/ U H# Vschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. t% o" _% d! C; W# c$ p: S
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 T0 L, G' B$ F
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to! k6 }* } a& U2 ?" M1 S: D8 i2 d
the school system last year.' Q; `4 C! M9 G: H# r
5 L5 _6 R7 S, u/ OThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# u, V6 n; {# p$ ?. q0 p
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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* h2 N: C2 r4 [2 W"They have a great international experience right in their own0 q% [/ t1 \1 w- g$ Z2 U
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago$ ^! y. \; i% H. z3 M4 J+ R: q- W
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
2 k7 ^; T7 Q+ |, j( b; K: Hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet n+ k* ]! }0 |" Z
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! @5 }3 F/ i3 k* g) j* ~classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign d" _: @# I4 Y4 v
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 k8 x4 t7 C) S% ^$ ?- T
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
, t) Z' _; {7 H) k" P" o, v/ Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- C7 u. x: x4 ^/ D4 g6 p1 u. ^5 _Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# l' E% |2 l- u( {5 J3 V4 q$ O1 I
institute says.+ ?2 [: `8 B- @% b( X# K7 @
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( D8 f+ y) a0 ^/ ? d0 \) cgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
( f1 C7 p+ _) Ddeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! Z/ Z1 n k# i0 h1 }3 t2 Ctold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- ~9 e( F- Z% Y# `; d5 d- Bclass.
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* t, }% P0 `1 [, X) ~% UAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 S( U' @9 ]7 x# i8 ]! x; h1 `& S
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
( G( h* p h2 T6 B1 foccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; A( g# I8 w% ?; m( qrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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/ y% l8 @; e" `) CRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' F+ ^% P7 T( w& Z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ b( B G3 d: l( f* d; FChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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3 Z4 ?/ P! o) W2 B"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# O* {" }- f( p( E1 dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn9 j) I p' s* Z3 f; k8 v
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the, ?& P) z* q( h* j) P
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, S% A4 B7 w. V, C/ u, O% e) Wmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: \5 v$ @' U' i" c! R/ c
that," Ms. Freire said.* z Z8 H. A' U9 s) O
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, Z+ d! \# x8 Mhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* W/ Z* ]& s2 f* ~0 {
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking# Z; ~( ^. G* m( t' p: Z
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make2 L9 E2 R+ L2 A5 k9 p" [8 c
room.
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7 v! v" b9 D( x, f7 p$ \Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer6 q& T$ q, n* ~, F
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 w* h: D9 t& r: b, H- V0 X
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ w! z1 x. z: u+ i0 x
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
( v1 i; G* G1 p2 y3 e% M* T+ r1 zbecause of that missing certification," he said." M3 k+ r% Y) f5 Q
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 T7 B; {! j5 s# ?5 ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- G; _/ J! a4 V/ w" pSociety in New York.
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r3 R$ \; y6 m9 _- c% y+ cSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 Y s( s# O) x2 |& MChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
% Q; c& x) x/ ]9 ^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
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; e2 T+ |% J8 {/ j- @( k0 Q8 mCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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