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October 15, 2005
5 q$ H b7 y+ BClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 w U3 R2 I2 v6 y- k/ x0 b- `
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING( l z( Y* T2 G. ]5 b1 }) ^
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the* a5 Z, N6 U! P" Y* U, i
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) F. U) S: x( ]8 n' aSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
! d% L% }# e0 J. Q Idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
- ^, C. S6 {/ iflag hang from the wall.
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9 O2 @+ L8 g7 d3 f7 m8 {5 {* ]$ P4 SOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 [# N: }: \# A- O9 D9 f1 l$ k
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) H4 {1 A* B/ n/ G I4 Vpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
6 e) n5 j4 K3 f6 L& B; K, dboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. r, U# Z7 C3 q$ q, G5 H4 Q gare already choosing it over Spanish.
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: T# J, w: _' u P6 y2 V"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ `% N- N3 c# ~8 H, nat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
8 |8 {& M; z$ B) \offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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0 T7 s6 C4 J R! N- l8 f9 {) RWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,. P p1 `1 P8 X2 V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% p6 D, Q8 e8 ^. [9 u- ?# L
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
$ c: ^ f! X+ A r: C: W7 u, [one of its most difficult to learn.
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& E3 T4 q$ |4 ?Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
/ F+ L9 s& Y% W: lpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 }) g, Z0 i+ B5 I' V1 x
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
) a; r- H9 \+ v k: _2 L CLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 p$ `& r$ k+ U6 D% R
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
r4 \# P y! W3 I oChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to! [7 z6 u8 x( b; d& e
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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8 ]7 g# C& R, {, U, q0 K/ t3 a$ GAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 E/ j4 e% b2 F! T1 U$ s- Y
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. J8 ^3 S& H8 I
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to& V# P$ t4 q0 w
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ T) N( O4 ~* B
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 m+ F3 d* j3 O0 k6 Fof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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3 ` k6 q7 K- Y+ y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
5 H/ c8 R/ K4 k+ ~, B9 J& ?speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ l1 e+ b X# U1 s
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we4 S# D6 h) @' F
can."
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! P) I( v! x3 {8 PThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from& O0 Y8 q3 k2 h! `$ g
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' o) U, I6 T3 C1 h* \5 f4 Lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language% s- M B/ G* q/ ?! h4 s
Institute in Washington.- H* `- N! W0 Z g4 B) a$ \: S
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& Z3 ?( j2 d( Maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ `* u! L- t& F+ \( K9 f% J' Q
McGinnis said.' Y: r6 E; `- K: @3 u+ ?# i0 V
: L) m: Z# E4 d8 f) ~"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; S M5 K3 J" f. q7 [4 elongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) n' t# T& D6 {+ U! S
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
1 I% W+ f1 X0 E: E h4 {challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
; u5 J6 y& d* c' H3 q3 T& Osecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' x7 V9 E, r$ N' i& E' V/ ~/ z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ x9 \# g x1 E/ CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 o7 ]+ D8 \7 V: lon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
2 ?5 ~+ q! D4 |# ], K1 Wschools during the regular school day and primarily serves X( | F1 o# n/ d
students who are not of Chinese descent./ ^8 }1 E8 T* _. D! S3 Y
( u# [' V: ?/ K" @! C$ C, b) qMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; S' v7 A8 ]5 W. W4 e0 l( Xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
6 A# I) I0 t; g! B* f: Ocompetition. - B {% N, H3 s7 t: B
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley, Z9 |! e9 z |8 G% p
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 @* u4 Q6 `6 h) h/ u8 _all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
3 b$ M( `$ n! q) |( o3 Hschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
; r1 k: [) E3 M6 @kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, D8 i- U% |$ |who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- G9 D! s* N$ Hthe school system last year.. n0 _5 B& g C5 A- v5 U4 H1 J
2 D+ e( z( ], q8 ZThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this+ {6 l; t6 t4 C7 p# G
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.* y6 `: r# C4 Q
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
, o+ k4 f2 g5 V! a" i" o3 A# J/ Wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago+ e0 B8 O% X5 b, k4 q
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ ]! J- V$ I! N$ q w7 ^& B& mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
3 J O- A& p2 v+ O5 a6 \4 yon an equal playing field.", ^4 m5 m$ h) j1 _) b1 u8 y
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese$ ?& f4 ?9 C' A. t( a6 L, @
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
" ~9 V6 [0 ^! H$ h/ _: g# MService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* r( j2 R2 p8 `0 u' }
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An2 k- J' f5 {. L
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 t! i. q2 V. U
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 C7 r/ h8 M# ~. A. rinstitute says.6 `+ x' u- n+ W# V
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
- f P( A' T/ }5 Agrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before f: H" M% P) Y1 d
deciding whether to take the class.% l9 Z# W! h: O$ z
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! ]* ^7 P. d& k# _& }" f7 j* btold her daughter.& G+ f6 ~0 _. k) y
+ d1 d" K# T( P, s* m2 vSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' d) v3 j+ q4 m K* t$ t' Q8 k
class.
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, U7 [6 t) M/ SAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
! g: R, `' ~3 X: @studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without; p+ q- d- o8 P% A! H, B
occasional frustration., z* C" ?' z0 d- j0 S. i4 i
4 K6 v \& q$ [ @3 ]0 ?" h"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ s# a" t$ r8 G: G; |9 q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* r m, r4 I w$ I# `/ {/ |2 \+ L
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he0 \, u2 [$ Y' w' U" ~
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with9 J" |: _" J8 S) C0 @5 |! L
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.; j. ~7 J" g, [8 r& W
) u* T% J' D7 D6 C# A# e m/ N"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' D# Z4 h- X4 a8 y, j" \, r2 j
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ R L7 ~ o8 G% O7 l+ fas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ k4 C4 p8 L. K/ v( w- ^8 dskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job% l ^! ]: E$ I- l" z1 q
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
% Q [# d) {+ q/ jthat," Ms. Freire said.
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, ]( m; r+ h4 N2 g& f) d" HMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program5 R4 N5 @7 v' ?9 v" m9 o. v/ o
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 |% K% z0 ~# Z2 P0 I; V
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking/ E5 C% s3 e3 b, {- P5 o% R
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
$ j. }( ]$ K2 F4 W/ O; a5 |2 P! mroom.6 C& E, I" f# e( _3 i, |+ {. ~
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 B' D# q! s6 I
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 a( Q' Q7 s4 ]% F& F7 _- {8 b! V
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
9 t% J* ~8 T8 m# Z2 R! e6 h/ s2 Qbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ {" @7 N, o8 E# W: S: [: Csaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia- s3 l1 V7 K1 e+ M! F. k! J5 o; @4 L
Society in New York.0 A) A$ e8 h$ _% ?: U' M' o
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ b: @ d& f! y4 x, u5 g) |) {5 JChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ y m0 g% \$ q) t8 @( d4 ^9 G% F. a8 ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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9 r1 n- K( a: ?2 Q( U7 K" y) ~"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our# P& Q) u4 z# x: a( K6 Y* `) {$ }) @
own."1 v; ]8 B2 O( I' C
, L3 _- R- M5 G# Q4 v; uCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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