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October 15, 2005
& e: k3 K6 {0 m' q4 [; \Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 A: V% E+ _1 F; e0 W9 L
1 D* e1 `. I* }, x* K& G1 E1 MBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& H: [# C# q7 a
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
+ I) S5 T9 ~8 f2 z+ L7 [" _School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 r9 p/ s ~/ L7 O% K% W1 Y2 fdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
* o9 y; g2 ] W8 f+ f! yflag hang from the wall.- F1 T6 d& P6 M- v9 q5 A
! R0 b- L# G- [0 h6 ?# F( u! @One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one5 o, N# c2 r2 }% m
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
w9 R: P' `, T0 e+ P( b% gpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 _8 a2 J/ O7 G, U% u4 v% \( \boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students7 s& `2 ^9 \9 q& z
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal4 ?" }) L8 O) o7 X
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 H. }5 R, e& O* H! v5 O$ Goffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,9 ~! [! D2 h3 _% n6 K1 G
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- k0 R2 ^3 n9 Bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention- x; G7 Z& n9 k
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ v# q- |! f% Z4 D; K
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 M- U) j* y* J: ?+ E3 ^* J( X- Lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ Y) h0 ~1 ]. e6 Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
& a% ?! ^! ~$ ?' ?Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
! T5 H* K0 V5 O0 JChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
/ V! W$ G5 N6 Yimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.: U: X# p2 t8 _; H
( J! e) T, F9 lAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) E3 p0 S x( J( t: }0 i' BChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 a$ S* O0 B8 R- ]9 U8 Jstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ v; g2 M8 }( z" K% J
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing5 [/ Q* X( g# n
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" i0 H. t0 I1 S& [7 a* K
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
4 g6 s, W( Y! e7 M# ]speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" u0 v2 L) J8 @. e7 rConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# y0 t2 H, z# P$ M7 J' C" [% s
can."
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$ s& L8 K7 n( q) l) w/ yThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
H; {) Q4 `2 }1 M; u$ f5 R% |1 y. xelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10- M% k' O3 \: h/ C8 p
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
! q9 p3 X% D; h* @* p8 R: p HInstitute in Washington.
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: r9 x2 b3 l- u* F5 r2 @"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
, K0 }, } r8 k3 `aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% z+ U$ ~3 |' jMcGinnis said.
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/ w4 n* s- t6 D8 K4 y"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical. A9 c9 g2 h+ ?1 ~2 T( m0 B6 x; I1 Y- l
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be: i) J* P$ C9 k7 m8 m
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. F, U8 _0 l5 b; [5 kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."6 {" V) ~0 A6 n9 s
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and- G% @6 y! l9 r" j4 x- n+ s: i% S
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in- {1 ~8 I! }* ~
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# d# L7 e, ]7 [* k8 [4 U
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 N' ?8 l3 i! \/ M! ron weekends.3 b; s) l4 B$ m$ c9 [& L
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public- c; g' y/ B7 [+ M8 m" G
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves5 f$ J1 O' S* c% M, M
students who are not of Chinese descent.% e5 i% h, n8 a1 n8 X& L
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; |( ^0 |. W6 j* I7 [
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the6 d2 A+ j4 i- e1 Z! L l; ?! x2 e9 C
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' r) Q# z# b+ j+ E* A0 p6 Xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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4 ^9 M t" c' W4 x$ s$ |From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
1 |% j) X2 G7 x) n* e' ?% i: tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse1 b \; }1 L/ a0 a1 J) B( x* `
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from" X% y1 C- U7 [* Q5 t4 h9 h
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ e4 S `6 v4 A2 E& T0 h
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
: _) l7 m' {5 D3 [8 M0 b/ Qthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this) F; a1 C! }! N; ?) ]
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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4 C: t# \$ V _- e" ~# w' }"They have a great international experience right in their own3 y2 l& N, I2 G% V2 _7 Y8 I
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 I+ P# K4 Z8 H w$ d- cChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 N- S& _- d J$ Z8 A5 o
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- p5 p, p N" d5 N+ r. J
on an equal playing field."$ n b2 c/ w$ W9 S) Q) y
8 N8 z+ X; ~! t% X: C. o' HSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese0 i! Y0 X# f, S. V$ t
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" p) M. `& R A+ g3 h: Y
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks& F& m: I3 K. m
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An9 J1 O4 r: p6 N4 _2 K' D
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 a: a# q6 ?( s9 U; U2 N2 W" g4 ~* K
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 H8 b" J- V8 D) r2 y% [
institute says.5 e% o$ V; a+ z4 H. p6 W" `
3 N, \0 o5 n- V4 `2 ~) Q& l& Y) j1 ISevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
N' Y \" P/ p Kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before1 u; s1 u, e2 Q% U7 ]% G; \ J
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. a9 A. r0 ^% U6 u0 k* _told her daughter.& H! X! L# J$ Y& \
3 R/ h- W( O8 a/ `0 QSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 U1 {$ @/ t% R6 X$ e1 {+ t0 j
class.
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7 [. k. O* l; w# l) J1 tAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 h H* P& [6 [" q, A/ R" Estudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ e& ?+ p: l1 p7 Y; V/ Toccasional frustration.! F/ e2 r/ W+ x3 w( k& t
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a8 ? A; M" g% M' ?
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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[# N& ]1 U2 o4 ARaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 A/ U, {7 v( y7 k Jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with* J6 k8 S! f) R4 P
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 U+ y; C' v0 a0 q" a6 ?/ J. F
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 O: i" o n3 ?- A, p# Pas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* M* b+ I w. V! S. m$ p# I) fskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
2 k3 O, P/ ?$ l* r; Jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 p' I; q- M2 `+ I* Othat," Ms. Freire said.
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# D1 W; Q# m/ y! k' ]2 OMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) Q1 C3 Y2 a* i) }here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
4 ~; Q o$ _% h" }/ Xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 u+ v2 o9 ^" A5 {9 B; m f6 S% P5 U
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
: R$ ]8 D- H2 n. Jroom.
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8 `* X. J4 ]2 k/ {, a6 }/ b9 JChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 h% j: N+ [0 dChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American L }6 U) h- s: [
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
/ [' s5 f$ B3 p7 sbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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+ r4 q& q- G4 BThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,5 o+ s% W. C! C6 N, `
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# f- ?. ]! g" q! P* H6 ?
Society in New York.& q4 y$ h2 l/ K
5 N* y2 Q! S: X/ |; \9 ISix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- T/ @% z/ r( f) h- @0 J
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
" O3 Z C6 W8 ]the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.2 x3 p8 W0 A V
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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