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October 15, 2005
: y4 F$ O0 T# D: b4 E+ b* QClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity, G% N6 W V2 z$ L5 F. E
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING' |1 [8 f& D# p
6 t; o/ H) O9 Z3 c) f" _8 H$ _CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the {* ]0 p- X' O3 ]
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
# Z- e% F# V0 s* g, gSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
1 i3 g( ]9 |" G3 Z; O& l8 `dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese' @, R8 u2 I* ~/ P& j5 N/ F
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one6 {0 g' t5 Y& x
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 `6 b" U8 l2 Y9 @+ y
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 V y2 U( v, Z4 Y4 G$ y5 T' S' x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students$ s9 g |; ?# S3 _2 Y9 M) \* G
are already choosing it over Spanish.2 x6 q: _! b/ A
* i2 s" n/ ^. c+ y- t"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
# d; A+ u" |7 b) u8 N F, r1 Tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
1 u% ]& S) e% Y/ v- z9 M2 Zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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* l% F& N& l. w0 K) M; {With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ S8 J$ i9 b! [, ^/ ?* U* i
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
; [, d. L; m6 ~0 \. M$ Oto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" m! P* z) a% \" S& w
one of its most difficult to learn.: G- z2 T" X6 u' ^8 q# M
' V2 l9 G9 J8 V. n' L9 eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to3 |, @& R# [% p7 d" D
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& v$ D1 n; D$ H1 a# n5 \
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.% E8 P* G. y- n' q" o
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of' R! R6 Z! n! @: x, q
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 C1 R4 X! \# \( \- S8 lChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" Y# f# l1 r. j4 T
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
: Y6 c$ e6 b, k: \. VChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 u& l S$ q7 H9 r1 l y& u
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
9 I l% F: N: o1 U& }8 Sdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
, b5 Z0 w. |, s8 g/ kcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director, I( K) C6 d' L: m
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board., K" f# ]+ [$ o; R" h; f0 x) w
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of! F6 F0 y4 W7 L6 Y1 d* u2 P2 a
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, R C6 k9 t, b) w8 ^
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we% O" C) v) A* j$ O% H/ @
can." $ ^8 `6 K( _7 Z; q! \
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from& e4 [$ } @+ s6 R5 t2 e
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( q: |2 A8 M2 _$ gyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
. \3 h9 G* k* V; x, B6 `4 `2 nInstitute in Washington.
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6 W/ j5 [/ }: ["Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
! G5 a) D" a; t. Qaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 g) H: g& d, Q t4 e% h' L& r
McGinnis said.& ?" J4 E' @7 Z
% ]$ J5 {: T: q- o"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical3 X" f% t* z) c( o6 f' c! v- Y4 a
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be1 i3 C2 N' F* l1 X* H* ]/ N
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ ^! g# _; P, Z; Mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 r/ U3 B' y6 \' N
# x2 e6 x. [# T7 E; n) [# O/ ?# F. ]Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
/ E( m. R7 {; Y* Asecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) R# W: ]% K" G* g5 Z8 F$ g. Wcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 M% C) t0 O& [Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 I/ v2 @. e- ?$ son weekends.
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, a8 ^9 M! R# r3 n# j0 b! cThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% I* u, ?% `7 s* T! sschools during the regular school day and primarily serves; i7 x4 J( o; k) z8 b
students who are not of Chinese descent.2 o7 g; w7 E% ~6 X8 x
4 w6 @- ^4 c# _* s# r9 o3 z0 W& B" HMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
$ _' M; H/ s! F. Zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ k' A1 o4 j2 u! ]competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley5 ~1 \, T& e$ [% n0 P, u% ?
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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& G; V0 k1 C! d* ^1 L1 MFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# h0 X/ z' l4 S8 V
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
3 x8 D5 `1 X1 W$ Oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
4 ]9 n% A3 X/ n& xkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
# e( L; z1 R$ K4 ]who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
! H" D6 y8 o7 s( G4 x. _* kthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this. d. S+ e _8 i, f5 _6 ?
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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% S/ U1 W8 X! m, M"They have a great international experience right in their own
" z4 {( T9 h8 f! g1 ^2 F Tclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 s( ?7 B& ~7 m" Z0 UChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to3 F+ s1 y4 o. z0 A/ j
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
" x/ _) ^0 X c1 _9 [on an equal playing field."+ Q# B+ d. O9 r: f7 C& Z# r7 |) C
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese/ s0 E+ i j7 b0 V7 a
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- k5 a# S2 w4 L% p
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. l( y% ^* Z' `; i
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& X3 j5 }6 B) waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. A& `' M% U2 n7 a5 \$ l+ _3 `- c
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
- X$ a0 q4 e# |* Ninstitute says.
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8 {/ [/ x! ?7 w$ B& K: Y& gSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: J/ R+ ?0 \3 I9 r
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before% w' ]$ ~6 r9 t
deciding whether to take the class.* O$ H/ `6 E/ k) d0 F9 T! U
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# g5 w. o- R" T4 k9 E$ _told her daughter.
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& S2 Z. `3 j" i& s8 w* m NSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite3 R( M( [5 g& f5 F; g, W0 a
class.
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+ f8 t$ v% `% z7 _1 `$ OAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are, ?) r! Q! V1 T. v
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without; B$ U, E: h( l1 C; w+ n$ w
occasional frustration.1 w7 b; }% {; n. E# ]1 m
4 {' A. o5 M, A3 b0 T"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
5 ~7 Y3 n- X# Erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.$ k. y& p$ }+ r& b0 g3 [4 f, i5 K7 r
' ^2 h/ @0 Y4 rRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he8 r7 b z1 P) Y ?6 v* W
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 {9 f; G7 k) QChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# y0 R# K9 ~+ t' ssaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn6 f% x; `& m4 [; Q- b1 o+ d
as many languages as I can."% Q+ ^9 B& @& d1 f$ V2 s
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 n p8 T9 [8 A' N- N9 ]2 ?! ^skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
0 l7 B2 m) d! Umarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like# m7 H2 j% I2 \
that," Ms. Freire said.
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2 j1 P G& @! c8 g; KMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program8 J( |7 s5 I8 j- Y0 i! |
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 F; l7 Z: _5 C6 s3 I6 [9 z" u
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
9 ~- h, d! t0 e i) rtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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; Q1 B8 X) K2 B, PChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer: W: w# s8 }# s' E- A7 j; q
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
5 ?0 b( F; L- u% bcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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% K% N, Y6 _/ ]: A* P% v"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified' l+ a0 j5 B$ ~$ {5 k' e' ?
because of that missing certification," he said., V1 ?2 f" Y. f' D
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
- l7 b6 e }3 Y/ e, Csaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: k. d& H& P( W- I3 |) uSociety in New York.& O* t! r: W% I1 t0 q+ k) o5 }: Q
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 o+ I" W8 P3 f7 yChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- ?3 I& _' u. a
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ ?, p+ L. P- `" l$ ^
) ~+ a: |8 f" ?$ q5 S"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
* K5 y1 g: M. l; h7 m4 Q9 _own."
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