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October 15, 2005
; o2 o/ B% v0 e' t$ ?1 B* uClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' D5 f H4 |8 ~3 r
3 c, n. z6 W" {/ N+ r2 nBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING- p5 v. R/ F8 C, B* `6 D. B. y
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the) V, y: i$ N+ o
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, d4 J1 k+ Q/ T, i2 n
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; |( j: X8 u" m8 M/ T* ]
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
5 ?5 l% R* l( N" D( sflag hang from the wall.* x) v9 N+ g6 E4 Y
! r1 d I! x1 p$ R2 \$ `One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ e) [7 q) i) b& P1 n( t
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! A$ X! l: W5 }' e: j) n
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ Y+ W. G5 Q- B8 V
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 ?; ~" g8 E8 C. Z
are already choosing it over Spanish.1 \7 d. b3 g- Z/ k8 a( ~* Z
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 R# V% M* p7 sat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city* o1 {* ^! X2 |; B( K8 f
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,9 X( V- `( \9 f% K$ p( R% O! I+ M
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
' d/ e3 u( {. r0 G% gto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% w. _1 Z; L( \" @. done of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
1 }4 f! L' u2 j6 ^public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students5 @' N: B! Z' | x7 F
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
" m' O1 @- ?$ ]0 _1 Q: q1 r qLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; J1 \/ O$ |/ y6 u
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 h h" {3 O. f7 _! O$ AChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to6 R# Q7 Y5 j2 b7 V/ s
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 Placement7 O! ?+ r; s F7 K% P
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, O; J5 p% ^" t
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
8 k. p; O9 v8 [- \develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing; e; E& k9 ~6 ^/ s4 @1 j* I
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director$ P, k- E/ L1 g9 b
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! C9 T5 r* J+ tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" H" z* H- G+ @0 I, D, k) gConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, m; B8 r( i2 c+ d8 i
can." 3 d' Y3 E4 u: t0 p9 [' r
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
( `1 b' N) O1 _5 R& C) R2 \elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
" Q+ i" U0 O6 ]' a6 Byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; X; s l' Z% Y: U
Institute in Washington.% `) F: E* f! w% w# }6 n
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
$ y5 I3 R r- F0 h! }3 uaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
' r2 {4 V! V% WMcGinnis said./ F; J" t- _% {
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical1 B; I9 v6 G* Z+ J& }- `% W
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be4 U2 `$ \6 y8 [$ @. @" R7 Y
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# u8 y0 G9 c: u! I
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- s2 y+ G3 R$ I, G# U
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# C' s/ X( [! xcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ c2 K! K# i; W3 ~" ^9 C4 eChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 {- I* ~5 H; ?& O7 b5 h; a
on weekends.
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. v# Z u* I" ?6 x( o! G' R. }The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
! @* h2 O) c e2 b+ Eschools during the regular school day and primarily serves$ w+ W. [6 g1 b, F7 ?- `# z
students who are not of Chinese descent.0 C) `* [+ P. G+ [* c$ \
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 j/ D( J! [2 l0 ]2 sproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ s4 j- A- d* _' C; ?! \& n# [competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
( k/ f1 K8 d/ t2 Rsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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$ {3 v) q! D% p; FFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 ^$ a+ s; O. R' e% o
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
0 Q# z: [5 E# s3 p4 sschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
1 k) _* M7 Y/ i4 ^0 skindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 g: y& ] ?6 R0 m- \4 E
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, M4 t+ s6 U/ _the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( _2 S8 n0 N( F6 yyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! ]" b- y+ }8 o# e1 b# m
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"They have a great international experience right in their own9 k2 d4 G7 ? o; M) F
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' V6 f) p- V$ B$ iChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 Y: v+ [1 y% k: i4 Yhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- F, S2 z1 F1 Z6 q3 f
on an equal playing field.", k7 S0 o& l" V6 z% j
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ T( W+ w6 }% Xclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign6 i% K) X. N. J( _) I
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
$ d& M! P) ~# U$ s* e8 S( FChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 Q R, o0 @( T- `0 h% A# w4 Naverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
) o: g8 a1 a4 u i3 d# oChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- m7 Y/ D% z2 |* y9 ~4 b& u
institute says.! l5 s1 D* U9 a; J0 f* u2 D
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; ?1 Y6 R' h7 M5 O# _grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. ]" ^6 Z- J9 i$ A% ]4 [, G7 N+ n
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 W4 q, v( v$ R2 Ftold her daughter.% K( c |! P" J v: S+ G
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite2 B% w# K" ?- ]. j) F: x
class.
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3 c2 L+ v/ k2 M' v6 qAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are; O; _1 ~5 W* l+ C: Q6 K
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without( S$ F" e3 B; |# R2 g
occasional frustration.. Q$ Q" [; O$ x+ n6 v. N3 f) O/ s
8 l( v' O+ v) { @"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ B, r4 X% q" `6 {9 L. Irecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he: u) m( g& W& [1 ?% i+ T
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! e7 t" b1 [* s1 A, mChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
: x/ [: N6 Z* a5 Hsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn c s" R K" u- t# x/ I
as many languages as I can.". h9 V" l2 }' T4 H
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the7 F" A9 d+ ^* R
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
# X' M3 g* B- l4 q) Zmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
' \6 n% F$ | T0 e, ~: _: B8 rthat," Ms. Freire said.; U9 ~3 T! U8 A
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program' T6 o+ p* t7 z# F' H% I
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- W |' N! S6 qschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking' [" j. P# L! v
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make8 w7 `) m# S1 d4 d" O: ~, o/ T
room.
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5 J6 p% t6 a7 jChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
+ J7 s. p' n% l0 sChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 `1 y/ b7 `; |. _/ F! J: n0 R
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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7 V( Q) K( O6 Y0 n/ Y"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' I' Q9 z6 g7 ?5 N* l* Bbecause of that missing certification," he said.5 ], Z5 P0 e/ ^
- }8 p4 W. I* M/ j$ Z# `& NThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,# j: t* t- Z4 q: G$ n9 Y$ K0 `! r
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia: P1 O: D6 i7 t
Society in New York.
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% A+ c" b, ~! W7 YSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the" h! b9 M4 N9 u# a! x" t4 J+ i9 b
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 F2 N$ I, {* u0 w2 t+ kthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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4 w) N3 m+ h7 U5 S# U* G5 o2 T"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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