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October 15, 20054 R5 D# \2 n0 |6 D" ` r) z
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) P" y9 _5 S- H2 ^' ]7 O
T0 ]4 l B% \! ~* O: ^5 v& pBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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3 ]- S/ V# u0 HCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the8 ^2 d0 c/ i6 o6 h2 G6 `. x) K
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
* w. l8 K3 ^( N0 t0 MSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 f! h/ z! K6 Z6 r& {; H* T# fdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese+ }- d0 u; k% z1 {$ _. v% X" L3 ]) @7 ^3 e
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one+ d0 ~& c6 Y5 j
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
0 m* a; @: ]+ K: Ypracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; v" z# R0 V0 ?" Tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
v d' P* i9 e0 ?( H! pare already choosing it over Spanish.* Z5 r8 E8 j4 ^3 C* q9 X
4 F/ P9 v' _& N. f: f"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ A3 Y/ C Q/ }' e: r9 Jat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& ]% a3 h3 d6 b1 N: goffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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; m; A' [0 b9 G! T/ S$ o4 zWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* I7 q: l& R) w7 U( d3 oschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
/ D+ W$ W3 G8 s$ ^! S& A2 K( sto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention! u: t6 G. ?/ M( W
one of its most difficult to learn." Q6 N O6 E |* Q
+ p# ^- ]; n/ i0 M/ U; V- B: ~$ MLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ c) F$ y7 X5 @: X* t% r
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students/ A1 { c/ ^# G' k8 t7 G
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.* G X, S- Z! ]
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of) |) A! ]. B/ h
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; O. y0 u3 S k; vChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
1 f$ K7 ]3 x0 timprove 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
3 m1 M7 k) p; K* H4 |4 ^$ cChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ Y1 `3 h+ J0 {. Wstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
- I3 p* A7 b2 b. \2 Q z% Q! Q Zdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
8 e7 e w+ F3 `, ~curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
' r6 m' i, d9 @. E- wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& V1 x9 q( Y5 j
' |7 r0 h3 b" g Z"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* @) x* u' X5 [ X0 z3 K! ?speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 w$ r% L7 n7 gConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) F4 @3 K4 E3 e5 }' D7 \
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from6 q h1 n1 A1 `1 `/ t( ]
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
9 E- Z0 m4 U5 z3 G: ^years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) j, a3 C# m% o6 Q9 `
Institute in Washington.
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- L! S2 k J5 t* V F"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages Y1 Y2 E. h+ l
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ W" l$ G& H3 j, O6 i5 h( |: f1 ^
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 C/ z& a m8 W9 w& x& i# S
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' t- T9 f4 _' d2 C1 x/ P
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a8 P3 R0 f. `! X- a4 `
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 E2 K V+ p B! Y# [2 N# P
" H3 ^. G7 A& N! o: d/ lUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( G1 _" X& W: ~8 x# a6 c F; [secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in/ b1 ^8 b) Q: o0 M! d, }/ r6 z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ j! y. m2 e9 k% d8 W- sChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
0 a7 Q4 E( A- V, X# eon weekends.
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# C0 M- V0 t8 r5 u- eThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
$ M( F( r* k$ ]; l( J$ u4 ]schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 f3 C. \' }0 x3 _& B1 [" astudents who are not of Chinese descent.0 C0 a, b o$ V
4 k8 `/ ]7 N3 e/ v/ o- s* x- K' C8 mMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ Y4 u2 f+ [% y( }* Q
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
7 s' ?5 U5 h5 J) m6 j& ?& Icompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 z% [% W8 n1 Q7 Q5 o6 Rsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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5 g2 T' @: E2 G0 ] w8 T( [8 MFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 L3 J" `8 t# B. _3 {all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse) w( r. R! ~8 w! M7 C% Y
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ @! n, c' }/ }2 G! R1 @# X Jkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students' e" b/ B/ t% T b: p; a8 W; o
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# C# j% e" `# p. D
the school system last year.8 ?9 J) }5 Q6 S0 S
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this% X1 @& d) ?5 a2 F1 R
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( x, L; |: l: b$ L8 V9 ]
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"They have a great international experience right in their own. e" p0 ^9 E. ~' r
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. R( @: G" T) ^+ ?7 s8 O
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
+ M' d2 h/ M: l! D+ Mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
: c- y: @* I1 ~* W, P8 Zon an equal playing field."
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* Y" r X+ B- t+ ]3 C9 Z! K3 ZSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese! J0 K# c7 ~* B" q
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign6 `/ ^2 L+ n1 s+ @/ l1 n0 q
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( O- |4 \( s* W! P7 S7 g) OChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An( [8 ~4 S3 Z! q
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in3 p E) S5 y: n. d, Z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
8 c& R) f5 A6 g. ~0 e5 Ginstitute says.
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: C0 u* w$ s+ T5 N$ B; ~* GSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth5 G# a" x1 U9 g- c- q
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) t2 D; k, R' H) Y6 G- H- _/ k: gdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- z$ q% T! L i/ Q
told her daughter.& X% ^( Z0 e% o! u2 x. c0 D
6 S& T6 d7 ~) qSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
$ u6 E* _+ P2 @; p) E1 Sclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are) y: r+ z* w& t/ X2 F% X
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without/ O8 `$ v( G% A1 A- V, n: q
occasional frustration.8 G! O! I4 }! |# R# j6 b6 b
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ m, Y% S9 E) M
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.: Y! P7 ^- b$ ~) _
. O. N. o& l; ]Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 g4 s) d7 }0 w" j8 u
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with+ i- l- U0 B" `: V7 ?
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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; U) R, l: \/ o+ I# C+ j"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 L( h1 l0 P2 Y; o7 k; Lsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn, w* ~6 i) Y# N: o7 c
as many languages as I can."3 b) e W0 X9 m! s( o! ?7 V2 _
, ~- }( {- _2 B9 E+ k- AAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& F" e$ @2 z' B; L
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job/ d1 y- y) F u- S6 Y
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like3 m* H4 E& z; J* M( ^
that," Ms. Freire said.! y' R4 R# O1 J8 I( T) L6 j8 g
% \; {: R9 l6 }- }$ {Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
+ Z* U0 j2 d" `) C$ R( r9 rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- R$ b6 j6 A a4 @' ~0 S- }! }4 Lschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking4 e% M# W/ w' r" K. {7 u
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
7 ^1 S& d4 v- l! X6 ~room.
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( ?" C& h( ^; OChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! |/ x: o4 |: R4 l& k
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American8 a: q, X: b: _% n0 D
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 qualified5 i4 S6 ~2 m! Y/ I
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ S# ?4 { a! E; N( _5 p; usaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 S1 N |) a$ n+ J1 qSociety in New York.
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/ _( B8 s/ h8 u8 ~Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' [: v$ C/ ?) E$ X! g$ v$ c2 L y9 T
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 }8 O! M T, Y' cthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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" k- s) Z; {2 r$ r) F, u2 |"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" U" T% D# m, h; p3 ?
own."
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2 Y3 |7 y, W. R1 R( ?# A+ gCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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