 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
6 V! W! H& F! i" r$ P+ RClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
2 H8 y( y) b3 i0 N0 ?: F) ]( O5 Y
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
: [% P: ~% C* A6 P: s9 L! L: t
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the m3 }! c1 U8 {( E5 ?! b
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
# o+ R- S' Y4 n) G1 uSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 l% L& x7 x M7 G# F
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) |3 a1 E- n& N, c+ h
flag hang from the wall.9 v7 R! A/ i1 V+ w- T
6 d( w4 m$ L$ @- a2 F: w
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 k% |; t) {1 eanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
4 X6 w% ^5 T7 A o" x5 E( J7 Z, @ jpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker5 y- R( Y; x+ m9 D4 S% K3 }
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students( u) M5 Y3 N9 Z7 K
are already choosing it over Spanish.% S) M; D1 u. e- o( ?# u! \
' v% R! R9 G$ D3 j" T
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal% l/ Z; L; c _+ x) s
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city- v/ X5 Z* U5 h, y' _9 K
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
, @4 E8 v! a1 P4 K0 t
4 n4 U& ~* ?" U$ hWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
2 l: w3 d4 a* c: ^7 nschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 h- y8 g; t8 Q" `' |; }to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention5 L9 {* i6 H3 [0 ^8 f" m, W
one of its most difficult to learn., y; S6 k- S% _. F2 m
4 q! C& ]& v; P) U" FLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# [% K2 U% o/ Y t. Z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ x% s& i D) T5 n) m2 F% z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
8 ^; ] w6 b/ ~Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of: o) \0 m: g- R4 m4 \+ T7 y
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& o0 y" r; M8 Y6 l" Y& V) J
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) Z; x' O8 d) O6 himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
- o: w6 `3 y# t- s- }( Z- Y9 h" S1 P# i% v) ]4 A; t; b% N
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! r, y Z; A/ f+ t* ]9 lChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ |' t5 Q" K( H7 v; s( A+ H0 u3 ^starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to2 Q7 f5 G5 w: Q, m U
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 t4 X2 i4 |# E0 \
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 `9 J* n& K/ c" w. ^9 bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.5 q3 {: e4 a0 c1 W* `0 Q( P7 K
0 _5 A/ {* S9 C$ \"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. T. M- T# ]9 I% L
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education y7 _& k9 c/ \! {$ n. \8 I
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
' a: I0 w. D6 Ncan." ' b! s, M. Q0 T4 u# N
; [! _# e1 A8 t
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: i6 e# z6 w1 c0 Nelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; x% d9 T5 w) x) x! Q' eyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
. h c* J8 G" h+ L4 P P ~Institute in Washington.
1 H8 k/ C' C# n. |2 I; ^, y3 z3 `' ~ Q$ p
"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages9 e. V) n; h: N/ Z8 R
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.$ \) a" t5 B( V( M
McGinnis said.
1 e+ N. v t7 }$ }6 O0 D x7 X) V+ \
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# B6 R7 N$ f$ W. c& a
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be, [8 Y. m. U( x
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. G4 a8 I8 X! b' n; r* [. E' kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."+ B% W, W5 }3 D j4 q) t
; Q4 o* r( i5 r1 eUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and1 V* \5 A: G- `. N! s- F6 I
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 j/ x& T% Z8 ^) U F% E2 X7 hcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( |+ B7 `) o& H1 @6 D- `
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* b5 x! B- ^' J
on weekends.8 r) c7 J+ e8 \ x
2 \5 R% M7 y0 N6 BThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# c. u. W. m, r: Z5 c: o; w% D4 o
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
; V$ b' A5 p% [; Gstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
9 g. `* _+ Z/ C# u% ~4 l) N6 v3 E4 t1 t
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
* s# h6 t# U' Y8 F3 qproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 j1 i# Q0 g/ ~) a0 Z; @competition.
4 H9 @$ j$ E; _) D1 G% z$ t
! b/ P) J: R7 c7 ^9 x"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' P" c3 v' V" p% {/ l; ysaid. "There will be Chinese and English."7 q, F" f. A) G+ ?2 |. ]
/ R6 A& o: L4 z" A EFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" {* S6 I6 l" @- w3 T7 @0 |8 h8 n% ]
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 }% R2 C( r9 C7 Bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* t( r0 J1 N: ~" v* J( F
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% N. i. a# S2 ]+ [who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 t2 g# d4 h! l$ e% N3 g
the school system last year.
2 T$ p. f; J8 s/ Q
0 w9 d4 I' W/ |5 B& Q4 M1 _; ?The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this! G9 ?0 |' y0 }
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; Y# Y* L9 F& _/ w
4 D) R5 l, S- ^) C7 A"They have a great international experience right in their own
7 b' V2 w" ]# h+ c# xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago7 h& o- D* i2 i" `
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 n% `( r% m3 A* U( Ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet$ _5 T% g9 A7 }' W/ U$ w' V
on an equal playing field."
8 e7 |; ~7 _/ [3 _2 `; O- g5 J8 O# S/ E9 H1 Z: O
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese: `+ v) S" M" j, ^
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 O8 D# d$ c) }3 U& P9 T& G1 }, U
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; A- A2 R8 _9 d+ C7 G# V( X
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* o6 i) }! \+ D; ?, J! X. h/ S
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- ?3 X0 Y; L/ R0 t2 ?Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the$ m- M1 A# b- [2 ^4 u4 g$ x) l5 w
institute says.
r$ u7 S% z P `# P8 D
+ z) j- ~1 {# }Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ z2 U0 ]1 B0 |3 z1 g
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; ]0 g1 ]) j6 {deciding whether to take the class.: v* A! Y5 C G6 o v, x
L9 A! F* Y' s' a
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she8 U4 m7 N3 y) M0 l- ^
told her daughter.
5 }+ c9 x" g0 h+ L1 M6 q
. t7 a- B. f1 K" S4 N0 zSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 {7 j( {5 Y8 T m# j" m- Y4 {class.. w5 J9 g6 S8 B8 n2 V
* P% z! i5 C6 }
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are( o0 f$ P) g5 H" @
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 I/ W1 d8 T' {
occasional frustration.* {# Y4 t, ^. j$ e1 [, K5 }1 T! M5 H
% J, C: y4 G; P' i& T5 ~
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" v0 A( A( E* S! |* B$ hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
# G0 D. Y' }* Q% n6 g) n8 q9 k1 _' D& l( V
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
' U# U2 T6 T& J7 N) _- qtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ u4 ]9 H+ V4 O! W( T( XChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
6 z9 U. F+ _$ N# D. y& k* _' d. n w3 [- l' S( C3 D
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' ^% a3 k$ A: T% \
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
) z D" Z" U( Z7 j$ }6 m* }7 H7 aas many languages as I can."
0 U( M; @7 P+ C: j2 x) G8 y W# o0 P/ ^9 _4 E3 S7 {1 o4 ~
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( v. g/ G/ L, j* e) E, [skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
% J* Z3 G1 y+ k @' w# Y; D1 y7 fmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) Y( ?3 ^$ t+ ~5 l! Y# O
that," Ms. Freire said.
. P, I' [( I; h/ L* c# X0 w; S: F) O% m8 A
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
4 P2 @, |% y* h5 B0 e+ _- dhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each7 p6 i, f8 d/ |+ ~+ Y
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 K. `3 @; T1 k( L2 ^+ _
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
- k, l5 I/ U$ Z" kroom., k: l5 R* |; I, K5 B
( }$ Q- ]8 F/ E6 O) R6 i: FChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
5 U: P' W$ v& b6 {2 y% ~Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
) C8 ~+ @/ k& K/ ?' y' H) r) Wcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said. q9 o$ z$ e! ]# n9 A
) H; ]4 h# s2 g2 e4 }# \
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) L) L- v9 _" N; H" _! u5 ]9 {
because of that missing certification," he said.% G1 ^; V# B, l* G
7 r5 f0 a2 q1 \: C* EThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,6 S$ c$ L' e1 r+ |. ~9 o
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ O' j( h% Z. f. d
Society in New York.
0 j" N0 O8 k0 N5 }( x# k# p7 G& ?, Z6 V. t: d
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the; L; G/ Z5 y7 q/ G& Z; b
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
2 b- {: ]5 U, w, W# L% y. ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.7 H' A2 r* j: n& f5 q: s0 O
) K% d4 {) e1 n3 [. G
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
; x8 @& Y0 L1 F; [+ _own."
- Y: V. E* g" q" w- \9 {* T
, U5 l$ r: ~( F0 Y$ n9 R1 O/ CCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|