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October 15, 2005; W+ ^4 A3 M9 _ O' h; W) d
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# s% }2 X* s3 a8 y( Q. e
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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: O% |% |4 t+ F( jCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
# V8 Y8 g: r# X I- h: K( CUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
! |/ x7 a" D, m6 e1 w# XSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas |8 ]( q8 e! z6 |- C, d
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
k5 u: o) k) n r" d! l: d3 nflag hang from the wall.4 \* R- F/ p( E3 G. s
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
/ x8 s+ q: A# o6 `- _, Manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
0 x$ T! e& M& h+ Npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker$ w `8 C5 x8 o$ c+ K% Y+ ]# K
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
# ?9 ^1 M3 P1 a, p3 care already choosing it over Spanish.1 `( g: Y* V2 k# Y/ T3 f# [
6 [: w0 z8 f( z: {7 [& _"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
' R/ b' O8 D- G3 |at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 ]+ J$ F2 M1 l* m3 L5 H8 noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 Y7 U d# e5 ~ R& G& P8 V6 U' H2 _
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' K) E" p1 L- Y' ^
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) d& k: ]( ]" J& q ^* c4 eto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
d$ G: Q, f* A( bone of its most difficult to learn.5 u' H& ~) _8 w/ s [
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- H/ |, m9 X( _1 {8 W0 rpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
6 P' w. I9 U, c$ F* `: Nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.6 p( E o- T, l- V
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! j, m- Y- m( j1 q3 U0 J4 fTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ y. d% F: f$ K
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to! G1 u: b: F3 F
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
4 w X2 Y8 r! [; ?! r, C" T/ }Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 T5 D7 T9 q# s4 W! Tstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; F5 x* q8 T" |( K/ C( pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ c1 z6 Y+ z, V2 J+ t. X8 Ycurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( V5 M, y" y z+ `2 ?' pof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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' C% N4 D: ]$ W: N$ Z& y& R+ {"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' W3 z5 O% Y5 B4 o0 w: V
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education; |7 m0 g% K' @4 T6 P
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we3 L; s0 ^5 \# v& t* w
can."
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$ P& }6 U+ t! e" b, d( t( o' f8 XThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% h2 \+ x- M2 ~+ J3 r7 ?( A
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 105 |. }3 ^8 }2 x8 J0 Y7 q/ R! }
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 W: m6 M, s! \
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; b8 o" D. e4 _$ H
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.$ j+ |+ C* V$ }8 d5 t4 O
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
6 X! s4 N& \6 e9 ]: Q4 Flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be% o5 h3 }9 j' `, @
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& V) d6 u3 I- ~! D
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 T+ f2 Q' w9 l1 X" m2 c
0 o5 c8 P2 A: d$ L2 i0 s/ F7 GUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
: h/ e& N+ \6 x( f2 ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
5 g- t, x4 c. @5 h2 W0 |' vcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of1 R: J2 |3 m( \* k
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or9 H7 P4 d) D; A9 n1 b
on weekends.$ u9 U7 b/ ^$ t5 a
! d- h6 t ^! D" ?1 nThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
- X: o9 R& P, Z" a Ischools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, u$ _/ J# u. ^. \% X$ ^/ a3 xstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said7 \' i1 E3 r( w, |- Z% I2 c
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the/ K' _1 x5 h: b
competition.
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3 w/ K7 L4 ^9 n"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley: I9 F! E3 l: G7 I# F
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
" Z0 [9 I8 r& B- Z. P' Q2 w2 e6 s2 aall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse! J8 Z' C# e" A& ~" e
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from2 k; a; D/ w. g& f& r
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students; d0 l) c. i" {, Z7 D3 S: J# V1 C
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to3 f* i' n) B" n, ]
the school system last year./ T7 I# q9 q! e* ?- r
! }7 `% B( c8 \: M( AThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
- G5 p& W+ z7 p/ tyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; h2 j) Z L: w% Z
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
$ X! |& R0 S+ G6 v9 ?classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago$ y! G* y$ s, x
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 C# _! P8 G' S' |3 p2 L5 J4 J! s
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet% c0 A8 M \- |+ y6 W
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; t0 J9 { }1 y4 [
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
1 O6 R" q: j( `6 LService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 z* I; F0 P6 U, N
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 f: n3 G! J0 z, p4 Q3 \$ ^average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
7 F4 l3 U7 a1 A+ z3 {9 E: E) e M3 T; [Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* p8 V8 h& T4 F0 n( f5 G2 E2 E
institute says." B- `5 T, h$ X
t6 Q, i' t3 ]" B! u% g l# }Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth) ^6 g0 z/ `- Q$ G
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ ?$ M" y5 `, H1 `4 Y% T/ [1 {# w) b
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she% g8 s7 M: k- Y$ m' b, ^
told her daughter.* u( q3 s/ p2 N
G3 _: B0 r6 w4 k' i& I% ySahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite j c2 U+ W: ^* _5 I
class.6 N; E. z W5 W- [ i. r% h6 h2 w
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. W+ Y/ u! ?% U$ k, q m
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
& a4 H( y% q ^4 j7 [occasional frustration.7 j6 o" H" u' e. [7 D7 m
% B; T: b4 z7 M- L" N' y c"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a1 B! ]3 K* Y* X' l8 Z3 q( x
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* T( x* c" x) A8 a8 \taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with X0 y8 r/ O) J/ b u0 c8 F3 }
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.8 d3 P1 l, D% O( k2 f
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul ` W( }. u4 U- w# A
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& N0 X& Y" @+ [6 B. \as many languages as I can."
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2 Z; ^+ |$ Y$ rAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 k. {5 q8 F- I4 K
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, N! g' x( E6 X% Ymarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: e+ e( s! T% v9 G; b4 B* V
that," Ms. Freire said.7 C: x4 V4 a. R. ^. `
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
5 t/ e( t" V( R; D! ?! P; ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- t! Q& Y+ n# Gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking& Q2 y/ q: ^* N& e6 u% q
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! R) U9 l8 p/ T Z7 X: E2 Z
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& |/ ~# X! G4 j% h
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
8 c# m3 g; G3 H2 \0 m! Y: ~because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
; K7 ^/ R) B' j0 Q! a6 O" csaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
! g# _9 y+ w/ d/ Q: ^9 I+ v0 xSociety in New York.( C6 w8 Q9 Y$ R( t! a0 }5 S$ \
% K! i; j) z+ NSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
1 b7 x. k, r$ {! V% {Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
; c1 }0 |/ c9 \6 q8 D7 Lthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said." E5 b \% c E4 \% h
) X) U, L4 N6 M" {; G( R5 P( S T9 i"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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) l# a; r* \2 g; }7 ]1 ~. PCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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