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October 15, 2005
0 [8 O" Y5 {3 r% v2 q7 BClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING: C8 X8 G4 J1 p+ r W- {
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& \7 p0 ]" @0 k8 c" H
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary6 L) z: A! q1 N3 u$ `% Z0 R
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
0 v8 R1 a! I; i8 Odangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese' X) K) p. d0 v& K5 s: i" g
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
9 C: @4 N9 O( o& h" ?, Canother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, q6 ~2 a6 F$ Y
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* B) f8 L9 ?+ t* c) }
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
: K6 Q: X V7 }$ b7 Bare already choosing it over Spanish.5 Q8 X+ j) u+ W ~& |5 x( T, }
; B* i: M* w# Q, n: B0 W8 M. M/ D) D"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal% t* L6 f, Q0 K5 [2 _4 S
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
2 q/ t. z3 |) U- woffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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: n1 z! k p, [0 D# t$ \2 BWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,; z; H" G& d9 n. T( e4 a
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, D8 h6 |" w4 n& g/ j4 F
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention; K2 _% a/ Q4 ^1 k
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
$ g5 c( U3 J( J& Kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ Q0 a# F/ m# n# B, \: q
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 L4 [* F1 O; k: K+ k; ZLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 {: o" ~3 C3 }$ N% b, B- V$ k
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on' N& f+ `8 \/ T
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. t! g/ s4 l* m! r( ?- G9 _ [- ~
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.2 A% u' }6 @) [/ C6 i
" q% ~. l6 v. ?After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement& ?+ C5 D0 h0 s! n- Z
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. Q# r# t' z+ @starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; d. H* J: Y& w! ^develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
6 N4 y' ~' |9 s. S9 P; j3 bcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
+ i5 E, [: I0 u# n" D/ S. Eof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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) g5 E, j5 ], ]4 j"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' n/ z8 W) O; \4 ]6 P
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
K4 L9 I7 E/ `% e; {Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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! ]9 }( W/ g0 XThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) ?8 V/ [/ R3 V1 M- {+ m
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
* p |3 Z3 X- p& ~+ Myears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, G- y' h2 G8 g& w* ?
Institute in Washington.
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: C8 h! W9 p2 \9 S; D* v& z* A+ g"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages0 o- ]5 B6 q$ Q& \
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 G, d- Z0 ]& s) nMcGinnis said./ s% h! R( ? T; f
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ Q2 o& z+ P! o% Z" v% Llongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 t& w5 o, l- u2 L9 z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. }9 N# G M! x2 L
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 @' D U! X" e4 ^. @2 l# E
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and6 |4 B- |" k6 _8 h. Y
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; Y) t! r* C# Z- q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of7 `5 }8 v% r- i) f, t, M
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
' b/ B2 |) |8 R v: H- s! a! ~% don weekends.
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/ J" u6 h+ j: d9 [' W$ T% RThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
9 q. M- W' L& d' t1 }schools during the regular school day and primarily serves: u \8 m: j: f4 |3 ~7 D0 W
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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4 O8 `. n" w0 m iMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
^7 b& G' L- i& C% t+ Iproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: F# k1 P6 P* p+ A# m
competition.
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9 ]: u" M) y9 G; u2 n* F; l"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley( S' {" A" N0 k8 ~
said. "There will be Chinese and English."% t& M$ Z- r5 m( d- v! M
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 s7 v* s" o: E& R9 F/ z; P
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- A2 {- X9 P9 k/ xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 O& w( D5 r9 `
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 N% H( b& q) \" d. i/ i) i
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
0 Y4 k+ }4 |6 x# Q2 v, h5 Fthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this! x' y3 q: c/ i5 w7 Q( g' |
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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0 b- R! {$ t! X" F3 |4 l"They have a great international experience right in their own
( q7 ]' u! a0 cclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 C6 n# w+ O( I0 GChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
N& x' e6 O+ U# w( T/ ?# N$ ~help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet T Z" v/ P% G( Q
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese5 p% M0 c1 {. @8 c8 g$ g
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
; M$ P1 ^ P8 P8 T: SService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; }9 ?. Y- D2 D3 _' @* s6 {
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An+ B1 N! E4 K. x; z3 R
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 E" a1 g8 a7 p- H4 X3 N
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. j+ j3 }! }% c% {+ _$ i0 F& finstitute says.
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5 p: l3 }- j4 b3 J2 lSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth5 E8 |5 C! ]$ O' ?5 N
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
' t1 M* w# f5 [8 N3 X5 Tdeciding whether to take the class.! H8 d1 e$ l2 {1 |+ K
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 l5 B3 | {1 x9 g' j6 p
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite1 Z; L2 n5 \4 ?! k" L/ w
class.: e$ m' @6 o Q0 R8 v% D# ?' r: o
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) V5 K- ]+ d8 @5 rstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' u% x! A% d$ e% p& h6 soccasional frustration.0 B, ~8 b) ?: \, ^: L, Y! `/ p
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a; s: N3 i4 U4 ?
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.3 }2 p4 h) @7 L+ E* m+ j& T
) G( g: m7 f! _- ?6 c5 E6 NRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he# Y2 N% G, m+ d, ]- q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
2 k3 ~$ {! X7 E* g$ OChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul ` q/ L5 {+ o. j: l9 l( |; t) Z
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn! L0 z) i$ }: I: c6 z& G g) M
as many languages as I can."7 w d+ ] U2 N8 [
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the' U) C9 X! D2 K* }' B/ i
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& h$ ?5 L3 J& V/ z' e! p
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like* Z" E9 K- m- n9 k
that," Ms. Freire said.
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2 t% D% q/ h3 j/ C# SMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program2 N7 N& p1 P( S
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each- L6 s* ]# t/ T4 i
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 }+ U3 ]+ Q# b4 y$ O" \! t2 \time from classes like physical education, music and art to make! s/ p1 R" X" ]% M) \
room.. T0 ~$ T* i k
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 z; {; d! @) |7 `& L* h6 ^* uChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
2 b% M( E( _+ X7 e0 ~* Ocollege, 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
( J: h# O6 F, |* ^9 b0 z2 obecause of that missing certification," he said.4 ~4 C0 s- K2 u0 e! d
; b5 \2 e8 b& w0 G4 HThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* K- W2 F) U9 ~- A5 j" |said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: Z/ G( V* V$ M$ A3 \" ySociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' ^% F3 Y% q- e) b. f
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
# \9 I9 c/ U+ Dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.+ E6 j3 M m2 t: B9 N% g. G8 ?
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our. a! S: `! f* d b9 [
own."
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