 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005- c* }: W" o. z' O
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ N4 W1 c, i& y. I
5 p6 r2 N/ w {% ZBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING" V' j8 T4 y5 d6 _
8 i+ v5 I# M2 R. R" i
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
* Y, m; P+ _$ MUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. C8 L* B' q2 N' S4 M7 }: nSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas4 T0 V* H4 Q# b! M
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; t9 D9 p8 t/ w( I8 Z. a2 h
flag hang from the wall.5 R/ b4 d9 ^. I" [
) E% H! {6 f- g/ x" Y) w7 b
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
. m" a3 W9 s! I2 manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
. ? ?) [& w- h- k K) mpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
- _& A6 d3 Q; [6 e; Fboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students0 `( e+ d9 s" `" m4 @
are already choosing it over Spanish.( E% x; t! L2 q; A$ P( l: ?
: w% ~. L+ T( d# m( l' C"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* y* X# V! Y* a1 Y$ Yat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ i" G% f6 i# H0 B: L
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
6 N9 N& C( O1 Z9 J7 T4 A
& f# M$ b Z$ ]8 u- _With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
; E/ M }9 @% E% w k% _1 W+ uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings4 W' w5 J9 o6 c8 a- g8 ]6 }. @
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% r; h, Z5 S# P' D2 ^6 eone of its most difficult to learn.5 H# x) v- d1 K) D! ]& Z
8 _; Q+ U' n" A1 I& t! ]( h. z
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to. G& H9 Y. x; w; ^) d8 c# s
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. Y) o) M5 m4 _8 ^studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.1 ?* Q5 X/ U& q+ U f( x$ a
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
* c" @# E) X7 F) P7 VTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
7 q) b* E: T& ?Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
1 D; C+ ]# \$ ^* G( G3 |improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
* O3 W7 J6 W0 p% o; c! u# J/ x6 z( D/ I0 j# R; d# z8 e0 x
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ {7 [+ o6 ^# r+ ]
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! Y: _% T& A: xstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: A! a9 M! b |1 M
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
, f! a+ k, M: P- I+ u; \/ q" v6 i( ocurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director' G1 X8 _! ^' B* q. v8 ^* Y: D
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 n |3 H: Y' u
0 O, b g2 O' V: A
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: S# s! Z9 d6 l- a6 T3 K
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
3 |+ w9 c @. |& CConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" M$ K2 C% X W
can."
2 x1 l& s- H/ P; K$ t6 b- I. E @& N+ d9 `! m6 G( E" I, x+ |
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from* W2 G# I J; H3 u! s# j
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( y& e+ k/ x0 ]/ @. M8 R, yyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
2 Q# ] w8 k! [( g8 w4 g+ s) YInstitute in Washington.
y. D5 D. |' x! L- z. G* w! X
/ `3 S" p, R7 O" y* o"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# S& n2 e- T* T5 z0 H% f: Raren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 [- M$ p t. Y' s( r
McGinnis said.
9 `! _, ]$ T3 ^5 X, i6 i1 U; Z+ d& a- j0 Q% `) d
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
: G$ m! u( r( g9 rlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 c) c7 Z7 h! Y6 Q8 j* ~) Q# y
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
0 j3 [- ?9 l0 x. q0 E. S* c vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
' q, _/ l9 j, F. |* F3 k
( |6 ~4 i4 ]8 j% Q3 |6 ^8 b! `; `) FUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and8 i/ P% V, F5 n! ^8 Y* G
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* u* F1 i3 h' ^8 O6 {, L) L. Pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of) l1 X6 \# Z P( _1 D
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! V: q7 h, F( l& f1 j
on weekends.
8 Q$ \7 `+ i# h1 \
1 l; |! F+ {1 ^# g: x P8 CThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public) p6 `6 d. j% V* u, O
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves9 j: ^ K) c/ c* e: l, w
students who are not of Chinese descent.
& q Q2 B% F K
. j' C4 U. O) T. {" M; JMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 D: B5 o) [0 d5 ~$ |% g5 [: kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( z1 O% @, J6 g3 `
competition. + |: h f; Q' t+ Q; D/ y
8 q: U( C2 V. y0 U* d- E4 h
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
s% F7 _/ { \0 Msaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
3 o, o7 q% q2 f3 K" x! m' G9 I: D) ~
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# J1 Z% B1 P' B) f0 q" Y; @3 m
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse A3 ]1 D- ~& b5 L$ ~
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( B# D( R* ]. e/ O* I/ q5 R
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students5 j3 A/ S8 n- L: ~0 j( `0 D% A
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to1 a4 K4 |5 ~. ]9 T( G. v
the school system last year.
- x6 B# {4 u- u% @0 X2 x
% [7 s( O1 [* j: |/ mThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# v1 L: j+ r' u2 }year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
5 s" T. D6 \. e6 n, t% G8 H0 h7 e# Y, B
' X5 e2 F3 ^! d) G n"They have a great international experience right in their own j+ m& j3 ]2 Z) |9 ]5 O8 s7 @
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" I; t( W4 x- X, p
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 w" U; Q% h! i8 j% Y' M# Ehelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet& s* b" D# I t# n% @1 w
on an equal playing field."! U" ]; g; o, a5 R
6 a4 y) {) q: X2 }. ] }+ J( C' ASome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 ]% [7 |4 [% Q) pclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign1 {& V' q |1 I' s% n, g% ]3 W
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. f7 a8 M9 I- W$ @ U
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
. {' B2 w) y* o$ G; N0 @average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in& c7 N) [- z. }% M: I; s
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the+ d0 V" c+ n8 D* e8 M
institute says.
; I7 [( a) [- E7 O% O! Z" D& D0 A. i; V B: q) n. e2 |6 w
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
% H* R! j8 h( ?' |grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 Z4 s/ q$ h- v/ a
deciding whether to take the class.3 M# ` U( V: \2 d) `% a6 s+ a/ P3 y
9 f: |5 `+ a. e$ I5 D' S# m
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
2 K0 m. q) c r' N. @- s8 Ktold her daughter.
( m) y5 J" A4 d% M% h. u% M% |7 w5 d7 @% v7 t
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 w" y: S U C+ T$ R7 P/ c% oclass.* v; O9 X5 J) l; x8 \
* x: q" I) h! W! c! E3 h8 ?1 k' D
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
/ V! q: q: j. O/ astudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without. x" U$ k* N# [. t3 K
occasional frustration.1 G p9 v' W: e* _/ j4 a. c& }
: o7 {$ s0 i7 j* X: [5 p"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
6 [ w5 U) u" M: i+ L* L6 T) mrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
& T3 X$ L6 E3 v, q- D+ ^8 J9 K; n, a5 L7 k0 w5 ]1 r G
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 d/ R* O+ X u6 w
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- Y: z! F. d3 _/ F0 ^Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
: m( b Z0 u- Y
' T( [* Q0 C% Y5 b5 `, g. I"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
D* U$ T6 p; C' Qsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn: z; S1 H2 J2 y! Q; u2 F1 O
as many languages as I can."! X9 w9 }/ E* J0 M# S: T
# x+ A/ J9 b3 \ iAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the. j3 v$ i B- {) E3 d: n9 [
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
: E5 R: H. n3 B' q) Rmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
( L1 d- E! D, |- tthat," Ms. Freire said. J2 v# W6 L, P6 s; V
, @5 X1 P0 k7 c. O7 w
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
' `0 N- i% q7 |* n; Y4 Z* hhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 S& g5 k( Y* E) D2 s
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 o" q9 v ] [6 J
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
K9 G# {+ g4 T ^1 r6 Oroom.
7 G! r7 h( X0 C: I# [# b4 H4 n0 _( I9 f7 M* ?
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer; c- p8 m7 A4 w3 p. T
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American, \+ t% h: }) A; ]
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.& z& E s5 K, U2 P: e1 B: O ?8 S
+ G% }8 P) l0 G! V) }2 W
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified9 I# A$ X4 \& Q" b0 l, Q5 ]
because of that missing certification," he said./ U7 O, B9 J) {0 _! g0 x
6 H! n. v6 X! R( e& a
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ d$ X: a" _# E$ ]' Q
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# N S) m+ v/ y3 @3 i6 ^9 jSociety in New York.' G. J% ?! h/ O- P5 Q4 d' w
' _) F3 g. u2 K" v
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
/ d1 t7 z. D6 [+ t+ B4 J' sChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
. b: f8 g+ K+ s7 x$ n8 b% }the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.* \4 s8 M/ F; X( I9 U4 Z
- l$ y' S% c! j
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our* N( B& I& i- c+ U% A+ k3 `
own."
7 a" e* w2 B3 ?' F. a7 K
1 V- L& _6 c, U! |* X6 J4 H$ NCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|