 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005- B! @# P) W. J) ^+ {% V
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
. V8 j5 I- Y. l- Z* Q
4 e) f% m: @2 N$ LBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
: H7 @/ I# k; ^' n& j5 k A( K
. {6 u. X3 C( u- L9 VCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the' i1 f6 N; C0 }" T1 H
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 d+ ?$ A0 m6 O' M: S
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas. O2 M$ g$ \+ q ^* ^; j
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese" _7 f; m6 H+ q
flag hang from the wall.2 }0 Z- M( |5 k' X, D
2 G3 F/ j6 \ J J
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
: l8 r! R4 x5 f- a5 Canother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders2 F+ {; n& D2 A% x
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; G! {. M3 S6 o. J
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" J' q' ^# a3 f) v! J
are already choosing it over Spanish.5 c$ b" J2 ^. w- }& {* s7 N9 p
& g+ {1 [7 b$ t
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal+ l2 n, M7 O9 ~, C% V
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 G# ^! v$ i% w# e1 m0 s. loffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 i) Q8 a. \* s! k j% M# A0 Z
! |" ]& X0 o) `7 c' WWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' M% r* m+ t+ Z* ], N" Q) r
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
I! b8 j0 N% u: w& F( L! Ito include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
& U3 C: M1 N; s6 V: a+ \one of its most difficult to learn.
, B- l& ? ~8 B4 h Q$ g l* c7 k9 y7 Q9 B
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
9 Z3 ]$ W/ d9 Lpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
/ `- R2 F' M& a: e6 s" S$ ]1 k: rstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: F0 @. R& K' ]) {) @
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 q! F- `; q3 X u! F
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ s" M9 e y. LChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" C- b3 e; M1 l! {+ P
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. F+ O* E0 P. g, v( p2 w
' ]1 I# }7 F" VAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
; S/ Y, q9 [, VChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, }8 H6 g; z+ ]9 W6 e- bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: \& y/ P) T- u; r$ d9 \6 U' L
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing0 y/ W( g1 @; j/ t( M$ Z% B0 n# L
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. o0 u U1 u' P- M6 h% r, sof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.* P/ B; p4 L5 j
0 x7 W0 Y2 k* ?( S8 u# g- m6 h; g
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 A, z1 S8 o) X2 T. w. `+ }( r
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education$ L% E! s1 c5 I5 u$ S
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
3 `* `8 ^* @+ Lcan." 4 k! {- y- ^3 x1 h: y
3 P5 K; V9 v( d( _" h8 P9 xThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
9 N6 {2 z5 I* h) P6 n8 ]elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10+ T' L3 v3 e1 m3 S* S) Y) B2 e
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
! z$ H6 Y5 B6 P2 EInstitute in Washington.+ ]5 n% K F( z) } R
7 s7 U' q" Q1 P: |8 x' A$ g"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 Q8 k. \! T1 Q/ H$ O: F0 H0 Y
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 X! ]8 Q, F- O/ a) O/ |McGinnis said.( [- A0 ? j( n3 @
2 t2 J* N$ N8 T8 T
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical! a$ v# f: y9 h6 k
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% y# p% y- x6 j% }ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: {9 J0 R }7 }) j, k2 Z \challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."; s8 S k3 u8 }# i6 A
, `+ k* K. q# G* x! ?Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% k, c; h5 G9 `& r
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* F( H: l" ]* O! }. ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! n" c6 V g i5 {Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 S7 S/ S$ n- G9 V# r( @2 K- oon weekends., s/ n5 y% N/ }/ j5 {4 `! v( G5 a8 C
% e+ y0 t- p/ C- p9 e3 s4 h
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: D8 c7 ^! c6 A' vschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 w9 p5 Y' `7 Tstudents who are not of Chinese descent. f" w$ q! l7 {& B- J) z4 [
. I! g& O" s+ i" |Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 h3 R E0 k2 V2 f9 J3 tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- J6 }; G$ W% t) x& g5 K+ jcompetition. * I* [' I8 l6 ^. }1 O
5 D5 M1 h% d9 | a; o
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 b7 k5 Z: m W9 q
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
& O' x9 \7 n- D" g
7 ?- K; ?: T) G3 [* @' D* yFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# u) `3 l, l J7 B# Pall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 W& {* x- \/ S- ^schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
; L) R- n) u l1 \0 i0 K9 [kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students7 f# [) y0 G/ \9 L
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
/ H; b2 Q& Q9 B' X/ U/ |; L! t; othe school system last year.1 y8 y6 L) Z4 `8 g+ B
, ?3 Z% R$ d1 Y i
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
}( v: e1 o5 ?" p8 Syear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year., o8 L, `" @6 D9 l
5 C; |' ^* [( K) b! g"They have a great international experience right in their own
) s, l e( A Z! n9 T& Q& aclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 F! J% h$ Z' {Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
8 R: Q- r0 F5 W3 ?! M* _! M: h) Jhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet# @/ i. M1 _& ~
on an equal playing field."
8 V0 {, w1 c6 \$ n8 m3 x! X2 R2 p3 M' R# i7 Z/ m5 M) Y
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
* s: y2 J" `$ @classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" h" [2 t5 @# I. J
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks/ h5 @! |' a! j% T3 j. z* d
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An4 ^7 _- }" B: I0 z" G- I
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
2 m& y, s9 F: i2 l( z% BChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- X8 V1 ~" _/ x! D9 T
institute says.
( o x( E2 d. o$ D9 } d# |5 `* q9 H2 H# |
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
% l5 r" h# @4 w4 [. K- `( V- I; K2 Rgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) n+ N9 O! }4 k$ Q5 ldeciding whether to take the class.
6 z9 J* a d1 S' Z- ?2 {
u1 C+ A$ I9 [8 e" q"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% j* i2 \1 i, v* J5 a8 Ttold her daughter.9 r: g, R* U$ ]
$ z9 {$ D7 [3 _7 M7 I+ p$ SSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( Z7 U. v- X( W' _9 ~7 X# |" w
class.
1 G2 d3 R3 y* U
2 y: b9 c/ C. C5 L1 KAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
% M9 q% y$ t! E1 A) a' `4 wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
: s" x! L6 u. v6 M. zoccasional frustration.
4 M* e' @% p) H8 L+ m! [: h7 ]9 e6 Q: D( z, t
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" {8 o l1 ]1 w. nrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
* t& C. M" x% H m' t+ r% [$ B, K, {6 P4 y e6 |4 h
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
0 _* I( R2 h! V' v- o% e4 J( m7 itaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with. w" m6 g( x) s" e ]
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.' h# o G, r# d( W$ |1 Q4 H5 ]
( g. J2 e; {0 U& D/ K
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul. q/ j2 J; X; ~+ P" v: T
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
( W4 J5 d; B4 S8 X8 T' [" n8 J2 B. Fas many languages as I can."# v/ D& X' z& p. L7 K" Q' K
' \4 _9 d( }0 [2 O% J8 CAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ t7 K! v4 F2 L% n8 D
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job* T; E s9 M6 Y( R4 T
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 _" `! |9 b, cthat," Ms. Freire said.$ } l7 k/ q1 N% h
9 k0 {* B' V$ L1 W& _7 SMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 [0 l% t5 l; A( K/ G
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each# x8 J z' f$ k1 b
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 B! g0 v4 R# L# P
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make) J& |3 Q3 }8 J+ F$ `1 W g9 V5 T
room.3 D( R' L# D- f; T* X+ W% Q/ |
8 m# F9 O' n- _2 _Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' n/ J$ y/ u. {% IChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American7 e$ _7 a9 r! |' J
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said." ?" {0 Q$ F, F' \1 H( }0 F
. \. A2 M5 C/ x2 p* J6 ~5 n) K+ X"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
) K) X& Q. |5 b& S8 ^( M$ D! L9 _, Obecause of that missing certification," he said.7 U* r2 v2 \4 ?% |
# X) w6 T9 D9 ~3 Q5 w* v- }5 C. b/ u
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,' `# V! N$ T* a# }
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: u. u, {, k$ O/ c* q. ySociety in New York.
. a8 O: _& f \7 L, Y2 v4 B/ a. j% G i
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 B& U# z7 M# r* a) A0 @7 V7 j
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& Z" f( `1 C0 zthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
# f7 @1 Z, ]: H: D+ s4 A3 b
0 m9 N) m4 F1 j! K"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our7 z2 a8 i G8 N( r- O3 {
own."4 s9 E+ S- E; Z( B$ ~/ ^7 K P
; v1 `0 V" c& W+ O& g& l7 j
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|