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October 15, 20053 I/ @7 O/ I+ @- u
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity+ C9 ^! w$ p1 Q4 j/ i
$ ~1 B$ k x% D. h( c( EBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING; T3 T: l" Y* a+ t
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
' ]7 y( G& V z& p/ AUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 S4 `7 Y4 ^7 ?. u
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
9 ]! |% h5 ^1 {- adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ M, y( v [( Q& R w- ?2 ]flag hang from the wall.% p6 H* y3 {! \! G6 O' {3 B7 f4 N
5 H: C0 ^) F; H% dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one' k, ~% U0 c; e
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' p4 {" V4 U) g9 Q: fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
* o+ N! I8 o5 J2 G- k) N7 Dboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students( B$ N5 i A/ Y- l! i' f' ?
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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- i! n/ B' y9 z5 L"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: ^, [/ f, E' e, J4 ~at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
9 e5 N1 R$ }: q) h* Woffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 M7 v( Y6 ?% g
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
# ]" F; P5 ?$ ^9 c) X) B9 wschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( j. _8 u" {2 ~1 m- M4 A) b
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 \ x1 t) y6 K) I% Tone of its most difficult to learn.' ~9 _4 X2 W' n1 J" I5 W
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ v" ^0 I* {0 j8 r% |% a* Y
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& L, a8 [- u+ M: B0 i3 p3 G/ x
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.5 l7 C) d6 G$ e# g% q+ J( `
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
) U) r2 l2 v4 _7 r( `* ETennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ C* W0 s; s7 O
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
5 h( j& _& K: l( T* H- rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.& h' `$ X" l( ^* S. J
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement7 U& n5 n9 M8 C: O8 v
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" M( l- w S I! @6 E% j) }
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to" _7 Q H: C+ c# n @8 V
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing; L( l$ f; k, g/ V1 x! N
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director: I% }0 M& ]! S: g8 j
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- F0 y5 C* @$ e2 A! g8 u5 R# u7 z6 F
3 u0 r& [4 T- F, I/ _/ \"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of$ T' T" d0 @; c0 t. h2 M
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 g3 g O7 s0 p; q# XConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we% r A+ T) D! W ~2 ]
can."
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k" P( a( h. f# [The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 ?! |3 I9 _- |9 N, Z5 Y" g) F5 felementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 q0 i/ s$ x6 i: Oyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language6 q6 G2 m* A/ a7 }
Institute in Washington.; [; h" w6 A5 M# c7 @
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( P9 p8 U5 U; w/ d. L: w# W" _& P" Maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
+ j7 R# {( R- B& G) S% `McGinnis said.% x6 \1 _+ O( v0 F2 ^
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* P0 F3 Z: Y! e V C& k* Dlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be- W* K7 U' J; P7 l2 ~8 m
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* q" e: [( n3 [! v$ b
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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! E" I; o) M$ ~/ j" KUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
- e+ d0 d6 L8 w4 g& Qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( m+ E6 g/ P" x; Y3 s( [
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
, l% r% U3 ~% _+ g' c1 uChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or( T5 N) W( L5 }, Z, m i
on weekends.$ D, M. N0 y0 `; u
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# i/ w- p* u$ J* j' W
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
! |% g0 ]. H" p+ istudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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* V; r( v. ]+ q' H: S4 X! vMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
) g \ g4 ^9 ]0 o3 ^) X! eproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ e, @' _; a/ h) q" V% A
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley; E$ w# D) v# H0 M
said. "There will be Chinese and English."' k. ?; T7 a8 S6 h! I. ~1 ~
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ b9 V6 _ W" C1 v9 j, @! t
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
G- l8 B1 C% [/ d( e6 {schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from+ G6 z) g" j7 u. X G
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
. j+ ~4 X, ?$ H" I& b! Vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 A) E' A3 M( D9 \
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this& M+ T7 K: |: p& `
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
* N8 |' U' r" hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 I0 r" }( B8 d1 R) P, t
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 L: Z. F% L$ J
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet1 b( Z8 o/ F- P+ n
on an equal playing field."+ m1 C% K* V6 L$ T# N$ l0 u
! C! S) N. e: o+ m- K& q1 OSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
2 t) N, l8 m: Oclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
: V/ X& ~! J$ o6 ?7 y# y3 D% OService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks, X8 Q5 l8 T- Z5 j
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ ^+ j7 d+ x F* U7 t, H
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in% n* J! C8 ^+ }/ `
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
/ ~6 g X" s. @5 [institute says.
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* X$ E8 H, @6 A l1 e* {Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
0 i* h2 ]6 n6 S0 {1 L! bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- l3 K: w' z4 M
deciding whether to take the class.
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8 T Z l+ l$ A"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she0 w0 ?$ l: a$ G4 Q3 O
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 k6 X- Y) N% V8 O9 v
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
" B/ {! v# X8 R) ~studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
( M/ X% K+ _) c5 R0 ~occasional frustration.$ @. `7 o. V4 L
- E9 P$ g4 j# @ i8 S7 y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ V, w/ z7 z5 `8 t% r8 [
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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9 o) F- B# x: a# }7 D' PRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he! P2 |( D6 w4 |2 \
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
8 L3 I; P1 }, n; QChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.& p) @- t( q! A W5 [
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 [5 i+ D% t, o5 D: J# f3 L
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& C* }$ n* S* S/ p5 Q4 b/ zas many languages as I can."
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7 T5 a3 ]1 c! E3 J0 n/ s$ x4 JAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
# R h t% l- p9 D& N# c* Zskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
4 L- J& r. p& x% [3 ~market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" U9 p" p, c/ V- n: f- T" ]) j7 mthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program5 P: b6 w& m, ^
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; Z4 A+ ^3 ?. Y
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& u0 w' x0 q( Ptime from classes like physical education, music and art to make6 z0 U3 ]. n1 g# ^
room.
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( s4 G8 I9 A$ \/ Z" ~Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- f# ~/ |& ?2 m1 q% y- wChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
C6 T" ^! V3 C7 D8 Mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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0 z2 B; W8 w% u3 {+ l, c: v"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
& ^8 w( h! {. \because of that missing certification," he said.- q0 l( k: ?: @( L ]4 m
1 K2 d7 |; A; A iThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,5 G' M3 T0 Z8 l- q
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, r$ c7 k% l1 \7 |. ]
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
W i( V% x: G0 w {0 E# U( Q1 h7 uChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
! m, F; Y z7 C% z0 F/ n& h o, Athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
7 J; z3 e( f6 |+ t/ e! Gown."
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1 `. Z* E3 a! e {9 `5 `Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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