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October 15, 2005+ L: c% j0 x6 r! F' |/ {* m% a1 S; a
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity6 ~6 [& N- U+ A1 m$ \5 L; K& w
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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$ v- }# W* n% c) v, Z. CCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
+ e; R2 m# [, r9 C/ kUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
* u; |& R1 @: h. uSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 b( |7 ?. {- [$ |
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese" c; f9 A1 V/ N
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 s: K7 s/ I5 A5 B& m
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( ?3 }4 I3 |( F/ E; \% mpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker( d2 }3 _* |2 s7 y6 _, e, R5 }# r; T
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* C* K, [. F! o( Yare already choosing it over Spanish.
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/ G8 D. V' v2 M" ["Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
6 a. p* u5 f! d. R4 u" T, Lat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city4 [- h9 [! [$ n! R$ J# n+ J
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ S, {( Q6 p9 |" r9 F# E' @$ l
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings: ?; }* R( ]4 u$ W, Y* j
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 l5 k( o" H, W& g$ Bone of its most difficult to learn.) \. C3 }7 ]# o( f1 {5 a# f; c
9 f; ^) I2 J' dLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
! l! \( w! e O; ]1 C' M; C' g3 jpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students* j* {' ]( `/ [$ B0 \, z" ]0 z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 a/ ]2 n$ W+ P) ^9 E! KLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% D; ]+ l( O3 ]
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
+ w7 X; n6 J1 C NChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to, V5 Z- B) b h0 H. ?
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* N% a, Y3 B& A: |' Z5 |! y# D9 c
/ H' g4 \: [; R+ MAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
' q6 M) o* N" C/ zChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country5 l6 d; s& w% y9 |6 c
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
3 v5 L: \7 d, \develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing' b# g, f& X6 t, H* a. P. o$ N
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 @! |% A* v! j! f' y xof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. B5 F- I6 _ e) Y
" F9 ]6 Z1 X N0 r"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
1 E1 }$ @) Z: Y% \! w* e, cspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" p& q6 P! G. f- X& e2 T8 eConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. p) u. C/ H9 R8 _9 c
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
9 e: O% l8 r4 p9 V1 `, I* G9 Relementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10) V G8 z, h& ^ v7 d
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
# O& H* o0 d# [8 S6 V" x( dInstitute in Washington.
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) E2 t. b5 @ d' H& H"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
% @& e5 P4 @) A B2 |9 Naren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ | q) L! m( M/ a; t
McGinnis said.& Y" R# S3 F" F; [# A
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
. [+ s4 f" f8 F7 slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" O' W8 I# j. z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a7 d1 k7 X; B& S, {! t3 k8 q% F) @7 K" o
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 _! X& \9 Q3 G$ y# D
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% U' e0 Y6 `) Y0 L2 F" qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of, V* B8 u5 D0 z% Y0 U2 [
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
" S( A3 y2 H+ V) X' D' h, i4 \on weekends.3 k7 s. `( F8 ?7 m$ |( f8 u
, i. W: f4 q0 @" dThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
! P) A5 F2 `0 D) xschools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 ~8 N( i6 \; j( }$ E1 j
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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2 v* Z7 Z( S6 u4 h1 o) xMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
% D0 }- s# s+ Z0 R9 W5 p8 G6 Oproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 ` w4 Q! R4 t1 Ycompetition. " g% y! R q3 ^8 _$ r
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! E# B; j& K4 r6 L. | q: M5 w
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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' o5 R2 x: Z% k( N% f+ OFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly0 c2 V/ b/ G; F$ c* _6 q
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 G. Q. w1 O* f0 R3 Tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from) L3 q! I1 B7 F. b' A
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
4 I* l% e& s, `3 gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 H* |( n5 j4 ^the school system last year.$ t! E* N+ X( X8 g: L8 L
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this: f) G8 w C$ a- p
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.3 T+ O" n; ?# U t
6 }0 q/ N' d$ n- X- }9 ~9 n, G"They have a great international experience right in their own8 x0 ~7 w, q+ c: |8 ?* i9 N9 `5 P
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
/ k- Z C( u2 h3 GChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 N1 o' p* f$ X% c) h/ }
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet3 A6 X; t. `7 M* g7 S; Z0 M
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
' g2 \' ~* Q% v- P9 j0 Kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 x. l5 e+ }- ^& p" mService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 X0 I# [/ v1 c8 `* HChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An9 o% H5 d- S; G1 w
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
1 |: [: G( L0 y ]% `7 X& EChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& G) Q- }, Z' ?0 P$ Z' Ainstitute says.& w2 v; @' g: c' Z* ^. F# _9 R2 W
( o5 r+ c% ]) m+ }! {- fSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
, J9 Y; @3 `* R- S+ {grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before9 k: f g' C' j" r- _& m! _
deciding whether to take the class.
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7 b6 ~! s ]3 B1 d5 _5 C"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ B! B( I3 Y" w
told her daughter.
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5 g9 E% Q- X3 [2 s8 ESahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% B) A' e/ B! p. Y! I# _0 I* T9 ^class.
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3 g, D" f9 ?1 n6 {* N$ ~, QAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
/ Q1 _; W d/ {# n* D+ xstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without, a$ N* m9 U* ~) r. ^9 ?* K
occasional frustration.
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0 N Q2 l+ o, d"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a1 c0 _/ D' ?+ |. q% ]: {. i, @- u
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% M; p# ] N! h k: {7 w+ W
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- p: y- P$ v% d9 z* Btaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with) H0 ~ ?- D$ h
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
. ?; v) m8 }& G) C" S6 |said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn6 o# U! g [9 s: U' b+ ]
as many languages as I can."* `: l( G. K+ |0 [& Z4 o1 X
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; q. ]. C2 t( @* \+ E5 m: Lskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; V1 u5 Q0 D' R. G' c! P
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
! f3 M1 I+ n, l- c' u$ ]that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: ?+ U7 I0 q M4 _0 u; q a/ e$ d$ Mhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' B/ r$ a( \0 ]* }$ uschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
6 Z& I" ]/ O) X# o. G; |time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
: l) p Y( o- R' zroom.
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q; q; S* m. s/ T( I1 aChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
: W* y ~4 e2 m; x: ]Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 P$ n8 G8 i9 U$ i
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.5 k% W7 q( I8 |7 d/ C) f
% R* w+ Z- e, \; u; Z* W"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
# M3 t) `. J$ U" Q0 @2 Ibecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,9 o! o7 a2 t1 |6 [ ], d7 x: K
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 T# }2 q* c7 z8 e3 dSociety in New York.+ }, f: N# l" m* {+ ]
+ ?6 O/ a6 x3 MSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the9 Z2 E' O8 R' F. y' s2 e( k
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from E* u# |7 @) c1 U _
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( q$ f/ f2 `$ o' Q G
own."( |& ]4 `& T9 T7 k7 I0 k! p
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