 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
0 s! R, g6 N6 z# l" UClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( C D# w# y. p; j5 @1 v& Z, G
& v1 n, _" _+ _5 }
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 V8 Y% ?) [% K: i* k% Y3 b
1 J1 n" d; l2 J% c8 T. P& U% z8 {0 N% o
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) |( V) i1 D' z- m8 oUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
4 Z7 s* P* J$ q, N# O1 Y7 l1 G" zSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
& B$ G1 I4 q: s, o8 _8 `; ?1 udangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese* e1 l4 ], J: \5 }. f, R$ p
flag hang from the wall.) M1 {* x% M# X8 M
% a- k7 g% l/ \( I4 r" s$ s
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
9 \- O( o/ d6 z' W) G& `+ C+ ^another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ {( R1 F* M2 K- U: m, u; r! l
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 m! G8 I! j: l( R
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students& g! `, X) V% G0 F
are already choosing it over Spanish. a3 l8 X9 u3 i, o4 T# t
8 X/ r$ Q) r: J" ^
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal P* s" D& M* x1 H! q* O |
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
1 x, S$ N% Y6 s: R, K; qoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
" |7 ~8 \6 |. }3 \8 j
6 t+ |% s9 _8 T* X0 t/ WWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,$ y S9 a4 s G1 _( Y7 W
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- U) T! h$ W- L4 lto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention# y/ ^ M1 |$ h+ v
one of its most difficult to learn.. ^3 h& } }2 m) v( @3 A
8 y+ C( ~0 |4 G0 f+ R9 E/ `7 ]Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- a0 B! e! h" P- J+ U4 v
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. Y4 ^# C7 N$ e6 a3 cstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
) ?+ o+ w+ j% _* D! O/ a5 e dLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of3 l/ Q* }3 O, ]; ~. r( _
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on6 P1 ?$ A( c5 J5 Y: N9 D
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
# S, N9 g& Q, S0 O+ \improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 C! n5 X% E( W! M5 J3 O$ q
( |: V# ^! M8 Q: N# Y
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
% S8 o* S! @0 E- |- h/ Y! oChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ H, t' y! W: L$ @starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to5 x' j+ O0 A* u& s- u2 A3 X! Y
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing0 r5 O% \/ `; x o4 F3 H
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director0 T1 e9 {; H4 q3 P# v
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.1 F0 Q: R. ?2 y" l( n
0 [$ M) ~1 f' D
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of+ N7 _$ X& P* _; B' d6 W) K
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education: z+ @$ l) z5 d) y7 e' Y
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
; @+ J2 c! B6 P8 K( N9 Scan." . ^% q- E# a+ U4 A4 D3 q
* l5 K6 M v8 h! o V& RThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: \$ b/ ^ p& {elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
* b* x" Q6 n5 H2 q1 B O6 I! U2 ]. [, iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
5 n+ M( P5 {4 A: R$ o* TInstitute in Washington.5 s8 M5 M3 b Z& r
5 Q* R* f! h1 H, X% o"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
$ Y% V) a9 h! H2 g, a1 V) Qaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 P$ m+ S& N j
McGinnis said.; V# Q! V5 r5 J, w4 ~
- I0 e, N7 }! t v"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
) ^4 H9 i4 j* O: ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, G- S* i5 ?1 t. R) K, K, F, [ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
" N( | C# a. R- `7 ?8 \( x0 |challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 f3 d7 Z' Z9 V0 y1 w
8 }( O8 E7 Z" r$ Z: AUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and# S- R& C$ s+ H9 R2 Q$ u
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ M" W O# ]+ n0 n
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 @" d5 N r6 f
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ a; q! L# I1 b1 _! fon weekends.& Z; I% q, `1 P) J; ^ p5 R
: V6 Z( @) L& p* l% oThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# X% I6 |3 V* \* u; q/ p9 `' f2 mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
* p8 H4 c( _! Y0 C, g+ t( O: pstudents who are not of Chinese descent.6 K8 a- {4 b: i0 _' s3 z* M9 I. T% K
5 E! O9 [: t( [
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& r% X) w. ]) @2 Z; t, _proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
. J, s" R9 J# Q7 Fcompetition. 3 W. b1 ^$ Y6 T: I* }3 F% Z' i5 o6 o
* m8 b1 o G9 p5 L7 c+ z
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
. W/ d0 Y0 }! r& esaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
9 m% g' D+ A1 I& g
/ w5 x4 O0 J) k+ D( R2 RFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly& ~0 f! ~6 J. J0 y' ~& A# o
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse$ ^. i# e5 q1 |& m m g
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% `) V5 d: O! \2 G& |$ a
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ ~. M( M8 w6 W- @ v h( J* N j
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 M+ _5 ]$ X4 tthe school system last year.( u( x& j8 a1 T- u1 R- m7 c
# o" _& ~! C/ t& I5 c
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
: o$ F. U& W f; j+ vyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
: H1 L0 m( d/ F* U6 F. h/ s7 ~( B: x( H" q
"They have a great international experience right in their own% y. A% G0 m3 p+ Y, N
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 k2 I8 V+ V( l5 a5 l. b$ q( N9 h7 _
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 y" O3 @9 r4 }help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ X* Q7 u& j% ^) H( N% w- Q2 `on an equal playing field."
4 i) D% g+ W' D8 k7 Z, q3 t* Z7 d% p' t7 u
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese* p1 z( a9 @. d3 f; O M3 |; b5 s
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
6 \8 @' W( N( f) L2 a' _Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
- w+ ]* H* p2 q6 {Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An2 L9 E* I8 \6 i6 S, _2 B
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in2 X9 s4 U0 e; E$ L/ J! V* l2 e9 j0 j
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 j, r# m' N) @ u* }institute says.8 Q2 O9 {, ]/ K) X* c
- R( T" M/ S) h5 s
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
. d* m, O% G- l4 mgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
: D1 s) N3 Z. k$ Pdeciding whether to take the class.
* d+ Z4 K1 ^' A" F& p3 D( f' G0 Q8 m2 w$ L6 v8 m" [. |7 h; x
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she9 b# I) c- F2 |# M
told her daughter.
( s6 e) i* T) I+ t3 {1 i$ j
% ]( O+ A7 w9 G8 pSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
1 m9 ]& j# ? V1 Xclass.+ z: x4 {7 ]$ w3 w0 e
+ g' C j8 {( HAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 L# e: B3 J7 I! g J
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- v7 J8 h" Q a5 |' B* a
occasional frustration.9 I! |& P" z" v v* g4 v; h
7 Y* V# A; X- m' Z
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 S) j- C/ K% n, K+ L; i( | R: Xrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.# C) }6 A" B D( ~
& r4 Q: l/ }1 N3 S$ t, N
Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 n6 V! I/ p' m; ztaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 u) a; V5 ?4 r8 S e* UChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
1 y& h- F" y& @% M v/ i* w0 w0 l N6 t# X
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
1 g! b. j; F x& C. X* Psaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 T" }2 I5 p( `& }# ^: o: u0 E& Gas many languages as I can."+ a! B2 D$ [" \6 U1 Z
/ ^0 K8 A5 T3 Y
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& N w$ j* a+ A
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. w2 }, _% Z }7 G0 Xmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: f7 G0 o2 c& p6 G" W1 S) {( athat," Ms. Freire said.
" x, H6 {5 A- a, z% _) @! a+ C9 R$ X& H$ Q/ f$ W) X
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program# N$ e0 d1 w6 P# l5 F* o% j* [' ?
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
$ C& [4 a1 }- P0 Z1 R5 E1 l6 |4 M& ~school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- m& ^7 ?2 Z" ]$ h
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make' p/ k E' d. ]0 K% Y
room.
. U _; G5 ^3 c" d% b
& K' @* H- b. \0 f8 ~* E4 k% WChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer/ v9 o3 u# S! p
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) p- f' ^8 W2 ]- \, m6 q+ P& m6 G
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
3 F3 A" ]8 d. g. _: n& q$ @) |8 \0 F9 ~+ V' g* q9 Q
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified( u5 [4 ?" i. X9 d# v& f3 q1 ?
because of that missing certification," he said.$ r+ z! F/ b: n7 }+ l A) ?. m
4 C. J* w; N4 g* f' I' JThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,% l6 T2 o& q, A5 u
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ ~0 x, I# W+ _
Society in New York.
; ^8 ]/ J& Y% s* m5 B. K
{2 \# j% G0 s' b& fSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 y/ T9 D5 H/ \9 G* m" eChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& P. u& ~0 M& n! Bthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
1 Z( v5 T5 c/ K# x; _) a$ @/ _$ ~3 y
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
: R' Z3 Z/ Q# P& rown."
9 L, y6 E% g' O% u" v0 l: F) ~% N1 w. m$ W% y
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|