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October 15, 2005
# z' K/ ?& z/ @7 G% yClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' C: o: }( F0 y( p/ T1 ]- o' f$ R K/ L
+ G2 f8 y# G! y4 D1 m3 _9 \1 k" ?$ ]By GRETCHEN RUETHLING% u" l; N- A& |# y/ {( K6 N
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 a7 t c* \0 s' T7 J* b! D2 {United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ _+ d) ]% P) c. f" J3 f' J- y
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: N/ M+ J. l/ z
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese9 w2 N6 l3 T: g. k3 B/ j) J( S
flag hang from the wall.
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& U9 e7 ]) o, L& k; f& Y ^& t- KOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( e, n$ B9 M panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders" V) d3 o$ a; i# \2 t8 z
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker f3 p! S1 n0 K, t$ `: M7 m
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 e3 N3 p+ p& A2 S- R x& }
are already choosing it over Spanish. j5 m/ r7 u+ X: m4 T; s1 l u
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ j8 j( p$ T y+ E0 g7 \at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city; m5 \5 Q' Y1 g f9 F/ ?5 l
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."& L2 W; {- e5 e5 H" h) L( K% [' d
( k) J0 G; A* QWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ H* \! N4 S- u0 ^
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings. W3 W0 E* [3 |) K X
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( S$ R Y1 k1 ^8 s3 w1 U' P& Yone of its most difficult to learn.0 F3 U& H2 t r$ R1 \
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to; Q1 p: B0 |; e0 |' B) d
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 c/ k$ b5 z# O6 Ustudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 O+ Z7 p+ R$ y1 k: n2 w
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 k' D0 i" N/ s# J
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on/ B1 I. E* h) ^( p* K5 f
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. R0 @ s4 _6 r0 G. I1 ^+ z: g$ z
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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- O$ ~; |$ S2 H3 A$ X" SAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; |4 l; G! s9 Z0 ^1 j% d9 {1 p
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 a; |# Q4 F- jstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) \. m6 F! y% q8 `0 Y; h
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! h; g z2 ~8 p7 j- |
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director- k6 v9 X- F9 b# }7 W2 B
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) h, [* x5 y, C1 H
3 l' K" e- Y- ~ k"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, r, Y. ]- L& {: ?
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 K# P) d: L1 ?0 x9 W5 O( U% ?
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
$ M- m( g8 H* Z6 p+ s/ D" b* Hcan."
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$ p P5 s/ H8 d- n+ o! t" h- I3 TThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from c5 j. M! K9 o# {$ U& a; k
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* `* g% L5 g/ J/ n& V6 b9 P9 ~
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
8 {$ p+ w& Y s) @! QInstitute in Washington.1 Q% w$ G: o% f& W, q% m+ \
' {% f! z1 Z: `( a"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% e, E5 G9 {$ ^, d0 V
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ P7 ]- n8 f0 g! DMcGinnis said.
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2 f% I, d4 v5 |5 h/ @4 k/ A"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' G% a g0 K0 p3 V* ^# m6 N! I
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) C5 B1 E. Y% j. G- l6 H1 @
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( A% y/ ?- }4 b7 |% t n$ y; w
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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3 ^+ ?5 D, }$ u( p# v+ x/ jUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# D* p& ?% R4 u2 {secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
8 j0 B1 P1 Q( Q. M8 Y/ Q }% ocities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of: \9 k" X3 B1 [" \
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or+ P5 ?$ ^; s: ]( @* V
on weekends.
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$ c! a( E3 p' [' G! d' e5 u* cThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public5 s1 ^7 i' x0 {
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
. Y. Z1 I# Q% E0 Sstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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, w$ n) c6 v3 R3 WMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
1 I4 o. W) N0 J! @* M/ ], D# rproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' i3 q+ p! Z2 V& {/ bcompetition.
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" o; \3 ?) r! _5 N% l$ e7 f7 p"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 e# u4 X9 G$ Y( `. s( Psaid. "There will be Chinese and English."( Q) [$ a: _ Y I* \
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly) y. X: y% J7 u4 Z( l2 \& T$ [5 n
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 u# ~' v0 i7 s+ P8 G, G7 ~schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from+ ~1 [. d; A6 P% s, ]
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% U& ?. D$ Z" V' t0 `" z2 S; [who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to9 w9 i9 D9 n2 E! W9 |
the school system last year. T8 e% c$ c4 I
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
c3 x' {, {& K. Uyear 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 Z1 n v- N- x) N; ?, ]
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' m, e& w! j$ ? p
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to% _) b1 A/ y+ \, }+ a
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet3 X( K% F' r, i$ e- p5 D& E6 U7 w+ w
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
4 b5 P+ E& k9 z8 Kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' H( V1 |5 q& yService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( q" m1 ^+ t- EChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
: Y4 v' J! g7 |% t4 F1 `: o* v0 Aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 `/ X: u" n. t# ?Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! z4 K, ~: d; o7 _4 D* Uinstitute says.4 n k1 ?" L( v/ {' m/ F9 l" U
2 B, U! E" a& p& ?Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 |! P V/ v3 `- o7 {( Agrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
' P) p) \0 l5 V/ fdeciding whether to take the class.
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" ~) V- ~# v2 M/ v7 ~# L r, `( s"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 g5 K C9 q7 D: N1 [told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ O- S# ^: N8 X1 e$ t1 r; R- \
class.
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% }3 b) I7 A2 O0 v" H; Z# R' fAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
; Y: b) Z: G3 m, f% G& _* o/ H# Estudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; u& W6 a/ v% N joccasional frustration.* d- m5 g) U5 j4 S( S& ~5 z, b- \* j
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a7 N* z& A; B4 B7 f$ I
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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* U9 Z# u% {- t1 SRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 y6 V9 C( O8 |taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
; m$ H# T4 {" d$ U7 w" J. V NChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works./ k+ s' t6 R6 [' J+ `0 t* Z& U
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul, C% }# Y9 R" W4 P
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- u' ~: ^4 n* G% }: X
as many languages as I can."
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3 A0 S# r3 _4 x. x+ T( p' mAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the5 @ j/ B% o5 P
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job% q3 g4 j2 r( k( w9 J4 M% {3 X5 u
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like2 ~! n9 e3 R# f
that," Ms. Freire said.1 v+ i( M& ~1 Y( M5 H5 {) c. A
j+ A: I; N2 A. w9 V( X4 AMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program6 W- v% m5 d% p
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
7 P& ~2 F; I5 x! u$ E9 T# eschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
. a E- Q) f/ m' q: t! _time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
$ x* o$ d; r7 v+ s4 Droom.
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D, J% X' @1 y3 W9 T3 oChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer5 T- L: K/ A& E+ {
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American, e, F' U* C; x2 k
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; R0 }, H& u2 v/ H
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
- l! }9 P# f' E k8 @+ A* ]because of that missing certification," he said.. |. @" y" Z, P+ b3 T) w
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,9 H' b# C3 m+ O, B
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* o9 u6 S: K/ j6 m, H8 Z4 `" r
Society in New York.
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8 X# D% x- M( w4 k8 d! y3 |$ M+ YSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
# }6 T5 |7 W5 P0 UChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from( e; ?/ k; O3 R* ` P0 E" V
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; q% D+ F G' V6 D+ Y: @
6 U( \) z7 ], B9 m8 B9 b4 _"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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