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October 15, 2005! d/ c% T5 Y( l2 v: G! j! z6 Q ~
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ {) j, y; |3 r9 k1 l
7 x. \; J9 \6 l% [8 Q( iBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING9 [5 | ^( N1 B9 i& q3 f: O7 R
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 d K6 s% U$ h5 }' a& tUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 P. f |1 u) g, R& g0 W0 ?School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
+ J8 D. m& {) B6 kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
6 |( _" a1 g0 a) ^2 |# n( q6 Eflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one% n% v% \8 x( o2 o
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, N. v: Z$ J; T+ Y. Q9 }
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, y9 h F0 }4 Q/ _2 z7 V
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students' r8 l9 m% v' B, G, O
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal1 ?( Y! h, [) p5 L# d
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city& D5 B4 s( b- b4 q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 z$ T- x7 r6 i5 c5 T% i
; i$ [( i: ?, c/ `" G3 F, z; cWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
) ?" t) K& R1 Q8 `) \2 Hschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
+ {, A' Y4 @# ~+ s( ]) S5 a6 u. gto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 T4 R" q, A% v1 c# |6 f7 s
one of its most difficult to learn.
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7 ?0 n" D$ E5 l8 i9 S3 ELast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
. K: t% ?3 Y' [, X" upublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 G: k8 e) f k& {5 x tstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. W: T* R, s& v' ]' W; O0 xLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 ]& X, C8 [+ T! S* k2 q, l, b. K
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 |/ C3 {, |0 m) hChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& L9 P+ U6 p; B4 s# a
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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! ~8 n) A6 X" X. WAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement! A0 \( z8 x8 @2 `9 C. a
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 o- C# W7 h; ^/ kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to9 H: f6 r* K% m! S8 Y/ O; I
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing9 Y+ g- O. v W0 M0 k* W7 _% `
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
- e1 L' d% {/ v7 J3 k4 b" }+ E- cof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.5 g6 B/ C% C) e7 }1 W1 E; d
4 L, e5 q# I, H7 ["Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 C' h# E" [; x& H) y
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education% s9 ]5 D$ l: @- k: Z* a
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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. o8 x, c' m- B3 `. GThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from2 R) r: F" M( z" i
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: v( [" ]' \) r, T5 w( X4 h8 Byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ j( O' W, P! V! CInstitute in Washington.3 V; _# x6 e( J" O
! {# L) q# b/ o& c1 _ t7 ?"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
- m/ A2 q+ c$ q2 iaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( i' \7 J4 h' E- ?1 }McGinnis said.
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% h3 b8 ` a" [6 C"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical" [3 d3 t0 Y: n5 R
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# J4 w5 r+ E# A
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a k- \& @! z% Y6 L9 `
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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5 W& U3 ?, @6 b& r2 FUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% c9 Q+ {$ w) n
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in- e+ _8 M" r- a7 o- U, o, t
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
- w- ?/ S/ ~% dChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or& H3 A% ?6 l. V) j( u6 M1 X! C
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# V) T V- d* a" v
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves" a. D0 y, q9 X6 `
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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" L% c M3 t" U7 h8 Y) O9 qMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 W3 |* C+ B* ?2 n; ]3 n
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ r, ~. N/ R3 G4 wcompetition. + Z& F; P5 E, k F
" D8 z2 \( s3 O"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 v- H" y/ S7 Q: ^. |
said. "There will be Chinese and English."* [/ d- x) o* y
# T; E i4 q1 {4 m- WFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( K$ |( W$ M7 @/ y) F+ o. N* z/ K5 sall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ P7 q$ a& p' y8 \8 r
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- k* S6 L1 c5 Gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 e0 a9 E( F; m7 ]4 S3 [8 y
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 v4 v4 s u/ d4 x0 f2 a, [7 r
the school system last year.4 ~ P% y4 R* r l: R$ w$ |
4 G& m* _+ x# K: ~The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this7 }6 H/ a# M$ r n; F6 p: E0 `
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.$ ?& `; i3 R# j( e# p u
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"They have a great international experience right in their own0 V# c% Q. u+ D) E: ~8 Y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
$ s; L# ]8 b& C2 M2 q: ` qChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% p6 z4 U- E& V6 ]help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet+ ~7 v) ^5 [6 w8 n% p
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& q; {( |% i3 w) p# }1 |classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
7 i- I7 x1 b+ Q( g0 l: nService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 B7 {$ p9 v! C! hChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& O; l6 F* |/ m! w$ }) y* Zaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
+ i' @( X& Y7 _3 U( k; a: i$ qChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 V- Y* A3 w# m" Pinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
. Y- Z5 r( I! u3 p; I4 l' _) w" ggrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 d' e' T# ^" l2 s- V3 x
deciding whether to take the class./ ~( n- d j* _8 A3 a' z+ A
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she6 E- p+ N7 T9 A" ^. l$ L1 c
told her daughter.+ y/ [( p1 \0 { \' t. _
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite s$ a0 N! _$ \/ x$ \
class.
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3 Z% \( |* f6 Y; Z* A# \At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 e& k( c0 }+ V% R; {( d- V
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
g0 y* \- i9 I: H: loccasional frustration.5 s6 _- z- V" t/ s# j$ q
6 W1 p' k& d. [( E! D( ]5 K2 ["Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a% {* U7 D; }9 Z2 F& u0 N
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.' J7 Y& J" P/ w; \+ o+ h% A: K
- d' Z+ Y$ o" I5 wRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 f: W6 G E" Y5 m; r% L) O
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with; c& n! n2 | W R" e; Z! k1 Q
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.) g% z; e- S" d4 g& k
& P0 G* T6 `8 E, r3 x' g"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' E- k( I5 @+ W7 q1 ?3 I A
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" x* G: O9 S+ P* k3 d9 Zas many languages as I can."7 n+ H% {2 ^$ b5 K' W
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the; F) O% }5 Z, z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" M# r! D' [ Y( k5 `; J) o" a+ c* t
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like* m4 X( j$ r# v
that," Ms. Freire said.2 K$ j `1 w4 j* D1 J0 U
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
- m8 v" }( I- U; a% m" A5 There offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
& b' u6 b. k: H( G: D8 E C1 rschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking/ ~) ]9 O8 l/ h3 [1 y! S
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
& j h8 ^) r4 ~9 t. F1 k: h/ @- Yroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer2 D" u. e: Y7 J t
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& \$ w' S9 e1 Z9 W, P
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.& j& M, [. K2 _
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ e% K: d4 }/ {) o6 Z% K1 t0 z
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,. J3 D% A7 y; E- L6 d- ^. }9 Q
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia: e9 x! O' z# j0 t1 L2 \. P9 M
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
# [6 B" x( s, p! @" _Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from$ [3 @# C, j$ n7 ]: M q+ X
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said." S2 T, Y! e5 w ~( \8 Y
( r5 C' O& Q, v3 L"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- E3 ~- }3 k6 E
own.": K% ^8 Z+ U) ^5 I- u
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