 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
5 H" K, Q8 k: LClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: K+ C& ~% [0 @6 i. U+ D# S
- s$ v3 G3 X- L
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
5 N( B, L8 d) G, Q5 N) Y8 q% c
/ R; c. f9 l: {7 @4 `& ]1 q- J1 Y) `CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the4 J) b- g, M' @. n8 i
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- G# ] C* y9 ^6 i F8 q J
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas7 I$ _; X& L E6 |( n# I* \
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
6 ?. A, @& e" i: Y7 z" B- Kflag hang from the wall.
- F' j" h7 c2 h0 O9 ?2 s( K: u. F$ O0 c, L) a6 J* S/ S4 Y+ c( s
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 O; | S' r; g9 `: f
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders: x2 R$ y! E- g, C& j
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
# |& v# ], y0 J4 @5 s9 wboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 f/ e; Y$ O' p* h, [2 V
are already choosing it over Spanish.
1 q8 W3 f0 H$ E# l
& t2 h8 y8 Z1 S B"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ {. Q' d% l* zat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! f0 E, A3 g6 ?2 noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
% ]& \. \* x6 A7 a1 d6 m, ]1 K7 E3 V7 r" V
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% }; H" N1 W# e$ p
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; k% u1 O6 P: [ m. j0 X( v( z# O3 K
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention2 f: I% T: n" |+ o
one of its most difficult to learn.
8 y* E* c: z: ^+ j: ^3 @+ v
3 `* d7 ~" S6 E- w7 ELast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, }# n/ ~2 ~2 D: C# P3 y9 V
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
+ `( ]# q4 P- U% {/ U6 n! _. ~; b9 _* Gstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 u3 K( O, y" y9 @$ dLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 I6 e0 @1 o' u# |; uTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on' U! f( D' K7 }+ D' ~* F! h
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 e R0 v4 s8 d7 ?
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
, c5 c1 ^& }1 |* b5 E1 a D: c9 m: a* J( U- \2 a$ m
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
4 _' G3 X4 }. P! ]5 GChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 @( g* _! _: r2 i
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to# s, A9 d2 U+ _: l# Y* k Z
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
/ O+ k# K+ i, J$ Scurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" p* ~1 e5 U5 S# G5 V# {+ U
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
5 m+ y; v3 `- V# I) H
7 S8 c/ B3 k; W"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
$ @/ d. `# m& J/ g4 @6 ispeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& U. ^1 W: M4 `: {! Q" I" u+ ~Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 l. f, u: U: k9 G$ A& }
can." 9 f c4 i$ P$ Y6 F* x% ~1 N/ [& t( i
4 @8 L8 t! H( I- u; n
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, a1 S& i0 `/ M! n& r1 @elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ o2 g* B1 ^1 ]8 T
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language5 B3 o4 j# V0 \9 e! q' _% N
Institute in Washington.
& r {& c. J, S
3 g r, i8 i9 q% Y$ x4 s- T"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages( ~% b" ~# l- J# b1 F
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% y! F, J4 m2 A0 yMcGinnis said.* s; b9 D* E+ y
) c8 V: x/ r" F. C"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
, H, V. t! }* Z' Alongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
2 [. x5 t8 n5 F ~9 h2 s' I! Eready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( u2 D2 ?7 q# W
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
; Y4 o( ~8 \# v& U' [1 I- Z8 X! W
8 G3 X \4 ?1 l8 LUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and( D7 N5 { N1 U8 ]# l; v
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
; N% z( G R. C0 W' ecities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! a3 ^' M2 ?" e) |4 CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ V. j" {- ^ t! hon weekends.
, }* G' Q7 `4 f
6 B" S3 ~1 T7 c. Z7 OThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" x" @$ S8 I3 b- B* W! bschools during the regular school day and primarily serves- Y+ [# ~) s% e4 i# V+ r( O
students who are not of Chinese descent.
% T d( j K' o% S* j0 H
9 P+ E& ]) h b; T0 |3 @Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" N& c, L. S- q5 n4 sproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
4 y; a7 z+ P, c1 d, u( dcompetition. 1 G/ E. I: h# L$ {6 a
. y& J3 n" \+ `6 \- }
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 O0 j' ~0 a4 V9 I/ Jsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
: }. g+ j: T0 z
V' C4 X: G1 q- ]2 u" X/ AFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ E" X1 v/ C& X3 \( Y5 K0 Yall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
; R! r& X. }: t8 w S$ O; I+ xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from4 \ A" ~0 b5 H& L5 Z' r* ~
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, v3 r5 J1 p5 x* S6 d' ]$ g9 l/ Rwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
7 T" O' u9 r k/ j; V0 J5 A2 othe school system last year./ |4 C# X, l- Z/ S3 j; W- ~
j6 q6 q1 O2 n7 X
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
+ \( x- S9 F; m+ Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- g) _# C+ q& z. D( |
2 Y" T7 ]8 G; R8 s/ t9 x
"They have a great international experience right in their own% C4 T( C! [, H5 c5 j
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago7 w& l5 B& P% ?3 _, u( b3 Z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 e! U) i, Z, D: t
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
% Z# i4 y. x% V/ W. ?+ q+ B- von an equal playing field."
" T! H! [* Z4 a5 k! K9 J. X( a3 v9 }1 J3 Y
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese( c3 _" H; G! a; X0 Y$ m8 h
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign) T& c& g; M/ f( s
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 b' m- k' d& SChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 v8 ~4 @4 Y: kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 X* T6 S* f! }! r
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 N% n4 K2 J$ t7 F4 N; g* \; h9 Yinstitute says., P) \, h" ^1 [: u! C$ _1 y
" M& _5 o+ n' {+ J
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* o) j( p. ?# L5 Z- c; Rgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 e4 `6 I/ X: {
deciding whether to take the class.
2 m8 _9 B! h3 ]4 k- S$ m) `
( Y+ n% \1 s! |3 s- U2 f$ s"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) ^: ?6 w" W7 d2 u5 H3 h2 Atold her daughter.; k+ ~' I7 A# ]( e' Y
- r8 ^+ s% _# e+ X2 e$ l
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 m2 ?+ ^; i5 n M( Lclass.! X, F& N D, w8 [& `* e4 D7 ]7 z
1 h7 O: E0 g9 `. G
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 g: [$ t" G: K/ i' \% i" c- {
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 d- |( U9 C h0 ]! s* J2 L* Y& ~occasional frustration.
% o% ~% ~' L( e5 x. C3 w; G$ `( W6 \1 ?5 R: \( E+ ^7 n/ V7 a
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a7 T. t, D* f4 B/ _+ f' x& a4 j) A
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( k6 y9 i+ }2 O% L" g0 r
& M) r, ~) S W/ q8 PRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 U s% m- [4 Gtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 k4 f3 a" R8 P! f, z1 AChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
) o9 P; U- {; `" u. s e& }( M. G! e9 Q. E
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ z! u' T6 X' S) k% \( D& A2 A& H
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
A' a1 ]1 u5 f6 {" N8 ]% w+ gas many languages as I can."
# N% b! y( ^. w4 \" u4 s
; w% R( R0 p$ A" k+ A) cAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the# l) f' W4 R [. d$ D6 @: j1 w
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job! o# S: W& }7 S1 D8 {
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& ~3 G B' }: H1 q. a! Q
that," Ms. Freire said.9 P5 |* u2 j9 L; Q9 R& ?" p) b2 T
0 Z/ Z6 L( `. j( _0 |9 zMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program9 b5 `* t5 b0 B9 Y+ X7 V
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 Z# L% Q$ R- u& l
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
$ N7 I0 m" E2 }/ W, Mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
& {* s7 M* x uroom.. t% G# r; @& s! W% ]
. n0 h4 m) W; _! z. ~
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer& R+ P3 g8 x( ?8 @/ P& j% O* ^
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, i6 E! `) n1 M4 {6 Icollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
; Y( H- I0 h4 k+ p E: w/ r% H& F7 y: x7 [ Z2 X
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified' T& r: J& | ^! @$ o" m
because of that missing certification," he said.
) }1 b% z( p& G; r% G) o" P8 W. B- M& p- g) U/ N1 X" S
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,5 ]& F4 D' `" m( M
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
' h' U" X% P+ _% N: W; S: rSociety in New York.
6 j, u3 g. f# n3 f
# p! Y5 j! D$ @Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ D$ Y9 N+ v' { A/ Z0 r; G" |8 l
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( n- S1 A, Q% wthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
}1 w2 g9 \; _# I$ s
/ }0 v3 t6 U8 c% M# Q"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our7 Y) u3 ]$ d( l2 i' V
own."
$ R$ }7 Z6 O* M5 f8 ^% _, k9 H) D$ d% }7 j6 l/ |
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|