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October 15, 2005& E$ `; ^5 K( ^. P6 k
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% P- V) C5 t2 N
8 b% A' K/ q4 D, E+ JBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ P9 I7 G" `: s5 @1 ?
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
" R4 K! ~: O; c& o( |United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
0 k% d, V4 M8 B, }' uSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
. f3 ~1 b' R$ ?" Y* E x6 @# xdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
. o/ y* v$ E: @3 |flag hang from the wall.2 S, C! v- ~ w3 j, R/ `
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, y0 C9 j3 A; | l0 h6 c0 I
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders f$ N& h2 @/ r
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker' h+ f5 K" [2 k- `% q
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students0 `' O0 F) g y
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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( S% i- Q* |3 G! O9 Z3 x/ g. l"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal* }( m% C: d, t7 d# S9 K7 P, y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 B0 S" j% d6 G
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."; ]2 J1 C* L* @: q* _% `, H
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
5 ], a: }& U* e, v% ~5 O1 Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings: i1 m( D5 @+ m+ W) ^' W" a
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention3 W8 ^9 W |, x* z6 b
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 p9 s4 ~2 g: a d% {: T1 S) ~' Ppublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- Y7 C- @; S9 |; ?studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
) k$ T% p. R6 E' p$ Q6 LLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 V. n/ x) W. _: K+ r% }' `9 u
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. x' O3 X' f8 Z. G, T. KChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ ]0 i8 h( l& `6 c, x; wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.- }1 d3 e) z9 \% x
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 S. x5 D- ] R ^8 r3 E3 t
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
2 i! n6 P9 h5 V9 i vstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) P( |9 ?3 v0 A5 V1 a
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
: x4 ]$ {% u# G* H7 Xcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
% Z; }/ w3 X% L7 L! H6 Dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.8 R$ t2 _* ^# i- ^" \: D
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 z5 a$ q0 G! w! \# O7 P
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education Y! m8 ]' u& ?* q: Z- T. H! L! D/ A
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we* |# S! u8 f! A) [) o* g
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from' ^! }4 ^# S7 x0 X0 b
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 r) n+ q9 M( L- z
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
O+ Y( X' l* S0 wInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
5 n U1 E' T- _; k' a5 b* e0 Karen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 w5 E& ?* s7 F! F* N' A: {McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical" j+ b- A: X( A- {/ r
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 C( w) Y* M; N! V, Y+ Mready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
+ x, b f8 I7 c; x7 ^8 Z g" Tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! N0 p' d, z/ K; T
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# P4 o: H2 ?" T$ P& @5 Dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* R2 t5 I% F' I$ jcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of" U- l1 p' |9 Q4 R# B
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or$ ~. g- j& ^/ Z# f$ `
on weekends.
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! h! z V+ T5 |3 E) ?8 R" `The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public) A- O! G/ c& p* v+ U9 G' _; |/ g9 T
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
& O U0 s' `- [! O! tstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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& q" U; \! k6 W$ L) _: B3 iMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
$ q6 z1 D2 L. U& O0 o, u% \proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the6 y7 X- ?8 x0 O1 p; b8 _
competition.
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$ F) @2 q% `2 e"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 @# y, }1 F+ R, B( Z' S
said. "There will be Chinese and English."% `& I- O+ U# S# e! D* |
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly& F, W0 V; D3 O$ ?
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
( x% Q) E" c: {9 L# p+ ?schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
q* c+ ~3 U& @8 m u& F4 ~kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 A( n2 G b9 P" Q4 Y2 i
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& r; g+ j& n2 m; _the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 t/ P3 Z. g. r f# \year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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$ q. v) W7 q% E( _( v8 G+ w3 V9 @"They have a great international experience right in their own
1 L0 N- |+ a/ l* Iclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago: v( I* A0 `# u* Q0 z0 w7 b, q* i
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to# j4 _0 Z, P# a" f2 C
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
5 n R" u; P( f* e9 p+ Con an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
' ]/ V; o9 a5 T! j( ]) ]( rclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. |4 t8 k: G9 a' v6 t
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
# K3 u8 {& Y, r$ s) G: j0 cChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
t4 Y8 ]' i5 j: w3 T8 Yaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" @, l, |' ~/ |4 h" Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the4 }, c$ N. Y) m) O5 m8 M
institute says.& g4 @% Z9 T2 \; J% m) c; _' { x3 Y3 G
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
, D" U; ?8 z+ hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before9 Q/ k) V! V$ z1 D7 p) N9 ]
deciding whether to take the class. t5 O3 }, B; A5 j _
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
8 t0 c% p$ q$ E* R2 \told her daughter.# W; O6 k# K- ~& H& T) C
' Y/ O$ U* ?4 a U$ n0 N2 hSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ s; v: h. g7 p2 S6 W
class., ^ g8 |/ B$ M, V) ]
7 J% q4 p) B+ i* M# }! o" ^At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 C$ G5 z! {' p
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: \! g4 p* ?5 x) a* m
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
* m% G9 E' V: F2 G4 o) ^9 vrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class., F8 f( l; f/ j
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 k; K$ z+ t w7 x
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! ?* a' F- z K, ~8 D1 sChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works., b f. P. c ]
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
0 W5 o- `! q% l- M% isaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& |+ \* N' _2 k6 N! ?5 I! ?as many languages as I can."
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$ p, I% E9 b8 k( l7 EAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the4 ^, r1 `" L6 p2 W
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job1 O* g+ _, [7 X' @
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
# J! B- ~" K9 ^2 m1 Tthat," Ms. Freire said.4 y1 A9 F! @; H5 @ J# ]
7 J% ]' s; v2 F* IMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, ~" V8 @( }" `' e) U/ v2 where offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ n* Y7 t5 Y( r2 m/ s2 z; f
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking' }; o: T$ m% @$ a, m. @) Y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
. G2 a8 E, |/ f/ [& xroom.& G$ o/ U1 h# |5 o7 f( J* t! J: @
" }+ h" _7 ]+ p r+ I8 uChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* @7 J6 d9 o& n7 p
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 p8 A D8 m4 G( p! z V
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' t/ A- g3 o( q4 l% [0 q+ P# N& q! \because of that missing certification," he said.) W, w! A9 n/ w- D8 T. K; _
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ N/ |& b, q, ^' h2 s- h
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
1 p( \ Z5 @ K4 {Society in New York.; I8 h& n" b$ P6 T
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
4 g* l. {" ~8 r7 TChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
) m- z# u: U' z, |# Fthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: z* K8 P+ {1 a9 Z: H% R
- C, A8 I+ S+ f) W" {7 Q"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: V# Q3 v. A- e; Y0 W/ ]
own."$ U- ^7 D9 q& n3 K
: v$ p9 ]0 q* E q) NCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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