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October 15, 2005
- r7 o4 m5 r/ k/ r+ M+ zClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: k6 {3 C z* B, \8 }, S+ i o
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING" x$ ^: c9 M8 F s
1 w( b3 z# C" u7 V" CCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; D( E; o% U3 k. l7 x* L1 IUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
/ ]5 z0 S; i4 u. ]School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas8 Z2 V) [, m3 ?. A
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
. x( {5 G7 _6 ~- v2 oflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" l" w$ ~ Y0 d9 P% }
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 f/ w9 y1 i) A1 y1 I
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
" H& P' ]0 t i0 e: F$ kboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 X$ T/ U% s2 X" u) _- g, _" N1 i
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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9 M2 Y8 n7 S. D: P% G. a. \. H& `"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal7 w3 U) |- v s( u# \" ~
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
2 a$ f+ }' l) O' T4 w3 Roffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.", j* s3 ^8 [! V) a2 w: [
% u: y' h# ?0 }3 `/ aWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,. m' N; T7 }$ F: I# m7 b
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
; x' Y) m* v! {6 X( U' ito include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
; U6 U$ c% O% _' Y$ wone of its most difficult to learn.- Y- o$ m' `$ d5 ]& \! o
- T5 ? M: M# J" _0 _4 P3 h/ wLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ O& M8 T( u( l/ w
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students1 }& i8 q( e; f, @
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: s1 E8 b3 D0 k& U$ q( `Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" R6 r2 B: _5 r3 v& k
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
% j3 I5 g2 {2 L- U( O" BChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to! w- D5 u7 c% h2 a! ^
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement* a( j* X- }, N- Q3 A
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country: Q1 V& h3 D7 X3 j J$ o
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: V# T1 F, T' d* K' N; V
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
4 f* i" p/ c0 hcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. {4 x* Q2 D+ N& zof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
2 j) ^0 |& p7 C- P0 I7 {' Mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education3 b' N t$ X& z6 d3 M
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
) Z* o' g8 Q$ H. ~# @$ ^can."
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0 U# q& Q0 z3 \8 K4 |$ i+ NThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: S) v: f9 C. Velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 e# E" @3 V+ o R$ iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language- s) Z- L" L9 h
Institute in Washington.2 C' `- o. ~* J8 _" Q. d0 L; {
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& z1 X% s6 T% G/ P. w' aaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; w2 v7 h6 J) ?. |8 j s @McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
4 y6 J) q. b" e l$ H" B* |longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be2 B1 E& d/ k; e; W2 e3 A/ J
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 q( V4 ~* j5 c! t1 Mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ G5 ?- j8 ~- j# x8 y
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
7 R. W4 ~! |6 p' C* Z6 ?( h" ]secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 |5 f" ]) {2 c2 b
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of0 a$ u) m$ e% z& b
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 U1 l1 [* ~6 k2 v7 a/ _on weekends.' X5 E- H' B9 D
3 B/ B$ C8 `! I+ D6 pThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: [* O( A6 _, F2 jschools during the regular school day and primarily serves1 t3 Q' C1 J* v" T
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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4 p; c1 f' A, }" g5 b5 ?; }/ lMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 E J, I: E* t6 N: [) F; ?proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the/ v$ z1 N- ^5 n
competition. 0 o. Y# t* V$ \! v4 Z+ G
) H$ R2 i0 U% M2 k3 P"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 {" A% |5 p; U$ z' U2 j/ k) J7 R) hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly: p* H# o% e: @7 ~& `/ |* h- N
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 T; e. J* @7 O# [1 F) _
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 m: O. O5 e1 n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students. c% `0 I& F' e0 p6 c1 s
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- ~& k3 V. P+ sthe school system last year.
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1 Q* P' E1 a( w hThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this* K! E2 u. V u! J5 D
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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$ K9 v- ^ l$ d, x( Q" Q"They have a great international experience right in their own
* y/ e& v' R( m- q! Pclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago( P1 a0 Z M0 Y! ?! i6 h
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to( m+ p2 l4 Q" V
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 R/ _6 w5 x" w. W4 U
on an equal playing field." g& I# r* n+ U9 F
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 ~) N: U3 H7 J7 G3 j' tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign: t" J" r. o9 R/ x: O2 {
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks t5 a& x: |9 R$ D. S$ o+ c: o+ j
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An, c* p5 e; u" R- y, I5 G
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" W# x1 o3 B ?' b" X! w1 B( DChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! o6 L" t& w1 m; E* C9 h; b
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
. b2 o" U; J: z: q( q2 N [grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ D* Q9 S. j# Z; H" a8 E8 w5 `* sdeciding whether to take the class.) r, v4 L, w9 \7 f/ O7 y
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
$ u' Z0 Y/ g5 l' X2 [; ntold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& v8 L, D) r) w0 f4 Z
class., {1 b6 g0 E0 E9 T5 A
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 s! K# j; U, ~6 W2 E% ?; Rstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 Q) x8 `9 a% B: yoccasional frustration.
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+ z, \* R; L4 B) E, u- P8 ]- F! J"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a' I( b+ ^* M, F7 M/ ~) o
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 t2 r7 M4 S6 I8 @2 L( n4 F( i+ L
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with) c7 e6 s5 N/ A7 W F
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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2 x" \; M: k6 s0 I"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul: d/ b, q$ \" |+ s2 g" s
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
) r* y1 O* j1 c1 V1 I4 J' Las many languages as I can."$ ~ W7 W+ X- J9 N2 N9 B3 Y& s- t
4 v) A" @( T* g9 \) S5 H+ n0 b- bAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
! m' C0 r0 r( S5 P, P! yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job/ @/ W9 z! N! p. c5 ]' e& P1 ^# m+ i
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 z9 V$ f- i: N ^ ]# W& s. W, Y
that," Ms. Freire said.2 o0 ^ Y" R8 f- |
3 g( j+ v) R- }2 m% M1 k2 HMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program8 a2 ?# e3 A5 N; y7 t% ~% \0 v
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 l' R2 n+ L9 a; `# T& i
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking j8 |9 Z. j/ \* f9 h U
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make# V4 o1 H* [" P' V* E$ u |
room.! z, t/ t0 O8 j2 k/ `9 v6 z
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 m6 |' ?: X k9 v$ S
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! J9 ]+ u9 c% y4 r/ K) F+ zcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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6 k# E1 i3 V# h3 r7 o; F"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified7 _2 L2 L! h* O/ q- t+ C
because of that missing certification," he said.
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5 l& _8 P6 r! v7 p4 B* f& n$ i* SThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,$ n S2 A$ J* r
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) t4 V: o) L1 D# z; kSociety in New York.$ ]$ B" H' Q1 f% I" v& R! S# j
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the) q5 r9 f+ \& w! H2 K
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: G9 J# Y' i4 n
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 T; m5 p. P) Y/ b, y
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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. n0 L! r7 `; ^6 C9 k! Z' v x$ s; z( YCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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