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October 15, 2005# j1 p1 B7 I4 m; ~+ _0 E* r
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; |& o3 A# l4 ]) e5 J8 b% a3 JUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
7 l% i9 b* V' M+ ?! lSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
+ d+ Q8 p7 u# h* t/ \% cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
: v! V. I( {$ r, D* k" {flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
+ f; q7 _9 y4 c* O, M" lanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
5 y% `) T, g$ Spracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
7 b) t2 z* i3 z+ p) {boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students8 Y8 n6 _4 F( r
are already choosing it over Spanish.& i s' |1 X4 D- [+ c
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; e8 |4 Y; K4 p" ?3 ]at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city" s' B- ^$ B+ D( p
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 d5 g# `1 S1 M4 y0 f" ?
6 z# B1 n; G0 @' Q/ VWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
_' X3 [( j: O6 @) @schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# e- F6 m, I+ w& I( a$ p3 f
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 Q Q. P% [" I9 W3 t
one of its most difficult to learn.. e3 L# l9 E. e. J% X: Q' m6 k C p
1 e' D- _9 @9 x* W* H8 r( {9 qLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to6 m T5 F! z9 A1 ]; \
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students1 N- @1 a w7 E* u. S1 J6 y
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 O7 d) ^0 a: L. X
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of, [; w) c: ]7 z# T: Y% G! i+ V5 v
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- M- s5 ?* j3 oChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% \! g `4 I0 r+ Vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* p0 j& O/ \5 m) S- m _
% @4 d5 ^/ }$ M+ b8 @4 X; Q: CAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement( x/ J- ]$ R. Z1 y: C
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country8 }5 ] U) Z+ Y/ {, V8 g. |
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 R e5 l7 U4 g# e3 Q% |) C) V
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
0 N' W5 _1 t. V3 j' B |curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
* M. ~, O( o. @0 J8 W/ Z8 rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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0 I6 B& v4 S# ]"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, g8 n' t2 f3 M7 M) t9 d5 p h
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
5 C& G5 n* z7 R! y5 ?. H5 ]Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 }# l- {% L9 L; I3 hcan." ) H, t# S) b; r$ H8 G! I
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. a$ Z/ |) h, k4 q0 [: u1 Melementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10& U, h1 V6 _# C: j$ @% o# H
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) e. G! h! M- v6 y$ ?, c: P, Y5 q
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages& X3 {/ i. m+ e( x
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 W0 B" f" ]5 p' `
McGinnis said.
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0 L! u. d4 L2 X E& E8 w"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; d0 d* L0 h5 q/ e4 c) Jlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be2 I8 q( _- w2 U& ^5 a
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 s0 }5 l1 M1 n* uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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1 W5 \- {/ {/ E2 N$ r y1 W7 Y, _* CUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% q7 @: q8 W4 P; L: m$ Gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# |8 I4 `+ p) d Rcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' P+ [2 [, z) D; ` H6 R$ Q6 gChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ k N0 V. }: b% ?9 ~( c
on weekends.% o5 \! [: ^& m8 S& v) G" t
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" A' R3 b9 Y4 T8 `( L4 _# tschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
% O' n6 l( ?0 }! y. E; \% ostudents who are not of Chinese descent.: R5 I3 }! ?2 ]- q" C& j3 e R
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; S5 Q- N% l8 q. M. U8 j+ C Wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* }: g/ v$ \/ \: C9 z# M" _
competition. 6 _/ \7 B5 [/ s# v5 O: i
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, G6 H3 g. D4 T9 T; b1 Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 K6 S# U/ ^' v6 y% O# s. [7 A; \all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
2 n$ A6 [7 t2 B% I* N O& Mschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 x- W$ R- x' p# C7 Q
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 \4 Z3 c) T: A! V: y2 e
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to! r, X0 p y: ^* \ a; z
the school system last year.
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4 f0 B- }. H5 p) M3 vThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this" `6 y2 z1 L8 b4 Z; C
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- s% ]+ `' S$ Y9 Q* n* r
) [3 E6 {$ |- ~* t, i N" g5 A"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 B7 d* a5 G2 h/ E5 c4 X0 }classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago7 `2 C) L% K& ^2 l/ v) f: M
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 ]' Y% Y, [- b0 e* u/ g0 m) ~; T
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
+ @. p; h% D9 e9 H8 m( [on an equal playing field."
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3 @5 L( L) i( u) b" USome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
1 J, z& t" T: ?: j& U- |- T0 M/ iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
( c X8 }/ \6 f2 w* I: ?Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 |( m3 ~. t6 H" c# nChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An& U ?0 ^' U# C6 X6 r! \/ U
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
0 I' [& K0 b8 t0 k* K1 lChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
4 p2 a2 P4 p+ Z1 ~" x; cinstitute says.9 [1 d) E* F8 V9 v( [, {
: U* ^- d! _/ y4 q( ~8 bSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# C( M9 Z0 _8 I) n' w3 D# Q: B* ^grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 N8 J0 _! M, ^
deciding whether to take the class.$ @' u) g" n" x( s2 C; G
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she! v6 X; H! w$ J3 a' H
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
6 j6 j4 ^! Q0 N9 G* Fclass.
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% j. U I0 U5 P+ `5 ?3 D* pAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 g* ~ ~) H: r8 w% s' A
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without, [& H; o2 i' o
occasional frustration.
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) B+ o# s+ P$ P4 n"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ I! R5 z& x |* }% L {4 b0 @% h
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 V% G/ J q& g/ `6 ~% I2 _+ _2 V
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
" B- B- l( F+ i4 p3 W! btaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ Y9 R' W; u9 D) v6 W2 z" [Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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6 U) Z! x* A5 o. R" s"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
( u0 l, u$ G6 Q: p1 r" ^said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn$ x* N* r/ c! I( _7 s1 Z
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the+ A& S, j& d2 d9 r% X
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job' Y! p1 P: e/ D/ t, }' z4 t
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, Y3 v8 D3 z9 g5 n
that," Ms. Freire said.
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& v4 H! z" E L. C oMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, `8 h+ N) I2 g$ p
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each& g/ u- x$ h) P- o
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
/ S: E& I3 k6 b) Dtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make7 I; ]3 A; Q5 W1 o5 j2 b
room.+ {6 V( j5 w! S
# c* v; V9 U) u c/ fChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 {# s1 \# a. R& `- i: S9 f
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
8 X& ]8 C+ _8 ~( X7 D Ecollege, 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( J( i# [3 }2 v% W0 `( z
because of that missing certification," he said.8 h3 b" s! i' P( J- R4 R5 T
( f2 O3 s7 B s& H; _3 e$ r: ^+ z0 g0 aThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
. U, C U$ w! T( rsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) }( o' b; I) [7 ^
Society in New York.
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. T2 Y( P7 F6 }Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
( A: v Q2 p6 Y- X/ zChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
: ]7 s+ @; D/ S4 W7 j! s: f& d+ o8 @the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 N* b ^9 N* t
own."- t& O" g8 U; N2 q' M
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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