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October 15, 2005
$ |* I2 d+ u2 X1 k4 |Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% T8 f: t% ?% x$ ]
- o6 D6 r7 x% S) VBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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- P4 d0 o" u$ B. _# p# g6 E% a) NCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the) x& V6 C7 H& M P
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary) g a' p l0 G! ]4 j" b5 D
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ T: n5 H" r4 x
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
! H: T0 ~/ s# t7 W2 iflag hang from the wall. L$ B2 }( d Q8 v: o, U
7 J. D2 b7 X7 @" i: `) J+ ]One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. s) g N! K2 e
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
" A! Y! _% w5 Y0 r3 Ppracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 r* I; v# M! bboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
' @6 x8 Y8 y# l8 k7 kare already choosing it over Spanish.
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. y7 N( l6 ^3 \"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 q; a% i' G* p5 V- \at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city# a8 {/ O3 i- p0 v
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."3 s* y! c3 R. i+ O1 `# K+ y" p
6 H& V+ S( o) o6 ~1 N' p l) l. c) AWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
) j! y2 J" U a# ~, O) H+ Aschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
: u3 D' c s. ?to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- _# I( M1 {" Pone of its most difficult to learn.
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0 T t7 P" s" N X( G' A4 P8 QLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
+ m* R2 e$ A$ Gpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
+ l0 V5 R8 U2 ^studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ B/ X8 i H, G6 v
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! v( ~" x2 c1 i8 v" I( R$ N5 D1 UTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- {, l, J; l4 D; w$ u% A( O" o% j, \Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 r4 H( V# A1 X- m1 Limprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.# ]0 R$ D! F4 U. J4 W
: d2 F2 H# K( pAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
. b4 b" M" b' P) F3 {Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
# H8 p, A8 l5 M: p" P6 r" rstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
3 X6 G9 F" N- ~9 j8 R0 @2 t5 Mdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 ?8 f6 A) t: v% M* Xcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 ^: b3 C+ \$ r. E* ~7 m+ D4 ^of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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. @1 P9 ], k, w* E' @9 P0 T"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! K) i2 J" v% t3 T5 G/ F" Z% L9 cspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
) \/ S5 z4 D7 k; C6 z5 jConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ |* `3 J: L! y- ]
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 F+ o) r! P x D9 [0 ~
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 109 x% K, N- \$ t6 Z* w
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language# e3 r6 l8 }& @9 o6 F" s! b6 q/ k
Institute in Washington.
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4 j' ~; n: d( f9 h t5 L5 X+ F"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* R! L. N2 W# n5 Z/ f
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ y0 y! N9 v) M+ q0 {McGinnis said.
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8 v2 {& y! I. m8 c$ g0 j"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ b g* ]8 ~4 B1 c' R
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ J2 m$ g6 ^7 R. d4 c+ m
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# Z* A+ p" M5 H% X2 k5 L
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."- a" _' f1 q' I
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% b9 H/ v _* `6 R5 J5 o. O
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
4 ^) n, R: Z) \. v7 J/ F% @( icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of& ]$ i7 l) R- o- D% }
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
' q3 Y' _! r3 pon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* H0 f# y" M: M
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
8 }/ _3 S' | R5 v4 ]$ Y) @3 r& mstudents who are not of Chinese descent.& W% B% ~5 m: R5 a
) F& }6 T% T+ t* @- e* rMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said6 E, ?& N6 G2 G* d1 H, c. p
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 G, D- M2 P$ o, M* s5 e, @
competition. 7 S9 j% F, Z6 \9 w- ]
4 B$ ]( N" ]9 e- V* E"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley f* U" ~# l' P) f; t) `$ I! `6 v( F6 ^
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly% I/ g K$ L( p- ?! |
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse, j- e6 v. q# l
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from0 K0 v& w% ?9 [$ h" ^
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
5 ^, } P' ^9 [' }# T" G/ Mwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
# q( R1 X2 t6 G( m+ n! cthe school system last year.
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/ ]: D0 ^. s) i5 Z" U& M! l0 ~/ qThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
5 }2 A& ]9 W! h4 Gyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own4 ~8 b4 i% Y$ S i( i" [& p9 T
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
: K" g: H+ v7 O* f' o3 E. Z ]Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to& Q& Z; F, E# N# K; b8 j
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
3 _1 U$ W; S) H1 w' Son an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese) Y' k, ^5 ]5 i
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ y* w# t0 v- o: d/ o/ lService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks, p* Y& B* M2 Y* B
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An. m% k0 S3 ]6 p% a
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
& e/ G1 K1 b9 H5 ^) W/ PChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
4 U9 ?& {. i) Z( o7 g R1 t- J/ {* Zinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth4 {$ V) _ u! Y9 |3 m
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; z, `* j* z) d o/ Sdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she+ \4 `& @7 |( ^% v/ Q U
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite; c) A& B% S5 ~2 b
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
# i N U1 T, ostudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without; L' W: L, M9 b, T0 z/ h( y
occasional frustration.
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" M- P# _8 e0 a+ Z, y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 u( j7 y: Z8 N9 [3 X) P' r
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.7 ~& F% o+ c) F) H/ T
+ Q+ i, q3 t9 y/ h8 R6 g, m$ L' ^' yRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he% {- \& V5 ^7 f2 }
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
* V3 q* w' S/ |. J5 J) pChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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0 i( `5 A; o2 I2 F7 g) S$ j& l: E8 Y( d- m"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
3 y3 W8 a5 W+ }: q1 V1 @. W" Isaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn9 O& Y* g. n) p- b, b. ]% Y
as many languages as I can."/ _; t" g" K" L2 B- s* a( V+ w9 C
3 q ~) V: \# A8 J* g. Z; c5 p$ YAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
, ^' L" b' k" gskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 K* _& m. j, U! j- H; emarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 R# p# D' S2 o ^4 s7 d. Kthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
4 v% `! c% y9 c& ahere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* Q2 v0 Y# [$ N' A! F
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 u+ j) J* t4 Z2 y& Z$ F) ]8 O1 Ytime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
! c, H) ~& t# Y7 b. `) U3 W1 h! Z2 ~room.
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$ F; Y5 g$ D' @/ RChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer2 ` M p( r$ L/ N) D' P4 f
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* U) c# |. i& R1 U$ `; d& `! _
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! y* B6 \7 ^( u c6 w+ i
because of that missing certification," he said.
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! V+ i" \+ f% ?; uThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,+ D1 A5 R! ]) ^* B: f6 e- d! S
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia3 E0 U' k; o2 B& d, Q, t1 _) F
Society in New York.) G, Q: g3 Q# C) i
1 v6 C' A1 I5 C! w' Z( tSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
7 H* `$ l+ u3 g0 Z7 k; rChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- W) w7 b7 f( h; e7 E0 |the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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- i+ X0 T% f8 G; l7 p1 `"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 I: I' E: C9 N. P" O, x
own."9 F- `8 V6 M0 W7 {5 y1 Q. {3 B
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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