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October 15, 2005
4 L# [: L/ }$ p+ DClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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6 Q* l& k# H; z: O7 cBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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! B G; c. I0 v8 }! C5 p. ZCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the0 ]' ]1 M0 u& X9 p+ N
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- p2 N d% c6 D( }* ^
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* b9 X' A2 F% {+ i- adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese ^- M! n7 l7 H; Y" G: \
flag hang from the wall.
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' n C- f7 |) K9 M- b) J- bOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ Q, \, a0 l3 y* M+ Q+ B
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' h7 S7 F/ e, Q9 V
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
0 ~' L- {. Q) Z+ V% C7 o# hboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students: s w& U3 t( a8 F7 ^7 A* i" v
are already choosing it over Spanish.1 u5 ^' e g/ r X) @) T/ K3 [
6 m7 U! {$ F# L6 z, n"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
0 B/ s% n* N: F* W8 P+ D4 a# ]at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
% @" w* }' a& W6 koffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: E9 z% j! Z) e
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 f% l" a" S" oto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 k: K, H4 U6 [one of its most difficult to learn.8 q) q7 o5 n) P* |
( K' _% A/ T3 n$ [2 `3 gLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# I: _5 e* \' D& ~1 |6 h
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% X$ v& b1 \ Y. S( x. S
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& d+ G$ q. O8 i7 y: @Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ v, |+ }+ D# ], @7 Q2 j, q
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' C& ~, E& g; [) r, D5 RChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 K2 Y6 i$ c( }# z3 Z Mimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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7 T$ d6 O5 i. @/ Q- eAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
+ C5 e# W' Y8 `7 Y, m5 `Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 J. [& ?2 M6 |starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: z U: {* b7 `7 Z: n2 Hdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
( o+ n1 x( ^, k% a# d3 tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director1 U9 h" d% }8 _$ T7 P- i
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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2 K0 k3 t& l- x& l9 z$ C: P"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. B; c; s% I$ n- ^2 ^0 K! d/ P
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education* V8 |' N$ S+ @
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
& a. A5 C( _& }/ y; {can."
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& Q# |$ m1 `+ s! h7 uThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from" o/ K2 Y: _7 P6 E
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ {0 j) w# s* m6 `' `years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
. m% m" [; g9 ]7 u- C' _! [Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages& I: Y: V6 \6 @6 ~/ G/ m: ~
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.) U5 q& }8 a9 V' v- s: G
McGinnis said.* M8 _; m, c( J: b
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 F& g( l, C2 C# alongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
6 J/ y7 H# i9 l$ T5 F. x0 I8 Qready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a7 a8 D* S$ M; L7 ?5 C
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and" J5 Z/ }% }- w$ x7 {7 O
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
8 {# i; V) h1 ycities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
$ o, S2 M2 }4 i; A \1 OChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
! A& L0 r) v* F0 a& W$ k) J% Gon weekends.1 u2 @. y" |4 D" b' W
& v! g; w' ~" u- o% E/ v3 t% W/ [The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public; n- ]" E5 ~* i# r; ?3 [
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves7 j( k2 P0 J9 B4 r l" k8 d
students who are not of Chinese descent.2 K+ _: T# N. G, }' S' d
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ X' e+ p4 r# g
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# K. v$ T6 i. h
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley3 {& t6 u& y1 a9 q! r# [# O7 n0 w$ n
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 D8 H- F' m% `. Z' o7 T' h+ T
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
& ?- p# t0 N( S: ~1 Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
2 n/ E2 d$ x+ p+ g4 {kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ j0 }: J' x) z* h- Y/ ]who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 q: z9 h; r$ m2 v, c: n. othe school system last year.
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3 ?: |4 [8 K* i; h* A: |) [The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this7 z0 b; ~ M- _3 J/ @& [
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.7 q$ W0 Z# k9 e
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 O( j0 ^2 M& w! ~classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago# K" E0 D6 e1 C. J
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to, }/ g/ b- r" D
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* e: t3 |) Y7 ~
on an equal playing field."7 m$ @6 ~7 j; j J3 H( E- ^
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 ]2 T4 o+ v' Nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign* W2 Z! F, [) N1 i
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks2 ^9 ?3 k5 g" F' I
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
: j, A, B7 R: Y; G+ M0 U/ t% Taverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ P: L8 W) M& [2 RChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! Z9 J+ _* j, P! } hinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth, ]* c) H) }& b# @! C
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ k* T' z5 ?9 d5 N
deciding whether to take the class.* G8 X( g! h+ Q s' Y
" e: X$ [7 W2 }0 c* L r+ f$ w"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she9 q4 e, W% @- K' v" j9 p$ p; U- s
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite% B9 Y( n. t0 S! \7 H- P
class.- y7 J4 G6 e: v1 `& n' ]9 [) f
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& G9 G! ^2 G( h; A! h
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
% d. \6 f0 n/ @/ X, _+ ^- M1 toccasional frustration. f e) q; S1 l/ _
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a' k, }, t$ x+ ]5 W" [- ?
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.$ J4 Z0 ?9 b' o( \5 J6 o# O
* S0 D+ b5 S# C6 E/ a4 dRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he; {: f+ i7 C! _ B7 D y: D
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
1 Z2 X' d: q$ Q+ |Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul- V% L9 ^; [& L) S6 E6 u+ _, o
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- ~- a, Z; A9 p. v8 F9 r* a7 ]as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: b# V( e- s+ xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job/ F. B2 q. ]& K$ Y# k4 J5 m
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like. k, [6 u+ L- O$ Z5 r: H2 R9 e% U
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
8 S$ E' R5 Y- Yhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each, C7 B$ G* @" g' i
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: B. d* g' C. i0 O9 etime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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! F+ c7 o3 z9 y2 z& D, i9 u9 eChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 h! V# j# \) q$ q$ U: h. Q* \
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 _9 M% ^( A: d* F0 n) q* k
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.+ a9 p, P; Y5 ~8 t+ ^- E0 |
2 H, s. o `0 |3 ["It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified+ T6 r, q& V) `9 \9 Q1 a& X/ k& u
because of that missing certification," he said.6 C7 e8 f. u, T4 U( A5 Y
7 a' b8 V9 K' f+ ]4 }- E# kThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,4 k# J1 O l* {( A: |: j
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( c8 h* K# ?# G" u* a8 V1 Z
Society in New York. Q+ z; P( E8 i. {% d4 V
% h8 Y, q/ I' ~) x, n" ~Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
* U. V' n5 ^$ mChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 q5 z0 R9 e: [( ?/ x
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
$ {2 H+ s3 g3 Wown."4 \5 c& a8 h# k+ n$ h" h) J" Z
+ F) Y9 r7 ~& PCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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