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October 15, 2005+ x; ^/ ]5 Y% M9 {, j) [6 C9 j7 w
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% Z6 @ O `, n3 z& V6 s' X
( y- G! @+ F1 ~. ~3 `By GRETCHEN RUETHLING* @" h5 T- @8 x3 Y0 n; M
' o/ l H- O0 ~8 vCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
$ c+ Q9 H0 p# UUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 D5 O* Q' X1 k9 `' U( j
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 U' g* g# ~5 A$ j1 K9 N3 } ]
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
+ f0 _. V0 @" S3 R Dflag hang from the wall.
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* F" O) v' n7 }One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one1 f% v8 }% t( I; `$ H
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
G; E$ d3 J, G+ o2 wpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( M9 T8 F0 H) Vboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 z1 ]6 B! e& t6 R! Z# Qare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal) v, k* `# D6 e4 o* Q4 M
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city- [" j8 @" K) E6 W
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 |% L) @+ P& o5 u: c7 |4 { C
- p8 ]1 i/ q+ jWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
6 X2 Z$ {4 A, H' wschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
% l' b% L6 |8 ~% V" T5 Rto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
J! Y1 u8 p6 ione of its most difficult to learn.% ?1 I d- Z8 n' E [6 a
! y F5 Y& t2 ^Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to; u) d/ N9 {9 E$ U2 `8 M: p
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ p/ ?' V1 I: g# Z' J! z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.* ^- ?3 J7 r5 k5 p, R! R% x! P
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of4 n# n' a, L* J, j
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. i: B; p9 _; F5 f" x- h6 mChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 G( |3 y4 v3 T* h
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee., ]2 P' ^0 V/ E7 Q6 l
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ D5 b; Q2 K) ]) h% V: B' e- D
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" Z' |4 G) I" E% S3 S- y" c3 C7 o0 ~
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to& d& y" \! k t+ I! P
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
' T2 o9 B% E1 C1 L7 ~( F7 C2 D( Icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) {5 Z& `3 b+ m8 C5 [) [
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 P* b% I! X K1 r6 R3 G- O! _7 h& b
* M# \, u( D6 a" b% @) \" n"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of& @" ?+ Q$ p2 y, y; ?" X
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
: `7 c6 }- z( _Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. q$ f+ d1 z: \5 v* R4 U
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from8 ~0 f" j. \: r
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
! `0 j( z9 W4 }- @* _- v- s0 K( Iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 s8 x- A9 w) H& ]
Institute in Washington.& U8 U7 e/ R9 S$ x$ s1 j, |2 o- d P
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% R$ P$ m9 [ l" _
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.& p: V$ B" L: D/ \6 G2 ?3 \* f' \8 t
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical6 B! W' ]" C0 b3 n5 q1 r- ]% V( T: W
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 p4 P$ g: n( Y& r1 \1 A
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a/ T& f1 f9 G2 d6 N
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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% U9 |) ?; s! |$ s5 w9 E/ y3 bUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ m% Z, h0 S7 V% O. m4 x% x0 p: jsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* G& k4 [" G% S' b, H) q! m' D t8 u- P& Fcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of+ W4 s4 S% A7 X) \1 i* D8 i
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or; v1 h5 Q, L, F+ A/ w I& d: q
on weekends.( I' p5 [0 U! d4 g+ t# W
9 F5 p1 Z4 Z& L/ eThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
6 E, @: P9 y1 `. L$ ischools during the regular school day and primarily serves
' G3 {0 U4 W' W: _8 lstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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8 ~1 N% }+ ?% Y a7 B" lMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said" K) Z! r M) j1 u+ l
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' q- L2 M, A3 b C; r2 ?! h
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" ^- r: M( `, Z8 @+ ]' r7 U6 {
said. "There will be Chinese and English.", J: H; m+ |8 a0 U* C1 S* G4 z% O0 L
, [4 b. I2 j, Z, `+ W) O, |- f1 FFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ M( A# E4 v: \ X' Q& v% C: D
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
# w, [. ~% ]/ e7 a- ?( ~schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from s! V; C: B* W" h& z7 ~( D5 `2 ^- k
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students- L5 [$ @$ z" Y. k% R, T
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
6 M' r3 D4 \$ F: k2 nthe school system last year.6 C& d7 _, A i2 k4 H/ e" R" Y/ f) [
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this4 P2 B" ?1 i. n( _, P
year 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 own
' v9 }" x; M' J! W* zclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago1 q2 Z1 w" O4 W; i9 h- _' Q! b
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to& H, O9 E: N7 E" ?0 I5 _
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 q* e2 f/ x" p# {" u2 l
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
" {* i9 p2 P7 H: }2 t3 xclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 N) x5 ~8 q! U* Q, G, g
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks, X7 c) H5 q7 i5 |9 y
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 E) M+ c4 l- A3 G1 ]: o) faverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
( o& T3 I# U- p/ E/ d9 \ ?Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the3 G# H7 B! O; z) ^7 T
institute says.7 U( t) f6 m) i2 S8 P4 I, @
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ J' f8 `+ R; T$ f5 z/ jgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
5 j* ~$ N- \8 Gdeciding whether to take the class." a* j+ B9 Q" F7 ]5 I+ `
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she2 ^2 D6 |: _) l/ f( T
told her daughter.& X4 h# [# T; f( x5 W5 M
) s" s7 r* U; M" ^1 n& T. A* bSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite. t" h4 D8 D H( g3 K1 g- Q
class.* a; p! u, p0 \6 U4 b
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 C1 j+ k/ v6 ]studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
/ @' U5 R0 G ]4 Ooccasional frustration.
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! K) U/ ~/ _+ e/ H. `( \1 d: @# R"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
V- D. Z4 J! ^% x& erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% _1 y' G2 P6 \) M* _9 D! e
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! |7 h2 W. \ n- S0 U- v( |, utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
" z; a1 O" K4 Q3 g) CChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 @! u ~; ~) p9 g' l0 \' N( J) Esaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 }. Q- Q$ g4 X( M8 P' g! @) das many languages as I can.", ?8 L1 h/ m1 ~$ p3 w* \7 H6 o
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
1 e1 I4 z) G. U) Yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
( [: |# s# n2 M; ?market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
2 d `2 j4 b/ u, ? g0 ithat," Ms. Freire said.! [- c! W1 i; m% J! Q: X* I1 E
* y! A/ U, l. }! E& D" n3 FMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program8 [. i+ W' Z+ O1 R8 o
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each# V; |0 ?( e( G* {
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
, `# s* V7 r; d ]time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: m$ i) R) P- H; b8 c
room.
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5 G7 J5 W' d A0 v' AChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer# }0 s' o |1 B
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American K7 Y2 H/ D. _* X, J
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.: j3 S6 q7 q1 H8 ?' [ T0 ?/ q& m
5 C$ `. |" n1 A1 n4 m4 f6 F"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified" D% r+ H4 v0 U* z5 h; j$ L
because of that missing certification," he said.3 D6 y6 |! ^ o# z4 |) [
$ I7 w7 K- a/ i, g# JThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 u6 ^) i6 w5 n! k! ^4 E; jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# E6 a2 y$ l, b! |Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& h" R7 ^$ k9 j3 `* }
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: V: m9 I9 s g; } D7 e
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.1 U% E: \, ~; \; ]
* f: D4 j0 Y5 @: C* x: R"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 o* j, M2 V6 `% _6 c$ F
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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