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美国纽约时报关于中文教育的新闻

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发表于 2005-10-18 09:27 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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October 15, 20059 Q& ?& ]$ M+ Y. C3 _% V' \
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) w3 ?) M& Q0 T
: U% w' W+ J  e, r3 h' h* V
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING& P- O% B2 Q# U+ K9 B8 a0 _  z

( F6 L$ i; M$ q& f# `0 ZCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the" S* ?) S- K! j
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
/ J; F* Z- W) H. OSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
6 q% {8 k  I" U% ~5 ddangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; W6 Y4 i8 ^- ?# }$ S
flag hang from the wall.
, T, _5 q9 r/ s$ v1 S5 X: D8 E
( N# K: I7 o4 j) DOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 Q' q0 O, z+ r# r5 B
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% P& T" `9 i( L' z# I! h, ?practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
" r5 Z/ V5 n' Y) _$ I1 V" Mboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# X5 G6 N7 `- E: p. O5 ]
are already choosing it over Spanish.1 h5 t- i& H) G3 q' k
8 V3 ?* u3 |; _- a' x0 l# A
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal3 ]9 g: L, G6 ~  M4 M7 J
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 x- f1 ]0 O1 c$ xoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
, u' j) y$ c- ]1 l% s2 C7 n) G  \; F* ^6 o' X$ n8 f
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,8 G& h# q& [2 ?8 x0 d" a! B2 i, B
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
$ q, z6 h* A" U7 L& T, L( Eto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
+ Z$ }% B+ r* i9 {* D- yone of its most difficult to learn.
  x: z( @; C3 F* K& j9 J+ }: L# O0 g/ o. W' Q
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
/ A% R  s! U: _* upublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students; Y# q2 I! d. z2 f8 ]) K: F! E) C
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.0 x* B' [, U* r) h3 t. N
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
1 R/ x4 g( z) N3 ]; b+ sTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
+ p. J1 C  \4 s' b# ^8 a8 VChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
6 H" e; l, q( W3 [1 Bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.2 i; O- D8 [# ]7 u$ ~

( X5 h; n# A# V9 zAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ a7 l  i9 T3 N3 D, D+ C4 ^. a
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country0 |9 ~- D' U# x$ |* L% [
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to* Q5 K6 {7 I( [( H. N4 n" F
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing1 {7 ^5 K# c+ g8 e2 y$ M  f2 U$ y6 Y
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 U, v9 R9 z( _& gof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 P5 @8 K/ B/ Y8 R8 x

! V- y/ u' q% p4 z4 ~& H"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 Y% x9 o0 q# ^0 d, P. _3 U
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
0 V1 O, r3 z/ s; `& QConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we% V2 Q7 O" I0 i- A: O
can." % x5 A5 |* O* B0 C0 o. B8 K; S

5 q; O' C' h0 O) vThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: {1 K* N- W5 j  d, `elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" X! ~( B( w  }8 a+ T+ x% _# T
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
& Q! d! a* z; m, e! sInstitute in Washington.
( M( R% C0 ^9 m5 O9 o
  N& l$ `1 v: _5 p; G  ~"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages/ P1 D9 {' |1 K" s7 z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr." p- Z' W* V7 P9 O/ V. e
McGinnis said.
# \% ^; @9 ~% ]  Z) W) ^6 S4 }# n7 @: n- b5 v8 Y
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% J) O: Q, E7 T5 Blongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
; i: j5 D  z! D0 o: r- bready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a7 |5 U: x( D; C5 R5 S3 X, {
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
" [2 g1 V6 ?8 O4 D, B
6 y+ R' B" c0 v' w8 f6 G8 qUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and- }# Q; ^4 w' a3 q
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in2 x0 s1 c$ d& y4 {$ }' \+ o( J
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 [: f+ U' Q6 ?* ?. T" d9 ^Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
0 @1 S& t" _9 N" A; non weekends.' a8 A- o4 c5 A9 M# p) K2 {- s
$ @! L, E  S" j
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 X( o% f8 h  G! l) _
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 c' T9 C- U5 `7 s, Bstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
1 D& a$ e" ?3 N6 x+ K( ?  ^6 [3 _
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
# c! E/ }; P5 y: l: M6 M8 k, h' Y0 cproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' R8 s0 o/ D% G9 [. D' C$ m" ecompetition.
7 {7 j& l$ Y" X4 J4 z2 I5 b- H# Y- t- z
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley: Q6 |. e- ^2 S. Q6 I* ~1 ^
said. "There will be Chinese and English."' w: `, G/ d7 p( t$ |! v$ }: N/ ^+ Q
1 G! `( \# F: C: N% f0 d/ A7 S
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly8 X; i5 ?+ u( p; {; d6 [$ d" \
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse9 `9 S: `9 n1 b- c5 c9 l) y4 Q. G
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
  W" J8 S, o4 ]+ w6 n1 C6 ukindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 ]$ {3 p. P) o- e# n  F% ~* q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
* R3 i& x0 g# N6 R0 H( w1 x) m$ Ythe school system last year.% W0 a+ u  N8 N5 K! G

! n8 ^. p# \* u' w9 gThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
& d0 X* o6 m" c9 ~year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
+ Q1 h& r1 l3 Q7 o( ?' X# F
: }6 l+ I: N) V7 X2 `. A5 L" s"They have a great international experience right in their own/ H* z7 v  R9 K% f+ ~- g
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# g+ k6 _5 P# P) f& g3 EChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to( K. r' D6 C; I, q1 ]
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
8 G( n$ g( t" S& t- p+ K6 Q' won an equal playing field."
! d' X! l" G( I# i' ?5 O" u/ @: E% E8 T6 P4 M! |. U
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 l& S8 ]; W9 e4 y% I
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign7 F# }8 b6 m  D( ]
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
/ _/ F) e8 m% D! ~; qChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 i2 r8 i" l% l" O4 Z
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in3 _# C' C6 P7 x! q- k
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the" D+ l  s( J$ a, t
institute says., Z& e  l+ C' |! I  U! l6 s
, c; g* {, ~' _. f7 K
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 v  d5 I, `$ t3 I# {+ V5 u" L
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; {8 O# N* X& V" A4 {$ w8 Ndeciding whether to take the class.
3 h8 G( Q( e) P
; v4 [% l& M9 u3 o! [: P7 Z2 L"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she% v/ ]' {; f3 m8 p6 N( ]
told her daughter.( {- {/ c: ?# j" A, O- v# i1 E" C
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 r* O+ L5 X. v- R$ yclass.8 O5 A. m' G& t" a% l4 l5 N
7 h+ u) G7 i3 D# _7 W! C! u  l( T
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
: L0 S% J' t( a% V5 vstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
( Z/ r: q" n: N1 `, N  ?occasional frustration.* j+ N: W; f/ @3 O: v* w, H$ n. T
/ i  `+ ~  n& D$ j# J; Z' z$ |# ]
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
5 g. L, x. a6 Arecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
6 @0 t% @, S. X/ r0 n6 d: `# N
* ^& \3 P- V' l! j4 _Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he; R" T- l1 G% ?8 P7 m
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ @+ J3 l% n* T+ \
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
: j$ k- c0 g8 V5 H( w  f4 D8 {
" w  m6 ^: N/ U"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul" Z) H8 G! g& {. W0 a5 G: u8 z
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% {: S0 S6 d9 K  |as many languages as I can."
) R8 l: ]: h: K; h+ g' Z
: |) Q+ k* W; U- @; g: GAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
, U0 L6 F8 ^. [& l2 S( Eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 r, }- ^/ o8 O7 k' h  g7 y' J5 |market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like8 a! R& J0 ]+ u9 ?3 L/ B5 B
that," Ms. Freire said.4 i; @$ s& H6 L# W& \  b* E8 z
2 J5 v. b' J) P; d2 _% F' G
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; |0 m" T; j1 ^' M! \. |& Phere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
( N+ M* ]- J% H8 ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 B- p! `% t" s, @time from classes like physical education, music and art to make" n2 y: u9 h$ j
room.3 W1 O( x* M" G4 d4 Z) F

5 j/ }/ W; ^' r; t5 e: G9 NChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# D3 z' q, B7 NChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American/ K6 I# E2 o4 z9 `" v; d6 ?
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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+ h4 w0 p0 d5 T$ T; Z( J8 x"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
, J$ B; g! O% o8 B6 o8 kbecause of that missing certification," he said.
- {. ~/ X4 O4 y0 R" F/ Y, f1 z: W+ J& O; m: z
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ u5 b0 {, p% U+ Jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
0 S  G. E- G! q5 ~. o5 PSociety in New York.% o- M% e9 F( D. \+ z" z
0 [) L/ ]) `/ X
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
/ {) ~, J1 q( e6 f) ]' pChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
7 @! L: d* O+ s* o" _/ g9 pthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
+ y( ^) W7 V0 ?+ }. f: y. s! @1 U$ d  k3 `, M  ]- P1 d5 ]- p7 H
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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