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October 15, 2005
6 z& N2 R; N- yClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity- i/ _$ a+ i& J$ z! |
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
$ h* I+ Z+ y* _3 e9 ~* uUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 u) E, [" j3 }: wSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
) L: ]6 H1 A, `: L8 }dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
* s4 L3 R+ H* _5 ?; Wflag hang from the wall.0 l8 t# q! W% h2 \* C
: v7 j, b- [5 H4 G: G8 M5 wOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one# c8 O5 e, U0 `% L6 y
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
2 t2 v0 q- z: N( f7 Gpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 |- L8 A2 p; e2 l k
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ |+ Y) i7 I4 Y4 ]) ~are already choosing it over Spanish., q% L. m8 _- e/ K3 n$ w
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& [4 r5 Z; T/ ~' O2 @
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 L4 [- j4 f8 J, Goffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in." V1 e. E& F7 d/ h' {3 ~
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
, ~, Q! T4 U4 {; Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
5 i; Y0 v. \0 S- j0 j( |: S4 I+ Eto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" F' V0 E4 g) _+ a, k1 p3 w
one of its most difficult to learn.
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) U2 h: I" l8 S1 sLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to* V9 K& |) u) m9 l" V
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. I W2 l) A4 u% \0 u. p0 fstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
; E8 q. z* y7 v) {) J( lLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of7 w. m5 V- q; u% f
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on0 E6 F0 p7 z% D4 ^) G
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 [9 [+ O' s, S0 C4 \9 K4 Gimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.- m$ Z J1 l6 w6 x
. @- t- _6 [: _9 f: d$ ]After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; _0 S' N' t. w* {* D; l
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" J1 O" L/ Q# K( D
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to2 D7 @+ l& O- l C0 d6 ^
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing% D+ I* M( }0 y" M- Q& B# t: J
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director2 u/ p0 n6 x0 L$ X7 }5 i7 k( O
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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2 t" ^3 n: y- f, y$ H"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" v% M- S1 n5 ?; W
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% O* H" |9 j1 h7 d7 _1 oConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 g1 i6 z; [# r ?
can."
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' f7 f4 M8 ?; wThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
2 h( W: b9 L ]/ G: P. i& `# j$ Aelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 m/ A7 X9 U [0 _/ Qyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language. V0 }' O! L! t6 T9 A
Institute in Washington.
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2 ^. Q# k a2 a+ Y3 R V"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ c$ @8 |+ D% ]) j7 e8 }. D
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
- i6 M; Y o6 k# c2 R5 [) d4 @McGinnis said.$ }6 t) c- n$ @: [
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ A# _3 H% y8 [1 {: D: Slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; X- y: j1 j+ y' t
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' [7 A7 k4 x. Y, p5 @! g+ echallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and, C# |8 b5 v7 w, h+ p! G% _
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 l2 i7 s: v! X, f9 Acities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of$ f6 F( X8 I/ j
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 i- ~) H. Y- m6 s6 ?on weekends.% [1 R( s3 V2 ^$ U8 W) \# [
+ y9 U! `% ^0 ]( `1 G/ JThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
J1 v. M9 r9 p3 P5 ?( xschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
+ |2 M6 n% |- o$ E6 Kstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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3 b. R# O0 V1 L4 l3 pMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said6 C9 E' i# x4 d# [4 _2 Y
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
4 e8 X2 T7 I, Dcompetition. 0 @" ~- ]& C3 ~3 k
+ [2 ~# I# I& p3 n5 W"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
* ?3 r9 n) A1 m; Y4 C$ qsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."3 }5 r5 ?1 {1 |- A" W7 Q1 C; E
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly9 r7 c0 p! V) _6 |1 |& K2 A- h6 C
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
" L' F- d3 ]& X7 ^! R0 v1 ~9 [1 Nschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
7 T5 l* L' S* j) c- H/ zkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 A. W$ m r5 }+ Z. D& ]1 g3 w
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to8 }( H5 d& x e% N& C! i" T
the school system last year.* Z- q* b) \5 ?, B
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
$ v( W% `& i7 a; eyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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4 t' S1 l) F$ ~/ P+ K) |"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 A. Q% S2 Q% y) \classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
W8 F7 N& b8 g7 O) o5 UChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
: o1 \" I7 ^0 n0 z+ S& }& D* w( lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" h0 g n3 x- H9 L1 g
on an equal playing field.": O4 V/ L3 {4 B o4 f
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% v- P$ Z4 d! a9 x hclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
_2 {8 S1 `& J0 g& U/ qService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
' { H% H6 r o& [Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
/ J0 t0 \7 c" n1 C3 ?, m* @. Baverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 W; H8 F- y9 @7 ?& C) E0 c
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) Q+ e1 B% y* O3 }) F5 G2 z" Winstitute says.8 t% P& \7 T: E# D& a4 q }
# n+ ?9 G6 I& u3 mSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 S# t) q: G* j$ u) @: o4 P8 L3 tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before4 Z- ^7 d& g; l& F
deciding whether to take the class.( R, }/ J9 q w; s( H
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 ?& c5 l, C. q0 s1 H3 T2 Ztold her daughter.8 l, |! _/ l3 }5 f# _
6 {6 t& l# Y/ C: I2 E( O8 y1 M
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite; z! \" q9 R% L- S' `
class.
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6 V6 O7 w+ J, E; W9 [5 ~9 K2 ?At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are7 g7 Y: C5 O+ m+ C$ s' F, G# ]7 R
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- B: x6 \2 B+ V% V0 A8 ]
occasional frustration.
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, g- [2 W6 y% n: @7 y" N"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a, e! ]/ z, c( \% C6 |/ h" U
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.8 ~6 m1 U+ d& E8 x y
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* e! F$ t& X5 W8 w, z3 Otaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! T# b5 T5 |4 m+ E- s6 s/ YChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: J o/ a# J) g* M8 E& u8 _
1 ?5 Y+ w, A+ W( L"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul% ^$ s" ^8 z' j, d. e1 V6 w- H, p
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
3 [) I3 _ ?; Y* p( bas many languages as I can."' s9 |% l$ e! Q
! U. A4 {) q" ^ {Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& {- _. {: b+ j) {, T/ c
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 R! V. K* I9 W- K# P! n
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
7 W6 p' {! W7 `' sthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 ]3 f" u* W* v% C' zhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each' V: r" J, ]8 y/ u4 Y! C
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 w5 |6 z. K6 ? ]time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 i# [$ }6 I( \room.
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' G* V r8 n9 ^! QChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 r/ b4 [1 ` Z7 k6 f
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
& d: l5 @- G5 t& q O) J- s+ Wcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.% R) [2 f& _ Q
$ g2 @' R; {% g- ` [+ }"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 z& z2 }7 C: u( k4 A5 \because of that missing certification," he said.' p. I+ m4 C% F8 g2 x& C) `
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,6 E2 I) w* [! h: ] Z0 o
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# f% }' b' {& G v
Society in New York.& W" V" A( d9 {2 Y2 B* ]6 I- I
/ R* R7 z3 m- P6 ]0 S; c, sSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ L/ Y% V% i3 b( X3 s6 [( Y# N: MChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 L0 g, Z/ q/ Y3 d/ B' qthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ Z% n9 ?* t7 Q0 X9 \
6 Z% B! M% Y* a0 j( ^5 N"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, a4 B! K/ b& K# e0 ]
own."+ E1 A4 x" r) m
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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