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October 15, 20059 S. `$ V' ~, D- @
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 R' A+ [ N/ N4 G9 O3 Q
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the1 x9 n) i& \% N! x
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. P1 k; p+ s7 r( CSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
3 i8 r# M, r' l4 kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
5 z. m. }- v: L; Y; B' Dflag hang from the wall.
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, k9 k9 ~* l: yOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 R- a* ]" j% G! W+ _another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
, l& v) y4 g9 m, w9 L4 u0 fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker( ~: D3 e4 u$ u( H5 T
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* y! a2 M6 R* Gare already choosing it over Spanish.7 ~! [5 j% `5 ^7 z
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 \. m9 K- d) s4 }3 o4 n7 |; vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city( J$ [8 Y/ X: L% a* V6 E& K
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in." Y2 T9 O) {" B0 s. V
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ M. X0 M U: hschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 c+ f% o$ w e1 t
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
; j s& q, j: Y6 r( K3 \# _+ [one of its most difficult to learn.. Y0 C" m; J# \2 Z! V4 d
! A& U% j' Z" T, S/ r! s6 aLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* R! M+ W |0 c1 apublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 @( J# g' w/ I$ s, z# }. E
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
{; T7 m/ e: h" KLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; m9 l: R: z" ]Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
* T3 F- H& ]: M( x& W' w4 \Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
. L& \, t2 e, M6 T! Y+ J3 B0 S* F5 Limprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ G) }5 A$ j$ D8 ?6 S
6 `& ^) d5 }& {After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! j* f* x3 \* T2 ~7 M8 ^# p$ kChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. @/ H; u, `, ]3 Sstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to% Q1 ~7 l1 \8 J N; W+ M
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
5 Y0 n/ h3 W+ h9 w5 Ocurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
) i6 N1 d) G2 y+ }% t: `5 @+ |5 _of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board." N. ]* `; T8 L* z- H5 M( z' z
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of8 u! Y/ U( F2 M
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education4 _- P3 {& Z$ I
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
R% h; h+ x9 w" Ucan." ) T5 B' {, W" d5 i, L5 h
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
7 M& k* |. \9 p" H* C3 O+ {elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10: R9 \) ^3 H% j% {2 v- U$ h
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language: m, e9 B0 h" Y
Institute in Washington. p1 i8 K( |7 M$ d1 y0 z3 X
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages) R5 D$ P5 G$ v9 F6 Y& s
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; i# w( j! k- |' P9 mMcGinnis said.4 j& x B8 k4 X- \
+ |% [ a1 r! Y6 x6 G' x& Y8 e"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical- h. C& _; f" E1 C* u
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 j$ g9 P" n' jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& ]# P" w" X/ ~
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."; K4 |% R8 Q/ G5 \1 Z, n: s, _5 R
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and( i5 U+ w: s4 s
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& B+ b" y% P! v: T# \cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of9 F+ ]4 l) x: X5 ^3 T5 _
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
: S3 P7 R% Z, K9 Ion weekends.. c) q- C4 q% R
4 i' a& C. V/ ~1 E) y( @The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& V8 ?" L# N3 g6 O4 J3 l; g
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves5 p* ^ |! Y( r% C/ \% g" o
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 ^9 x& T& t+ n0 l, L
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the; g- M5 ^' ^( ?7 C& L/ ]- Q o
competition. % \7 U7 Q# W$ k. `$ P/ k* x% a
8 G, n) a x+ [: t! J a"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley. P: P) O- m( y8 T1 ~4 f: ^
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
5 _1 n' I/ Q# wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: y) P1 j- r% aschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from$ o! n0 g% b1 ^
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students; b8 i! c9 T! O+ R
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to. u8 H" ?! o3 H x( |
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 H8 x/ q% V! C5 I4 Kyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 y) D$ S8 ~% d" q
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"They have a great international experience right in their own) w; v/ D/ d0 d: U0 v
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( {$ ^! n* j$ V' P. p( mChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
- t# z7 w% n3 f. {help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 R# U& e- k$ f) N0 X5 e
on an equal playing field."6 {* [/ u, D: V$ D% c; Z u
2 `. L+ b! `& p, q) fSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese4 |& {" \6 S8 I1 c
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 ~3 E V$ j; J8 |2 \Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
2 e8 |, Q1 [- u( Q7 `" X; W* zChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* C0 \% J b; waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 i% F; l7 o0 HChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 B- N5 W! ~7 X) \8 i/ L) G' iinstitute says.
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7 d9 `; m; `) M2 O3 G# I4 A9 iSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth0 F# C8 h. g: X
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 V6 K# j* _) @& I6 c
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she0 j5 @8 S% V9 g$ _
told her daughter.
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: y, b- T8 W( k% U4 ]' J# m2 USahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite- U( D4 y {4 n& a
class.9 @0 M2 Y( X- N( m- c2 ^
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are! S+ m6 {: \7 Y, U) e
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ b+ W( K) b! b& G0 h) p$ X% L3 h
occasional frustration.
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0 n# E6 R/ N9 ]9 i0 Z- Q8 C( t"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ O% a# f; N4 V- I5 @& a/ k Trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.8 t- H! h; L$ T- d
* v& b& a, k, w* m5 _/ a; _Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 w- M- I; s! F# U2 f+ G% k. x/ [; t
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with+ m7 K& p' V7 v* m. F" S0 ?- a
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
3 B+ V; V0 k) `* Msaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
5 q8 h1 c( y3 ~# las many languages as I can." I/ }5 e I/ d& G, m
- j+ a! X0 S, r9 WAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the- U, } F7 o' B) K. r0 L P
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 S# C5 b0 Z( N
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like |" M7 _( s; F1 E/ J1 E1 k( Y$ i
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
$ X! _/ j" y: M) @- Shere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each$ w* M9 k% p$ w
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ f1 S1 @& b* N" f- ?' G
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 L+ K- r: S5 b0 O. O7 @6 I7 Iroom.
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0 j& {8 z2 U, QChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 F2 B% t) w5 B( R# C8 o! }
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
+ f7 q8 E5 ^+ H9 w; {' N" G% Vcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 C0 p2 W- l- `! H1 ]* A# A2 C( ]' ]' c
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
; P1 V: M+ `( b! a3 o4 M K0 Ibecause of that missing certification," he said.
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0 d$ Z5 L/ ?; x" z) ]/ ^; ZThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 P9 I r+ q4 q2 h& O. g& osaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ H: {8 S4 W' m2 f/ i
Society in New York.
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" R) L [0 W/ ?; b) k; JSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- f, L. o! F/ v, Y; G! G& P! l
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) G; E6 W/ J1 l- J& A) C$ V
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.2 F v' e) e7 e1 E# \8 V% ]) G
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our; Y5 J. V" o( F4 I! c5 o
own."# \2 z( ^7 M2 L
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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