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October 15, 2005# I7 j8 J* k1 N W+ O1 X9 m) ^
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
# m& d1 x& Y: B1 }! c# U! `8 mUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 l5 D8 ^% w+ A/ h% }! w# R' J: {School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
9 i! _$ Z! s8 U9 K' edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese5 y. y$ ]7 ]5 o* @4 o+ |- c
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one- u, b% o$ W; e1 v6 D% m
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
: \6 q/ x: o9 x2 d" e t+ mpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker7 m* _* A z5 E9 ~, }
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students) G" [: `1 _! Z3 g. _
are already choosing it over Spanish." x/ q+ c4 i7 r' T5 h
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* F/ ?2 b$ ` X: ?1 \- ? Aat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 o4 f- X4 o2 p9 J2 p0 k
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."9 y6 y, I. Y/ m. z3 X! V: T( }
6 ]/ ?+ F1 z/ T& [- X; }! eWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,. }( [5 I4 g% E3 L) m+ h4 \/ b
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" x0 f) ?0 q& M
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 a3 A9 L r6 e8 Z2 h, l. Qone of its most difficult to learn.9 S6 B5 X) X$ K. _2 S. i
7 ~6 [6 c5 N: ]4 x4 n& l
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) x/ k$ c( W0 kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students/ N* R$ Z2 p" J/ @6 n& o
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.& ~& f& d3 ]+ {* j
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of: q+ h+ V* l _5 Q
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ o1 H4 L$ a& C Z
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" S9 Q" G* F; k4 Limprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.; G* q; y% @$ y( T# u9 w
: |3 T+ C/ H3 \After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement& [3 m( n; _# P, B$ ?
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country! i. M, \ _$ m! ~, J; S" B! A0 w
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to, Q: c+ R% D$ y# o$ G, A: p/ q
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* R. `: a6 f, I9 ?- I# C* }0 r/ \9 K
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 o4 C. m, }9 u: J0 ^" Yof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) ~2 u+ h3 M' Q# F; w% z0 h
' N2 u1 { p5 ~) D& `. n# ?"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
' l' m7 I/ Q6 a1 x0 Q. Z" l/ Uspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education2 i2 N. i$ l$ x! ~ i/ N
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
& `* K l$ D9 J" D% U I3 s% hcan." 3 w2 x: _, a% h& R
( X3 B/ D' R/ \The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) h* t' c6 I y- X& D
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 105 B$ z# T. V5 E
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ _/ h% I( D9 uInstitute in Washington.
W( |6 P4 n4 B' T
/ K) c( g$ q4 ?3 L6 {"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
9 t B) B/ I* a+ y' B9 aaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
5 e- h0 T9 Z9 IMcGinnis said.2 c5 T" h4 C* X( @
% A8 n: C9 ^' Z
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# ^5 c( Z. b! L: H
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% G. u3 Y8 b, S! Vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a8 i; S' I# O9 W
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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5 R5 V- Z8 F/ Z% K* B1 fUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
. t# w# k+ `2 {$ J& \* z+ c. [secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 |5 R6 y6 v. A6 R4 I) tcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# [1 C: z7 K% u1 n* _6 J! Q, }Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or0 }' \5 h3 t* ^7 L+ X9 a) H; G+ H+ A
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
( t, A L! `, \3 Rschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 O4 J8 ~3 h7 K$ H; i+ _students who are not of Chinese descent.; Y" h6 K: y+ T8 G
3 ?; Y* X$ k1 q @* JMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said9 c% P; |# B0 {$ n H6 h+ ^
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 t/ d2 z4 R/ ^ c0 a6 kcompetition.
5 `6 n% x) V. Q6 _6 h9 Q1 o
. D( v/ |2 D4 c3 g, a# Q"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley3 Q: S- q2 F, J7 H
said. "There will be Chinese and English." a+ y1 h6 v* C; N3 x4 p) O
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ y( m/ r, P/ O( B* y: ]$ @
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse- Z) x: m3 g# r' S1 {& n6 o- R$ T
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
% \& C5 z, L9 b' b. [1 e$ k) Zkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% d7 R" f' _' C Bwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to5 k+ w, @* W2 u; h' C, i
the school system last year./ h* x- V0 O( p k/ O( R. M
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- {7 M* {# Z1 b' U; ~6 b% b! o2 A
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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! k2 f& R! x0 J# o0 U+ I% z4 J7 ^"They have a great international experience right in their own# ~1 Z7 {+ Z! l. H7 d* m
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" p6 C7 ]0 [! B
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. u9 @* x' c- K& }help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ l* y/ J8 r5 jon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese9 }& }. Q6 [$ p6 c) n5 l; ~$ d
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
( Q- h% J' I* Q s% J: VService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 \- i7 |8 z7 J( @* ]Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 d6 E" m' M) G1 }average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ ^9 X' t9 U \' Y* L) ?/ v: YChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
- u! |# }$ x0 Binstitute says.
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1 l9 @6 B9 t+ Q( iSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' X- ]5 C- u( b" n7 _
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
3 u! x5 U( y) O# r) x" gdeciding whether to take the class.8 A$ A# U6 I- m* i- o# K
7 n; U! O: z/ ]"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% D/ X3 c. N! C7 D( Y, S" @1 \told her daughter.: D7 O; Q' E4 m ~7 g& Q7 y& N
" }; B5 z/ s' V9 G4 f2 q
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( h; Q. g- L0 I, M9 s) p
class.& d' m* I- q; I4 b- P
0 w* d) b5 ^# H5 }' N q5 T. TAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are2 T: g6 F; {* S% [( @( U
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ q7 L2 T- J; Z% ?7 D% _5 [occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ u0 o1 L0 h$ ~' `0 q! Orecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
& Y- X/ l) D* \taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
2 u3 ^0 Q$ q2 W2 h, p0 M! wChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.& ^. w+ y9 S# o9 u: _* ]
& b2 ?1 s% Y6 o$ m"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
5 x* k2 S+ r# b5 Q$ bsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ Q- i' @* a" }! e3 B
as many languages as I can.") b/ O( h& t* W& [
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
% P% S$ w! K4 K7 l7 Nskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job/ m! B' c$ {- T8 j8 o
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
* S {, J9 U8 a% vthat," Ms. Freire said., K1 z- C* z" Z1 I) m; c9 y
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
k# \9 I* Q/ d9 B" w- Ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
) N, R. j2 i4 {4 x v1 t- _; ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
1 y) H% H: M& Z3 Ntime from classes like physical education, music and art to make$ x }( c, j0 Q I' |" G
room.0 e% [" X7 d' x# {
8 O$ F9 L) V1 vChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) G* {* c& ^: g4 p7 WChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. z* G* Z- ` B/ |" Bcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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# E6 I+ Y7 {2 L. n1 p3 c. ]"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ m& n! C. c/ l: E* l8 ]! c& O) i. Ubecause of that missing certification," he said.6 ~4 M0 G3 K- B0 G( ?5 M8 B
5 Y" Y. F2 D4 J$ [* k5 R) _' n9 a9 ]
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,+ {! E6 ]1 p. i4 j
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; |$ h( Z/ g* u/ f1 |4 D
Society in New York.5 N3 T7 A# r+ B0 t7 j# w) R
, u. r# I8 P, z+ f1 G0 p/ WSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: P Z" e/ m4 Q+ m3 C; x( a' O6 g
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 I m! Z, f9 J6 w# _7 [
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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2 _3 ~9 A: F1 a3 G"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our/ o; |( o, x7 P8 H4 Y1 }; `
own."- q# _$ ?4 Q( O
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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