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October 15, 2005
4 t& d( }5 {2 C4 o& lClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity0 v& p/ I* y3 R0 i
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING& b! n1 B9 J/ I2 z
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 }/ k; B) Y$ R5 O6 ~+ a3 b; C/ ? O
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
" {: V0 t+ J8 ^( ^4 F6 \School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
+ ~" ^9 t& G/ s9 I6 I# vdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; d5 J) H$ s4 U$ Q& M; D' ]
flag hang from the wall.
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3 b; I7 r" b' zOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 z7 D* @! ?: p8 T4 W6 B- oanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
, i: }% p% A9 y, @4 Epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; D5 @0 g# y* X- g6 x1 f1 }+ R, nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students: f$ V- Y3 ^( l7 q$ U
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal/ @) b6 V# ]) }# p g/ c
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city7 J, h; g" ~' e5 U
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."( m, Y! D/ b- P0 i5 p& _
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
- F6 S$ t. V9 M( Y5 i" i3 Yschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings0 C" j7 e9 F% c5 \- U4 [
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* O- `" U/ B8 a* T
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to& {4 W$ u ]' W2 G5 p* ^ i# M
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- F K# G6 w7 x- M0 ?6 ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.' F- \2 x& n: j! l, f- T
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ l: X& k5 r- W% c9 eTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: E- U# z* {$ ~' P# t7 Q7 X
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) {$ |, A) z8 o2 w% bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( ?% p6 }! C9 K0 ~1 J
5 A6 U9 ]6 M# }) r8 VAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement6 q3 H" }6 F3 b
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
7 v+ U4 u0 X3 J! F Gstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
0 s6 b# ]4 m% G$ o8 Wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ u0 P* f$ u( u; R
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director L& e. H# R! g5 j! M" k
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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1 h* q1 x$ a$ e"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- \: [) ^' s2 i7 i8 \2 m9 V5 A
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 O9 N) s& f: h6 Y3 G$ L! X
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
/ F$ Q) J% |8 k# q) z# Kcan." + p* Q2 t0 b, e9 j: O
) L3 X+ n" b" ?/ [9 a3 ?The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from6 J* q+ I2 p2 r$ ^7 j
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, p$ ], K! Q; c. i" w
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language M- I! q, b& V, m, o
Institute in Washington.' h4 c" ]7 }+ w" ~
. ^/ y! x, A! u7 l7 u8 z" G"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
: c; Y1 \8 R: S0 P3 |+ Iaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.' ~% j# O0 V' ]+ X; r
McGinnis said.
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+ }' k/ c8 S. E) E8 s$ K- f"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# w$ k+ w. x* y4 z( p7 {
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
5 A" L$ l! K/ V, O Jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a) h) S, K( _: K% N: q5 e( F. q
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."9 R5 `7 h' q; M3 Q8 ^& T2 C9 \
7 y, b% _' N7 U4 s. JUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
* ]6 R& Z' _$ F6 |# }secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
5 T! K) `, Q8 A, C9 w6 R" qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of7 C6 V9 o5 Q: b. Y
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
; `8 {1 i7 ?0 p$ P r" t0 E( `on weekends.
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& `, W7 i1 \6 F, TThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& c) F9 e: J! b5 Y6 `! Z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 T; m6 c% L- d: ]$ l/ h5 Sstudents who are not of Chinese descent.. F. N) _& M/ n5 k2 _0 p/ Y
5 k8 w% X; r8 n+ \Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
- c' B6 x' l% L# X* Nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* s( q1 g! e' w5 \
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# L! _1 _& f N8 O7 @said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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* e! H- v" r" C) c1 V+ oFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly5 z# V: M1 C d8 H# }1 S' F( q; B
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
" B, V) s8 I& x( c9 k" Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
' M. G/ X: Z# n9 f; F2 \) ?kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
! H: {( V/ t# j1 r& B# Lwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
7 |7 v( ?+ K' wthe school system last year.6 G ~* d1 R3 V' A* D/ @
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
& _! B: a6 F/ B1 S: Tyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year., g8 v& R- o/ j% g9 @
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 ]) ]9 T8 V$ ^4 dclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
X/ w. l# ^" s3 b3 EChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 _* n: c. d1 i
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
" [, `2 I E( O2 `2 I8 Ton an equal playing field."- r2 ~! f6 R# p4 C+ ^7 Q
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; C4 A7 R) ]0 K" J& k" |: J
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 {5 F: s% y6 J
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks3 I6 B* K+ u! B/ {# o5 H1 m
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An; `; }5 q8 |) p1 @* }
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
' e/ r% U. q+ A+ Z* J2 X3 D* |; [0 gChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the; C0 w* ]( F# T/ O
institute says., F* J8 [( o! a4 |+ a: |* I4 ^* z
$ Q: i" Y3 k1 ~/ s8 ^1 ASevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' F; D9 D, j8 q; |! R1 H5 `
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; h9 |/ ~3 Q/ P u. Bdeciding whether to take the class.2 r, v$ m6 k4 w; `0 ^1 S
" Q4 x& `, T5 I* [5 `1 M- `& y# ]"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% K& o/ N" w j6 utold her daughter.' H) L2 ~8 C& v+ v. T" B
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
* F2 N0 E" i$ u5 Bclass.) {' a1 d! [# @1 f# z7 H
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are$ T" Z1 r# X7 R1 R4 Q8 M
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without H3 @0 u. l5 A! _) b0 ^% n0 ]
occasional frustration.
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" f* W9 r" T; H/ K6 K$ u& c! ^"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 Q, i9 _" g' Z7 v' |
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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! y R( _4 }6 \& Y4 L, @8 QRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 C; `6 N* M3 v3 Ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 L; s7 { w+ [
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.* Y* A& M5 x5 K- R
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
' L5 b1 A6 k4 h8 \$ N# C! _said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 u: @0 m. @# M) T$ a0 W9 h4 a) L
as many languages as I can."5 m, I# w$ ?: D( g
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the. S& N- n' ~! H0 [5 z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job2 \& a$ e' `$ x8 g k0 S8 [0 K
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, K3 Z+ _ [) z4 R. Othat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
$ c1 f8 q8 o. y+ k" M3 xhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
# k2 W; \+ a) `school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
+ ]: H* D0 i8 t1 D2 [time from classes like physical education, music and art to make! D* [4 Q r; @5 f
room.
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0 B ? ^9 u* v9 ?) I: EChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
: j+ y4 h8 k( j( F, FChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
* ^% Q9 t7 j, J& x, G3 h% ~college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.4 b& i/ N) N: _$ @
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
4 h; [1 K2 H' @# u! z* vbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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* s' o# Z; s9 u, fThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! a, m( j5 t, }said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia0 V2 g& C1 X, s
Society in New York.. T8 P/ X" N5 X1 u
- H. _. Z/ M; B8 LSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
2 A* d) m0 R: C& cChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from% c) `% n% E8 c& S6 I
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our# Z* q% B# G" u Z v6 ]6 Q
own."
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. o* S( y& q/ o. ]" \" k" q2 ZCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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