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October 15, 2005) f7 k" f; s# U
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 l5 W( b5 r: R8 j" P4 w
1 ]! j# f6 }: |: ^) k( [7 YBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 B2 {# x& k# ]' ^; n* c
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 A" K+ [4 r1 b
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; F1 N5 _9 k6 jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese0 _& {% C: `& {8 d
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one) @7 K4 A" y/ J+ _! X, P
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! w* n4 R+ k3 ^6 Y
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- [& m, ~$ T9 `. `* U& C# O
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students( c5 C3 v& d* [5 v* d
are already choosing it over Spanish.$ |1 X& d. Y6 i* ?; a; S
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; H' [2 I, X# R# Yat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& p7 N( G( s# r2 noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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/ d( c9 Z- m( j' B; ^, I+ T2 NWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
" x' f: \" q/ g+ xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
6 R0 `* h1 m8 ]- X, Q. t5 l4 Vto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 m0 l# n/ t) F' Z) `) { m
one of its most difficult to learn. z+ p. A$ _: M7 f
# ^1 |& T; b- }$ }5 e1 D2 u9 hLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 k9 Z9 C5 _, O7 J' K) S
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
" I% ]* G; P6 U& [studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
5 a$ s7 Q# M# k4 i4 \Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% r4 V: o0 |7 B( X" u
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! L: ^# ~0 Y4 c2 p* R) `
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
' ?" n, \3 ]. z6 O% S* B |improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.9 R! L# M1 X0 |! }; `
* r X% r' ^& s+ RAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement- I0 ^+ i' L& u) r" e/ X) M
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
) q3 N* ~* d: tstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to2 l: x* s M; t7 J8 g$ O7 D
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
5 N$ z5 x n5 ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ S) B M/ L; n1 m, Z/ o6 u5 ^8 oof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# q" _% N8 V& }# X3 ^ Zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- J4 i% F4 k; H" E# U. ~Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
( u$ y( Z& s5 Y2 s/ _can." & r: f9 m$ ~+ S. I& E
! Q1 F% G0 _. R1 {3 jThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
- d- l. y) f6 \ E0 Q3 p, gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: x3 S0 w: P8 g6 _/ w; fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
a9 G- I- Y; ?. L5 p ^Institute in Washington.% u1 L; ]; t' j+ c
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" Q' `* e" W; W$ S( u8 @/ p- }2 s
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! i! s# w3 N6 Y; G/ _6 @: a
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
9 k( G* q) H6 C: n6 Olongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 e: S, n3 \, i
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& c6 N0 e+ W# L; F
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 j. Y. z' u' [2 Y3 w, j3 [5 s* |0 g+ k
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' ?" a q% V+ [1 \9 ]& b+ k
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of* ]) j$ M0 R% p6 g6 W3 j8 t
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or- d! Z. x( x9 t" v! X
on weekends.6 L5 W% K& v& ]$ g0 I
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public4 {/ R) e& I( g1 k! ?
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ Y& D V2 H2 V- T' \" p( J; J9 j& X
students who are not of Chinese descent.0 a) |1 u' _/ r9 Z8 X! Z7 m5 u/ q
# D; p0 Q% A8 J( G# o |Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said6 {2 A5 W# T" V& d* s
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
! ]" O8 R. c! V& G1 d) \+ A& |competition. " i, {: k% G/ l) [/ w) Z% {
9 p5 A2 B; C( C1 c4 h* F"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley. ~. M0 e8 U, \9 _5 D7 T
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, d0 k! ]+ V5 j; l0 f. Dall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
# I/ Z3 x4 D/ p! A. e- {schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from6 l9 Z( i& t$ @" B
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 P. E+ S2 Y- [who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ o- L) [( z. `
the school system last year." j( G4 ?3 `1 v) S' G
8 C3 Q. s# T9 ]$ ^The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
7 p- H0 T; C5 f8 [+ Ryear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! O6 V% ^1 w" @4 h6 p7 m+ D
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"They have a great international experience right in their own q/ Y( W/ Z) F: x* t# N
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago0 P0 t1 Q% Y+ B$ D+ u- \* }
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 c \! b1 m3 }, [- c
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet& Q9 U* ~: C! Q+ Y1 q) n
on an equal playing field."
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+ H: J9 _- m" XSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
; n. n. z M7 i' A3 F6 wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign7 S7 o+ h1 Z& L! M& v$ E2 z( I, j0 f a
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
& t: A' Q, m7 f! DChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An! e2 m1 i2 R7 \( F _
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in6 I2 z4 S# }# E1 N! l+ s& _5 `
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
@: l7 {0 P0 q5 g' S* S* }" Dinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ x/ i$ q7 H6 K g3 Y. ?) egrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before% ]0 H4 D; P; G: x
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- S# D* `' t- K8 n
told her daughter.
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0 S- @& F8 }; P% _- c ~Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
& i; _: \. w) J' ?8 Vclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 D, c/ T! g; d9 v
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' u$ j, z' S. q
occasional frustration.# h* d3 |9 G0 y1 G6 h! H4 Y
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a1 C# }8 b- i4 ]) i8 V5 q/ z
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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; m( Q) E$ r5 b( ^/ YRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he) O& R: X& j" T/ F- i( t. K! v
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with$ x$ `' [, u4 m4 L5 Q" K3 |
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( @, v) e1 T' T
& F* Y* u! G- Y5 x"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 i& y2 Q9 g2 ?4 H- P; q' S. S7 vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn& z$ H5 b7 L5 G8 [( J0 Y
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; x( @4 A0 B" m1 @/ S4 Uskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
# ]7 a: I7 [3 n6 M, g3 @" j6 Bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 q2 v6 y9 d l# C; w! ?6 g
that," Ms. Freire said.! P6 S3 N H" ?" n! x
$ Y+ L5 q1 b& m+ U' E5 L% y8 A$ KMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. b E) H0 }3 Q# O# khere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 `" R) s2 P s/ X* L
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 V9 X: S, g+ d/ X
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make5 s1 {/ j$ v& g$ X6 e- ^
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
& J. ^3 X+ q0 |' C# u/ i5 r, n. N0 c" OChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American9 y9 o# i7 s! b% M
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said., B5 k4 b& d% Y6 I
; v$ }+ B: N9 N6 X% r I* M"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ K+ ] H3 U+ S: Abecause of that missing certification," he said.. ?' Y: u# d' U+ f: l2 h* |+ C
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 M# q7 o0 p& [. n. d# l( M ]
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# C6 b, A# [: _7 d3 y- @+ y
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ [- M1 x) r O Y; ZChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
2 }& B, O- m2 h0 W7 L3 `: r* \4 {the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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8 `+ Z, @5 v e+ E"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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