 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005: ?- @& d" p: c: B) y2 |7 s
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
& O! d0 L$ T8 x0 k: r- \, S# p: I3 M0 I; P: ]& [% r b+ z# d
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ {; m& s3 g, {# G M) v
* v% k3 t- y z
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the: t1 _: h, [, M. c) w. ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
/ b* ^% }( ?$ ?: k" YSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 }" j. y/ g/ n9 A7 N
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# _& X. b% T3 t; J1 G8 ~1 D( b' U
flag hang from the wall.4 G0 [" K. R/ |9 F' N) j# E
: q' u6 }$ |' E( |$ r D% {
One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 k- A& A5 @. T
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders# g. X' v8 J) T1 m
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 Y6 C4 v+ \: i2 } L& b: J
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 | m) K3 I4 ^5 Eare already choosing it over Spanish.
* K) X" ]% o) {$ q8 j* I% x6 W, l" H) B
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 B2 e/ O6 o/ z N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 c: F: }% U; `
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."+ Q& g+ h7 _3 t4 v. O- F6 N
A) F) m0 f7 L
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,4 y5 v6 u' e2 }: K5 Z" h, B; Z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
A+ u# j. Q4 w' J2 Qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
) i* B7 p3 d$ P$ _! Tone of its most difficult to learn.
; \, H0 ]. L* G7 l0 B! B5 I6 u
) k4 ]6 B# O) L( B8 a* t: YLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" L! a: w) k+ z8 N0 D& w) o" Kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ @' }1 t) T- d- F" r4 I s u
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.% o/ P& R. O6 g' L
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 l; L) D, S C, qTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) c2 u' P3 u0 ^1 ~& y# [+ VChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 f( v5 K1 o: l
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
B7 ?/ L3 [. h( m6 Q! M% a" n
$ i0 v k, Q" gAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
' R6 `1 ^* s) H) f1 D. PChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 m7 s# y L7 l# x6 Mstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! @; B, W) Y$ y1 X. l5 a
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
0 I0 G9 I5 T ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
t4 z$ m) e/ H' G ^% oof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
9 z6 ^* O/ j" V$ k
" w3 [' d. i H* i! h- P! a O"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
3 A# y& K3 ?6 Pspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
: P, m7 }$ Q5 r' H6 ]0 b+ ^Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 I4 Z( {: B3 X$ a1 R, z/ [
can."
7 d* {3 G& k8 _) Q
# {- q, |0 ]5 s8 M9 dThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) G. ^, k" R" \; ^8 F3 y
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
" g" v" G7 `( Dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
" ^+ P: D- P' B- Q. A: w4 QInstitute in Washington.
8 U8 [& _. a6 _8 o
+ E5 z' a8 _; o$ a"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 W5 f3 r0 d" R$ @
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. S, x4 U8 e- i7 TMcGinnis said.0 I; e+ J H; V2 y( H0 s
& z- X% `* r- v# s c) _"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical9 A2 Z- z& ]2 w( g
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
+ n% l/ @3 o1 }) J7 \1 e, E1 iready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a/ Q O* W- n3 T0 P4 f9 X
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 f+ P4 g. l8 @$ ?7 l* I9 S& j5 g
3 u% |# O' o' ~# o, S- C1 t
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and6 Q0 E! k S' q R. s1 h6 \) t
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* k9 |& U- O4 J icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* A3 [; C' e( A1 ^( LChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or$ E" M1 N4 J9 [
on weekends.
2 i$ H, B2 P9 q" N9 U' `0 m. f2 P, f( T2 Q9 x
The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# q$ l4 }" o; ?schools during the regular school day and primarily serves' x3 K9 |( d* d6 Y( b
students who are not of Chinese descent.8 W. v _- ?3 q5 }# A
3 E8 B, [. E2 J. Y$ h+ O
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
[1 [% R1 ?+ qproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
. e" T2 t7 N$ O# o$ F2 ucompetition.
2 W: e( C4 S* c( X6 c! H& k9 H" L4 {
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
% N& E; ~" h% U4 Fsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
7 p W# `0 H0 i% ]$ h, j) n0 u7 h& z5 [ m! ?
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly, B' K3 M$ t6 E' I* V4 E- r
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 E* R4 I7 K0 b7 [- g' S3 G
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; n" A( [$ ^/ F/ i* ^; G
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
: u: u% w' v* Q& v2 rwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
' U9 R1 C; e1 c: I$ R6 s+ W3 ~the school system last year.+ [# k$ h. ^$ J7 d4 `
; Q0 O4 z* o+ E1 c& Z/ V; e: d
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this" q! t0 y+ s2 E9 y5 Y8 l
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
$ T i' Y8 \% I5 N8 J# G# h8 P* d5 k) Q% j
"They have a great international experience right in their own, _% T5 l, P9 R; B3 {7 O: v3 m, b
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
6 z3 X& ^4 _+ W+ R/ QChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. _: ^7 t& G0 @; e% T: d' z0 ?help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
@, q; v6 ]5 ~& A- Xon an equal playing field."
: f y- z3 l$ t8 i2 R, m. A+ z+ A! A/ F( J) q, l
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 _8 O; k/ ~9 W* W7 F% c2 p$ N
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
: B j5 \. \# Z+ eService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% S* K* B' V$ ~# E- e+ a; _) EChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* o- Z3 v3 l. I8 Yaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 p8 z- h8 B. E) C! y# X! W% \/ jChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the) o5 A* y- J& V% g- P, ]4 }
institute says.
+ Q4 F% t, [. G2 O, _
: r2 x$ | f$ C; S* E8 t6 L( P8 TSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 c/ x3 \7 P( @1 K3 igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before; H# w% j6 c. I2 {
deciding whether to take the class.
% B% `; J$ I7 k3 X$ f( v7 E/ [: l3 L/ P& }
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# O$ W% ]" r+ A$ ^) qtold her daughter.
/ ~6 h, g$ e# U$ z: e& r8 ~! f
- t3 Q& ]5 c+ x+ m7 X2 _6 l4 i. USahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
! z& ]/ R4 q$ c+ d s- Uclass.
; m% Z# _- V& H0 o. w% R; r D/ L0 I8 w7 y: f
At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are6 J _- h d$ {2 z+ S: X8 O; s2 @# r
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without6 M! N! t N7 O3 K) R" x- v) f- h
occasional frustration.- V' f( x) D7 e; k3 V
0 z7 x( [) k% I5 [8 {6 J"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
# `% k: X* a* z' X! K4 srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
% `* M& C( @0 |' v- O; q- ?7 F
# c: Y( h$ F2 C& m. gRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* J3 c6 S: S9 p/ R7 j0 l& Z1 Ytaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
" P1 C9 E i1 U8 UChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.# h1 q0 f T( Q4 b' F3 {9 n& b
, I) A: {' \/ u* E* M"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' g' k" K/ H" [' a J
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
! W! i5 J0 h" e) M- m. g* x" aas many languages as I can."4 s9 r# s8 p! X5 J* D* F/ F
5 C9 t* i, q8 qAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ d: O1 x* S+ O! Mskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 z7 K$ l0 A/ |( Qmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like" Y O+ o8 i0 ]' t+ K V
that," Ms. Freire said.
, L/ Z7 s8 X8 {; H" r2 O7 B4 C [! r: p4 H! E* ~8 y
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% ]6 C: l& l5 P3 ^- F- w Y, \
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
! \6 l9 J& O& Aschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
% h+ U$ d3 c( N" s7 Z/ c! X$ J" xtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
% W+ w/ |5 R3 Hroom.
6 d( L# W! \, R+ m/ n m9 m& o5 s( z' [
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 K7 ]# B1 x2 ]Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
0 H* A' W; c) J$ D2 u. Jcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ O3 a' q" g+ E! ~0 O; `
" l& S F( p7 r4 P3 S
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
6 G7 P0 g/ ~: S: k8 Abecause of that missing certification," he said.2 ]% B, V; M$ s) c4 b- @! d1 A
" N3 O* _. p9 ^4 @5 c& j( AThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
& W# n3 q9 c; }' }6 g0 Vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 j2 L; d) N5 s p2 i
Society in New York.
( L/ z6 I Y- _ n' S% [
! ?6 Y& {7 Q! M- o. ASix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% T2 g. [- O# x. @9 I
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from2 o. ?0 M% ^0 m4 I# D
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. [+ W, u$ H/ a& e
1 `: n- |0 ^3 k3 S* [$ w
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
6 Y% j$ u) n( m! mown.") f! K) p! p- o/ D% L9 K! w
2 w) Q9 c# g: TCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|