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October 15, 2005
1 q1 G4 U1 ]* Z0 h1 ~3 f# _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 G1 p0 v8 L. k' }2 O: O3 H
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 L6 z, J7 M' e1 p/ u3 F
0 x5 b7 s- H" D2 {3 ?CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the) b1 Z/ {1 r, w3 O% N
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
' ?: h+ r, L. `7 s3 hSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas& I+ }) [: ]$ u. j2 v
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
+ i- x; _' n1 X3 uflag hang from the wall./ i( H* k1 a) r! ~* o0 F: s
; h9 m* B8 W7 N4 ^0 x L: n2 DOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. c e2 c3 v; R3 J! A
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 c' [+ y& H! H# R7 X, k l9 j0 I
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& k" O* A! e5 R. `; _$ r4 f) O
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
0 Q7 v+ l. J% I1 [4 N% kare already choosing it over Spanish." s: T v3 @( z/ e
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* _. [' E3 R( @/ p( ^( l3 z \at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ b) u! I& t, {5 w
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& v, p# G7 Y4 L: z) ?/ ^
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, _# Z# M5 b1 [" u" Q. A
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 y, k: l+ t/ B7 B3 Gone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) O! @$ F6 c; Y4 V' a: ^+ A0 \( U0 `public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- |. q; r. H; C# O ?studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 ?) a$ I5 k( u' b# X. Z1 VLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
3 z) v$ }8 x, P }/ M4 A3 cTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on/ Y2 X4 a4 P. ]( j. i( L$ P
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to: Z2 M0 q2 d/ I: C, A, C" u
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ n( ~+ F; f/ L, e5 Z* y* oChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
) p1 I* o; I, F H. cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 W% K ] }) Pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing n% k- N+ b$ n9 N' C
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director+ c }3 j5 ]& a: H; ^; p; O
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.2 f* [, t: S- R
! b9 M6 W, L/ K7 E0 Q"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of H* c" L' r& T
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ N( X! Q/ K& E9 B" Z7 t) g
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
9 d+ x& a1 o1 r+ R5 l# V' {8 ccan." ; Z- ^3 f, ?+ M5 m8 f$ N" U
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 h# w. w8 S y2 c) Yelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
* R" P* ~) _6 d6 j3 eyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
4 H9 U4 G8 V! R; U* G& O6 D% P4 hInstitute in Washington.* ~# D J g; O
9 k) K' J1 `6 c s% i( s7 _/ K"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 T2 Z% [) o8 u+ \" S0 q) }
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
- |* y9 o* C# C* o. G9 e$ _McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
3 A# X2 p% h \6 v8 [0 Ilongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be! |4 Y% H( X2 G! _) M
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a, P4 k& {+ a* Y+ C& X
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."1 @/ ^9 V5 d8 {8 h4 U0 ~
, p- x& m9 I' WUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% J9 A4 T- d- o. c' q# p
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( {9 z3 _3 w7 s
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of- ^, a( p: \$ Y& i9 c( \7 a
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: T, a- f" f- b" J, }- h4 h
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public2 \5 }+ y6 b0 M% ^$ m m. C/ ^7 h
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves8 Q8 b' u6 w6 C; ~6 {
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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; o1 E. K4 j+ O& J1 I' I7 r3 l; K2 mMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& S* x D7 ~& |# uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 M# M w/ p* B9 h* Bcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 e. q$ l* q7 H( e$ r/ z' P, C6 ?said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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$ @+ O' n$ ] j1 V' j9 [From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 [3 |2 C/ g; S% n* @" ]+ `$ X# Wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 M0 X0 o9 R0 @! p4 tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
( a' P, r2 n) j% k. Bkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 e( r$ s: i1 B: y7 Q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 I$ a3 Y2 u) O0 r3 z) M3 kthe school system last year.5 C: `! h2 Y5 B
0 a% p( d \5 N3 V% L/ Q+ `The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
6 ]1 V1 ?; |# {1 T( S' u* R2 myear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.4 m2 H3 R h% h
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"They have a great international experience right in their own; f3 U9 I1 T, P
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* b+ A8 k3 j2 J: W; [, R: K7 S
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
8 H: p( Q/ m" Z6 b( Yhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 I- J5 q, u5 Y
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese7 E/ _" U& h( \/ I0 m8 }' }1 Z
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
; a: W' ?, D" r/ \Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks9 l. ~0 }5 u' _# O
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An. \2 A1 @, {7 f2 r% x% U7 w
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ l/ o B q3 L0 u0 JChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 W i$ ~$ H& f+ Qinstitute says.2 ^: j' l; G" y4 l8 j
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth1 D+ {9 @5 W V6 @& z6 a% L4 |. }
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 L5 ~) b4 h! a- ?deciding whether to take the class." g; H4 d6 O1 r+ `. S; ?& ]
$ l. P4 q) f, ?$ ?1 _8 I& l"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
8 s7 @( B) x4 e4 a3 Ltold her daughter.4 A& [( H0 A5 K( ?( ]0 I# a2 v, N
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 w+ }0 r5 ]( |4 ]
class.( B( Y! N8 P5 G. E E; e
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& {% s! N' T. [ n' t
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" f8 K" f. s" x+ M0 Y1 _
occasional frustration.( D) n, R+ Q) b$ L4 e+ v0 g$ G
' P* ~3 e4 E9 ^- P8 ]! Y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a; _0 K+ B: @/ N/ [2 V1 w9 R
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.2 V, v M( z2 y% ^3 C/ S7 L% ]9 P
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
& U5 O# c8 G3 ctaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ h5 `& Z) p! y% ?
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
7 V! F# `% J/ D$ tsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
( Y+ t! @( t$ O: Tas many languages as I can.") l- H2 e; i( H! p3 N3 o
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the0 [& N) Q5 K9 [" s4 G
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job. i _- t" |9 W8 l* ?) d5 V: ?" G
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& F. V1 D5 {6 i" O
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 P1 }1 A* m8 E& E. W
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* z! y% x1 {$ ?) d
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking' D; j9 l% D1 }' p* |- i& a; P0 w
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make; a7 Q; \. V$ v- W ?) l6 V
room.
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^- Y* F2 k0 a3 x0 x/ V& fChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* H6 B. A) Q I2 p* f3 a+ l" G3 v/ `
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) L% n) p+ U6 s6 o0 M9 f
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( l; X5 ]: V' B
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
1 D. L3 g: Q( Mbecause of that missing certification," he said.$ L: K% _% J4 f0 P$ }2 k5 f
) c6 A( Y2 Y( dThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
; L, c" I* B5 G" R8 n% ]" Fsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia3 w; K1 q& u4 ?+ g6 |
Society in New York.
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" {* l! _0 v' Q6 w W1 HSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the Y- M; |# n0 C
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# P I. p! R$ H+ ]/ I) u" o7 \
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 N% F6 C7 f% H3 S
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our. E2 z! u C0 ~- \
own."2 `/ \+ W$ H5 ]; V
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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