 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005* {- k. z) d% I6 p* v: x' w: b
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' R' g0 l0 } H) q+ e- l
- w- x# Q1 ^5 PBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING$ ~! Q8 T- T- _1 `# q
0 v* ]; b( W0 }: G$ T3 B) R8 I, B9 o- Z
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 a$ I0 X/ V" z' cUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 j3 G! g8 H, ?# T1 G2 t/ u( |School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 m+ }' i A6 K1 B9 Ndangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese W) q' X# }% q H/ m$ K2 R' u( J
flag hang from the wall.
0 X* O$ e5 C$ A# D: r
! N5 Z) X ^; W5 g# LOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ z0 y% ]3 y$ F( e: a0 f+ [
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
1 I9 ?. p! o' m) I3 `6 [practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
- {, Z( D8 ?4 D6 O4 j2 sboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
+ s+ U$ v: ~8 N6 Care already choosing it over Spanish.
( D7 F. |# _ I, y: Y, I' Z; w4 G. j: R
"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
) z/ p0 E& D" W% |; Wat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! I- s# n5 B% J9 I& Y9 d7 ]3 Zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
6 C! O# b5 O# ^- E h/ `% |
2 T0 l4 G1 C! nWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
4 E) \1 L2 d4 f5 E% R. |schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings. e- t0 F; D% S/ s- B0 I
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention$ f7 u$ d1 ]& p( L
one of its most difficult to learn.
- t1 `5 n8 Y) q% F3 I1 b
6 E6 D* T$ h1 ~( _/ FLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* y& q. o$ }4 I1 E5 S2 mpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: V! L# w, P# R: Vstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 N2 L' A6 P: k# ILieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of. k' N, b% w. `. j
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- J* L# O9 e- x4 t1 J
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
2 L: Y* J- @, e3 k4 i4 r1 x2 [improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
$ R6 H! m0 @( C" y% z0 A, j6 |& j- g4 w8 n9 j ~
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; R& w3 J# _% L/ _' C1 N4 h( I
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country3 b, \, ^( O {& }5 o
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; h, k; S- q( l% g$ N3 F* v) sdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing5 S9 m$ F& L3 P$ R/ Y( X0 q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 c7 L1 F1 y7 v/ Q* z: c# m/ ]
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
2 m( n! L/ y) O. n* a/ g/ \/ V
8 B3 `7 |/ p% R H* K O+ D: g/ T) u"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
. \ v) z7 Y: I+ _1 G( }0 }/ Mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education; B0 k% O2 U% k- ^/ Q; S
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we* N& |% } h- {* G
can."
# D" h( h0 J G5 ?. E, ?3 l, g: u. D$ N) R8 @7 U+ M
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from+ y# J1 R, f7 h. S; M0 n5 C" F
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; _$ m/ c" d7 G" ~2 u- u
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language/ X1 T7 [ A% B
Institute in Washington.; O, `% Y$ I8 \* J; u/ b3 _
3 X. g0 @6 w+ b2 O"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages, n# H( I) X% b0 q
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.9 U6 P h3 X8 g" S
McGinnis said.% A( l: v4 Z% ]$ u
3 m+ |% A1 G+ ]$ `0 a" Y; Z"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% k- E/ W5 e1 R; rlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be4 O) m0 A8 b! x+ B
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
7 ?, ]$ c# W' O! X4 ^, ~! Mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
+ c, L& `$ @7 v8 Q6 x; k. M# ^6 s$ h/ Y Q
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 D) F6 f# j8 I: a. N
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in4 w5 J0 G8 V/ k; t3 ~' Z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of, X' Y0 J y L: n9 E/ B5 g
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ a8 W' d5 ?& _1 H: J7 T, S3 [9 Aon weekends.
% ]* j6 _( b/ E5 {; d7 Z ^% n8 U
* N7 g' T2 P9 @" K& u# fThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public" r: L* r/ R8 v B% m9 w4 l
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 m6 s0 t: A8 ?
students who are not of Chinese descent.
; b7 [* v4 e- d) X1 D9 A
+ P( D2 B. P% I, w5 g! A6 d, ]Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( d, ~1 {% ~8 V' b: j
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the d& B, X0 i3 K* T
competition. 8 w! u. S7 C6 M# p) R
0 f& X# |$ c+ Z
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley$ U) Z8 n) s9 B0 y; Z# a1 Z$ u
said. "There will be Chinese and English." N3 `3 d# S% w+ x& ~ r' ]
. g q" U1 L- H6 F
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly `, C# ~5 W# ?+ l- A( T
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
3 U) \' x; Z4 {! y* B- ]8 p' Uschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
l3 {# h4 r% k! T1 A1 K3 skindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 ~3 a) g+ }& q9 d" s
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 U- e! U; I) T2 R' y y1 kthe school system last year.
7 m+ I }; N& M( e5 r
" h: X* l; B. j0 aThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this4 G- q) m1 d" M# {7 b% D
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.0 u0 L3 P0 m$ z( J, A4 s
: _7 t- ~4 ~1 X2 {"They have a great international experience right in their own
* C. S D- m# H% kclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. j! p2 Z5 h; J6 @5 J: o2 ]3 F
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) c7 F: a# V$ D$ \2 A, L( Bhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" P* k, g! J8 V2 y
on an equal playing field.") R# r: Y, V9 C3 ~) K
; x# L2 Q2 ?) M G; j4 T e
Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% }# ~8 b( E" R! H* L7 d3 Tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
1 I; s% l; l' r, H* uService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks K! J5 f6 p2 t+ i6 f' S" y
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
$ |* f* H+ Z0 K9 [average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in) k/ s* l& L/ M+ U
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
9 o& z% y" X0 w8 ^8 X, v& tinstitute says.; |- ?% C! r- ^" `6 P/ i6 ^& o
3 I% ^1 y# T) w7 w4 w8 \
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth. K2 n$ ], x: E+ H% o- V* n
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ E L( s$ e) Y' l- W& I
deciding whether to take the class.! Q: n- p1 \) a
% }6 B* {* W2 H8 _. X3 {$ x
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 U4 T" F. k4 ^: U+ a/ atold her daughter.- A( g& j: R7 u; w. [. O8 l
4 g1 p/ I6 Z, z# z3 q- C# _Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite W! o6 D( E: v3 C; H: r# ^, K
class.
2 G: k" e' _( n6 c
$ J9 e1 C ~0 u+ W `7 O# QAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. E( `+ x8 b$ Q2 A/ h' B
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without& E6 D& l* o2 n; s
occasional frustration." B4 I0 F, E) i* h$ X4 l( n+ L
# i- f2 o0 ^$ `% L
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
& F$ x9 [5 O# ?7 C7 j+ ~ I3 L9 drecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. W, t9 G" U; L7 }3 ?# L9 J1 U" c
2 f5 s) I- `7 P1 E T7 L9 XRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he g4 O4 a4 B2 Z1 x* _7 L
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
0 y+ u9 R1 {( _Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.2 f; p/ d4 f2 u
( b e H' M, `' [; f3 }. G* g3 R"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ m+ G& P0 [# V* Y0 G& n
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn1 j; X2 ~% g! c( d9 S
as many languages as I can.") n1 t3 L; @$ n
; g% J8 U O4 g+ i! XAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the% L5 Z, s) r! d5 j$ [" E2 R, r4 h
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 R* i! d. L1 Y6 o |) m/ ^
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) R( K$ m* I2 S/ p
that," Ms. Freire said.
/ Q; m: P }; S6 a. E9 e" d5 b% F6 z V* u: E- B: R, e
Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ R, K; J0 M2 s: _
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
# j) B. A1 }. |# J4 H# lschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
* U& G7 J* J7 x3 o1 @time from classes like physical education, music and art to make) }5 \" }, D {! x
room.
: ~8 A3 i0 p/ _: _ d2 |5 e" _: H, J" s8 G
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer' P1 L/ a: k+ m; X' W: d
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American. b, W7 F3 L4 g9 W7 y
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said./ k3 h7 _) T$ w& H
- y: X5 i3 T2 O+ u
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified. ?& Z1 y7 U$ }) |5 Y8 x
because of that missing certification," he said.3 V1 k# q$ Y9 {
( M; V F8 D* |- z' Y. v4 _
The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 P: u8 w: {6 ]' Q/ I5 q& Esaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
0 f8 c7 N8 s" F5 X. WSociety in New York.
( T6 U; Q: H0 M" V$ U) @9 k7 ]! `$ \# w5 i6 \
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- D$ R% Q& Q e/ H8 W
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
) W' P" v& v# A) P# J, ~. a5 @( uthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
8 Z" I; j8 ^& `0 g& M5 O- o
4 {7 Q; l9 s8 P( j6 J' O2 F"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
" Y- R) P* d1 `9 vown."
4 x3 Q5 T, O" {9 Y' z6 o3 o$ ^
' E2 T$ Y9 P8 ?' c6 gCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|