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October 15, 20054 I3 P0 }5 c G( `2 C: X
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 s/ I0 Q' E; @0 U1 Y$ z4 X; z
" G' D! K4 N5 u+ vBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 c7 z; q5 x3 \" |& M2 ?
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 w Z( r9 ^8 Z WUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 o# q2 L9 f# e# {' ?
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas4 i: U. T* h0 l' m: Q$ {) c
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% B1 M& A0 W" ~0 Y; n! c, s
flag hang from the wall.: W) R/ I; u% J2 Y5 I
! ?6 }+ w X% t9 ]# T, FOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! p! f [3 R0 N" X* s0 r+ W
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! x6 r2 l9 z5 z# N. opracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker# C: q, d1 x7 K$ U
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students+ s! m: `& l/ I" p+ H0 s* z
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 s& y1 y6 o6 L5 O6 X4 A2 ]
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
( C5 Z+ e! x4 aoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". d* u: A" _& t
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( X, Q7 L* S7 q( U. D2 ~% A
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& ]. _6 I" l1 C, ^! P# ato include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention( A9 p* X n7 @1 e2 U- e
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to5 c- B [- g3 R2 h4 ^1 [) i# R( \8 l
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students9 g; V# }9 W( O, { v" G, m/ H% }6 {
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.7 a. f( q+ h$ v+ j+ t9 m( ]
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of, e# H& C0 M9 }& s9 S1 G
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
% t+ @6 B* t% x; nChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& q. V+ e6 S" S |
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
9 d+ b$ j7 y8 x! x+ T; n4 @/ R9 |, yChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
: V6 K# W; t' p* n, d7 q2 dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 U) c5 y9 }0 `7 ^) ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( M( W# ?5 Z% `) i
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
! g9 u3 A% ^. ~- R5 |. |' G3 Mof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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( B0 e7 ^% [: D1 D5 P6 D"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* R: W5 Z1 e4 o u4 mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education q8 A3 C6 [! D+ o
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
( A. {+ y1 U7 R2 O& b u+ z. ]9 O0 Ccan."
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" u: O# {9 Y# t1 O- dThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
0 h: F% ]2 _+ e% ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
6 J. b9 W" E( Oyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language3 T5 p5 E( y& t' G/ z
Institute in Washington.
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2 \8 O" G) _; k"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 T4 u7 f8 `: k2 faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
" D$ R. Z. K+ z8 h! z" s( `$ {McGinnis said.# e& H% c7 u3 b: G" x8 y7 M
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* h" c* q/ x' Tlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 `# \( {: z3 ]7 f Dready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a" \' c% {3 w+ t. L/ O7 c) G! v
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 G( t2 P5 p8 r% T( v' ~$ d$ S8 i
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in x6 C! ]6 G* h$ a- u7 g) m0 ^
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 D6 @3 j$ S. L/ G) c0 hChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 C0 Z; n. L$ Kon weekends.9 U0 u Y1 f. U
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
/ q) k b! o& j5 \schools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ t. w1 N/ e3 w
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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- q* n4 g1 l+ Q; V) b6 YMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 a9 K# J$ w6 w0 w$ @. jproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
; R& W3 Z* C4 v( L7 S& H6 p, Mcompetition.
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/ h1 _0 V% L7 _+ S5 M"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley' s. U+ R( j e1 F5 Y3 J/ |5 [! e
said. "There will be Chinese and English.", n+ I& L" I8 f# J
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly- {. \/ ]9 U8 Q4 P+ Y
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse& }9 R' W+ x; R- s' g: q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from" q0 l/ s2 ~$ S; x
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
' l4 r3 M! O5 d' _who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
0 r& i8 X; R$ O/ p. L0 uthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
$ d6 l! o% T$ f9 T0 wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! p; ?' w2 @- v6 W; W/ O# n% n9 w
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 p: e0 g- N/ I" K) m( Tclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago+ g& Q9 U6 u$ t
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
R4 x5 O: f- ~! ~- D1 khelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
( A! x5 x6 \5 z0 h; Y8 ^" |3 Won an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese V0 E' s8 e, }+ b6 j0 Y5 t" w
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* X* `3 Z" J- p0 O7 wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; `' a& b/ M6 _3 RChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
- ~4 ]1 \5 T& {. kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, ]/ V0 C. Z5 m# R4 N
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the4 E0 ?5 G7 x# u. D1 v8 T$ Z
institute says., e) b0 Y/ p" d b }
$ l3 k. k& w0 T+ n8 wSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% q% e1 L8 _8 a* b1 ~$ b
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ Z; o! g3 P( ^( Hdeciding whether to take the class." R0 T7 S4 C) F+ g6 \/ F; y+ G6 u
1 @/ y* N2 R! S. H' g' m% x"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# q9 g0 M) `1 r) `& m8 E) N
told her daughter.
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: h. C- ?8 L/ k! \& Y0 R" dSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( ]! D! D6 s) Q' _2 b. n" P! U
class.9 W0 L6 F3 I* l) s" k5 z4 H
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. Y2 o9 G7 {! ^; rstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without, s+ f# r5 I T9 A; i
occasional frustration.6 s* W- W2 w# p1 h# d R
! M7 u+ y4 l5 \: d! n5 Q"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a- P% U0 b! |( i+ t5 T; G
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
. i1 l" P0 v4 B! Q& H/ ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
: e3 e# T f4 q9 l4 g- jChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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# _! K, p! E, j' C% l/ @. _4 A2 L"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
' e8 a N! F+ C* i w% _7 Ssaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" J0 `* `0 Y: e
as many languages as I can."! ~6 T) K& V. `! h. P3 V! l. q
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the3 z3 e. c- d* Z1 o* H7 B3 w$ t
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job# m- F5 W+ u v+ C8 U0 I% W# {
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( U# p) x5 w+ d$ {
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. y0 L2 m3 h$ Y8 u6 c1 k2 R+ K! Dhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! z( a9 I, n! i( _6 _# }
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 D4 N+ q& [8 a: c' ?* t8 L; b
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
8 l2 A( a9 {3 s! _% a, k' l* ]room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 ?1 [& s" W' s* `: {$ g7 o
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 v# W& F5 Y3 x8 [5 M
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ C. \' y7 {: l+ l# L1 R
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 Y' {& U, }) l* B, Zbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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! w0 Y! a( `/ u5 ^: zThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
; G) |5 w1 s) I0 n+ D6 \said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
3 N+ x8 t- o& E3 ESociety in New York.3 }6 H! l d# f0 M, W
3 U% f1 V- M9 ]! p JSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 J/ y! N' Q! e/ b: S' D
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ [/ `# e% h. S/ \3 fthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.( e+ q! d" N* q# [6 }% e
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our3 m! h8 u3 q: a1 f% ]0 B- t4 N
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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