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October 15, 20058 p; {% L+ T0 x+ P7 R8 t% m3 i/ d1 z
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: l: {% b/ L; M; ^* H+ }+ s3 F
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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+ D! _5 @4 c) D. z) Z" c/ u3 e* CCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& G3 G" B/ G8 t- T
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' q+ o6 w% _7 d
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% E, b- v6 A! E' ?dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 l: P+ a" u! j2 _5 m, ^flag hang from the wall.* Y5 Y4 @7 P# H0 A9 ~6 m, U
; r5 y( S2 m; l8 \4 `' dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one8 a; _) K2 b0 d
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* a4 G6 B7 l+ I8 c- C! M8 T( D! mpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker+ M8 ^% ?+ W' g8 e' H9 n, |' f
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* e, b+ [2 r0 c: q( ~0 [. ^& P0 F+ p
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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# W9 O4 I O0 D0 d# P$ `"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# f8 s+ Z k ^1 U |
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city8 N/ O% l6 m9 G
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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g5 q2 q2 _6 Y/ B @With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
I4 ]8 E. v- B( `/ l$ D( wschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& }$ p; R4 }# Y
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 R& p8 s4 C" |' r% E: X4 Gone of its most difficult to learn.1 `4 ?, P6 S3 V; q
* U, v) c/ O8 I: X6 GLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to& q# M( D9 J% I; D- X
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ y8 r1 D( o/ w
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. I0 h1 b$ c& jLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
: I! N# e* f0 u) MTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! F, Y9 y: E8 g& b. U5 o# M
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
Y, G. s0 ?: K2 F) r& W! ?improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.! v4 |$ c0 P1 j
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement2 Q u8 ]& t0 j. s) c# y; }. B
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country8 P% g9 ~9 I+ ^. b1 A& ^3 c% y' E
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 F/ Z' @# N0 x) N6 u5 T4 Ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
h* S4 @6 ^$ |& G0 ^curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director4 x' G! X& B% d7 p5 a8 A; m; F
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
$ n) H% t7 k2 k/ s
- f4 L0 R. r& f# e0 H' o"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of; _- a5 `; v7 O, R" s( ], H9 a
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
3 i+ f6 t v( ?5 m" M: h! HConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 d* R" j/ x" z i) ncan." + E# c) z/ q0 X9 i% i; I* c" F( D2 ]
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
( `) f) M _6 N; d1 Kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10& b- E& n. l9 O8 G$ X- C) o
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language( j: M; I8 m0 c# ?3 a3 }) ]
Institute in Washington.) @2 } o8 C8 _( A2 c- h/ r
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# f, s+ u5 t, ]. Q1 w. }
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
# u0 X. I( v9 \$ ~2 _- y# \# e9 BMcGinnis said.
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2 i. t5 j4 {: u"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical5 F5 z( Z# W9 V8 x
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 i o; {6 T/ O* e% m; r H; Nready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& P _& H, @3 M+ o& H6 ]
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 M. M2 j3 [, e) I
+ S0 O, {3 f/ y0 U9 }
Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
8 B+ F5 Y: `- t) osecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in# w9 h; e; x- u" v: j8 i1 l
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of* c$ W" S* g4 c8 t8 b9 t Z
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or. t6 {" R' U! o5 D; I( k$ K
on weekends." P: X+ k( e1 _* J4 R' @& c
5 C. l! E" C9 N: rThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 H( S% s5 y2 x3 }7 r5 L3 H: M3 |
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves$ @: X! ^" ?6 C5 G7 c# \
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! I. B3 L* N p. [: v. Wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the3 i1 i! t0 G" m$ X# [4 A
competition. 5 y( d" w7 o: {; T I' ?. N! S
5 `: ~* u# Y0 @' ~3 W"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 {) \* m0 |% v" L) r0 Isaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. j/ V' Y/ G& i2 L2 S4 ~4 dall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
% s1 o( C# N+ ?+ z; pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from7 o) d: V5 Y# X$ H7 A9 n5 L `
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
1 x0 P+ ^0 H/ X$ bwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% m& r) e( Q8 Z, u# Z* X7 v% @
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 X; \$ t* Z/ h( o9 y) M
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 m0 o) x) Z ]# n+ F/ E, I( d* \8 ]classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago+ M7 d! M: ]7 c
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to& q- H) h! _ n. y# N: Q0 c
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet# G X5 {2 M$ E; d2 [8 f
on an equal playing field."2 H$ T# s' H/ O3 e
& c/ S' |* h1 a1 bSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# \4 Y8 {3 R$ v, _9 F- I, s- ~classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" c) [6 R5 E* y
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 q7 u2 I: O. x7 n) DChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 z+ c: k1 U: R, g* Q5 p) }6 Laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 C% S: ]' x& T! }$ a4 ]Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
9 q" u& N5 P8 w* I) oinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ F: [( [4 J6 V; B& d- dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) ~! V- N4 \! U+ R. `& m
deciding whether to take the class.% u( a1 s5 ^, B8 X! `: t' [
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# c9 N8 ?4 ^: N( N; Y% S, Ntold her daughter.
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) P$ Q& y; X9 GSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite/ J" M; N( _9 @
class.: E: }( H4 V% B; Y0 z
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 Q1 P. R. Y, g, n. s$ R# Z" ustudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without& U# s" I8 }+ T
occasional frustration.
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5 h1 {8 n" g( L- U f5 _"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. F' y3 s) _ ^% b$ ^! Qrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. Y) n5 f. P* e
% r( F! _8 p6 f& c0 P5 V2 K+ t* kRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
9 L9 ]0 o) V' b# y1 c Utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
}- I, H9 N4 oChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
3 V0 \; }& h( d7 W8 t% a
8 G" h% @5 }) @! @"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 I* _8 ]$ T. C) i H Csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn$ f* ^" y$ W, Y& V+ O- F
as many languages as I can."& t4 I4 B( r$ |1 e
9 e2 u: U& d% O2 `% ~9 U6 aAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the5 U9 N( \& J: e. U
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job8 `3 z- J- i7 W/ b' X
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& P2 @; E/ w/ x" E! w( K
that," Ms. Freire said.
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% C; a1 Y3 B9 h' \9 {/ tMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program9 A; [, m* N# Z3 b
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ b, F4 j) Z5 c" l6 W5 v
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
@0 E' B: L7 {, `time from classes like physical education, music and art to make1 u. c; a3 }. L8 p F ?. d
room. a G1 a4 Q$ `! `
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer( s/ `8 u3 a: [+ f5 }; P ?
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) {3 K1 L. @+ i. i! e
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.. V7 ]: d+ G: K2 w
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified W4 n% K- W8 I3 b+ q: E; m0 p7 j7 u
because of that missing certification," he said.
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9 z. P6 u. B$ O- ] IThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,# y( k% T9 K4 K) `% o3 m: y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 q& Y" {# X8 ]# \% U* k/ VSociety in New York.
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: m# {( [% ^; V1 J+ _Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
Z {1 {0 @( K3 P; F$ yChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from2 |0 U2 T/ i7 O
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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1 q% W3 U9 R( Q1 ~2 O; D"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our; q, x" _& }4 i& s! Z" E. X' T
own.", E% l+ j* G: D) [
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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