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October 15, 2005
. P1 Q" n! \ n6 EClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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2 g4 R* c# n+ h- l4 ?$ u, NBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING$ s- u' y7 ?# ?
5 W/ S8 Q1 Y, c% d% M: bCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the3 j( {! _1 X- C$ T' R" q% U+ |
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary) m( R0 c( U. e5 y) s# C
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
6 }, w8 o/ A" ?* _$ _, zdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
4 A- ^+ ]" z Y+ Hflag hang from the wall." k3 v* E2 @9 Z% f% y* j8 ^
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 T# R9 Y7 ^ t; l* \another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ n& u4 M& o$ p; ppracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
& {) {( {8 ]3 E! Oboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* a) Y0 [0 S1 f& X7 Oare already choosing it over Spanish.+ e; y, {% ]& [) C
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal5 W" R+ E7 s: D" `, o: U/ B
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ j6 E" }) u: V6 W8 n q. Q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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& j( w! D f: h8 z3 y" l5 `$ nWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 O% M. K9 l/ c% |8 P: e+ U
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
; a) v& ]3 G" M* Y9 Wto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention% F w9 Z4 y) s8 d8 w1 ~1 p
one of its most difficult to learn.
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; \$ n8 y2 W% ~9 }/ K9 x* RLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
$ h! O S7 J: w7 _7 M6 dpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
3 d! X1 Z. b, Z) `$ B- }4 K2 tstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
, p1 K7 _8 c9 I T' ]$ \! @Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of+ S u' u6 E( K4 e3 x
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. I- K0 w& s$ |: `' zChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 s$ }- T3 D+ z: Wimprove 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 Placement1 w/ ~% G H5 P
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& d: s9 S$ ]% D3 S" ]4 e
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 a4 y5 i5 f) T0 W& Cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% q+ W S& ]0 d: t1 Wcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director( a# o9 G+ S9 S( e" }/ P, K
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 l4 j m0 E2 C! u5 |
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 G+ O2 k6 @3 S( h' }/ ]Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 W) X' ~+ J" s/ R/ O& R. rcan." ; Z) w4 T- T( F( ^" k& V# A
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from+ T/ }$ Q8 `! {7 M
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: `# @ Q( M$ T' ^7 gyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 M$ A; P$ J! W! c5 K+ O! aInstitute in Washington.
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+ ~* a; a) c+ I. i* z"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" J' K0 l0 E3 Z6 `: r1 }aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.& k5 b* c$ ]6 T9 m! \7 z/ Y
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical3 k% A7 _: g6 s# a0 B/ m
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 o; D3 z. T$ V- N+ y5 M1 nready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: w. b! e: g/ g" C) S9 Qchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% c) f1 h4 y( l6 G T4 Z' csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in% v( O7 B* ^1 K. l6 ?
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
W8 {2 ?3 o1 T |9 A' g2 m+ f9 vChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% o% J( e0 K; x+ Fon weekends.
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& f2 O4 s1 t' V0 H* Z& N; NThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% l% Y/ R7 Z: H2 {: I& B* _0 Wschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 X3 x5 b/ {. M4 T- M; }. u. ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.* o' Q! }" K G
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
5 y4 N6 n, d& p3 {3 H$ V& @7 Qproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the N3 K. j0 H a7 \
competition. , M5 L$ G: L/ w$ {$ n3 x. H
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley: L; }: W1 J @$ `. t& L
said. "There will be Chinese and English.") E: v) g' ~; I! P
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
r( h2 ~8 m4 lall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' x2 o; c7 w; L# ~schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; Z6 q1 _. {, `1 G
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ g e# e6 {$ \; Y( s' h2 T
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to, h! V! ]8 e- ^1 F3 I( W+ ~
the school system last year.
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5 H9 P- U# |$ }7 A9 X% B" S4 _ yThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
, T+ ~$ |2 l- S1 {; ?year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.. m5 D# E/ A& E& E# Z# t' c
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"They have a great international experience right in their own& ]; a O) B( e( d* f
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 ?* s9 s* @, _ ^Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to( ~, U' M. i) [0 \
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ y$ `( S! r+ S* Q' e$ U# h" ^1 Mon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 {/ v0 a" A* v8 ~/ ^" \
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign5 |0 ~: y" s$ Y0 A' T/ F
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
- s9 k- C- s, CChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: {) R0 J: `( s; p
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. @- K* O) n* n. h; I( C
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
' S0 O# j3 R: m8 [; D5 kinstitute says." h, G# ?& ^; A6 |
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
1 X2 j, C& d- B8 Xgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) t" t6 K& ^0 j5 J+ N. t
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 Y" t' s. b4 w- {3 I' Y9 Atold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite2 C8 X3 l1 q2 o( E% c+ W2 h0 B
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
& ~, y# }" J$ @) U1 n5 u. X! gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
! @8 B! w' E. l, j5 {- [ E! t' S! Doccasional frustration.$ k! f3 [0 Z4 f8 v
4 x$ t5 d0 u3 d: k5 c8 a"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; f$ p3 z! H+ brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.' O9 M% a9 ^* b- \* m* T5 \ \4 C
6 a' B. @4 T$ S$ x9 z( p7 TRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he. j9 r! i. H! ?5 C! H. W- H2 |8 T
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
) s/ W2 }+ R- I+ cChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- M& V2 u# h: |
' m% n2 X0 F, F; E; M"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 Z. x3 I; X. Z* \, K
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
( E* P* A3 a# E7 j; f2 vas many languages as I can."1 ]$ c; |- E7 r; D+ q* P5 {
$ H# n* \$ Z. w2 J: s8 `. [Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- }# R. ^# Z( b5 ?: Vskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job' h: H0 `/ J6 D4 _9 p; s
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like7 E9 a, g: ]( g) l( A" ~
that," Ms. Freire said.! W1 k0 t$ T( r4 a8 U
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program& H9 O. c& {- z$ O# J7 ?
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 D& w1 X! O( }# f& S5 Z8 U
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking9 G% {( D, g( t# O( [
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
4 k, ?( D8 T9 v j( Proom.
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6 d/ x1 f( r9 [0 S* p2 aChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 [$ ]5 \1 g1 O" V# p- A& _3 G b1 K
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; ?; |" D) ~2 I7 Y. W
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- W7 S4 o, {6 a
6 l: X$ [- Z6 L, W"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
1 X4 X( B& N& V" G2 lbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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% g1 j( F# D) l0 G" g) AThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
' m" E" n, x( v7 G, ?" Wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% y$ k9 n5 K" E& BSociety in New York.0 G& D6 f7 C; R
4 M: o$ l$ w# |9 {; t PSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- ^1 k8 ?& s& ^: l2 g
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
* J! T% q$ `' B- B6 J6 s! gthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: {+ S9 ?/ q) [$ \0 C0 H. ~% e
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
% ~2 r) [8 O$ d W0 down."
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# E# i# `0 r2 g- w# w( N6 u- aCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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