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October 15, 2005: F- o7 V; z0 b
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 x" X0 | v6 L3 P/ N% e
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING8 }$ T9 u7 N$ A# [2 ~1 Z
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the) ?* Q" R3 N' k( I6 m* @
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 J1 a) a% s9 w5 @0 h A. D) G
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
+ x7 X! \0 ]7 }7 bdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese' r: [8 O# i5 `& t+ m! F5 B8 ^, E
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one u3 ^+ G0 z6 l8 q6 _
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders/ w' b0 g# }% v- Q8 M: {6 H
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker P/ S3 h7 t) {. R7 b
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
+ t# C5 g# i* G4 W. Qare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal0 D" M. C7 X: c( J; I V( g
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ m' H- U; X! R& y6 s
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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7 L1 [1 a/ ~2 h0 s( _( Z" GWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
5 r! k' c$ C% ?/ e; ]schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings- C, |' z. s# h, \( |
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 O* p6 D& k) Q* U9 M! K6 i+ ~one of its most difficult to learn.5 }: G" v* J, u. l) }
! @ p, I/ |4 i6 M5 ^Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
( s( p5 _5 I9 R9 A- i, Dpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ {" c( g4 u' K1 A. {6 e
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.1 g6 a# E, l: _, P0 I
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of7 H; f1 A( w, H# n
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on Q- s) Y9 M+ o) ^# L
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to/ A2 g6 p; N7 z, |( Y
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement4 T9 q7 r: C# Y9 D% q$ N
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; S; y) z9 U$ V( J; c. x! U* `. q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to4 ~) o! F7 E4 }+ t
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 i) I) I ~4 O6 E! q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. P+ r u1 l7 P- pof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.8 e: R4 D2 y K6 x: E& g
6 m+ d& n! A/ Y7 C9 Y0 z; ~$ C"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ Q0 ~& o; A. m* g& Uspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education% ?1 D+ x% ~7 }* z* A
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we9 P2 X$ c8 X4 F5 } U
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, }! o- V% I0 I) xelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10+ S* X4 R5 n V) G. U
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
: X7 ]2 Z" h$ j- `% E' ZInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% ^9 U8 ?# w7 W+ J
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; z" h3 `. C7 G K2 i
McGinnis said.
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; H; t& c3 x! L( V7 j"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# V% [ }# N" f, g* ~9 P3 E }* c% u6 Alongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be% D+ D6 l5 p: U( \$ ~
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
V* I+ [# @1 r! j: }& ]challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% {5 o0 [6 b- Y" c; u1 e1 j' {2 l
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; [! G8 h) z, {. e( D- n
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' q$ q5 Z/ B6 o& C7 l( \% }6 vChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! H& e: O! V" T' R, j$ |3 C
on weekends.
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1 K* a6 y0 Q1 eThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public' ]! ?4 @' F8 n# n5 d* Z5 o
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves: ]; s7 L4 s0 w8 X+ P8 h" f' u
students who are not of Chinese descent.2 L, b, d) }, `) t4 ~
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" c9 ]2 m G! j2 uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the9 q6 D4 M" [/ e
competition.
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7 v; `* v1 B3 F! w"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
7 k( q0 d% k6 u4 c, w' d% Y& E7 Csaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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! e8 M) Q5 }% a7 w6 XFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 k' G7 f& @6 H( o9 p. B& J4 L& d( S3 Dall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
) a2 J! F' V2 w$ p5 \( zschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from' q6 N2 M/ W: r- d1 y p
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, W7 f- r, U0 }7 A9 o1 u
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to1 ^$ X5 F# ^! W$ F/ W' z }, M
the school system last year.
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# m- u0 L4 i, [. [The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' O0 u8 C! B" m% O" S7 D, t0 [$ X x5 |year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.) r& ^3 v( f* B
! L" G1 m) a5 K5 T3 D3 S"They have a great international experience right in their own* s5 y/ _- V! w* T( @8 `1 h
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, f# M" H; [- y P' b5 P
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
+ y& P4 r2 t9 {, mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" z6 L; x# M) c: @& O+ H- v/ {
on an equal playing field."
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# y) \& q; T8 nSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese7 k# n8 f2 G1 Z- P5 Z/ W
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ h) L+ S1 O* i5 S6 Q
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* `; ?0 d# i9 T& VChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An- d/ \1 H+ Y7 w( r4 V+ t5 \/ X( i
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 s$ c5 R4 z9 y, E5 r9 ^
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 x3 G; x2 j& t i4 R/ l. T [institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth0 e8 Y2 O+ h1 P. ?
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
. M" ?+ V. x. Ddeciding whether to take the class.
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! |1 ~8 k- F2 b5 A. K' h. h6 }"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 |7 E( C( _) Q7 W: F& A
told her daughter.
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: N5 T r% A* s9 {Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 }& b; l) N [) s! E
class.% {5 c! _. K, ]
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 ~- G' b$ X% p+ ^9 I. U9 I5 @* `
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- V$ k* K( @+ K# G
occasional frustration.+ @, ?! O: |# s3 ~- M
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 t: z6 D V; x. V
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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! n" N' Y" q) Z- O! L1 sRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
" c, N# g( N( l/ o& ^# ]" Ftaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with0 ?+ C: m% C. A m1 b7 _
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works./ N5 o0 T3 \$ m8 v) c
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
) z& p. @# A% ^- e/ V. g8 h& e; {3 ?said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( R3 @: Y" l4 F) t# j- d; u) J
as many languages as I can."* C* {+ `( M$ x
* d% o1 F; H0 u% m4 R8 H3 xAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
# ^) w* o+ z j; s# g" O Fskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job C/ J4 Z0 j6 R: ^; H) X8 R
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
+ _4 ^3 n7 o3 }( }" X% ~that," Ms. Freire said.% |& C6 w- r, @$ b g4 k
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
7 O7 u u' k% m! D# }here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
e4 `* s }* @school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- R- I- q4 I( i5 v: u* D* C
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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6 n& I' a4 f& `Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
; u. }6 x3 C( Q1 {% P2 eChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ t0 j# t1 J! j* e2 S
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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; n' N8 o" |- v. Q w+ d: X"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
2 p* v" m* q% n% F: n+ J) H/ Z) Xbecause of that missing certification," he said.: \, q0 L1 O2 p Q$ i$ m+ O
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
8 y3 y, [0 u! w/ S, m& z1 ~; }) jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia" D: U0 c3 H8 O1 k
Society in New York.
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8 z9 o' v, n1 Z! A/ vSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* q! H' ?/ @+ h5 u8 I
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
" K% |2 f! D* Q+ _the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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