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October 15, 2005! X% I$ Q: L& U! u7 F" J4 W
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity8 h$ p2 R8 K6 m! B/ O/ w' f
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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6 T; E( p* k2 ZCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
$ X( y( L" l: @$ C- n4 O; p, o$ @United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
7 ~( [6 o5 _, g' _School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
. P7 X ~3 A+ ^* O3 v- idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 E& V* x y0 V1 C; A. r4 p
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
- E$ X& T: E7 vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, k1 t8 g* @# k6 W
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, ?) x2 a, g6 j/ T
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
- [: ]; J9 B+ B7 S0 A$ }3 {2 \* }& Tare already choosing it over Spanish.3 b5 [* d! i3 j
+ X6 x( d/ A" u4 a" t1 ~"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal+ q$ W) @% b0 h7 l) w5 R; k9 P7 ?: Z
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ P8 j# x3 r* l% d
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") v( \9 F" H$ A. }. M1 [* i
& O. L% ]' W+ S9 T/ l% @) A" bWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
% ]; ]) X) h8 Q& Z4 G N, Jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings9 ~1 H+ V& K q+ w0 [
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention% u# I* Z+ O. m7 m7 E& v& m
one of its most difficult to learn.3 Z9 s3 i# L! L+ g" @/ n5 r
7 @) c: x/ N2 M" k/ J, yLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
9 _# b( ?' @- n1 K+ opublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
9 `# E' l0 w1 \studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
% F- t) S. w$ e# mLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of0 H# g$ A6 g8 \3 S8 M/ Q5 c
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on5 _- K$ b: @% G2 r
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& p* k9 J: j `/ Zimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.2 i, {7 K7 y# U% y1 M
3 t2 v% @" i' ` M% _
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
+ o; R* s' \' [) k+ ~7 j, A/ LChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
/ q- [- T4 l( k# Astarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! j! N( @( x$ N+ ?2 w, o
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
- r& E$ ?) j A1 l; hcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director( b' X, Q0 X+ q, [( X; R3 n- J) s
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& c+ Y8 }* t ^% t3 D
& T) }) Z A- g5 y7 g8 o) w
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 y- D" Y S% Uspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- j1 H) K0 U. p! J9 F @1 BConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! M: V: y |& c, i5 _
can." ( I3 A5 \& T7 \' `/ l
9 R; o3 \) O/ P/ }$ NThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! P2 Q0 u$ d3 Uelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10- `- d/ O( K# i4 R: O
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) Z8 t; d* X% s" ?* ~3 _
Institute in Washington.) s, U g, T, w u0 X
, C! I2 P9 U% G2 G$ u) \( e9 \"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 A' J; ~ W) A. E4 c. \& Raren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 r6 B3 V& d! X. d3 o% u+ }5 m
McGinnis said.( O! h* e" k2 \
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ P3 C. [$ U* a. Y) D& x: Jlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
- J4 L2 A/ p# O, v" R Oready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a5 R( n, f: r7 _" _
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.", \. {3 Y5 X" e' Z0 d9 K4 L' j
3 r3 C' @+ Y- `* t, GUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
1 L' i% ]& w) Ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
$ U) `$ ^/ k5 Vcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
1 j4 j5 s5 U- J: N3 i4 G. qChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 S. t# n6 q4 n( f/ T7 hon weekends.
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; @: J7 b! ?& A: C) U/ CThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
2 }0 H. Z) C% ^/ fschools during the regular school day and primarily serves" ]) c+ g" |3 ^
students who are not of Chinese descent.; B. {( s/ d3 X
+ ^, r( m/ t" B: y# f( ~1 x7 k7 Y! ^/ E
Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! `& I2 O6 Z* V: N, z7 Xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
0 d+ K: J) }+ d" G6 C! S7 Ucompetition.
/ k9 Q6 T1 n! t8 ^* @" z+ q2 T4 u5 H6 X) j* E" b m% r
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley8 A, E. O* g$ s% H7 e% V, y4 B
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
2 |( |1 @0 N2 [& P6 D, P( N; Z
Z/ U* ~, H) s- N, qFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( q. E% m( w$ Y1 W8 D8 g8 ?all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ X$ \& e. d5 [" x) F
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from# ?1 a6 _% E. v0 S: {4 ~+ }! W
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 |! k P! |. |0 X
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to9 i+ y2 t1 B. b) l* g, H+ W5 U7 Y
the school system last year.1 z3 N; Z3 [% P' ?$ ]4 x& v
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( N* b' u& ]4 G/ u- S6 k# w
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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; u6 s# o, n4 K/ S5 W( m"They have a great international experience right in their own: x* i m& p( O; q- Y$ M% [0 u/ s0 o; N1 N
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
7 K1 e; m1 q% AChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
+ q: s' A1 _# E; i& z1 Mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 J* Y J* s. Y; Q5 y Non an equal playing field."
2 b" }# H& x. @/ B& i* }
; P @' e# |% _) S. mSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 q9 `4 I0 n7 v s [classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' n+ C) h; j+ v# m0 Q( W% l5 K% VService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
2 l, d# `% e0 m. i, K* rChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& \0 e0 s7 S& Z) i B$ e9 Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 v: `/ l" @( L! k( |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the: x; e& j, g# M( f" K& ]! V3 g1 P
institute says.* c8 S# [( G: _2 W; w3 E, q
( l- B* z( s- l9 b0 H5 ]4 Y sSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ ^; L+ ^# s# p0 Tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; D( |3 m$ h' m0 |2 [6 D( P; bdeciding whether to take the class.3 V( M1 J3 l6 W8 V
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) G. x3 Z! @- Z, a! [2 W" dtold her daughter.7 }& }# o( T5 g6 S+ p) L
3 I+ x6 f8 X, E: h5 V3 X" NSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' I( y% v) y" v8 W
class.3 X! R l2 t+ {: p) w
8 _6 c3 U& m6 B& K1 W) F) W6 u8 D. c2 _At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 f9 K- C# R, `studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: A: ]3 l6 J" A4 l0 _
occasional frustration.
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% j I7 e7 h' |6 Y* Z( @"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a" W" ^- u5 }1 |' d, p
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
I9 I( @) c, s, I; p* |( y6 Mtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with7 b! p: J# g. n7 t9 A5 f/ g
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul/ U0 J( u y, g, K3 n
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
: D' k- `" a. y* ?, e9 _as many languages as I can."
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) a) m+ U" Z2 p$ w/ XAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& ^( d% Z, V6 }4 T2 m) ?; m. B9 c
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
4 j. b ]; X/ w* Dmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
5 J2 L* x8 a5 U1 O! tthat," Ms. Freire said." t2 L' L7 @5 q6 B
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
U& f( A) u6 i- U7 w& i3 Rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each6 @7 D* r# m; L" d/ t
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
( n1 w& `( v% \6 o4 J& Y2 stime from classes like physical education, music and art to make1 P& D9 a6 h U" _
room.& x! A" k+ L9 `5 S; R+ }1 r- M
( O ~1 u+ {5 a( Z+ @+ j5 eChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 I2 b3 z, O! j' l/ |) X( ?' T! `Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American g) o: H! h. k$ N+ j
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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0 N. P/ b! l2 |/ q5 j( }/ a"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
T! [( |: W) A6 hbecause of that missing certification," he said.: v3 {. {2 x! L# u9 X6 {
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
) l+ V+ h- \) T6 N9 ~ J3 \6 Zsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; [ X; m9 }9 W& Q
Society in New York.
5 l2 ?/ }, c% c0 k
+ o3 h2 P2 l g' P+ b$ m2 WSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& d7 p6 k% C6 y+ j4 q/ GChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 ^) T3 n$ o) V% r0 O
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
& B4 [9 S1 L ^, H- s) S% d- _( `own."
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" n+ j: b, l+ _Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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