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October 15, 2005
" ?5 f/ e, F; N u$ C3 @- z0 sClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
9 a4 x2 W# l' b5 xUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
- K5 I. Z( v# {+ o6 TSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ N; x# f: M9 h/ hdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
; F! g5 t" i0 Y4 ? Kflag hang from the wall.
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) X. F5 v% y7 l% p$ YOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one; [" \3 }" a y: u# d
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
; C3 t4 b* F1 A" ]$ K8 opracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! L- i9 F/ e- U6 L# I( S
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students7 H# T9 H2 }. P
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 m) P4 E( H) ^. I& {% f Bat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 \' U1 G5 s" foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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5 X$ s2 e$ S2 r" t& c0 lWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
& D$ ?& v4 D: K F; pschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
0 n. N; ~9 l: i* Uto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention5 K) K- U- u9 z+ G
one of its most difficult to learn." a- F+ K# }3 a+ J, n
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to9 y" X6 v: [! s+ Z7 Q5 z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ n( Q' h T( @0 p; t/ f) F' z0 }8 P
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 W; L* V2 }2 d4 J: z' v/ O; tLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
8 O7 b+ X+ D3 cTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# o2 c0 H5 P) m6 O
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to+ T! h; v0 R1 ?
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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9 ^& m/ l( f( K+ M! b) G f" `, vAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
" a- n% _$ c- V4 nChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" M8 O' E. Z9 M
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
( U: F( N* d( s2 K- R. Cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
; s# t7 s; ~' e4 X+ a" t( p d1 Pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* v, w# G' |9 R1 D% ?
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of6 k: g8 k7 Q* _, M3 n: F0 ]
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& \" H1 M2 T, P! I* r2 YConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. V+ G9 {* [. N* y( C" ]
can." . \) b# G: r; g
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
- h& Q7 ?! O& R1 U: c" c2 W2 @elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 103 V* M% u. m. k3 E) w+ m
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) c1 O1 m! X/ Q
Institute in Washington.( B3 C% S3 ^8 T& U& V9 U0 ?4 }
1 m' z3 ~/ L& [) y# S"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ Z# b* T; A L, z) V% @9 v
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( z+ ^' ^! r* n( [; M
McGinnis said.& v9 D3 L: |; _# c
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical8 `" m d* z6 x! i* v
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) H* U1 }3 c; F, _& n3 ^& q; A
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
# g$ [* y, P6 a1 Vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
6 A# n" o7 n+ V w: E, U" Psecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in/ c+ v- U3 l, q/ M9 M0 R/ E
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of5 R2 }/ N9 f! A. q! k8 b1 |
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 J) t7 W s( {4 Q! C% ^) b/ c( x4 von weekends.5 K; S I. d) W- l
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
x. g1 H0 n2 Q& C- a* Y6 \8 j* @schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) T( h; L! o- V" s4 }9 cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.5 ^& k' K6 Q4 ~- n
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said3 {$ ^( Y1 g# }' j8 f
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' x% H6 H2 T" C; ?- Bcompetition. $ B2 M O! m: F9 e; | U
6 v3 A l/ q( t2 E" o, b. ?7 Q"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
& T# J8 a' M% Q0 asaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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$ a" t8 X$ R6 o' G4 |From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# j; I" F5 r/ C9 Rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse$ O" M$ }6 f8 T% W4 Q* b- E
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from! d/ Y" y$ Q1 n/ S
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students+ x& j1 B! `" z0 O- P5 g) ]
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 w; X& s9 a9 I& R/ H6 q
the school system last year.; b, `0 j* V! W1 T; b5 r9 b3 x
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' O7 m9 ?7 m. s5 e1 Ayear 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
7 [2 I+ z$ w4 y8 ?. Lclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 M, e& m* x) @: P. v- ^! RChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to9 Z7 u# O9 f- W3 }4 Q
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
) U6 }+ `$ j- w% e$ Non an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! P, h; g1 i4 c/ zclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ ]# W2 }; a2 j: f" H4 i ^9 mService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: h5 d7 I+ ^1 ^) fChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
n' Q+ p) R( {, w9 \ Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in( Z' d/ j# O) P U9 ^, F
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 _& a$ }* v; ?7 binstitute says.
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( z8 Q8 L, u) L& q; tSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth, s i6 ^) ^0 Q& i
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 a! y. k/ M6 d; j( udeciding whether to take the class.- ~% _7 |. J1 @& y& ]4 C, h- }
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
8 C" d% T3 v- U! ]- m0 n3 V% S0 ~told her daughter.9 c" F% B# F) {9 a g4 F5 B
/ P8 L6 C: }5 YSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 m) J& N" u$ p
class., q- }1 C2 ]: L6 W
6 D% s( I0 ]! O9 Q4 x# \8 rAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
?. d8 h- ?& Zstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ L7 W4 r7 u) ^5 J+ ~4 @" G: k) r
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: o3 z J9 F% y% w7 ^+ N2 @. l9 G+ L
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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( U% k! b8 _2 J+ n* ~" b' tRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
: o" c+ R; Z0 Otaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( u- c2 F9 _ K7 K+ T2 |
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works./ D" k! { V, ~# ]0 s2 l, B
# Q. M5 ^; M8 G1 ^* f1 A"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 X7 _) ^: e0 e! x) U
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
* O8 u+ @2 m, [( m8 O$ o8 g8 [as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
. R0 z% d9 r# {! c0 [, q6 V, xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job8 m, L) O5 y& r9 A0 }4 @- b
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
+ J' n1 Q" K8 `% H. c1 c' I8 E5 Bthat," Ms. Freire said.2 C. N& |$ r, ~5 V
. ?. c6 e/ A2 \) T; D$ WMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program' t+ e5 t5 V/ y8 A
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
2 ?: j( M, ]9 e- } y- }; Hschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" ~' @7 @( ?8 g _
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' X4 J6 g/ j( E& U1 Y$ ]$ O8 U/ l. bChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% n- m+ U w6 M- f8 N/ W/ fcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' ]) X9 h3 S: s* j7 c) s
5 H2 o& S* d1 t"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ k, {, o* x- c5 w! ~8 V
because of that missing certification," he said." X2 w! S8 z. X4 m# Z. E
6 Y X( ^: Q. Z* U" J; h) }The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,2 W" ~& ?) M6 O8 Y$ \: j8 |
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
; K( j1 `1 k, q* S/ \1 zSociety in New York.( z2 ?; |: p! A- h( S
$ L( R0 I, }8 V3 e& \1 zSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
# U) }1 l4 B3 D" b( cChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from' p0 p) V& i& v' p; O
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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) c$ m9 z5 M, L1 e) d( v z9 C& ]"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our G' D8 q8 t9 n, q# D
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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