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October 15, 2005
# u' V- }" }2 g6 j8 @6 v$ }Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity- y& C+ A5 t) l' z
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING$ I8 v0 V9 m# w8 c
2 x( \5 b5 ~5 U3 p4 t+ ECHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the* }( F- d) W7 _( q
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary( ^; o) d7 _4 I, L, z6 b
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ ^! y1 ?3 {9 P" b# ~
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ |/ [6 X% O/ D/ U5 uflag hang from the wall.
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9 u+ u) t7 I* s1 p7 u$ POne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one8 g# H, R, Q* L/ _+ l9 J
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' H" V/ q5 p; o4 w# w9 `
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 E/ _: ~& I7 n- z8 o+ v
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 g7 k8 X8 j6 p/ @ {
are already choosing it over Spanish.8 g7 A% }7 Q: t
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 s" b5 P7 `* U9 B" R7 X& F; x* zat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city N1 q8 A" n( p0 T' }
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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2 b5 R' _6 r: g, D7 Z1 NWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 ~2 f, N# o5 w$ e- B0 c2 aschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings9 Q: s$ G# Q! d7 [" g, C, o
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
& ^$ V: p4 \; l ^0 l! jone of its most difficult to learn.
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- C. ]3 C2 Y* v7 Q% E4 Y4 c$ NLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to' \% G2 k8 G* Y$ W. X4 a) R$ Z8 M& U* n
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! M6 D3 D7 D+ o* h( w
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
% W5 T0 P. B4 |Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of3 D& G' W1 t3 ^: U
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& g! m! c. q9 j. L! X h( b4 p2 [' F
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to/ V8 S7 z9 Q/ { c; q' Y8 p ~
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 Placement) p8 G/ l, l9 _2 G4 ]" q) b: J& i
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country w3 j* M% l; ?# @& r& j
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to* S+ O8 j4 X2 N% l$ T6 x# n, R
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* s* M2 z) l) _: D* s
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* _3 r, s6 l. d+ |; Y; ~
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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# P7 u" w% u, X' `$ w"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
9 ]6 \5 s0 D) K' ]9 d: ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 } C% A" I) H3 d0 H3 ~: o/ ^8 n
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ I; V7 l) T- ?. k/ K4 i
can." / }) [9 l; T, f, ]1 e
8 E- v- u' Y" R& ~The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
' d3 @- J2 s0 o( telementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 107 P" R5 ], v; }
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
# N3 l4 O" t: ^- P: YInstitute in Washington.9 j0 z% _4 \0 r
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" z; O/ X* ?2 }# ^0 ~aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
1 ~. m3 g: R5 \, lMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical, H0 T' U% G5 E
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 j5 B2 Z$ A' m6 N% l% l9 mready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
4 Y# m* L; `7 Z" V; n" ?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
( |8 \- S) o2 ~ M: J) gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& n2 N. L$ l, o& W- w+ n/ Lcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of8 z; \4 i5 d& @
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 K# ~3 o; t" D' N% X0 m2 L& I$ k: ?on weekends.9 H2 P+ t$ T0 v* s' a$ F2 H5 s
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public' \, A2 w8 P. Y+ ? w) G9 y
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves; `" M. I$ A: B3 N7 b/ ~0 O
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
+ `; w3 F+ t+ C( ?5 oproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
( D P: }4 |' T3 H( ], X7 H6 _competition.
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: A& l' i: K; F' q& ^) A$ z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 M. P3 e3 ^1 _6 _
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly& G6 r0 d, u2 \+ B& ~4 v" p
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse j X9 A! o2 O8 b( T) W7 a
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from9 w& Z- ^* O1 t' g
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
5 h7 L- S4 j3 W* O* ?, R: @$ I2 owho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% J# W9 v" r/ `1 W9 K! z
the school system last year.( ~" t2 I4 Z% e* f0 P4 [" f% B
2 E# M. l4 |% X6 A4 a" {The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 N, S0 a" X/ @- ~year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! ]) {) L2 C9 I6 F+ R) x8 v
& A' Y Y+ ^+ \0 a- K"They have a great international experience right in their own
; X5 V# S/ P( [2 Q& w yclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* }! w) ~ S3 o. R
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to/ `1 k8 T& {# F% S$ d) J
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- K" o) Z" P+ `. q2 j
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 l2 g) Z- ?& }2 t/ [7 R |classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. a$ n4 E; K; `& W; b
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
. d$ k3 K7 S, D+ `; oChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
% V* F7 i8 t L6 Uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% d3 v3 \9 h6 ]8 [% rChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
2 ?0 o' W$ @1 h4 T$ V Jinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth1 J. |1 W+ w g
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, y+ `+ U6 d# L) _
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 f/ b- ~7 F9 C% k) M* Utold her daughter.
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8 y/ V0 F) }6 V( S- b/ q5 D# \Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' p# l4 S; C2 e
class.% m# y: o5 @( d/ M5 }
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are; M6 |: w7 e% ~" ^( B9 c
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
: V; b& k- y. Z8 Y$ E7 u1 noccasional frustration.2 b( q3 w9 C( b
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
# B7 H! x" z Q8 P1 s5 B L6 Vrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* c1 W& k* ^6 K8 C5 ?0 {" G# @
; u7 S B0 ~; hRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
0 q+ G: d9 z% u2 j: \ p; }- }taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with2 ?$ ]; o& A0 l
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.2 [7 R& Q4 M% w9 w4 H' V
; A. [: ^* R% {+ O: E"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul) Z% @) v7 G) @+ I& I
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
' C( ^/ n2 R8 Q, \3 _as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the, ^& J; L' m% G: K6 E5 I
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job8 l" E7 U: @8 s6 u, u9 J& }
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
* w! \6 M& D( B; A' mthat," Ms. Freire said.8 ?; u ^; G. L+ I$ L8 u8 \; q
) [. G s4 @5 a7 x- P m) u0 N3 `2 o8 wMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
`* q' F+ R' ]) b! m6 rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 J2 c1 N7 L7 ?) p" M
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking& w$ z' A$ f6 e R0 M. y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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$ M7 w/ r! I2 B7 [" Y5 u$ FChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
9 E: K! B3 l, ~. DChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! s6 s E8 g( c: [7 l' Wcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
) ]: M& I5 Y/ k. ]5 C0 {3 M+ V/ nbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,! r# I# w. j: o5 [7 X) x$ n- {
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 G2 o; f6 } P( o+ H* p
Society in New York. i; V0 _* z4 N# ?6 v: T! X' a
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# a7 B) G6 {# m7 r
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' M) _: w* ^ @: d6 ythe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 z; R) ^; c5 x/ ^
' b! G6 o6 l- K0 l"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- j% u( g7 v: |% L( Z* A
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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