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October 15, 20059 u$ p5 ~4 j: O. c- X0 W
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity0 T6 J& b5 i6 t8 d& _
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 f3 ]0 `7 n. x1 T& j3 WUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 d- d2 l% [; b8 _: fSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: W+ w3 p6 V" L' g# C8 gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& u; S: | U! ?2 _3 E" g9 nflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& x1 C1 s( a0 w9 |) n
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders/ l8 X; S& F0 l" O/ c
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 A& q$ O# D6 f7 U
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 B0 s1 @$ w3 w2 K
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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6 n t0 \6 s0 \/ [; b: S"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 l g: ?* Q0 ?' G( B/ E1 S$ f" jat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city; n O% l0 T, F- O x! M
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."7 r( S# T2 x# F9 I9 V8 |) t, c1 n
8 c; }! }3 F& l0 GWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
8 a" Q; u$ l S" nschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings2 d2 y. }4 F. N* d
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 R. ~( a9 e8 W l7 X5 A0 y' J& t
one of its most difficult to learn./ O0 i9 V9 R+ K, C0 s
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) N, J; l: c4 g3 C; K$ d( @/ X
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students, @( y+ j& W* r7 u) Q+ j* l
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.; t: t0 I: E9 R
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of. X4 ?2 g" F4 p: u* G, v
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
* g) I* ?) M* XChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to: @' }3 x% J/ s* j8 r2 T: W. p
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.8 r/ u* Q' M& S$ _
# T. w" V- ^5 h qAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
. n( k+ V/ p0 [7 [1 KChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country$ ~; I5 Y! e, G k
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# ^" |2 o7 Z4 G5 W- F$ o6 X8 Pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ W" v& M! S+ T- e0 m
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
! b2 [$ o1 \" f# N; y: c% E( f- X/ Xof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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* r7 t Y9 A. R; U2 Q; `"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
, e6 d: m6 }& \speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
$ X. R) `1 F. M0 K2 W" s$ |2 QConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we3 k' F+ l1 S2 f1 f5 u6 o- f5 d
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, ~1 D5 G+ y, a' @8 U
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
9 W$ K. j) q+ S0 k5 syears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 ^' M0 p# f' B7 \- A9 u" e
Institute in Washington.+ N6 j6 a4 R4 E% W$ ~
2 [! X) ^( Z/ S8 p7 ]"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages0 G W8 U0 A W [
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
U2 S* G4 J& Z) eMcGinnis said.
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; _+ d: ^+ ?, g% Y"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical N7 p& L/ z5 Y4 c$ j9 U# A
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ E) P0 L7 y2 O1 v3 R$ X5 {: b8 T
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
4 z9 E- y! L' |% a& J+ Vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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$ X# |+ d; g& d9 ^6 EUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and4 r* u$ C: {# E6 E
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
" d) O3 A0 L, v% b* b# m; s" y) Xcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) @, |$ z" f/ ~1 TChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or; v" z: `$ z+ Z9 e) R# q
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public+ J" r" M* j0 e3 `
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
8 K. n* p3 Y' C. R Zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 g9 n! h, e, k, Bproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' h5 D+ v$ D' y. a
competition. 6 R, @) K: W3 ^0 | z# b2 S
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
+ F- k" g+ A# K# t- hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."7 ]6 U- w; |# ~
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly& c$ X7 A3 ?* Y9 n% i
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 |) j T" E2 ] O6 p0 r" D5 O
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
`8 G- U. m g, _! `- r/ }) \kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, Y4 h. s' J! B( L- \who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 y3 N y5 ], m8 j n
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 ]3 X7 S1 F& F; `: L7 M
year 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
9 K; o; @- C0 J5 V! W+ kclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. H+ w# S9 X3 Q7 L* B' y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 i: L5 X" n# P m9 ^6 E
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet# p* h5 O5 k+ r) k; r
on an equal playing field."
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7 [: d5 j, Q! e. m9 ]$ _Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
r1 d' A, N3 A1 [classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- K, ]9 t$ p5 l2 k4 ]Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
, ?" q6 y7 ~2 c# V! aChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
! U' {5 h3 O( H2 zaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
. b: f8 T9 r. c6 Q" H" {Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
( d4 A- g3 `/ K, W) xinstitute says.
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3 B: _5 ?: {' `% K7 t$ ]# t& TSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth* F# k9 w% v, c$ c+ i
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
9 }; u& ~$ m9 s; q- |deciding whether to take the class.9 {8 H v1 [" G% p" `3 ~, L& e
/ V0 O: {0 D3 s) x% M, E% Z0 _"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' M$ z( X1 y: Y% wtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# s2 _ t- N6 C8 I& U. z
class.
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3 q% P$ d& P% T2 N! {2 tAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
8 S' a# B6 @7 _% M: Mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* g: i, ?7 y8 z. joccasional frustration.
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* ^4 t% J# F* B7 ?3 `"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
& ?% H, s$ f9 P+ srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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" M6 o) M& v( A! J* \- w* l( }+ i PRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
% Y, g0 K7 X& h" L% Htaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with N3 R `: ]# b; J/ m, A6 k5 d
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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" U& }* Q" L/ s% ^"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul: [3 y f6 M; d6 ]; Z; T& b
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn6 u+ a9 O4 a) {2 ?& O( ~* `
as many languages as I can."
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6 G. Z+ H7 I" Q B& s5 f lAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
0 T C7 B, O, t( z, p' w! P3 T6 Kskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
/ }, H; c8 [7 a1 y r, Rmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: H8 j. o7 F! K$ I5 B+ {that," Ms. Freire said.2 @6 s" M, _4 R( q G# {
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
% N1 j a c5 h7 _! ^4 Ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
, f c& F. B$ c8 {, p2 {school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking! ~" p% a6 A) Z1 F+ O0 y7 R {
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
: e* e- {3 A; j9 Z& froom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% E7 c9 j- a9 i6 s. v; o6 X
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American9 P, |1 r5 C6 f% k! x; ^
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' c( H* j! d4 X f8 K' }( t3 s5 u
0 O$ P; m% y9 o# t/ w) ?"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified" }. p% o) P9 C5 P3 `: w0 H' f( F
because of that missing certification," he said./ ^6 y+ L& f, J& h) O' H6 h
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 P B6 h. q1 @8 c9 X
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia. {, _. i# w5 S- {
Society in New York.
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; [( G$ c# Y" U- I% o3 \Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- }+ K8 _8 B2 y' \( `& |" b
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 F$ }* K w6 @0 `* zthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 H& E1 L; }, H& r! g o
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our2 U9 Z; B F3 |) m4 W5 J# F7 v
own."
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! d. ?* Z4 l+ z" W. NCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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