 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
October 15, 2005
4 X- N2 T# q, sClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# H6 R, b/ K E2 S
. i2 s1 Z% C# i( z( E% @
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
1 v2 U+ t! N: j9 w& L: x# J% x2 N9 c7 d! E
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the* F: f: {. ?8 A" l# M. R
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 }' ?- A8 t0 x! u4 D; C
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas6 d* }7 o0 L- z
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
+ g ~# y# g* H# I7 Vflag hang from the wall.
: \' z" X: ^( d7 {; ~8 j. j
* f. A! C' \% ^, X. WOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one- A9 C/ S7 s7 ^0 S
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
7 G! S2 S8 Y" K7 P: g0 xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, B' g v2 h& X' O: y# Mboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 f2 ^ c. _- c4 ^/ Hare already choosing it over Spanish." \6 h9 u" y0 } x- |! \/ g
/ a7 f# F% V7 y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 C3 t; V4 c0 K
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
% G: r* n+ G) z# z6 yoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
8 t: @$ |8 ^! J2 i0 ~, m6 L9 N0 f' u( S1 a& W
With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* g- Q/ M' X/ D! l# q6 B
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings9 u. O- Y/ Q* A! B b {
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
. C: z0 U+ M* j' Pone of its most difficult to learn.
1 ^" [4 m! _0 @* _9 @8 B4 G% v: Z, ?
Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) p, |: V- R* s2 Y* ^) l
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 V/ J! B$ Z% n3 _, F/ ~3 ]% a
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 E; Q5 ` \9 X0 I+ e: lLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of4 ~! Y0 z1 W9 a% ]2 _4 `7 c
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 @4 E8 e9 M% s) Y: j
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& ~4 [3 ?( }' f. I0 `
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.5 [% ]# T$ M1 n+ o) b3 A
8 I. L' D! @8 c, I( _: w) K
After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement' R' D* y# f; S' Q4 g5 _# d
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country' P$ I) @8 b8 y! K# O
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
2 M& g5 v' c5 y! M# x2 E R$ K6 T3 Y" Tdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing) V. S4 s4 N4 [8 }
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
8 }; r3 Y: t! S+ T/ [& z% }+ Qof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 p( L" ^0 M- O5 y' N. _2 `* J2 W9 C
- ^8 G) C( p) W. l8 E& J: X9 R
"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 j2 @( x+ M" {8 Ispeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
( x7 h& N" a2 T2 AConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we+ A2 M* _5 ]$ V3 r9 v' L, e9 \
can." * X. ]7 k$ R+ F4 s& S+ L6 d* x
. p! r; g! n2 S2 C
The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 S# y0 p" T, i2 g; \' Oelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
0 k$ b1 }# f- p/ Lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, a9 i/ \) F3 J' P. ^. d4 s+ E
Institute in Washington.' z4 Q! r" x0 f
& C" ?6 u* N% g; P% l"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
9 [2 r: m f0 ^aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.4 _% j! z1 D$ e. W3 J
McGinnis said.
, L' b; [5 P, j6 u& g
$ v. s6 `4 t, D( `. @"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
/ N* }* [4 [7 @& wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 _+ `7 V( J+ J1 ]
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a; U/ _ J- o# s# m- G- f
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ R2 _% x9 }1 w4 T" c
3 \1 a- J* M* L6 ~5 T: LUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
& a; p- Z5 D2 e+ C/ L7 t$ x3 Jsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in9 G+ ~. J5 [) ~: c: Y8 g5 q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
4 s. X. r: Y6 l1 t8 l5 hChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 G3 w" T) x8 X# _6 Von weekends.
- i' ]" `) x) t) N* }0 V4 u
@( K# e3 j6 u1 u! P$ r1 L& HThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* J2 {7 c) e: b& c& }( [' L( o
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. M; }' k3 Y6 q* }+ l7 T
students who are not of Chinese descent.
( R$ Q0 [5 q9 `! b
; z2 ~ j- D LMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 ]( j( G0 h: O5 [, U* B
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the8 l& Q! C( a5 O5 u% P
competition. 8 ^$ n8 _" B' U# x7 A j) v% Q7 v$ I: u0 v
8 F& l9 {+ Z4 {8 p$ v }# L# w2 H"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 c2 Z5 ?$ q. t! m3 {, c& K
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
8 Q: Y+ k3 b1 D; t+ @4 I2 b' t/ e; Q) ?" e. l& q
From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
) U4 p0 ?6 t, sall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- s3 U! w; v g/ }" s# yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 |; ^& T) o. ?* B. ]6 l
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
! B) `5 n0 ]3 W5 ^/ pwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ Z1 r U7 T2 T* I4 U% `
the school system last year.4 V* l3 f1 Q1 D
s& T8 O/ X) x" S. K' _# F. F# e
The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this: E- `3 ~' t9 i$ ~& [
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
9 B: `/ W5 g' G& ?" C, F ~
2 y: Y# h2 \4 L7 }1 k* y"They have a great international experience right in their own
- }! x- s( P ]( Kclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
; s; [$ a8 L7 b( W% ^& rChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 v _+ m) A+ b6 ~7 G
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet$ H! \6 m9 k6 w& G: s# t3 F
on an equal playing field."/ v5 s6 B4 f! c& C4 [( \ e- m
. I8 u' Q8 L3 z$ y+ |( iSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% N7 M3 G0 r g4 I7 a5 aclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
7 `! o; u5 |; ^Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
# S: _ K8 L! w9 n' I# _4 |Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
; w* P- Y4 R7 {- G( m* @% xaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
' y+ t5 i, X6 H, Q& a7 T& M' f2 AChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* [ i3 S/ I$ _9 q: L+ j$ Cinstitute says.! C% U1 I; z8 k& z! f6 V. M
# q! U- n& E1 W1 } E, ~
Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
6 Y/ m; c" ^: v: e7 z3 B0 Zgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 m3 b1 L! I6 E9 _% _deciding whether to take the class.
M- b- e8 t( B& M+ u6 G. w
" Q1 Y# d0 R: ~4 P* y) v0 @6 g"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) Y5 z- R2 I- n- I/ d9 Z9 Wtold her daughter.
6 N1 k* a5 C+ v) j* h% ~+ C5 A4 s4 K+ O6 Q' }& G( ~1 P5 V% S
Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
( c% Q, V" {/ eclass.
# R7 E' S, M% N% C9 Q$ J6 T
, ^; }, V1 ]/ YAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are x( Q. e1 k1 \/ ]( X
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without+ U$ B6 y: c1 ], L6 e9 `0 c
occasional frustration.
6 [' b& ~" q9 K" E+ z3 P9 v$ o" x7 J4 k
"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# g& ~8 q9 w! }- e9 a! F( K) ^- r' {
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.+ e3 g( |2 V4 C0 c- K3 ~
' f; w! E, D8 X7 iRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
; K! W# B- w4 v6 Btaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( i, {: j9 B Q) j
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.$ p7 K( u9 L; D: y, j( ~+ U# t
* J7 w" u: E2 w( _2 ]7 P6 e# g2 N
"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ i* }+ j" w6 B& L) X. Jsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn* Q5 |% g: c0 k1 ?; T
as many languages as I can."/ I; Q' d6 N7 y
" Q9 L- ]( S6 b2 L# u$ k; j( W
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 t2 D8 G( a ?+ a0 u3 _
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
' R1 c9 a/ S" `; J2 X9 a1 ~+ Gmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like% Z0 Q+ c. W; d+ }1 G
that," Ms. Freire said.* p! H- q3 p0 D
2 m6 F# }1 Y1 l- CMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) Z6 ]( j! K) l9 ^5 rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) c1 `2 A; ~/ A
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
$ `6 H1 b! @( p6 f. ltime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
# E1 `7 B1 f: |& }room.
1 g g d5 ~$ L6 t V j" M- F, l, G5 t% U) p6 c3 N
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
i1 D5 l3 j7 ~# ^Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
t" d* ^" P7 @1 }. C0 x7 mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 X5 N. N, s B& X. j3 w0 W. _
! k( a R+ ^" t1 X. V1 D: e* i"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% u& P0 P5 l& D' h+ ^0 C
because of that missing certification," he said.
) t5 c' W' U" o# C! n6 d, ?( @
: I2 o' `/ P( x% xThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 C5 |+ ]8 L. `5 w8 Jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ A) Y% ~; w' m0 L$ nSociety in New York.8 {! |) O9 s% ]# R6 V! a/ k
* p3 V( Z& q7 E/ T
Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ n: }# G9 k- [% a6 vChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 z* ?2 l: e1 c: N7 O+ L! s$ m
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
: y, o& l; ? U% G2 ]
$ |6 l5 J. {" ?"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
' \* J2 N6 T( N2 R! Y# k' J u9 Kown."1 @! `8 b0 E5 b# ^
! J8 R: z) |- TCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
|