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October 15, 2005
9 N, a7 w! R7 w0 z0 yClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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9 P! g a! N% t" ]% mBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING: `2 i/ S/ g- }7 j8 s
9 @' `/ W3 h a) ?2 ]( ^5 l! dCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
1 ~; Z8 i# R; FUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
& r& R6 L' L1 R. O1 u5 ^1 `School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: s$ b0 u$ I) [7 w i: G0 F# Pdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: _4 n* A3 a9 i9 R+ D( C* ?6 C
flag hang from the wall.
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) ?# t# ~2 L/ A( g, ?3 B. D* pOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
: c8 c5 u ~* kanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders5 q0 X/ t1 V0 M9 m# x
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
& k8 ]/ X7 G, q6 Y3 f: K( Z6 o% Zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students! L W2 B* R# {! q% I, s
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 L' l$ Y% M: Q& Iat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# G, ` @: [8 n3 J3 ?: Coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."! }+ h2 l8 }+ ?( i
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* h. u/ p9 w X3 D2 \schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
6 U- ?2 d& r( b: v* m" Zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention Q! A; w& P5 o) I, g
one of its most difficult to learn.
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+ O( {2 C1 Q+ O, a6 }/ |& qLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# r1 m+ p- F5 r1 S! b" ?/ D
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
( R+ Z: s9 v4 F# istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.6 W, E/ a4 v O
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- W! l3 T% h; r9 Q& f; I) R+ G ]Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ c+ A7 L% w# r+ FChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to: V6 L( W5 D. n" ~ ^, `* [% I
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.) U# I) N$ w4 R U o
8 ~+ e/ X/ d% f! P( R8 l! cAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
1 y ], c$ m; {& gChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
5 f) P7 ~: w4 {7 hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
9 }) p6 @4 E U* B( u$ cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* i; ]7 Z- S0 ]! F1 F$ l
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
# K5 ?, X; y' w) g6 dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 J; |" @( x( ^, P2 }% N% T
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 B. d2 }4 g% d' E
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education W G! ]" ~ u7 ^; ~
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ F! T. d' X6 Ican." " F% J7 c4 p8 j# |% U4 A
, D ~# ?2 G4 o. L( t' iThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from- V" f) X# V% }) C. y }% e
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10& a' i* f* X; C5 O0 B) X& f y) J
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 J! ^3 l% _/ U- e" H* FInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" T# L/ e; w4 [: O- j& ^3 w' Q
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 G" N1 [+ Q4 T; x( a
McGinnis said.
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& ]3 [4 _/ L% n( q6 n( F"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical8 N0 G9 n+ x6 b/ m" Y
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
( R$ i! Q; Q# jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
4 K4 K r8 C4 k d2 J i* P* ^) hchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."$ c6 C8 O2 ~) s. z4 L! S
: P1 N; K) m* ?5 ]4 ?Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and. w7 J \% i) p6 t8 @
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
/ J) E# { c3 X, P7 Q6 Ccities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ T% M$ z2 H+ I" _% H/ x
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ ~' M, I( o& v+ L/ h3 von weekends.5 A' x7 S% \( t# m
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% b+ [. S$ e; @) H) L; kschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) r2 b+ l8 {/ u! v) W2 [7 Tstudents who are not of Chinese descent.; |/ M- Z' e( M/ n# ^8 X
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
5 N: U6 M% }5 z- n; d. g" l$ oproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ s. A6 F+ B/ e& ~: ucompetition.
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( M, B; a. i- q: J& n% m3 \( g% i"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
( x r0 v4 h' F1 ^# i9 p n+ Isaid. "There will be Chinese and English."+ e0 u% t; s, n5 P( I
) m$ X- n# R* y( F! d+ v) X; t5 ZFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
+ o1 U- X& _ H, j; p9 iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse6 m9 k0 Z% f2 |9 G; n G2 }0 E- m% W, C
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
1 r# k. F, y4 @& H( m+ T) t1 jkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
5 K' S5 V+ D, y1 E. G0 _who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to9 |9 }2 s8 J' ?. A! Y9 H
the school system last year.3 U! T3 b3 j, b, D$ t
7 J% h! @/ h' x: h* b' ?! ~8 @# cThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. F. Q: E# e# @- t5 `year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( B _3 ]: c8 O9 a# U) Y
2 G3 ^: I! j+ h7 l( @"They have a great international experience right in their own
& G/ @# p/ v# }% u6 Aclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 [$ d4 P5 d3 a$ c( i+ ~: a K. `Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to g+ p2 d+ E" _! c) K
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet T5 J; J+ \0 K5 _! \
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 E0 W0 R/ F) D7 _( Q+ Lclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ l9 e0 {0 i/ F/ w* w1 KService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
/ ]1 \0 @) \7 }2 i, V y+ zChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" Z9 ]) c/ S" C# Z0 t+ O/ m: X4 [average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
. _2 C: u+ i( o! E2 b) [Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
, D; f# M8 {8 Y" | winstitute says.* `6 r! O7 |$ U; H# y
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth1 ^1 H0 y( B1 A$ s/ W# N" ?
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 o4 T7 R. n3 A' @2 O1 ^1 _4 z/ Zdeciding whether to take the class.
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1 O* U) ~! j D7 ^3 M"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 t' R, \8 r% d1 u" o% i3 Ntold her daughter.& @3 ?& S7 Z2 w0 t; J, x- [
+ N! S0 M4 B* |: }/ QSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite @# w# o q9 s- ]! ^0 ]$ w: z
class.+ G' n7 B3 U2 P
3 `! H0 S( C* c+ ^( aAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' ~3 z! @# \" n% \& s( n: v4 I3 I
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# C+ h) C3 q9 [' ^' Woccasional frustration.) t* d0 L. n, J! p
2 |. z3 r" o# M( }. d! y# R Q3 J"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a) b+ ~) n# v8 U3 J- R1 o# L7 ]
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. O2 b3 D a% Y7 ?5 I) t
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
6 K9 f: q: w/ @3 ztaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
, F6 I+ y5 t/ S# l( LChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." f- ]8 \6 H R+ `: w
6 r% M% O' F1 r; Z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul: y* R9 N+ F# f( E0 Z2 V
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
' g6 U# s T3 ^' S9 X% U fas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) y0 [! v; ~/ {/ ~% g7 ]skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job$ g7 k" M6 v1 W
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like8 z! p; p/ W9 }; p' }
that," Ms. Freire said.
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. T7 \) ]( O. R5 cMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. r4 t' f- S+ f& Q& w1 _here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
) {% r5 U* [$ ~1 q# s( ~4 m4 l" L bschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking$ m$ t2 o& D7 f2 [2 L, B B
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
! {7 Z5 A# T1 z! M9 droom.
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- l0 U, a) b. }9 h o aChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer) M# Y& l* O- [; ]& _5 O9 P/ A
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American8 {/ P2 h" S" G/ M0 Y8 S8 G
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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0 I, C2 O$ z) {4 _' {! ~! @2 d"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 N3 \& r, H5 {+ u- n7 pbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
4 g7 |. c) d. Q3 d5 e' {/ Esaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, P# v0 a) o2 z4 M1 l9 nSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
6 `# z7 b+ ]& {- v' y m SChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 p7 R6 m, j) N! ?; {
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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' ^/ y/ q% k4 P; o4 z' k+ v"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our+ Q4 D9 K7 v1 ]+ J: a* g
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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