Courses may speed spread of Chinese

Shifting global economy draws more students to the complex language

Levi Harder's friends think he's crazy. After all, learning a foreign language is difficult enough. But Chinese? The sophomore at Enloe High School in Raleigh says he's only thinking ahead: Levi sees himself as an engineer, but he's also betting that China will be a part of that future. "China is becoming a very important country," the 15-year-old said.

North Carolina's educators agree, which is why the state is pioneering online instruction in Chinese so it will no longer be the most exotic of foreign languages taught in the state's schools. Numerous questions about the class must still be resolved, including the best way to hold useful conversations as part of an online class. Its scheduled debut this fall will be small, with maybe two dozen students.

But state officials hope the online courses eventually will open Chinese to more students. Underwritten by the federal government with $300,000 over three years, the program could eventually be offered to other states that want to boost Chinese language classes.

Currently, Enloe and just a few high schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district offer the language in North Carolina. Last year, only about 140 high school students in Wake and Charlotte took Chinese. Many were children of Chinese parents.

That's beginning to change. Elementary schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Charlotte-Mecklenburg districts now offer traditional classes or language "immersion" programs, in which students are taught in both English and Chinese. Next year, two additional Charlotte high schools will offer Chinese.

Even for students from homes where Chinese is spoken daily, the language is difficult to master.

Effective online instruction in any language is a tall order. With Chinese, the challenge is even greater. Along with Japanese, Korean and Arabic, Chinese ranks among the most difficult second languages for native English speakers. Students must learn entirely different symbols and sounds, and cultural differences are more pronounced.

"An online course would be missing an important aspect," said Shavia Westmoreland, 15, one of Levi's classmates in teacher Gloria Feung's Chinese II course at Enloe High. "It doesn't compare to having a teacher in the classroom."

At schools like Lincolnton High School in rural Western North Carolina, face-to-face instruction in Chinese is virtually impossible. A virtual classroom may not be.

In addition, Chinese may be an attractive alternative as interests shift among students.

"Our enrollment in French has dwindled to the point where we've asked if we should be offering a different language," said Cale Sain, assistant principal of instruction at Lincolnton High. "As we become more of a global economy, maybe we can meet the language needs of our students."

Making online work

Helga Fasciano, a foreign language specialist with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, said she has been contacted by 30 school districts, even though the course is still being developed.

One goal is to put together a course that is effective at reaching students statewide. Recent advances in technology are helping.

"We need to find a way to make it work," said Fasciano, who sought the federal grant aimed at improving instruction in languages considered critical to national security: Chinese, Arabic and Russian. "We've come up with a model that's taking the best of both worlds."

An important component in the course will be weekly sessions with "conversation coaches," native Chinese speakers with whom students will be able to practice the language.

"The key is providing actual conversation time," Fasciano said.

Beginning in the fall, a single class in Chinese I will be offered online to 20 to 25 students, with Chinese II and additional beginning classes expected to be offered the following year.

China's on board

The Chinese government itself is helping build support for the study of its language in U.S. schools. The College Board and Hanban, the Chinese government agency that promotes Chinese as a foreign language, sponsored visits last summer to China for 400 American educators, including 20 from North Carolina.

Eric Regensburger, 16, a Chinese II student at Enloe, lived in Taiwan when he was younger. Now, he said, he understands a need to learn the language for reasons other than being able to speak with family members.

"It's probably a good idea to be able to speak the language of the next superpower," Eric said.