Asian Language Classes Multiply With Ethnic Growth

To meet the needs of their fast-growing Asian populations and to prepare students for jobs in the Pacific Rim, many schools are expanding their foreign language programs beyond the traditional European languages.

Spanish is still the most popular language by far, accounting for more than a third of the state’s foreign language enrollment. But Japanese and Chinese are the state’s fastest-growing foreign languages, and other Asian languages are gaining ground.

The ABC Unified School District in Cerritos last year seized on the trend and introduced Korean, Tagalog--a language of the Philippines--and Chinese into its high school curriculum.

“I wanted to introduce Asian Pacific languages and cultures because this is the global age, and education has to meet the needs of the future,” said Howard Kim, a trustee in the district.

Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton now offers five levels of Korean, while Arcadia High provides two levels of Mandarin, a Chinese dialect. The school began offering Mandarin this year after Chinese parents launched a grass-roots campaign for the program.

“I found out the school didn’t have Mandarin classes, so I asked why not,” said parent Kay Tseng, who led the effort. “The principal said no one knew how to get it started, so I researched programs at other schools and brought back a proposal.”

In 1981, the state’s public schools offered 49 classes of Korean, Chinese or Japanese to 1,374 students. Last year, that number increased to 318 classes for 8,518 students. Also, 475 students are now enrolled in 17 Vietnamese classes statewide.

Although students from all ethnic backgrounds may sign up for Asian language courses, most students who enroll tend to be of Asian descent. Many Asians whose primary language is English register for these courses to learn their parents’ native language or brush up on their second language skills.