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October 15, 2005
; D8 P) H) V; m# K9 fClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
. N C/ P' H. _4 e: I# WUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
$ y! Z* ?$ V m4 W6 D9 MSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
# d4 x. n- u9 `3 }& P7 jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. y3 T+ O* I* T: i5 n0 n
flag hang from the wall.& A1 O2 N' h+ k" y- R
* e, `! d5 a* UOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 t- m: k* z# Y" y! Q% C5 \# H" @
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders% Z- p' n; a6 ^1 w
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- c8 c. P5 c U" h4 A
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
: M! t3 @' U2 ]- h# y) r9 fare already choosing it over Spanish.* @6 f1 ~: V+ e+ S
; n' {- h0 G9 G- p7 k"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal9 y) {$ M. h+ c9 B1 N3 _
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
) F7 \) S1 c4 r0 aoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 h; r# L- q" h5 v
7 v& j* y% d) i9 `- VWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 L/ N% d6 |& j7 i5 Q
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
" M, j8 Z6 e& a* a. ~6 hto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
9 \7 o( n- g; Pone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to( B: P2 ~4 ]9 L3 g4 U8 m
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students8 G' x! `7 S3 a, r; K" c0 _
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I." q7 N: ? x- d: [5 l* [7 [+ g
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
, ~* d& Y% `1 Z7 `( LTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: q+ c" e4 j7 a. T5 U
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! P" k' e" ?% U0 a- n9 f9 S. Eimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.2 c: r9 F6 w/ r* d- }9 d6 k* y" z, @
- |% Q5 q5 G) Z# k! yAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
' w P8 A# I" e1 K% s! {Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
1 r4 {" u* ^& ~6 Jstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ N. a3 j& r5 @ k
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 E: m) A$ K% b5 C
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
+ _% R' C# B* g6 R* R4 Cof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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" d% i+ u' ^( {- U4 A9 y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
: L w& G6 z; ^& ]. E1 Rspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" r. C$ X+ y! G' I3 VConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) ^) K, m0 v6 f
can." + x8 p1 t, ?9 |- l: B
- M3 ~1 n# A7 D( F3 E7 e* D# y! dThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ ?! c# H5 ^* [* P% o( [+ ^4 Q! l8 x
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
) c5 D6 D- L( d1 i% K0 ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) t% Q1 w! v; F9 J: d+ HInstitute in Washington.; W3 b$ C) v6 _( }8 M% S
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages9 Y$ R# e/ y) ?5 p
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.% Z$ K# z* i1 G% m) R4 W, U
McGinnis said.2 `- `$ q8 X2 n h8 U3 Q+ z& l
) L8 v+ y1 ]/ |3 k) ~3 p* f! X"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical: y. u% U o# k5 k& c; e3 a K+ W
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 O. O4 q- X5 H& rready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a4 }1 G- q: E3 C( T. [$ A
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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* E* A+ D# D& U% J2 gUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 k! k$ K6 Q& O ]1 G1 Ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# L+ h% \3 y) Mcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of: e2 k8 Z9 P2 C& g. s% h
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 ?! f" U' `/ {) Q1 h" X1 Bon weekends.' u) Z, D% x8 m+ V
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 i. P' E" R+ w2 u0 Dschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 j$ v4 ?- U6 l4 }students who are not of Chinese descent.1 I, j$ H& R" M0 ]( n
& Q4 n2 u* l8 ?. l/ ^$ s, TMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
- e) m, W$ A( J' S' l) P* lproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' @) r* s+ V5 xcompetition.
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% }5 |+ {9 x2 Y! A8 k"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
% K1 t6 l* k+ W0 {8 o; p5 wsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."8 \6 u' [# P3 Q! M; @# Z! ~
5 R4 o" y" z$ e1 zFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. C5 V0 K* P: H( P+ W, ^- v7 ^all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
, t/ ?/ J1 b9 n$ P6 Wschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
d+ S, B2 c6 n! ~# J# f3 tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students$ x9 n7 H8 V7 p; {, L; J
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to5 K7 m: _9 {$ a) Y1 z5 }
the school system last year.
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- T* g9 s) q. AThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
$ |" p& v; O& B4 a# Vyear 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
# ?) q* V3 L8 x2 Tclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 \2 G/ l8 q' L# l8 w* m; PChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
# h: j/ @0 C% O" phelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet( X0 i% b0 r p# G0 n7 H& K
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
. L/ Q! n L! m- D! Xclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 O; d. N# F, C0 |
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
$ f2 I% u, S3 \6 x( HChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 W/ k+ Q7 U* K Y1 T" oaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ V& Y* c. W7 F4 q' C0 ~# zChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
" V% Y6 a7 ?& U9 \3 E4 dinstitute says.) O8 u7 J& ?4 R7 w |( s
: X/ T4 X$ [( q4 Y2 Q5 s/ qSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth! L& A) j6 P/ b) Q, m
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ g! D& ^7 _ T" q; Q. _- Ideciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she, N) N3 C1 \! w3 q5 f3 a% q
told her daughter.0 D5 z8 G+ w, {3 `# x
r4 n+ v( v" a7 u$ |Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- K8 }7 ?% P; s. s3 [' O0 i4 Oclass.
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9 O( L$ e1 |( v) ^) BAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are( G( m s( ]8 n7 N
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 g4 |2 {+ }0 z! r* @
occasional frustration.2 b+ [5 r/ S/ [6 e( ?$ Y
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: p! J% j: u: f, z) a/ F! F {
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.3 _; ]: a% ~5 z- n) Q
9 O. C. f; }; z/ e( H/ d% kRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
6 l# H' e4 n$ U" j3 Ktaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with T! }$ g3 T+ H
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
+ x" N1 ~4 t ?0 U3 d* tsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 P0 g, U! b- c- o
as many languages as I can."% f: @9 [( N1 f6 [& r
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the. }( `. t5 P& f6 ]0 R' y. v7 h' W3 N
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- ]# l5 O$ x- D: B$ @
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
# M2 R1 X" h+ l4 p8 Bthat," Ms. Freire said.4 E5 A9 e7 t: E. N/ a5 G* g( @
0 [. `3 X6 @+ a, PMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" q$ a0 k8 o# l2 b$ N8 ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; n M6 V7 |. `2 D* X
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
! a. N( Z2 s# P: r a/ jtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make4 \, ]# v% n9 @2 X
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
S, n0 N7 C4 zChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
$ ~& W% H/ {3 R) j/ lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 X. J8 F7 U) i0 X
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% x! V! y) H' _$ u, Q) p# ^
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,) b: {* b% v# r6 P
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" Y& `" R: D$ e) V8 _) LSociety in New York.% D- @# F; T- v. t
, Y B& g. b: p" J5 RSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
( C9 D g+ ~+ v9 @# {Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from C2 Y6 H1 p- \8 K9 u r. J; N
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; J' N7 c2 ?" f7 o. l) t; i; c
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- e8 H+ B" M5 p/ I9 K# i$ |
own."
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8 s; x' q0 H2 T" uCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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