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October 15, 2005
7 t( X& n- v- O2 i m) v9 X. Z- AClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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8 u" j5 t- \' M# nCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 i+ ?- |/ F3 f" UUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 i2 Q3 {9 o ]1 X
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ O6 w9 Z) y% x& K) @% t
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese o Q3 B; e2 [- ?7 F: @. r8 z
flag hang from the wall.. L4 C9 h! t# O# U' x5 G
. U# D1 j$ N8 w, I; b$ [! m9 POne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one# @9 F+ _1 z; N9 ^3 A) m- y, \
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
6 u1 O& h# ]% e v0 S( T) ?! |practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
" P* J; z" A9 {boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students/ F. i7 L! P( @7 @, s) G' q9 F* c
are already choosing it over Spanish.% p5 A+ W/ C* w
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal e% D: D J! l( r9 l% l6 S) u
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 l& v+ b9 K' b5 @/ G9 }" W, Zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
) F) U, o9 {+ M- x% ~schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings/ [8 G ?6 i. |- q9 ?
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( [; ]: a2 Y: G$ M* g+ a4 qone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 ~% X3 J4 A8 Rpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
" ?$ U* Q- {6 a) h- fstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* A2 a2 t( O' A3 hLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of# N$ Q% R) C3 f/ j' w; P- V$ J
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on7 u$ k+ ~- F( ~5 ]* U0 i# j
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 k ?; p8 g+ b! i6 Pimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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+ z* r- i. E& D' |After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement& d t1 u( B/ M4 ]! P; {
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 s m, ^6 E6 i% }4 |5 d2 k% h$ j
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to5 i% q4 `: z7 y: l) `" t9 d
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 x& i4 \ [( Q& m* S" M. \' ]curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
5 }5 ~! ]) W) r! wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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' f6 M0 p1 X& X0 _2 z+ X$ ?"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 {' n- s: x9 `, i) d
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education2 T) h# ?5 S% |6 [7 w' j# i/ O/ Z# \
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
2 O a# r5 O1 j( Ican."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from0 J5 i& ]" b& \
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 {, u0 b4 J. w. T4 U7 Z' w
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; F# M3 o1 @; @9 }9 |
Institute in Washington.8 q0 {. \7 J) f! l: _9 z& u
: D: |! \3 E. |% h"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 u. i% n. Z* |3 G. r" e( s haren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; L3 ]. o5 f" G9 PMcGinnis said.
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/ k% L1 r0 W5 r: i/ ["Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
7 Y) ?* x" L' S& D! U4 Ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: n. U7 Q K! ?/ a# \ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a0 }& r2 F {# b8 H' P" M
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
: ~7 v8 n3 L4 Q0 A- i5 b0 Q2 osecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' M( {2 r+ u: j3 G2 e6 C
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) s, H( J2 A' X# V: g: T& |2 V( |9 uChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or3 J+ Z) J/ K& u+ s1 D- t0 M
on weekends.6 m& e- F3 i+ c, l* q
6 o$ ~' L. y5 lThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public5 O. }5 s9 y' G, i6 v" a9 ]( x
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 t* @. p0 e, V F7 R) x! nstudents who are not of Chinese descent.1 Q- S; F( Q+ g4 r! R, e& c
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 K$ C+ T9 d' x+ q9 a' c
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' ?- G4 Z8 F; P; b4 L4 v3 V* Icompetition. $ i9 B. I2 q( p/ _- f- i g0 c
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 f! }. }7 C2 ]: J8 o/ E
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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2 X1 |5 W" y6 U/ sFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 }6 }8 b. {/ _& Rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse2 a% L- [1 ^# W
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
! o* H9 @% x- a |1 Jkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
* Y2 l& G; E; k' `& M1 pwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to+ ~& u$ r9 l) U$ G; l) R
the school system last year.2 t9 a( f F6 d3 r- j) a/ @
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this3 T, P% I( r M
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.$ l& u/ Z, r9 a# K7 X
& L. p, `6 g0 i% r b"They have a great international experience right in their own
& D2 l& Z5 _; K: s% T9 S5 t- `classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' J% R8 K0 U, f4 HChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 y# o+ g0 X' }! \' A6 X
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 @; K u% o2 I3 B9 z- ?
on an equal playing field."( }0 }. D0 j/ _! [; Z4 f
. m$ h' m! b/ T9 y* SSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
+ J/ |1 M; k- k0 Yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign& o& g: E& h; e ?1 V1 s
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. X. \6 n% G0 v" T/ i* U5 K
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
+ S0 V* ]% x( ?average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ t% c7 F: L$ k2 T7 u3 A9 |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the; c' I7 |+ _' x8 n# H
institute says.: L4 @# h0 n# o P6 ^$ o
' C4 {" B+ ?* A+ o4 U n. w! G1 MSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth* N( `- V4 _/ c, [$ Y
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
8 O- T5 V. X2 _* ]% ?deciding whether to take the class.& w" A. @. V' k" N, o2 A# e' F
$ A+ d) T) q n5 z' F"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# l6 V; H! l$ \+ G0 w8 ^told her daughter.
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. Z* l" o: {: v% ~Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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T: R6 l( B; N# S* @At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are7 I; }- k* v* v
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; p- O) W( L1 s; K9 koccasional frustration.- D' U$ M! O" |, Q9 H. m3 u
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. W7 C: k6 ]5 H$ B: jrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he `7 i5 b. P6 E* D) F: c, \
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
# p* \) n+ X( F+ UChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: s2 l5 T2 ]& j& e8 \3 X, h
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul: V% Y9 d7 c7 d9 y3 @
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
! T2 w r1 z, _! }3 e8 p1 gas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the) d/ C: p$ w0 o9 S
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job2 q& P/ f* c4 }# I
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like" H9 o4 R" k5 ?. S
that," Ms. Freire said.' F" X% ~# d: N2 l/ G
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program: o$ p7 i. \0 U$ S4 D
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
. T6 N8 Q% i( b9 ?& d uschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking. O' f+ q/ \3 i
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer, t' E, G$ `) k$ R
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American: v L) p/ A& {+ |' |% U) e
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 g- O" H, X- e; d D
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ C! ~7 B5 t$ n% }9 H3 p$ E/ T. q3 `because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
/ ~- t6 m! G2 {) Ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 }) D# h$ w1 R, ]8 X; P. h
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the8 j! j( X2 N9 ~$ U3 k
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
. k4 V3 _# w+ c) e* M# o L m- athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.# e! M9 q* f2 Y9 c
- a- x# H6 Y0 m"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( v6 S% P! v$ Y! u; A. T$ s
own."
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+ [5 Y* x6 u" Q, MCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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