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October 15, 2005
( _- Z& r3 \% oClasses 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$ a, Y3 d) C+ h' ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary* c4 r: s+ Z% x8 K# o
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
3 U/ U1 C( k. A) I% W) v6 n' o e" l- j% adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 m) z% G' U( A D4 }" i. ^* P3 |flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
' t, }6 y5 u5 }/ ranother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( S# ], ]! D( Zpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
0 u8 B4 H6 f: b: R n0 l Iboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% M) i/ M3 [; b1 S: Nare already choosing it over Spanish.
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8 X) c# D4 J0 l( j8 `"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal9 F( n( e! G- p+ f8 u
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
0 d! A+ T2 C( ~8 M$ l" doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."; _ |0 w! s- A* J
: v' s; v- k! jWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
2 T. a2 S3 `% l. Tschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings/ \* Z0 b. o9 K& e% H
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention8 z5 n: R9 ~+ f' X; o+ D% M: U
one of its most difficult to learn.
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) y7 H. M. d/ F- m9 w/ F+ b1 hLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 w; j, T# u' B I: O$ B, R
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students5 V* L/ I) `3 `, q! k. E
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
; T" [' g: J& O2 ALieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 d6 G1 S5 b" ]8 T5 o
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
p, B0 I' G3 S8 N+ ^, sChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to: q9 D) x0 [' M& F5 \ _: W
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.) v+ r# O H6 X( r
+ |) j$ [' k, j+ uAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement: @/ H* P) K. F/ M* S
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 r; u7 N! p1 ^, Xstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( ^+ U* ^, [/ \* r8 o
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
5 c' |" s5 z7 U3 z# Y: [" ^curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 |3 ^# W0 x! _* w/ T2 Cof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
0 m. D# n5 W: n) _speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ f7 `, M7 |' _! Y. \ J1 C% n
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
; t" z: m+ k' c0 w* a5 Q- P+ c# ~1 Dcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
2 m: j. H) N4 X) O$ o% celementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( ~" G) L! c$ Myears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language- \9 u" d. ~% c5 M6 E" A( z
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
/ O" d: m1 E5 p. n6 B- `$ faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.% b/ y$ b) {" j( w7 |% D9 \3 V
McGinnis said.6 v7 Q7 y7 B8 i% O
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; k$ K- W3 _7 }2 J) D1 ?( ylongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! w: m& h$ G C* A" ]4 A- y( rready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a; C% K, c2 ?: T) G! |
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' D5 k2 M8 [* T& T# k
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
0 @4 i3 j7 L1 ncities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( N( @: }7 p/ ?( l6 E' \Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or$ o/ Q; @& O* r' d8 v! G( F8 G
on weekends.
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q7 W! I' _3 G, Y# H' RThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. T+ v$ i: q& Y6 m: Q
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves r7 j& |; C2 i# _8 ~
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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* W3 ~" w# \& T+ o. `/ XMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
+ K. l8 M' z- c* U% Tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ u8 K& p. A. a, P8 ^$ M5 fcompetition. " d& _ @) G: r0 L& ^
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley' l9 a0 X0 a6 w9 h
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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2 ?9 M) @& h" i( ~7 @3 @From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly9 }! u8 s. F$ t; \+ t7 r
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 C: I; g0 f$ \" w& C( H
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" l Y% W# ^% ^# q- i& hkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 a* ?: ]" a, x8 X4 D$ T4 B1 B+ t
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to, P" I& N8 \' t. P6 t
the school system last year. _$ A. @. S" q. G' ?2 L
5 p1 t* D0 \; k B- s. n XThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this$ K) A0 K$ I' k. G; K1 M& L
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.# |* X4 `6 F2 L* r7 j& ~
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
1 R" p+ u% Z; a9 g- ?+ U9 @ ~' Vclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago3 c% M& m4 s' D: Y3 |7 E
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) g: z! f; n; R( Hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 ^7 K4 q4 I5 Q# W# U7 b1 {1 [on an equal playing field."% w) W- {3 F! T1 Q, V
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: ]1 e$ {( B; X$ ~( N* Wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign# x% H9 v% j- b3 r1 ?8 E8 Z6 t
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 A Y- }" W" `% M3 q4 oChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( S v8 K6 q7 X1 g, | O. P+ Aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 X5 a' g: s7 g |' S0 y. D/ HChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 t9 o# M3 q8 z' q/ F
institute says.2 W! W" E7 o: g6 {
# B2 U O/ k0 A ~$ lSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
% p5 [. M4 ?9 M! t* s; D6 v& bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
& }+ S4 a, x2 @3 D$ y! s3 ~deciding whether to take the class.6 s( o! I( H, f9 W! M. b
' ]' N( s+ m. O9 H9 Z6 u"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she9 T- w4 J3 C3 r( ?9 @
told her daughter.# w- S, V7 Q, }5 f; E
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
( F0 O" M2 v) [/ e9 k/ ^class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are! k4 Y7 u$ t6 `, e0 n
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without! \0 C6 {2 z7 t8 [
occasional frustration.
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& v1 E" ^) d( l4 w0 n"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a/ j& U0 s' c9 L0 Z8 s
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- Z3 P$ ], n7 e. E2 N0 K8 @taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
: w$ x5 B, C" Z" [ @0 iChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.6 R8 z6 e( y+ ]$ S
; D7 `8 c$ K, b, m8 M"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 T; ?% v& _3 W5 f8 ]
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ f5 o6 r& O6 T' uas many languages as I can."
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- L5 w$ i) w& r% k# i0 }Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" K6 X0 `0 O% N! I, u) B/ M T3 Sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. k# e- l3 h# j4 G* l/ ?market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: L; U. j8 P, K3 r: J
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program1 {$ C- p0 {4 A1 ^3 S
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 h; p1 L Q& ~2 o. J! A: y
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
3 }4 @3 Q H. }time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: s/ d7 p3 w6 p5 `% F' f7 B
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 }4 v1 J. y5 H% d5 G2 z) K3 b; k/ mChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) U! g. s) s& H4 R
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said. }% u: i9 `7 b7 t# _" W- S: h2 o3 f
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
3 x) f" x' m& ^6 Gbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,3 X t6 J& K# z- z9 K
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the" F- s7 e* a2 e9 ~1 c9 S7 n6 w
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 ?! v6 e) p" O. {7 B% p# _the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our2 Q& d- I9 w) d* ]% s( P
own."- p! J# e3 J4 B% r8 X( a
& s C3 o( z4 o! ^- ECopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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