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October 15, 2005
7 m! T' E5 N8 N( ]" lClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 ^, m* m& g# Z3 |
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ f, G% y& D1 S
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the* ^' c# y( Q7 [/ Z5 M: F2 Y
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- _: Z$ C- l$ D+ R1 }! ~) O
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
$ J; P) Q' i; M0 Mdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese* T8 e; C) i( z! m1 b
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 ^, y% b1 `/ V( M/ L7 e/ {another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders3 M0 q' r# N. O C" b4 `& E
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 n+ s: b X# ^9 }3 C& E! O% Oboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
; E4 }0 F: F7 I9 nare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
5 F5 H9 A' w0 I% u, Kat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city5 O' W, M+ Q0 N
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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$ T- p3 H. b7 DWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( B) \+ }, f. Nschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; S0 q$ B- r) ?9 v* v
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
+ M( D/ w9 n, B% {3 L! `* u5 ione of its most difficult to learn.3 D; p2 ^% o u" {
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
7 D! `, Q) [3 T) s0 h+ ypublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, g( Z, d1 M& z# M" estudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.# i# H. ~$ f- U4 I: x+ u+ x
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
8 U/ ~) T# _- X. v$ X7 OTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" C0 c ^, g; qChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to% f `' Y) k j) W {4 d. G( C% c
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.) \% \. E0 a) l* N
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
0 b" A8 @6 I2 D! f6 G/ X4 fChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& N2 L* u+ h, v6 M
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to0 N& t+ ~1 O) c% I$ U9 @' @
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing1 o1 J q6 [) C9 m5 G
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director b4 C7 E+ F/ w1 f* H' |8 A
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 W. d9 a/ w3 T( I x z# c; S/ d
( d6 k' {' J+ |8 ^9 j"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 ?- K% D7 ]) r% Q
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education# _. r9 w) C4 P3 Y; W% p
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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- ?, s8 ~/ [8 u1 f" p7 ^' _, l. gThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from7 U, J* d, C9 N2 J" T `" p% x# Z
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
6 D; c; q7 j* S G" Yyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language B9 Y; Z: _ I3 X0 q7 }6 F$ E
Institute in Washington.
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/ l) z+ F" ]; G1 v7 n* c" _"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; L* z7 i2 `& [$ jaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.9 ?& e! R) {9 h ?, S
McGinnis said.' z9 g" K" i% H2 O9 n" W
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
& Z/ `+ z D7 A llongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
2 |! ]! f& i7 D, C9 Z. |ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
R9 P2 N; y2 h, c; xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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D: F# E8 Y9 t9 g( ^8 DUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( s& m( _4 E1 K; ssecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 v0 I% F9 W0 Y$ g" D- A/ J
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
& t6 b0 K% V. S0 E, o& j" C3 M# [4 nChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! G2 |1 X- z1 m( O( N
on weekends.1 ~$ g. H- n) H
9 y m) q9 w9 sThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
8 K# \( d3 w. ~/ y( f" ^schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
( k% O! E; F# o$ ]" n; A: x; Qstudents who are not of Chinese descent.' t0 e1 c1 v+ z6 D2 i5 s1 V
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said* `" L: h* Z/ g5 u% G4 D
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' ]* T; a5 d/ ] H, q" Ycompetition. # G" H" I" c) z" t
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 v6 ^: I/ f- v& `. t( s1 @, wsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."5 G( J& h5 K% V' f( b( x3 |
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
) @8 N9 d8 {' E6 o; |9 R5 {- X. _all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse- f* O* ~5 E E: J( T
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
! K: _0 ]* ^- I- ?5 h2 Okindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 K3 t$ R: a* q9 d
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, d+ @( n" G( a% R6 M. _the school system last year.2 s" |9 O1 `7 ^
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
$ p( s' H: Q2 S* _3 K( _* tyear 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& Y9 ?: E$ ~/ q5 n+ K. V( ?
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
$ y1 G# p5 R1 c( ^8 T2 i; v9 dChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to% L q6 \" H4 `2 z
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
! V* b3 \' W- O! v2 ], Fon an equal playing field."
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- P2 a7 B6 k) o+ Z* iSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
" c5 F" u$ A; S% K/ |classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 Z) i& g1 J P/ z1 a2 [( ^1 H& AService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 e) R5 g3 r! L. gChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An' P) }2 H- k( w5 y$ m& P* n& p
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in% p4 `2 K3 k9 m; D( X/ O8 w$ Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) X* u7 A/ a7 A8 [/ ^institute says. d7 P: I/ B) q: }9 I
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
7 A; C7 {( n. [grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before1 D2 A+ r$ {8 ?+ l
deciding whether to take the class.5 k, h9 z" U9 w0 b- v& B4 L8 @/ ^1 }
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ J! w* x* O- g* i2 q
told her daughter." e* Q4 f; p. a# R8 T% A
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite" @1 ^ u2 {* t" A' X. x
class.
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- k# S3 ?) E/ G IAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are* b& d! S0 F9 J& z6 V% d k- Z
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' b9 v3 G# m- _- w. F0 E6 J: ~
occasional frustration.4 k0 U3 R! E6 T* N
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, p7 J8 ^1 c4 L& a+ @2 T, U* R# @0 Zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.$ v7 }; M: m+ ?% s+ \! ~- R6 P) a: c
8 ` W. o# U8 d0 ]Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
/ j, u6 g& h$ c4 D9 Otaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
, ]# Y4 Q. ]4 ^: V& L8 {Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- f& I& q5 M" D8 ^
7 H% ~( k0 R% y' ]2 T2 c" j' m- i"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
+ n, v- C. V" A: Asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn3 H* s3 P/ l% y5 ]
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the% o- _* ~' l8 t0 B0 t% d4 D
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
: V) c2 R- V) L9 t; Emarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like" _0 v1 v" s6 L" L. Q, V3 U
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. K- g& u0 }9 k2 `8 J; Xhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 z6 k: m7 Q) h3 y( H4 |
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 T7 q0 o7 l" \1 z# V% [ r$ \time from classes like physical education, music and art to make* }$ b% v# F1 j6 W! B4 U* T
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- [3 C0 F, x7 S Q: X3 IChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
# B3 y4 L3 l* q, |2 [! l* {college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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! }2 [8 j' N9 Q$ \"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 P b+ ^8 T1 i z( Bbecause of that missing certification," he said.6 u8 c" c& ^0 k* y7 @, e6 e
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* [7 G9 i* d$ Z u, h; a% S$ Tsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
5 i* @9 ^; u: P' H3 J. pSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
, D# b" ^; o: V: y' s. P* G6 ?# IChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from( |/ x0 J( }$ c& n6 Y
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.( p% `: e) c( k% N. e. `
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
4 B3 Q. _; c% {6 }% qown."
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4 s, }! l& I$ F& ~! aCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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