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October 15, 2005 Z7 G! o8 ?2 t6 ]# I+ y" k, ]( g
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING% O m- X* e3 I. _" f) i
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the% b% U5 {* P7 x. _
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ L* v4 |/ W8 [! h5 f% }
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' y! y: f& h# ydangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 Z' ]9 f& E' K3 P3 H3 R
flag hang from the wall.7 L+ J0 O9 s. V
1 `7 [; E6 @* }3 E7 {3 VOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one8 t9 {( e' M! t
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) |- Q3 i6 F H* H6 [practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
' q+ f& }, \3 i' h9 vboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 R2 w. ` X9 B8 |) iare already choosing it over Spanish.8 j, i; V* |6 s- \7 U
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 N8 B7 C3 x# W* P1 ]8 U+ Qat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city% C/ M( i% G& p$ _2 m
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in." Z; t* C& D+ r
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 L0 e! J n" v$ Eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 j5 ~. I ^# h3 K8 c3 Tto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: U1 \7 V8 ?4 c+ Z
one of its most difficult to learn.5 L7 C8 Y, {1 A; {$ ?. G8 Z0 C' G. ]
. Q5 I' Z' S' U u; M5 O5 A9 NLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 M( O5 j: N, F( xpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students5 w' d A% {& S1 _
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
% R6 j' c0 |& v" I6 m/ [& CLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
6 P6 V: f3 |. P, U1 `7 d; {Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 `% w5 \7 ~0 {0 Y
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 j6 L! z- q2 a; Kimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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+ z: `7 K: X6 YAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement# P# t8 z% n# |
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, g. w" F; b0 Q' ?& Z
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ Y- H- @: w& z4 Y' H% L
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
& J0 k( a/ O5 B6 t( i6 O0 Jcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
, b: M- [3 N4 @% U6 |) iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.5 X8 k/ l+ ?$ o! R" h& k5 a. F
/ r4 E* R) ` J$ G/ Z4 K: W"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 G4 H2 `( |- g1 J' R+ N! G
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education4 V$ i/ K6 a5 O! Z5 ^
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ c8 A2 z6 H- S- V1 ^
can." * {4 W+ L/ D. f; Y* @3 D
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) s- h% w8 z P: m" a- h" E
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
{8 p8 L: e7 v, @) J$ Ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language5 ]; s* e5 a) W$ I) [5 U0 y
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 F! G& i/ \5 |1 d, U
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; k. n6 u% q; K% \3 L/ u
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
4 B- s' k ?, s9 d, D% d9 ?! @longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be* N+ e |2 n2 g0 A8 e
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
8 \0 K2 m [' q' [challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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7 `5 a0 E) W L# d# `Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
z/ ?5 q8 u0 Q* Nsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) D/ X, j! u' O+ ^9 xcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ A; h( ~( A6 U3 x" e, E
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or5 K6 ]: n+ T+ x: P- R
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public+ I# [& d- V6 b3 ^
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves" N d: `& C# y. D7 M" i
students who are not of Chinese descent.* D2 o5 J, h) B3 l% a, e, l! i
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
y7 h7 E0 Y+ Hproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) j/ k0 i8 U8 rcompetition. : ?) r- v5 U$ I- T
1 S) r! A) v4 D, u; y& L9 b"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley: N. x: X) a E1 D d
said. "There will be Chinese and English."5 U( T2 j: w1 G% s- M( w
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 p, `+ \( k* I- b) j
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 ?# F$ U+ @1 l8 q6 Nschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from N: j* y1 G5 R! N0 _2 D
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students) E u i3 v+ f; M y$ Q- U# w
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
4 T# y- X# x# x L' @the school system last year.& O# K6 N _' U# \# d1 X3 u
, |& k- q/ Y9 y9 dThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* b7 ~8 u: g( \+ O- _2 Fyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.$ K! S% ]$ i* }& t
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 d9 z4 @3 R% j) Y% D5 zclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 a, ^; q# F4 z$ a- E `Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
! `; j/ B: e7 L! L4 V) Rhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 T3 c' p5 E2 |% m
on an equal playing field."/ d8 [4 E8 q6 n: }# \7 k; O2 c
: ` p6 P6 r1 a2 c3 HSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese+ e; O8 }+ K* Z
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign! _# U, P6 O1 g, Y- }3 a" q8 w
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks _3 W8 i3 x; o- e2 H
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
7 \ P7 i. T2 p) s; U/ y2 g; Caverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 n6 g, K# T( [; X# X
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! j6 v6 B/ m5 G/ t/ }institute says./ g7 s0 q% [$ U7 L/ S
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth1 G- P' E& D& t5 I+ i% ^
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" J7 |$ [/ i' H o# Ddeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 p/ H6 }. b" }6 y# S$ l; Itold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite: W+ E3 v: I, D* m+ j* T1 }
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are( q5 d/ H( ]0 c% v/ ?, s1 P
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 y& J: b. X z4 K
occasional frustration.
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; o" }, U/ q: {+ D: g"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
3 Q1 j2 g5 S9 |& Z" krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' H# W( c; q$ v9 S8 r
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
5 D, o& {! u: n6 w; j5 p( QChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! X8 Q0 P. c8 U" _9 M s6 o
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul [( a1 g# @) w5 i
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
9 N; W7 I9 m4 E8 Z( D- uas many languages as I can."! }% A1 P; I" C9 Y4 e* B5 N
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the0 d7 B5 l7 y3 B1 A' _
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job3 S2 C% O6 W. a+ o
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
2 y8 ^8 y6 ~. Pthat," Ms. Freire said.8 b& u4 a' t7 y" Y8 v
8 J2 L: f; F8 w4 O4 }7 D; n, aMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
7 |5 U9 Y. ^6 i+ K0 Ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each7 }4 J, r2 d5 K# }) \: u
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" J, e' n8 ]. v7 K: S4 C
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make2 @1 s R) t& Z5 s$ X
room.
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2 B, J3 A [8 f% k7 S- \3 UChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
+ M9 Y- y' H5 H/ \# [Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American- {9 E+ P1 n; r7 W `" p
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 n* t' G3 i- Q0 ^( i* s" n) b
4 z4 r7 U; c% Q"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% @6 R- U$ c8 U& A! N
because of that missing certification," he said.6 M+ ^7 B v: x8 r. ]$ f+ g/ p5 H
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,5 x1 V8 Z5 E/ X" c/ k. G2 w P
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( `1 N* o, _; {, c
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the9 X! f; a! Y) w/ I# S7 Z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 i/ b& [: k0 F: k% ^8 Nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.* E, c- k& R5 a0 s1 J+ a
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 z; e! ?! m; Z9 W: d
own."
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- f) v- h+ b% `' z4 A0 q" BCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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