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October 15, 2005! e; D3 O# i7 w/ C8 x, _
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity, z# s7 A# M% S0 V5 p7 a
% f% w$ P* R/ a b. U: g0 rBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ f3 C9 q+ }& t2 ~; w
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 o4 R. m: F3 R' ~United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary; O: o e9 x* c* c; [2 z
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
1 G, r/ j* C! idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese3 h- t# _4 ]& @) p. V
flag hang from the wall.
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7 n4 `$ ]9 o" T2 ]4 s4 {One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one: G$ T; x h! I- O, Z6 }, [& k. w
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders; E$ _9 p. ^9 Y9 N2 Z; ^+ j
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker' l1 d. G' @6 p- ?0 I
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 F9 E! n) G. I! C |are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
) ~+ f1 W8 p$ Y' @at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
( ]. |7 f# h# z5 C4 y) Qoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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0 o+ A& C* B. {/ _0 LWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
1 U* ~7 K) D, H- a. Uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( ~* v: I/ u! s9 r: d3 B
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 P: J7 }4 x/ rone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
$ ~2 u1 z8 o6 [& x) k" h zpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) j- v8 K# O, |7 u
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 }2 M6 L( [% Y: N7 j& N1 ULieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
8 T4 L7 t# P: X! S, {1 U |+ TTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ s" y! A; a. x7 G$ W
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& n- x/ T/ n5 @+ Jimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
# ~" y6 H# q1 \7 ] \+ W4 qChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 w, b0 p1 A6 i# ?0 gstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to3 T) b/ I: J! u+ c3 k' S7 w
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing& ]0 G- b4 j4 ]* K
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director7 S' K! o* O" ~* K1 ]! @! z
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 A0 Y+ [$ d0 j3 ~' w
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education) `: Y5 t: n) H6 a* ^+ p+ g
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
# N) b8 L$ F6 ]can."
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' `6 ]" \, \; `The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, e7 E8 \% K' u" z: oelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
6 S8 h5 B6 m" r1 S) F0 Z" iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
: q1 ]; P( N4 t5 ?& M' @& z0 G2 DInstitute in Washington.
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5 |0 K- E3 D& ^"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- n' m4 x, I' t* ~' g p4 @
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
W/ Q5 }' I6 O+ I7 E l$ _McGinnis said.+ { n$ t1 s1 S* O3 P, Q
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
3 x- P6 o/ q$ Ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 q2 M( I, y9 ?& D% B
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a% V+ \) s4 x6 X( \/ I* @7 k% n6 D0 k
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
& X3 y5 |/ N9 ^5 hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in$ c. B" p4 ~+ z) y% i; Q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. k$ ]& M4 p' ~% f* N" w9 PChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or" p1 _8 s& z* J4 l
on weekends.
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/ ?/ I0 f9 M6 U8 n# p. L: _3 pThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
( Q8 T. x( _; u& l6 |schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
8 |/ U0 {6 e: ?; V: m3 J' istudents who are not of Chinese descent.+ ~; }0 W2 F% j0 k* d. ~
8 A+ O8 O# R) J& q zMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
0 l+ F! t+ ^0 d4 r3 @& u9 J! E# Bproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the0 j3 t) q2 k: L4 q# ?2 U* U
competition. 3 _$ ]6 m8 r3 X" h
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! Q% ]" s2 u n1 k
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly; T, F9 c- a: s L
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 L- z7 ` g* C7 |schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
: H$ P/ R$ F, w" p3 Q0 w4 w) Wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 P T8 q F: ^( P( z7 x t+ T6 B0 t; _who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 J W- m. h7 N
the school system last year.2 D4 f+ q( p- X( B
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 K( F8 n* s) j P% l2 u. Syear 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* E% q) L) o. i7 y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago5 t0 t2 r |6 n
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
" s# x3 ?+ g8 E; ^/ Lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet) P7 T/ l: z \3 B1 g
on an equal playing field."7 @$ D! S+ k4 o+ |
- B. W6 k3 g% m& @Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. [! [: ?& S" L9 R! l4 a" _* z
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
" ]8 M- m6 g1 s- S2 `Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 u+ A& |; e& q: I7 F5 o" A* A: C b
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
$ m' m+ }3 D; Q* S4 D$ ]' Paverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# z3 d; ~: k: D# f6 M; j0 |+ f5 B7 u
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
G) k1 M8 n9 u \ ginstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' u2 d3 k' H$ j' J# T) R M
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
$ n' v. Q/ d, ~3 v, O( qdeciding whether to take the class.4 k2 z" K* h. p& I6 ^/ Z3 X
5 R" u' _* a) G r, S$ Q"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ b( d) r: \/ @& h
told her daughter.& L l' A" y6 y$ i8 K, ~5 c9 {) F1 S
& p! ?8 E$ S3 r& }# i" y* Z* q& GSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
! {! x+ b# G$ q) ^0 I+ N' Aclass.
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3 Z, Q5 h7 n3 ?; c, p* H8 D/ u4 |At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
" W- G+ u$ K& y: Y; F; P6 ^studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
: ~: \# L8 s6 Q' _. Poccasional frustration.1 T5 }" ]* L. K" c+ f
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
0 N9 D% [# y8 i( p- V4 Irecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he3 ]/ |3 v# J1 R+ }' {
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% K, s8 @) @3 w: h
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.* R8 N8 {% t7 y$ ]1 [) e) h
. m7 A/ K9 M$ w6 Z. D$ b! Q"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 \. g1 u+ x% O2 {0 N& u" ~) ]& j
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
5 F! E3 {3 Q+ s- u4 r5 g1 g" B5 fas many languages as I can."
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5 d9 k' f7 o h8 z/ h4 E4 j) sAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ Y! v3 u5 u4 @skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 x3 T3 s: t) emarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& T7 V2 V+ U8 X
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
' x/ ]+ f* j/ M, Khere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* m2 W3 T2 E& o S5 I0 l% z
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
% s$ [" F& l6 J; W; r* x/ R( Ftime from classes like physical education, music and art to make5 S3 w/ L' g7 k" r2 O
room.
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d/ y6 ]1 m; Q8 H+ q' lChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
, V- `/ M3 |& kChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American: E: N' y" ]) E" _8 q: T" k# c
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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# i! P! d$ H/ }. k/ j& _# Z"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified- C% O/ s5 g8 Y( ^$ h I, D' u
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ |, a6 |" E) l2 |* ?& ?$ D7 ssaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" O; A% z& J3 T) M/ m7 w0 JSociety in New York.9 f: b% J) S4 M: A- E: |+ {/ R
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
* W1 T) n; ]- v, i9 i5 B# SChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from3 E, G3 x. {! V2 b1 V. M4 X7 ^: H
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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( K2 A5 V- g: s"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 T& d6 R- l0 \3 x) j4 b, `% z
own."
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* Q( C4 Z" ~. C) U2 ACopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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