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October 15, 2005
& ?9 b3 j7 B4 B% f6 J, L# uClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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0 ?* A$ O/ |: }+ F% h8 j* W! WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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' E% z$ F8 b1 E% z9 }7 cCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
* c4 u' O1 p+ p8 v& q* N( n. ?& kUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
# p& W3 D) s$ ^5 x' l, pSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas1 `6 D: Y+ A; x6 R
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ b* e0 e* H. j0 S. @* nflag hang from the wall.
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+ t7 @) B0 x; @# w" z% c) oOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one6 C. s5 ?0 `9 b. s
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- e+ G- \1 n% K8 |, i' ?/ ppracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( t4 ?* L2 @2 k8 n# qboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 ~3 k4 Q1 J6 Uare already choosing it over Spanish.4 k" k5 m# ]5 G2 d. I# F( [
+ q+ U7 T, B6 b R+ o w. V"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 V# s: E, i% W1 t( C: H' I7 [at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city! F; F8 x' x X7 J- O7 o
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,! b. q4 M) Z8 z# `( [0 o+ z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings4 |( \" M$ X1 _! X% G: d; d
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention3 K/ i9 k* `& ?7 F; a6 u ?
one of its most difficult to learn.& E' }* ]4 |, y
& o3 u! f5 u, `! HLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
: V. \7 G5 r9 ]public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: E! F1 K4 Y5 x- Astudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.0 B3 t6 w6 ^( _5 h' Q. ]
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of: F- `0 t% H+ E j3 \ B) R
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on) G7 t2 T1 p: |* N; C- X
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; V1 ? h/ f: o8 dimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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" W7 f: C: P3 L. A; nAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 z" t, t% w( y. JChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. l- B$ n" @: a7 Ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
) ]5 |& s3 U. w3 [8 [0 n0 L2 rdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
( U& L3 m5 ~) F# h( w' Pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director; K# z- o" _1 v: J
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.1 O- ^5 B9 O0 R4 t
' Y, \% q. A) q% P' y0 a"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of7 |* z# ]' Y9 A+ r% e0 Q9 j
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& m7 v/ `. y' [; i! ^0 Y6 PConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 |$ r% V% w7 {# `6 g4 {: c I
can."
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9 h4 t& _! ?, s: bThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ C g! k4 ]' F. H- T4 P6 j( w
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" _ F2 ?5 W" s6 \$ S. _7 C
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
4 }% x7 t- q) n/ G4 _Institute in Washington.8 l: Q9 K! Q" ]( M4 `( t
/ e- [4 _5 Z" }. ~7 B8 f"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ |; H4 F, D( } J9 z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
0 i v, \8 a+ ?& u5 N( H+ {McGinnis said., u. [" d: F3 V
) k2 z P* ~$ \' d"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 e# l$ M2 V% C) {, F, i
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; R7 V3 N1 f# ^- p
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a; ~" u6 } a l7 G( G
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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" V4 o) y2 P1 P' p% m1 Z, ]Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and8 P& K1 q# l! E5 X% A% o6 e
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in5 \+ ]7 U- {6 i: z* m
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' ^4 O8 [% @5 f- ]: DChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 L/ f4 Y! _# L7 C, q; W0 pon weekends.5 ^* y' W9 z- f9 h
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public' M' W7 ~) Q( _& b. U
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
! \" O: B0 u0 |; \4 mstudents who are not of Chinese descent.0 S/ d( ]2 L( q& z' O/ ?$ u
, W7 ^6 z# a1 qMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said7 o1 ~& o C; u, x3 S; X8 x4 ^
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
6 p5 r, }, V4 v6 B% i6 ]4 h' kcompetition.
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D- E. c" k$ F3 Z5 @$ p"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley% |8 e5 P# H2 u' \
said. "There will be Chinese and English."" r* J* l, }. u' R
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly% g7 g7 g8 d6 p9 h" \ S
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 V2 [$ q+ U% o. A- J
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& c3 H3 X. D" Ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 s5 T6 g3 [7 o5 L; R$ w
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
7 ^" ~% }3 v$ S+ qthe school system last year.2 \! d/ x y/ `
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 ^ i# G- n* e: e F$ p) }year 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
% a. ~- W, E% H. d9 m& jclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. ~" e$ w8 J# `) N8 d' N: F( D
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ g8 |. \# T" }+ \0 T t/ |help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
8 z+ v4 N3 G$ [5 jon an equal playing field."* X L; Z' R& J2 ^
$ F* E4 F' A! y, W! f! p$ a# KSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese8 G+ L7 A4 J* Z' d- E! x
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" @ F) k5 Y8 }3 T) o* h
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
- a2 k# x- a7 k) U1 H* tChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& n$ \6 P2 V! N% xaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in/ d8 g+ d9 z6 ~
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the% G: G' T. _" r; u$ B
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ K' z) H3 c: g8 `% D! vgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
. b7 b3 O& p/ x+ W4 f9 U4 p5 a( X' _deciding whether to take the class.
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, L" g0 Z, B5 R y! [5 n- _) ~"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' @, z# f) M, ]# X4 I& rtold her daughter.
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" ]8 E* t* u0 w3 U" \Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
9 `' q8 e6 e# D# V% h, C7 x \class.5 O% z0 I: _) }+ I4 U% e! S
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
2 e% W1 n8 ~ {, Sstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
( ^: V, H" h$ K: o. p/ moccasional frustration.
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{2 e0 p$ F( h, `* ["Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a! j8 R& ^1 ]8 T5 z0 U
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* d/ ~) Z8 C9 B6 a% q3 U
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
, W0 D+ {5 Y9 O" P3 n$ M Ytaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
: T- ]% B" c4 hChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works./ j8 @- \7 t4 E& ]9 h. V# W7 Q
* I; ~' F5 S$ e5 i"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul) L7 P0 `- X5 D+ E
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn+ i# k) z& l* s4 s5 d
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
1 f- Y: S' i1 {- B) N, m) Yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job$ T7 T# C o& q% t/ P
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" o! i9 X. p1 A. o" d1 _& R* z5 hthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program' L+ d1 d1 F8 p1 C2 @
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each% b+ ~2 _% G2 J. t) [ g
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
' \4 ~% M" X2 A5 ]0 l( r" e, Ytime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
8 [' o1 z3 m3 \( g3 j4 lroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" ~/ D" g4 t7 \- d6 Y) ~+ l
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' H5 r" P$ }2 B+ _+ b" l$ } f& Y' e4 Q
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.5 d2 u# [6 E4 n7 S
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 u; B3 M2 ~: s7 x! W
because of that missing certification," he said.2 P, i4 T4 b1 V. ?
4 U1 J1 A% \* C" w# l% m/ Y' eThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,) W- F# l2 a' ^9 h" ^
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
|# O" } j& n8 t& |3 N# USociety in New York.0 P* P, q- X" L$ a( P- V* A
, Y6 T+ p' d8 V2 U: @) \Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 [# V5 ?% K& bChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from* a1 S Q% |" {1 ]
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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7 s0 R9 M0 Y, P# D7 V" _Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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