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October 15, 2005
5 g1 F6 y0 u+ ^; e* P _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity$ j/ B- @- u! d! B8 s+ k) z$ T
6 w4 a |# y1 o* Y& W# A7 PBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING/ Z' ~- A: L1 }$ H( b5 O) ~7 v: z8 e
& A. d# X2 V. M3 t0 J4 [CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
$ W5 W/ u# s& a0 wUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 L2 A; e: h+ `1 r/ KSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas2 e; [" ]- a5 A6 H
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 R& H6 Q$ E( e& ?flag hang from the wall.: Y. C: E- g$ g# t# ~6 C& \
" x* B1 V" g" U! ?1 gOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
6 r1 G- t1 B$ h$ Janother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders. q( X/ `" r2 g5 H! W9 V/ M
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! d& k1 K9 p r9 D0 U7 x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* R1 @5 u, o) k0 i Y2 Q
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 ]/ ]7 n+ c/ s a1 D0 U2 a- @at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- N1 K, c/ ]4 K5 qoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."- E9 z, s, ?1 ?- C/ b! q
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 K$ H8 i; i$ k) d& @4 x. m% Wschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( |# K8 N7 J/ U: K
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention+ k1 r5 M, l& W, n9 g2 O: H
one of its most difficult to learn.
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6 @) v7 ~+ _1 rLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to9 Y! d5 W+ g8 m5 v
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 R, [! P3 x; Z$ h4 H0 ostudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! _0 M2 ~# d1 c$ j8 y" U! M6 o+ N
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ }( D3 S: }" Q- [- d; ]7 Y" RTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on8 M) T, X( w& f% w% v w0 _8 n
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
: N, I$ B$ X! i( n* |2 |, x. simprove 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 Placement4 H: \5 _: N4 T5 }! w) ]# `+ ~5 `7 y" H
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
* x& F' J) _( D) _5 dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
/ i2 S4 w% r. _9 ?- c7 \develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing1 s$ K8 C' L3 q( ~( F7 u- T
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 C9 m3 o( W: s- w% Dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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# _: M* R6 N8 E2 N! b"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
: I5 \2 N& `* ^+ v2 k. Gspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
, e v6 _3 M9 v; ~6 G, F4 ZConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. g, F9 `- D; B$ b
can." & {9 \% d7 z9 g6 u! R6 b3 n X
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, U3 T/ R/ K2 W. X* J2 u
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
5 _0 M. r. B$ ^7 S) v3 R8 e6 |years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
. Z8 K4 y6 g+ K0 Z/ bInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
5 E! Q9 K/ J' g, Faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 ]3 A( {6 W, X9 M6 OMcGinnis said.1 @: Q1 v8 e- a) ~6 I' T9 Y
4 l: G$ I$ h6 R3 q9 R3 ^0 d"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' m7 Z/ [4 z$ ~- ]) ~$ H
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% ?% C8 A1 N9 O. h0 ]7 z( nready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& w4 E8 |! t/ t# I+ ~
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") c: }9 Z% D2 g0 Y& g: s
4 J1 j5 C3 P. n6 Y8 f! G: B/ jUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and. ~2 T6 F# M* {* F6 @9 Z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
6 R$ ~4 F- B6 T% ]2 h+ ycities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
- S, I& c# k5 C' C0 h! KChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
0 U8 t0 q" X% k: _! u6 Non weekends.. V# Z& Z |% v3 n$ A$ N
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& z6 \- Y- d2 o& t; U0 j; I3 A% Dschools during the regular school day and primarily serves# T* z6 N% @ ]( B5 Z- H8 @# K
students who are not of Chinese descent.$ U" I/ ~" h n" U
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
) h/ D2 c: p8 Z# y5 q/ bproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ D. r G# Q; P+ N& W
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 J! }0 h* M& v* ]+ l
said. "There will be Chinese and English."6 D5 e( u: \9 K0 ~1 K9 i. I9 k( ]# z
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 J+ ]) d' Z* c0 C4 X! T4 S
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 R6 X: n" q/ }: R* A- yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from0 j; S e0 D" R
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 C# D8 l8 w1 V6 f/ X7 X+ z Q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
6 P) W* C- ~; s8 z7 n1 Nthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, z7 E& ~* J9 w2 O1 F5 g1 m
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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B( |; ?# f% {) f"They have a great international experience right in their own
; u7 e& O0 u- Y7 x9 d* H( q; Xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* O( ^* @; g: XChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to+ h6 D* y8 O+ e2 T$ f+ e' C
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet# l1 A3 q$ {/ H% d( w3 ^. }# D
on an equal playing field." Z7 U+ U4 p, _$ F
( d, B# B7 B* g# SSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 L" R) H" c) X7 K7 a
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
" l' m: [# P2 QService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 v9 _! x7 N5 T- p% W
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 i1 n8 M- H0 o& Y5 s
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ ]+ |. N/ t2 s' R6 d6 u* `0 aChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the9 ^7 o7 W- B: @# V ^, D1 c
institute says.
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6 D! I" B& b0 ZSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
- E1 s+ n* c5 O! e' fgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" b& d* S5 M9 z: f9 }; Edeciding whether to take the class. q, O; k+ r) ]! m: W
$ ~$ v% P" R2 B8 N! @5 T: i; t"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 v2 z$ ~; D: B4 Ktold her daughter." e5 W( d: P+ l; r0 x9 _
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
9 X8 Z/ k2 B4 w3 x9 K$ x$ rclass.3 C* Z" I) @) y0 y+ s, d% N7 ]
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' B: w" x% ]' L7 {
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 S' k4 r: F0 F* F9 i3 g- W7 Soccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 \/ f. q" J! V$ E6 y. J
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.8 Z/ r s% @, @4 C4 A
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he# J/ O/ d# r# a8 ^. a( H
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
8 B1 D% Q: o* g9 d3 ?$ S2 N- `( WChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul- V1 }$ f& s5 c0 [: _; j& t
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 W0 y0 r, H0 ^% r* tas many languages as I can."
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8 P/ J0 S# `: k E8 I1 Y) cAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the- s7 A0 g) k+ \
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job) Z9 g+ h1 ~9 b9 Y( q6 P+ k
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 K* |4 u; m9 m4 m: U. Tthat," Ms. Freire said.
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% ]8 N! o/ V' |& AMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program; |) `; f! |# i. Z5 S. c
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
F0 z3 N F& V6 }: Ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 d8 T0 h# y4 Z
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
0 y$ `$ m$ c$ G2 N9 xChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American- Q( |5 S4 C! `& N) J
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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# n( V4 c+ o; L9 g$ F"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ r# c+ {. K+ }. l
because of that missing certification," he said.) \: j! M u; J0 }* Q8 T
& ~1 F1 O/ Z6 [4 k6 }5 Z- F& SThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
" E- q0 D. p% }9 x0 [said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" p* c) B4 s' f1 u" y( e0 [Society in New York.# S' _. j! m+ P5 u. {
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the8 [& S7 M& D( f, i. c
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from; j! v' t$ ?3 r+ H; a
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; M( u% v! H k- v; w
& {2 |1 V: }% Y% }"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) o. {, R- U+ |
own." c5 F6 X+ S9 y( s% Q# n
1 v7 a8 D- }8 y! xCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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