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October 15, 2005
6 F1 x' k8 d' GClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' L/ D' ^4 o4 T0 y$ o
7 O% ]! i* b _' O" { v& j4 ], JBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 m& ~, f) B# z4 @( d- x: lUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
; v" D9 n2 L1 U" k/ u+ ?: lSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 g5 q4 }& e& m+ H$ Gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 A4 N- @3 W8 P9 mflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
# x! z* K) Z o$ S" _another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders. [ A* W$ _. T( V5 R8 p8 Q
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; ?" k: R) H- J1 _boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 s% D# Z8 I" @7 W9 l% Rare already choosing it over Spanish., _# J: j9 P( q
* n# U o I; x$ h"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 X/ C: {4 I/ y. Y0 h6 ?- Gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city) O0 Y8 S& \- P: d; j
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 Y$ Y: a$ ]: ]
5 j; U+ j1 z6 } y* p+ [4 CWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,5 X( s7 O/ j) h. v; ~# x5 p
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
8 R5 Q- N) U1 D( u' Y' O/ \to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% o; p( l9 J. hone of its most difficult to learn.
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S5 o, a+ R6 S. r8 hLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to W. y& \2 _4 A
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& A( N: n/ o8 J5 F8 t; R! L
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
6 F0 ^, Y# C, m2 G& yLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 Y+ Z4 A/ H( b: JTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on( O2 ~, p" n' e2 n9 s3 |
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 b; z e7 T& L9 i D' K: M4 }
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.! R" V/ U* ]1 x) d
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
. r* {! q2 J2 U/ xChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
2 x& H* C8 {7 \7 ~, V: e; \starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& c( T5 H- P7 p/ q% d) gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing" F" }& k1 _; B) J& E; ^. T, U: U g
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director1 p3 G8 R/ k1 W# f/ Q* o. t
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) x0 e( F: z' J# ~$ T) e
" r/ i; c1 o. _8 ~"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' f+ @; z. p( v! y) ^5 X" A" u
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education: b- s# j4 v, E5 o( {* ^
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ E1 S% a5 i1 H, d* A
can." ' E1 w; P7 c' l
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 O' F/ K- y* s2 E' |* k% ~- O! k3 lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ r0 D; ^* ^- `" S0 M; @, hyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language$ c( i1 K: ]5 X: L3 ^5 {) U
Institute in Washington.
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$ y$ ?) [! b; N1 x1 v, F"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 a5 _. i2 b$ N
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
1 k2 Z$ N' M' C/ F$ d9 v# r+ GMcGinnis said." I2 O, J" c) W) n5 G% M
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
4 ?8 S' b) R% V2 |% W: ?9 Ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( Q! U) n# o' H9 @( b/ k
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
, e5 A) a6 A1 Tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
5 W5 m! W5 {) P7 h7 usecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
" r3 j7 s# J3 K5 U7 ocities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of8 D. J7 j3 H! B0 b7 p, m
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
* k0 k( e* q3 ]! K! I( q2 `1 jon weekends.5 ^' T+ L. F* G$ [- a" O5 q" A( `
, O1 ?4 g' T6 T: a# lThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" V* h% q7 @! @schools during the regular school day and primarily serves; q: V0 ~. u) e7 q, F
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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. E! T2 ?& Y! ^* tMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, s/ W1 o$ |0 q& q0 H) zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the. k1 a0 H0 o* T& n4 I
competition.
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1 l' r. C7 g! o2 O) ?0 S$ Z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
" f( U. L. p( |3 C4 _said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" _( t4 E, M- c- I0 H
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse7 [& {3 l6 C/ V6 c
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from# y. G6 n, |" ^0 z& a- l
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students' d0 K3 b8 E8 U' c: \
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to H# i' U. n4 [2 m0 `+ n v& `
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
6 j4 B' |' T$ }' }) b$ _year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.* o( g1 d! D7 f& U( r: j
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"They have a great international experience right in their own; n/ @, q0 k; h4 P5 r; R
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 s; S0 p) |/ JChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 }3 Z. c- Z7 h$ V ohelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 \# {& d' k0 C; n
on an equal playing field."5 i4 w% Z6 i" I. N7 t$ w5 P
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% v" H3 f7 S8 r- `6 p0 jclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, B& f+ A+ W5 o$ V+ `3 L& yService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
+ z' R, g. _; GChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& j+ E2 O7 r F1 N, {5 b" kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 ?' I8 D4 i0 XChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the; }+ f+ C7 T/ B( a" Z9 b
institute says.; ?3 d4 l& C4 A2 x+ F7 F: w9 T
3 n3 f# l' ]7 r B3 hSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth3 }6 K2 r- ]$ Z- s
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
- X5 k- Y1 I C; ]deciding whether to take the class.2 e4 e4 H P3 l
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. |) Q- t3 y+ ytold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite0 i; X. N& w* v' D( c7 Q
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are* ~* o+ d& ~: x& h9 T" s& ]
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without/ E$ D V3 B. B; o: N
occasional frustration.
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, o1 }5 u: u8 ^* f4 H"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
* A' ~# S5 f7 M5 c0 E4 b; X* y$ |recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* N9 c/ _+ ]; m% x5 g
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he+ A, O1 ~# b8 @; J2 G6 c
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with7 {' w2 k) Q/ y( f
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 E [9 q6 i+ \$ w' p2 `& G" Z
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 g7 T1 o0 x3 A3 xas many languages as I can."% E6 d" [9 L0 r; E* F
' }" K/ ]. S4 `( jAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& _- F" y A- S( X
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; o2 x$ l5 w( D7 j& D# ^market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, ? C M m7 A9 D
that," Ms. Freire said.
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2 ?6 s+ M: Q# a0 w0 y7 d6 _: UMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program; D/ O" V. W* D3 w E8 l1 i& G5 b( Q
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
4 J2 p) V+ r' q* zschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& ~3 g1 k6 A5 |2 C% r6 xtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
8 c9 e6 O3 ~' F% W: ^1 mroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
V* ?/ a, n7 T; I4 o0 g/ HChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* G4 j. j9 V H* w$ k* Z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
3 d3 o& o9 t/ M7 obecause of that missing certification," he said.' m6 T# _8 T2 x$ `+ m. Q' I) M, s
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 p6 M+ u: ?3 O& D+ Esaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ w* u: _# a3 ]* Y$ {6 i* rSociety in New York.
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( g, g2 d) Q+ v/ [% [5 B6 e7 p4 i* BSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the5 u* i9 S& F5 {3 b
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 T6 |' o: p* l/ R+ uthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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3 {5 a( I7 y& f) X$ v5 `4 R8 Z"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our9 c7 S6 ?* r4 z; \
own."# X5 `$ o2 f/ p' n
3 {2 Y) H) l6 V9 r, i# sCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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