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October 15, 2005! R3 C: f+ a5 W0 E, p
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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1 X& L- e; L: D6 X. L- ZBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
9 _4 p# H/ I, SUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary; N0 \+ @2 t/ z5 p
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
# P _1 O" Y3 tdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; p+ }9 A# c/ M! }
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 p9 e) z. u1 d- f
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
6 {. d. u2 A) o0 Z% cpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) b& J3 |4 r! e" ]* ?0 Kboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 e' z( m! Z5 ]" e9 B7 g
are already choosing it over Spanish.( G0 ?1 _: p! J. e
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
5 N3 }$ B/ a% P* Nat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 H3 |3 J% E( c, U6 joffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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8 F/ }& k8 W' F4 D9 c4 VWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
6 M9 S- H ]+ `. t2 ^" T$ `' uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
`7 G% l. ^9 ^, l; Pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 U5 U9 @0 T& \; @2 _; Cone of its most difficult to learn.: q- Q# {1 j' j
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 Q3 w8 w% o& W' o
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students6 N9 N) {4 e2 {& j! P7 ?
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.' n4 z2 \4 X. X' }
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of ~5 ~. U: y% D+ l& O
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on" A j' Z& B& f& f$ ?
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to# p. a, N- h/ Q8 O: s. Z
improve 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
9 B* N; Q" h- {# q* \" y0 l- hChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country- P) x: k; W( k, D9 ?. X
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
I( @/ V* ~& t* A; Hdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! Y! @5 v" o! e
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director: v$ Q7 l: h+ R1 e2 ~/ D, [3 T6 G
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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) E* l" g+ h; Y3 N0 D) @"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of E% P2 j5 x/ X! i( [
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
* l$ w1 d" p) k0 v5 K. ]% [Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
; k5 X& n' j" w- _. Hcan." " c. Z8 B; Q3 F! `
4 h0 O. e: X, r, GThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
9 N! @$ i. e z# y3 S' r- kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 G6 S' g* N+ r% T o' b& j' s+ @
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
# |/ ?$ v$ I; v5 s+ m: YInstitute in Washington./ s1 N4 e5 l' M, `
: e' a8 f. `& E"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
$ r; u3 C z9 X O0 D3 caren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 l- J% w# @% T: H( t. ?
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
& z% O" x, C* i6 q( H& @7 T klongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
/ ?1 ^8 @) U5 X; mready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. K4 r1 h, E# s: X# Ychallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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$ b" |. K7 v/ f# l! Q0 RUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
! s3 m+ P9 D, nsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& q0 j8 c8 O( B. h& ycities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' \ ^, [. c7 N+ _& Q/ a- U WChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* S- |+ r2 S" K9 H/ [* q3 M
on weekends.
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3 F" u& Q2 l/ R4 r9 D% eThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public$ v! c3 y$ }& N* ~; X6 L
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves" E# S" `/ e- n# B
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said7 M8 b' x T7 n5 R
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the; \: x h K( X0 c ?: T: I: e: z
competition. 3 @# C4 d" T8 x6 E" U6 D) R
/ Q* A8 c0 E& V) _"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
( Q5 H Y( s! S" @3 |said. "There will be Chinese and English."6 g; |: ?4 m3 y7 z# a
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 ?5 _/ m4 `: [/ o& A; I) E
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
u8 N% O: x% {2 l- wschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from- H! E) C) [) e; F9 W6 G ?
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
! K) H4 h4 _5 qwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
( Z/ [1 d" M$ G) Jthe school system last year.$ l! {2 ]6 j M
6 Z( Y ^$ u+ }The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% A }- ]+ Q; H9 t1 @/ P9 Gyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year., k$ B; d) @+ x
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"They have a great international experience right in their own. N' w% D, D6 a# V& I0 F: t
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
6 R. a) s) D4 O1 VChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 S; q( L6 g! b I
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet& l. O% b2 K2 l, P" Z
on an equal playing field."
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1 k# K1 k; q* `& `Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 z% W5 E l1 K' Sclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
# T1 [: c: C1 W5 A# f/ z. UService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks4 } [' D% I% d& a! _
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An! P) i( `& p; a, Z+ q0 h5 y: z
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in9 L" P2 n7 ^7 C1 d) t, U( _4 f% r
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 w7 c8 z# I/ v* x4 a0 V
institute says.) B' O. t4 l6 K0 v2 `
# L9 A) J6 m/ Y) s/ w+ WSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
6 M% j8 q$ a& @* V/ T, ^) Y" Egrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* Y' X. I, m! Z9 b* P% l. W# y7 m
deciding whether to take the class.7 R4 D I# g% [8 v5 {) E
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
; l/ d# V. H# I. ?6 j) |told her daughter.- B6 R* T) U! U. X4 m% {9 f; Y9 {
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
* G( ?6 I8 A+ @* o' p% C9 Y2 Gclass.* z% T1 z0 P3 P8 }3 F$ _ T9 Z/ E
4 u" b) v* E) W* S/ _! m7 WAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are$ a9 g$ s/ ]) q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without, Z3 m$ B8 Y! Y; Q5 W
occasional frustration.
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6 G0 h: [+ d: ~1 y& f5 t2 w, y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a+ d( h( h2 c; \5 s. n/ X+ |& ]3 N
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. D& l; U" Q8 c+ H
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, E+ q1 [& y! K" f7 R/ o
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with' }* ?# v$ P9 Y( K! Z; _" d( N
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul& P9 e& r/ u7 y% y$ V+ S
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 N$ V% }4 i o8 J3 I: xas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the; i) B2 v4 L2 C9 e7 q% R
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* P& f' q) U/ I/ F, `2 v$ Vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, N/ M. ]$ J2 Y) B
that," Ms. Freire said.& s& d! |$ N6 u K1 i4 M, Q
% S' q# C, G6 I& J$ {) UMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program- d* ^' b" U3 s( q% Q
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 e) N( ^+ S1 A% q, S- Yschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking) s/ b- `! J8 y6 b, e& m
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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2 m3 W) \3 x' d6 M* k4 ]Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer- _4 h- u9 m) |9 Q6 N9 N/ S
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* k4 s }$ @5 N
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' g: r& S) @! E; x
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
0 ]* F: n8 x2 X" R9 U+ abecause of that missing certification," he said.: A1 G g/ y. X, r
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,% H5 w3 K$ d4 m( }
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
2 C/ A/ R7 C; _' U# R3 m ASociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
" j. S: M( \; s. p2 w+ VChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ s1 O0 F5 z3 ~1 ~8 M5 ythe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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8 o9 ^# O# I$ d* X"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
* E4 m: x; T2 J2 E9 [+ _9 }" vown."
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X, x7 O5 X) P1 _' R# h9 QCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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