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October 15, 2005
1 p7 M" _. H9 \2 q+ M) F( _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity" C- f$ [6 I6 M7 m0 w8 K5 ?( q
) y. x4 A* Q$ I/ t N+ f2 c- ^2 [By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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4 }' ?; ^3 }# p& r% kCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the% I, U5 W* M, J6 c# d
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) R# B- i- }& w5 G: iSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 [# L- {) l% R1 k2 jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 ^4 I+ i; ?8 N2 E# F! D$ Jflag hang from the wall.1 [6 h+ N4 d9 A1 d5 i
- `2 _. D) I+ p* mOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one% y" z3 G" C4 w+ A3 S
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) k& i3 s0 K) o; P& J7 jpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; l8 i. G% }2 @6 G. q$ {: Pboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
5 i$ L7 r6 a9 v- ]; ~are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: l; J( n, h6 ~7 G" u
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
; s5 B* c$ N8 g/ |offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* a7 n" u0 \4 G; h$ K- R
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
! V+ Q5 D7 r z7 j5 t0 Bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& x0 \! F% s4 v% D4 R( u" F
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- I, N: L# ]5 ?9 H5 sone of its most difficult to learn.; Q8 Y u. I+ u& e# T/ h
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 x: ? f" @0 Q z0 \; Z: C5 d
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
$ y3 ]$ A6 w/ s9 c) _. B" Sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.# q9 Y3 l3 X5 Z( F7 g7 h& Z( `
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! T- \' t- ]4 B2 ?6 f; hTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) H) x3 Z8 e# D$ m mChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to( ^" R2 I+ T! I3 D
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.$ _( p, D! K9 h, I& b. ~3 r
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
+ p6 U9 n( Y7 J& e" w5 J, Z7 q2 OChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 N* D- @9 R( B' {9 lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# f1 ~4 K' P# H. a3 Pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! Q" T0 j/ [/ @9 \' S5 W: T | @. pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 p: O8 [7 V; r: h# a# kof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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5 x9 q6 N9 y* i8 U" U2 \& t"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of* k. T* z$ Z) L& D* ~5 Z4 m6 F& Z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, l; X' d& \; a+ U1 v
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; T3 u4 a9 A9 ]0 [
can."
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( ?5 d" t4 H8 @4 iThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
& M, j2 j; h- v6 p/ z5 i6 eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" u6 Z- k. t; C( w- O! u
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 s: I9 U) X3 F3 h+ J+ eInstitute in Washington.: f) v4 Z1 l$ e1 I
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# s1 g U, z. A2 v* p. q+ Naren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% R- E# Q7 G! ?McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% X3 t0 i' f. t% l& A" z' Tlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( s; W4 P" i8 _! ?. O, j5 H
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 m r/ D c) ^5 X4 \' xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! l9 s/ _2 ?( V( Z4 y
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# j& c0 [4 T& O6 S% Y& dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in0 b$ Z* j. f: @4 T" p4 c
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 v. Q5 v6 ~$ {+ K# V
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or& u$ J2 m2 y9 S0 m5 @
on weekends.
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$ x7 b( K6 B4 H; iThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public4 x( L: N; W: ]& K B _
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves; [8 b! j: t" M. P3 Q* C: x
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said1 m8 Q1 r( ^$ D% Q( K
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the f, C0 B# T- D! B
competition.
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3 P3 G2 P* L% p% G+ k6 [7 G9 }) S) ?. Z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 o+ [6 C! O0 y6 _9 H& Vsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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# q6 Z9 K! F% N/ [ W' fFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 ]$ s% J/ D( h" L& B3 K
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse6 h$ \4 n' v: _7 H
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( \) O, A+ I$ U( K
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students3 a! Q1 G( A, @% L z9 `# M
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
) V) s/ a$ O. H% lthe school system last year.5 D) s2 P0 Y% G2 E+ r* E* C- J+ U
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this9 D* r! ~- u/ ~! X9 h# P$ f4 o7 W
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) U8 M4 g7 A9 j8 C2 \2 b+ `2 k
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' u" m* n2 Q4 U1 `5 d! W+ o7 D0 g1 DChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
B) |, F, B( W Y4 _1 T$ p3 Ehelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 ?3 a$ C, ]! J* y3 [9 U* W0 J1 |on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 f( r8 A' @) Z8 Gclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* n" Y3 ~9 H1 C; P v7 |Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks, Z3 K! H! _9 J! t% J- \" R0 B
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An8 T) L h4 A5 N" L) i% e$ o
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; j; g1 k4 r, v, Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the' n; z5 [ D+ F# z
institute says.2 O( a, l* e& Z
" G5 R9 E0 N+ mSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
6 W% }% h" m q8 |9 g! Bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 w# v( v. q6 t9 W
deciding whether to take the class.( g" |8 F/ }( L' H% z; \
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) V: M; e1 L2 e5 d) ]1 M
told her daughter.
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" I, h* ?* N3 }7 I x% fSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite: A5 c+ d+ ~0 H% k" T
class.0 a5 R% _0 J# V
! s4 x% J; p) { Q4 @# _( }9 U4 t: bAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 I4 @+ r- Z( j5 g% i, k" h
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
3 y; v' B0 [7 H& @occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a& H& X" M9 A0 z/ X1 w+ I
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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, S% N! H$ A' N' `( nRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
, I r+ l$ a; Y Rtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
) w0 P/ u& ~# V7 [# ^Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.8 T' U1 V, k, N9 I" I
9 t* W( e, w4 O5 m2 x [6 W"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 P' q3 y) e) e. T, Zsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ @4 Q2 k, R/ v$ b7 {7 {6 O# o) D& L
as many languages as I can."- w0 j+ C9 d' A6 \; r& j
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 W& k7 Q# h5 k9 bskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
$ L: ]; l2 N! T: U# c" C9 ?7 y5 Qmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
! U5 y. G1 S1 C, e0 d, x) w5 tthat," Ms. Freire said." H6 i& Z% h( L0 }/ B
9 Q, _# v8 b& Z- h* E0 F: ]Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. F! ~* g* U+ g1 |* I4 Khere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 ~! a5 `3 `' a
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
' P d! |/ m- Qtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make. p9 r! c$ B6 ]3 u/ P
room.9 z" w6 U# I" v& C
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer( k0 r! ]6 M/ h+ L
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
1 N2 d1 `6 l" R$ ]college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ F) M4 b& y' C% }9 G8 P
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ B+ c) a h* _% c o4 ]* pbecause of that missing certification," he said.6 X& h' \! L5 \0 _9 M
6 h i/ O$ u9 i3 `2 E# qThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
. k2 l i* a: O6 Y6 ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: o+ V8 T. E0 t. ESociety in New York.
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. s1 v6 @: l, D3 e# Z R5 ?% U2 cSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the) R5 }. P( S4 X7 A" {: J
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ H2 x6 n! m1 R/ vthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.9 y3 j; b6 ?/ [ z' y- T
. _7 V* f/ w5 y7 U, a' s- k"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 r5 ^: {! @0 k/ x- e4 _
own."
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. ^ p0 S( ?8 gCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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