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October 15, 2005
, k& n0 J0 g1 \3 m bClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity! m y" d6 b0 ~8 D2 J0 F* {
$ X2 _! b" T6 U+ N7 K) U" l
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
0 L3 v3 K! W' M5 m6 g1 Z- kUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- C9 {/ p ^. m
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas! d8 u1 X' @ ?( \& T I! S
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; d( B: b( W4 ~7 K K! i7 v2 O$ \
flag hang from the wall.$ ~7 g& c# ~' N. z5 D t
9 j: k" e' N' U) T) z7 `One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
. t6 x1 h/ M1 c- a& sanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders I" M* N5 `7 ~
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& a+ m ]' |7 V1 A& s% X
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students; G0 o1 B7 E" I' {, e g
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" q! k3 b" t/ y6 k# ^- p, C! q3 u
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
* [7 L# F2 I& S+ E' I; `, doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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: G$ P- d, Z! `7 t/ eWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
! q$ C% x+ x& X: f4 i8 gschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
, p; c6 H- F B) t* k3 b5 hto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* k' i k9 u& t' D& \, oone of its most difficult to learn.
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6 g! A! ?3 ~: k, \# s8 l- F' eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% Y: s6 v! H( y. kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students9 y/ K `# N2 W3 L4 S5 I9 H6 y
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) @6 J& s" {/ @1 @0 V* x2 w/ n
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" q+ H$ }' s( `! {. z
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 [. z2 S! H. m X7 N- b) ~4 eChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to% C* Q M& _0 D+ u- D$ h6 \! I
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% ^: [/ i: i0 ]' C
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
1 d3 u4 q6 Z4 l( Q0 l7 E! ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 j3 G( p, E$ M O7 ldevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing; v# H+ I3 x( s7 m. P$ Y- @
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
: G- M6 l6 ^$ d, B4 Bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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/ B' z9 u$ f- X8 I+ [0 M"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
( B4 d, O* N' U$ @3 I9 y( Z2 L4 Bspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education2 g3 C8 n7 t) {9 k
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 v) F2 q& N4 f) G
can." 8 s2 ?% X m8 V' c: N
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ k$ [- ^+ J8 |+ B
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 |+ a! b5 o+ j Byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 }# _) @8 H9 f7 iInstitute in Washington.
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; p0 ~# `* e2 \# S"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; c8 e! T+ ~ _2 {# garen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ N3 N& ~- a. V6 u$ |McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical1 _0 u# I- ~' {) l' i
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 X: M; `) r+ o) G7 ?( v6 M7 Sready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a; Z1 x7 A. N. Q5 Z1 \! C
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."$ N1 B4 e$ m# ~6 S2 u2 i2 c
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and$ V4 U' W2 |4 Z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 F) n( I4 s- O: \- g) o0 v
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( t4 u4 t( I/ |, o8 h; u
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or- g& ?6 ?4 X5 h% e8 ^
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public3 O4 R9 c5 n3 w
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
: h4 S7 o$ k C% ]students who are not of Chinese descent.# N" y g! T* B9 m4 j
+ S* X) ^7 q9 ]Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& N4 F7 G' t- r9 g' b0 v4 f3 m* {proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the3 Z& W$ h. ], J
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley7 n6 h3 m/ {2 d& c0 \1 H7 @( j& ^
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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- b( ~. q$ a7 V/ J+ h/ H9 cFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly- W2 X ~( p0 N% |2 N, P, D# G# O% a8 I
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
! U0 I- k! v3 ~4 @schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( z. a, r% n( [* i* a8 X* Y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
& ~1 }% m6 E" dwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to; p b. q# ]' G; g% f7 s. J) P
the school system last year.* ~1 u( k- r) m b* o
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this6 ?. A# N. D) N- ^9 r
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.) P9 @6 x3 `& R$ P1 `4 n
) _5 l$ D: f8 c: H& `"They have a great international experience right in their own
( g$ h+ i) h- g' lclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
- z# m e7 {; O+ EChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' b7 o8 u, o2 C; ^9 e* t" rhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
) V! l5 F7 m7 i9 ^9 d' M; Q- ton an equal playing field."
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: y0 x% `- I% B# C( C; I/ M. A. PSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& S$ k& Y J, u/ O; f* N% p( Nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
) w9 ? P5 u2 p. O! S4 _& XService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. G" @* q) P+ |) M" ?/ G% p
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An' l' K& r# b3 X* Z
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in) v. j' r' D% K8 F, S5 H5 {2 X
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the. @- z2 z! `! c9 B" \
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# @, o' X1 c8 q* C8 }grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
T1 J: q+ a/ V" udeciding whether to take the class.
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! E6 z' B! P8 @) s- U2 |# V"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she7 W4 L5 u8 ~ V( Q0 }, {3 g
told her daughter.2 G. `( e( y+ j6 o. W% t
% a- `4 h0 j1 N, V( wSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ S+ P, ]! {7 P6 j! [
class.
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# ]0 W; S: L9 E: G1 L- [% wAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
4 b6 s1 U9 V% Istudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 r! p& P- P& K% u$ f
occasional frustration.5 B7 t) n* I: O% h2 y! J/ p* P: c: O" `
. n6 b+ A; s1 ~# M, Z; W! ~"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* s9 a! w. c3 G6 U2 r
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.& w7 o. r$ K2 b: ?6 P7 Q
! u3 Z% i6 t- V/ N6 `9 fRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 q+ o7 K D3 k
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with! F! e' p5 A" t1 B- v2 U" c
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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* g& a% i) i# \ s. l$ A" U5 L1 o" n"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
+ A0 v3 X6 `. l/ f0 v/ Y* Jsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
9 h- d9 h4 D* D* las many languages as I can."
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3 u; L; @, |1 x7 V% }$ e _8 ^Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ b" }0 K1 p, D4 I- g3 p! s, X
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, Q$ C, N4 h" N1 r1 Zmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ {( v0 B) {8 z- w$ V2 _0 h/ Z7 Y) i
that," Ms. Freire said.
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3 }8 P+ ]4 X7 X" MMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program! v @$ _- ?4 H; w# T
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 r* E" E8 P, c9 h( t9 Oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
6 U* I7 e) }9 q3 `# w8 R: ltime from classes like physical education, music and art to make- U, X! H' p6 A3 Y7 p2 e
room.$ g4 I9 m b& Q+ E8 d
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" x. x/ R! W" w, {: k: U
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
# C# v/ ~! a6 P5 w' ~college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.* I' I/ P. X- s2 J
5 j# I5 E) E! u"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified0 S9 Q3 ^9 { U: h
because of that missing certification," he said.( B. K8 ?; Q; [# `! c7 w
) F8 f9 M8 _$ b% Q. `) s0 iThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* b1 D( f4 \8 q. Z" U gsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia2 @1 u8 P, d( z6 `* u' X$ H
Society in New York.5 }+ S3 k. g, Q' D0 }+ X, R
1 e) D8 l0 Q6 e! RSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 S$ ?% \5 D `' E; w) O$ q: BChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from; V: @; t2 b6 l
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.9 A7 U, M X. v s) Z9 f5 r% V
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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0 Z7 ~6 G4 _+ h9 S+ ?7 dCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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