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October 15, 2005
5 z, j u9 p5 c5 zClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING( M3 l3 o7 f/ r$ X8 ?3 T0 o- ]7 ~
) @! g% m$ R+ ~0 `! X0 jCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) N8 v8 E& V" ?0 e6 u& IUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary8 X: v; l- V8 r& d6 X2 m& s/ E
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
0 \! Q' E& l& a. ?& Ydangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 ^ x/ C9 @' N2 k8 |
flag hang from the wall.
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* m; L2 y) r, h, G, N# lOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 O9 Y& R6 x& Y4 v8 X) _7 {another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders2 y' _8 t; l5 m* D! i
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
' i* S. s& o+ w- i7 fboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. v; M) M4 G8 u" C8 Yare already choosing it over Spanish.# l$ Y" v. A: Z z2 P6 F$ r' v- S
+ P0 J8 e+ e; J1 X. S) s! v8 N& d( }"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal, R+ S" C; l8 I* o
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ |- D6 h. H' g$ \- B- `: K
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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9 @* t4 y/ w9 V- EWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* {# o% a; C7 r2 t! Q: ~; F
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" ~# S0 U U2 i# F4 h4 x
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( q8 H, {. _! k* F8 h- T1 z {one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
I2 f% F, s0 W3 V& e1 N, u% m) Epublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
0 J& A! {1 ~" F, F8 A4 Ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
% ^2 ~; n- s% `Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ L: ?& i/ N. c7 n
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ e/ q# _& X* q8 _4 `1 D1 |; s5 {
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to- L1 K9 P8 O8 _* c. J. z; ^7 g
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.- A4 d' ^9 s2 ]9 F- f; [
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
" \0 I3 D* L: L f1 w( P5 h) x, _Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
' m& [& U* c- [. h O2 Z- hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to. E$ C/ l% K: o. N# k* @' k
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
, B5 z( I R3 J: pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; {$ k, v/ ]" E0 a# Uof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board., I' u2 q) I; e2 P% M# j/ T0 ?7 e9 \9 Z
# M8 F) q& ^6 Y: ["Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of7 l) t) A. w8 }- ?2 k- Z& T. p
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education1 L+ v# R" m2 m3 J2 `$ S
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we4 k- R9 x: M3 v; {- C
can." : |0 O7 V# I2 v3 G3 E
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 m4 l; F* Y+ r8 I: Gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
! q3 J7 t6 n- A0 i, z! Fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language* e/ M, W* v3 l# e$ J4 Q
Institute in Washington.
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v A+ r3 y/ q2 J9 v"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ H' g3 a! e0 r# J: p3 T
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 r+ ~9 l! t% N
McGinnis said.
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4 i G, y* o4 C9 ?% n: A8 W1 h"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
F( w" J9 o; _5 {! l8 W3 e5 {+ ^, p( {longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ u! X, z1 R) y6 u
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a2 V9 P9 E+ U. r0 b
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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7 J$ \+ \, z- fUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and! I4 r3 q4 c+ ]
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) z K8 U- ]+ a- Ocities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 ^9 e3 }: Y2 G7 f+ D" s. R* DChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
( P- S2 k W* _/ B5 k$ Son weekends.
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8 `% K, p% d6 j7 s1 O8 tThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 f( t3 l* c+ V T, }
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 B; h6 r, D* P' z# j
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
2 H( b8 c5 ~2 s8 K3 k! W$ {' }proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
3 y& G |+ c8 E1 m! bcompetition. ' _& o j6 u3 r. h0 y
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" m* I7 x( T8 C/ G& C
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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" G: \1 ~6 N& c- ^( L6 gFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly) \! Z, w, o2 \7 M% ]7 ?
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse" s$ o* R% D( q5 `; Q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from8 ?& \& k6 b- Z% E' M O) q
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
8 l/ q$ G: N1 f4 P) Lwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to) l# o- ~! Z+ p/ N+ o5 h8 E- n
the school system last year.8 B- m5 q. L) X. `' _+ F" g# j
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this0 d: ~# ?' x' V& L, a: z) F
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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! [% E8 ^* P. a- |4 m$ E"They have a great international experience right in their own
8 Y) M* }) J/ q' @! v! Gclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! p8 q5 Q/ [. [& ?
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. ?0 [: M K Yhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet. k: ?% F( ]! b! P& a
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese& a" c6 }2 U) F# ~0 i5 j4 W9 X
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 ^- F- x4 @; |! b1 e, wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: F/ F0 `4 M+ x- f, D- w" KChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
+ E5 |: m. `4 q8 h# ?average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" I9 h0 a$ ]/ F5 {
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the. ?* L* q& ]2 M3 o
institute says.
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2 R6 ] E i9 a" Y6 n2 w$ k" ~Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth4 a' S. p/ i1 _' r Y2 r- P+ e% P" b
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before% C! L' u; h" D! {- B% ]
deciding whether to take the class./ v* J0 c* W" [0 {9 m; s; L
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ e5 {9 V9 o; ` t
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
+ |' P' Z) h' d( I- k0 hclass.
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3 p# ]3 @# D8 a; f) u7 JAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 N. q9 |, C* C* Q0 ?/ B3 g+ K
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without# M* u. l; H' [ d0 m. b
occasional frustration.- v( b, D- e% [! P5 G
5 l% V- a6 B. I9 r"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a/ o$ |6 ^ ]/ s6 R8 ]. S
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.5 C! `- X) ~4 X4 k4 R) t7 h( W
9 p% U$ A; Z6 \3 V/ }, O& p! LRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 S z6 l; D x [( o
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
8 y/ p3 r* l, H6 r8 OChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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2 g7 b: o3 ?4 l, s"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 z( B* e+ |- L" I, Z9 P& L& V
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& S9 |5 @4 p0 v1 m( J0 R, |as many languages as I can."
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0 q0 Q! e; h' @% {) a' JAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 r9 t% W9 b$ |; n8 u0 K) ^" Wskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
& M. [: [# O" L9 w, F+ V& T" hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" g2 u8 m4 H; |- l9 c9 v/ {+ _& Xthat," Ms. Freire said.; | K2 ]! g" q( ]2 l- t8 _) K
9 P7 t& F4 r1 o2 P) bMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
/ n# m5 l; o2 u0 Where offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 I8 A$ z/ B: L) `
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ f/ L- }: ~+ ~7 z+ }- S3 u" ]
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: l+ B6 p. S6 o0 n
room. H+ b- d/ A! ^
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
3 H6 t# N& D- M; }9 zChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" i* \3 T; Z1 R0 J/ H! Jcollege, 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' B9 ^' t- f% C' d( w8 {, p
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,$ G. L2 F5 w# I8 d2 n
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia @1 X2 u8 U8 V' I
Society in New York.
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- f4 k4 Z" G& r+ F; N$ f6 A, Z" FSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
3 Z- w1 x3 }* q9 A; l6 `( g; RChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
2 _2 F: I& c* l4 C4 }the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: h* o$ J) _1 n
own."" j/ |7 B" o3 }/ X3 w6 K
8 y$ x7 P7 f9 U/ X. j K, t5 A: U0 lCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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