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October 15, 2005
" x. Z8 a( h" i/ g' E% JClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) @9 o* _ C: O
3 t8 [9 V* [9 Q9 Y. RBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING# j- w* J8 i$ [2 H6 d) Y- F
+ f F- P5 Q5 R) e$ LCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, i$ H9 g( _; P$ {2 c
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 m2 C0 B1 e4 V* v, D
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; L4 q" S+ j, l! h6 q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese+ E% n( w7 E% e. p p2 Q# R* {
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" q" y5 ?% L+ E2 p/ O. k, n! v
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 c0 n2 Y/ T: k( M2 }$ t
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker# o. w, s" ]2 J! z E
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students( y& Q) n* O2 ?9 Q
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& f; X! i1 [+ X) j) y5 [' [) @
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city9 B' u1 k6 _* i* O
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") `* Q( K$ y9 ^4 y. _
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( G' g+ b# \" e" h1 x8 ?5 Xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
5 W0 w' I& c( w. {* fto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention8 C" L$ w- i6 l4 U
one of its most difficult to learn.% X1 @2 m8 S- p' B0 J/ l
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 \/ A- t! x e$ M4 O
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
" o8 [: E/ J. R7 B: y) }0 ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 c! C' E. k, o& X* ULieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
4 z/ l1 q5 q0 K/ k% e% H. \Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* @3 q9 I. I: T+ |
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to* z, t U) c& T$ ~
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.) `5 K, K0 A; J( p
8 H: ~; ]6 o5 r5 Y) C9 L' ]/ }After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
o* \5 p0 S8 k2 F! JChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country* _2 g# j6 F5 s& W6 P' y- I
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( t$ @! B1 R8 r$ A" R* M. v6 ]1 S1 x
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
( ~2 ?% T- T8 u# f- x# ^3 Gcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& B: }3 b5 _. P+ A8 h* Kof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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1 b6 Q( W# M" ~ K$ R"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" @! U7 w8 E0 {- ~8 C6 p
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
7 O7 ~) u( G" j$ @Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
6 a6 o) j8 X: v5 Tcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
1 U( w% K) Q' x8 _elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
& }4 g* j, ?" k; d, y- w+ ?years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
. V5 f8 e2 P `! ?! {/ U* m, vInstitute in Washington.0 J7 `! z: V6 h2 t9 B
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages' w# S( I. H# ]. x% B4 M6 |
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.0 N0 ]) S9 f3 H3 T6 v) M
McGinnis said.) Z1 S- r, t' R* l9 x0 a
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical Z) z6 \5 C: s) n, _* Z7 L
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
0 b, _! _$ m! L [$ a; d- [' K/ ~ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a) u3 G( G. o$ I0 G
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 L1 r. H" a Z
9 c8 O. U+ b$ e1 T @, Q. z& ]' y5 WUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
: J' T! K- g9 G6 `- Msecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in2 Z- H& y. D% [* Q" ~
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of$ [5 u2 s5 s% G" K
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% I5 i! Z" A4 N1 `7 r2 x$ Ton weekends.
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5 ?" x% ^: Q, d, A( K& [; uThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
. f( W7 X, d+ Y8 _2 G2 Vschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
! C* l* L) I+ a1 g9 mstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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& V$ ^' H' k7 q- ~4 J( d( zMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
' a% `. m0 z+ Q' _proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
2 Y" S& R- k; a5 Ycompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
8 [+ Y& v$ i; R; r4 G& k* |said. "There will be Chinese and English."! }* `9 v! e) K9 O0 g0 E6 ^
- e% A! A+ L" N7 a4 _9 {From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 x% s4 ~ j' q' p4 q
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse I9 S/ w3 z- E& I% z
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from }1 i# F3 Q4 t6 \, j4 ?
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
& {2 u. q9 q; @9 T! Y" Pwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to8 x9 ?* f8 m- L9 T% b
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
7 F' p N+ H5 S$ c Ryear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.. c4 N$ F, Y4 E8 j
6 D- i0 N7 |" H+ Z. J"They have a great international experience right in their own
m% n& q: U: [( }; ~ |: xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 K4 R x( M" mChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 {% `9 P# E) f' X3 lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 G( K# I. e% e* `7 Y! O4 x! i
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese4 Y( z5 u0 I% @! H( R! x+ Z% k: M! m
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
+ ~7 g6 c4 _5 |9 m; b& ~Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- I4 G; @* V0 N
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( G0 l G, f/ i; D. W! raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in g5 @. m" S9 L( n2 Q. z2 d% ~
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
8 L% z0 ?5 m& I. Y! L, Jinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth* G m6 F, n: d: H
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before" U# G5 p( \$ B7 K
deciding whether to take the class.- H! s4 n+ p. H9 Z
) T4 E1 e# S+ ]1 B5 r"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 Y( T/ D6 G9 c! O' m- B! u; Ptold her daughter.
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F, \. l7 F( KSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 L5 X% D# L- B( w
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# v" i7 C0 B4 l6 j2 f$ ?5 B4 Foccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
6 H2 |4 Z P, J: G0 \$ j" Crecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. p) O; @* ] ~% V
9 }1 H& V. p7 L( Q( @2 u. Y, @Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
+ o) C% M5 u _3 V6 }( x' Htaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 u: x& S% w- |: G' vChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.1 {- d! \; }+ q, R
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ w/ C/ n/ R( L! a. H/ Q k2 E
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ h- U( ^8 y `) U
as many languages as I can."2 t& l8 H; Y- L0 \ m% U a- P
# K7 o: z! t6 t7 pAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
# @& W3 S. G1 M' ^. P1 p3 nskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job, c8 T s8 |, E
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
1 ^. Z- |6 r) othat," Ms. Freire said.- R) q n C) z: @4 `9 S
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, P: L2 b# y+ |/ h% R0 |; L9 Shere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 x4 d" X7 Y2 B& v9 v
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 T9 X; x5 J3 F* R2 r. V1 Etime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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' U3 r& X K# JChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* t" i x* L5 v) ^3 ?2 W, i0 U7 E
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
5 U- g) L; g w! c% lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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3 } {. |) `, K0 s$ Q"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
& S5 Q) F) l5 ~4 ]2 P6 v6 w- p+ zbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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, Z; C1 U @ |/ K" Z2 WThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,9 U. `) j% |) `( L
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia" W* P; d9 N" b+ A
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
/ L0 [+ X9 u4 s. Y# t/ MChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from$ d9 j0 t5 s. G& g' m* U
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
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. f0 N5 y% u- ?+ ~, R: s& C6 k0 nCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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