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October 15, 2005) l, X0 M( ^/ K/ X$ Z
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 G$ j, r/ b* s" C' n0 o
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 ~6 K+ b1 f3 Y8 v" F7 M! gUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary z7 e7 W* J4 N8 c5 X: g* l
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ ^5 k8 G: K! {' x
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
v% ]5 ]/ K' eflag hang from the wall.
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8 x1 [2 C! @; L2 c% V+ \( m; m& U4 o! wOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
! `4 J% F- |9 Y( Lanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 z' a( e& { ] Y I, h
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! W" S9 F* |% n' N0 o7 l8 x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students9 F* ~3 g3 S/ T7 @- ^) b! D
are already choosing it over Spanish.4 |8 ]+ O' b2 A6 J) g+ c/ t8 f1 v' F
) F% y2 ?) A& N"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# m$ Q/ v1 T3 }; v& ]2 z' H+ w* A+ P
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city" I9 a; i$ c& Z% G+ u) r
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") V& O- k7 k* e/ a t* H
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
}0 Z6 R/ r, Z3 R4 i/ N$ O3 Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) `7 D7 B: e4 Y3 x ato include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( H' c. M3 ^) n8 v: Done of its most difficult to learn.
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! @. t& u h1 m3 b& B9 WLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& x. J# ^ |+ Z" }0 apublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students: t1 A9 F0 y- x1 a8 I
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( ~# m. l; }0 d3 K
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
. A; E' I2 B+ t0 z9 l7 qTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ d) V: c7 k3 Q# h) i; K
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 q6 | p) O f+ A
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.$ M* L/ o; F/ ^% V3 _' r! m4 D
. S; z% w( l, F8 E. s9 ZAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
% T1 m0 d8 k, b g( z3 |Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
1 p! C! A& U' H9 R3 |$ l+ q* K, pstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: o. Z+ Y+ W5 f9 m' Z1 }/ {5 Y
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ U& n R G: z% r! I* @1 \# Q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 Y( c. m3 W8 [( mof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
0 [) f9 b4 }& Vspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- q' `) e5 y" o X' \# IConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we+ k2 o$ Q0 r/ e
can." " S& G ~) b4 N: ?3 C# A. Y+ Z) [1 w
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from* }/ T. R" P! \
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 c; X- g" S3 G7 ryears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 L& \3 _; y. _: `" k0 e
Institute in Washington.% I5 ]" f- V; e* G0 Z# k1 `' l+ b
0 M' c& W% ]: T Z) V: n"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& Y7 ^, @6 G5 k2 D; Z, Saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.% g6 i1 r1 x1 W, `0 `1 u
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical( z3 n# ?+ X) s T3 H7 _3 A$ [
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 c# c- g' p5 x/ t1 h% wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% j- u3 w# g7 D* e& F) d1 tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."' B1 b# `* H' H; y# |: W* |
+ u [+ i7 T2 |& S0 v# l$ k6 }Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% K2 m* V! `# C5 {secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' {/ s) j3 p" @! T7 N
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
- v8 m2 \/ j0 x1 l$ OChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or3 l* h5 ^8 F/ N( L' k
on weekends.# H3 _6 S, M( m
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. ?2 d: @; _6 Y4 {' C! _
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. ?5 a! i! l: v2 m
students who are not of Chinese descent." z7 H5 T% s T& l
U4 b ?% u) N+ {4 gMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said7 t. ^! p( m, R( u
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
! T7 E7 w$ Q# S2 E4 V6 Y8 }/ ]4 gcompetition.
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5 r4 a2 D9 F6 i8 U"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 A2 n+ B/ [! Y; A3 } o/ \. i* psaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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7 c$ R5 w2 ?8 F$ m2 [) ZFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly9 Y% Y) D8 R. a! R$ [
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 U {1 v W9 m4 cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from W# c7 }' O4 n' r" X
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 |3 `1 E( K0 r& a3 m0 jwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& O G8 x4 l9 L" @3 Pthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this+ `* P0 ]& s6 |7 l. o' D
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 Z! i; u9 d+ _' k7 s* D8 t* E
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"They have a great international experience right in their own+ o9 V) Q: R! |/ \1 o' U3 v
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago# w( L2 n! l( ]5 J
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to# V7 n1 B1 x6 f/ I+ n# H
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* x$ U- L) f& ^1 K% x, J/ V4 z
on an equal playing field."2 L* `" O# m1 s1 G
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese: t1 o7 n- m: T8 [, j* S7 s
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 R/ s" m! k3 X. [
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: G% a# U9 x. d% k% zChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" m4 F2 @! y/ i+ F
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in9 k9 A& u1 ]# |
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 Y! m% G5 h+ k8 _/ }, Ginstitute says./ T9 L+ j: M2 P3 _
2 S/ {" ] P' ?7 q7 V. u7 ^Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' Q. }( a! p/ t+ e
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
9 ~3 A: Y W/ b0 h" R4 ?deciding whether to take the class.$ M4 g! Q& B, L7 v, P. r" |% a
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 H/ W& [5 ?5 Y3 ^2 k6 T! Ttold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
`" a+ j& E) G; ?- zclass.& @6 e2 c% ~$ S1 w, K
, m$ k; a2 A* j0 uAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are! r' A5 t# U1 n; ^+ k7 o
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 y _% e, b6 H4 h/ |) c! z
occasional frustration.8 E9 L. z0 N2 `4 ?
: X3 z) `: x% T1 R3 V"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a( h% l8 P' C8 f, v% U. X
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( E' e' N* S! H" |7 \( d
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
' r* L: K8 Z3 f" B2 R7 O* h: b' Vtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with3 `" }9 S* q8 f% N
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.* Y @- ~8 }, t) m
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul I9 c, ^& b+ D7 I/ u* f
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
7 U7 U; }% T3 nas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- a. H2 Z5 }0 t5 S1 W" Jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job2 H1 i7 r- B# m1 i& s- w2 G% F
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& O: ~7 C! a0 b7 ?: F7 _5 I
that," Ms. Freire said.$ G7 A7 |- w! g! v: ?# G1 Z
6 o) ~$ J8 v+ u9 rMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 v! k( ^7 X& ?! e
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each" t* j8 i! X+ V4 h$ ^
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& s" T; [% p2 {time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
: u: d" w9 O$ a9 Droom.# ]; x& H7 v6 o1 i& X9 a) @
/ P1 T& `: R# n& HChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 y& R% X* h, f z: W1 OChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; i8 ~0 d6 @0 a/ G
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.+ N" w. u, K, t2 I
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
6 ^9 L# X, O8 T9 @because of that missing certification," he said.( g# v- l* i1 y: F. I
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,+ V6 q( S3 w6 s6 E# e2 `
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
/ u a& b3 P% @' lSociety in New York.
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9 R' a9 ]- x5 i0 [Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
2 B4 I8 R- N5 h* P mChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( v D, E7 Z" z9 Ethe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.7 s$ r/ w2 E8 Y; B5 Q; ^9 w, u
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
+ r6 k. F6 I9 G' S( o5 z7 iown."
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+ b% Q' j' }- e3 L4 P7 g+ NCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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