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October 15, 20054 `" C9 ?1 U4 J' R1 k
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% l+ P" R$ s' `+ y7 [
8 c& z# ]' ^( [4 t! `! x* HBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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6 q( B6 j- J$ ?" KCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 y- |1 K% y3 H4 m3 pUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary" }" G3 P/ T! j& x
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 Y. C7 H1 M0 idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. ~: m9 \4 q0 J: N B1 H. L+ Y Q# x
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
, s$ F# j h# z; y; ]' H4 r7 [9 ranother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders7 ]. X* c( y D$ ?' ~
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
/ G2 `3 }- A! j+ wboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students7 L# r; O9 u0 V; m* z0 I
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
U4 G1 d' A6 G3 |% e! Oat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" X3 g; ?( B' ~9 j s. G' Koffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 J6 r; x$ }: V0 }) U( F* Uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings4 ?* x" h4 U z* n
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention1 k. y$ L. t# W
one of its most difficult to learn.
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) C8 S" ]5 H! t7 @; eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# F" T* {( |* U/ ^% b
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* s9 x6 O9 y" Bstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.2 \. _$ U, A. y- r1 G4 h5 g2 v& x
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
1 |/ D) b% ^8 N1 ?0 c5 H. h s y2 T& mTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- l! l$ d6 @! j5 N% S3 b
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% L+ I% K0 b' S- O" e2 j$ S2 _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# ?1 Q1 _) K; E: N
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
- ^1 _- [4 b0 |# I# Q; M3 B. `starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
- v0 z. o/ B$ ndevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 {7 [# s4 i9 c, x
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
}- T/ R: V0 z( j/ rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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4 l7 }6 Y3 E/ Y/ A& J"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- P2 g' _- b \6 C7 c. }- b, Z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education$ G3 U4 ]) O5 A4 c9 O9 ]
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we: z' G2 ?/ ]1 q( y2 s+ ^
can." 7 A% D9 ~1 Y3 C& |7 k; S
4 B8 j) m: D/ r# o2 mThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from c! T- t! e* S* Z5 I9 B
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; a F( |$ |! W, syears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, Z3 D' G" j; v1 K6 q0 I4 nInstitute in Washington.7 O7 E7 J* E, b* e/ ~% B+ B# b
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
/ i V, k) [6 R+ |aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
7 P6 W+ G1 }7 F$ e! dMcGinnis said.6 n7 n* j: B. V% W5 k
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' b7 |/ Z: _9 a+ K/ q/ b
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: d: i: j& V7 _9 ~+ _ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ \! a) E" g' `. X2 G% tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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8 G! M' x8 i; b) X) V! tUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
. s& E- X& k7 bsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
' ]& t# F) i5 gcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 U7 ^% p% B( t0 IChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
: z$ T7 J$ { f+ \2 won weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public9 R/ m" [: R" m# k* w' }
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
9 I' p: b- a$ J: Zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 V# e, v) p$ H
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) s" z% p' x I# \, \' @; Ecompetition.
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x$ D8 ~6 `: B8 x2 A"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
8 b( ]) ?- j3 G, j) Osaid. "There will be Chinese and English."" ~6 D$ ]1 X* e3 u
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
2 S# G) b" a$ W% W6 y' ?1 Sall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse& n5 U# |. j# F$ \6 g S: p
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from' o: o; D! r% P5 H0 }
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 Q0 [$ M( u! D7 ^. d9 X
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to8 r! i( R3 g2 y9 X7 ^
the school system last year.) n3 ^7 R3 Y( A( R
0 J/ ~: _/ P" K: }3 [$ ^The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this& V; x6 w: b7 o+ T* c0 b4 z! c) V @
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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* I! d; d. w" Q# T5 o) J"They have a great international experience right in their own" p, x( C8 g0 l! f/ ?
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
: Y! v( w' |" p9 W( F2 P- qChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" B$ `0 o1 J0 ?* ^
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet S" S2 |0 ?! k/ Z6 E5 G6 ~
on an equal playing field.". S% t# d0 x& }' ?2 E
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- V/ q& x2 m9 V2 kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
# a& Z! S- E3 b) E) F) _Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks& e! I5 W+ k. q: r1 D
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An3 V# O, r* p7 b |6 a
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in3 ~, o9 n6 s9 ]' b) Z% O
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
" B6 t# N% k X& ^1 I1 a% finstitute says.9 h- o6 J* U% e1 l) @' Z" V, g
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 y( r7 @5 f. T/ U# b+ U
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
4 U0 h/ ?* ?# zdeciding whether to take the class.2 p! }% ~2 c: @* I1 X. W' Y' }
) g1 c3 ^ V4 L"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she! m! U$ i6 K4 ^. ]& Y' C
told her daughter.9 B) G. W" s. b. Q6 f. ~/ U& i
3 U7 ~2 @- ^ S) }) j" cSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite2 s8 Z3 [. m1 b- z* O8 Q
class.% k8 J3 O9 e2 {# \6 Y/ ?
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
- b8 U" ^1 F8 E8 g4 O! g+ k, ]studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without; C9 h6 m3 N* W2 j% B( v' B
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
: H9 |0 N/ M, J" B; Erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.& A& ^. |/ K7 H! }$ q) `
8 [/ k: q( M3 F( rRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
6 T, i' l3 ]1 S: }: E* Ctaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
% A6 } Q' }3 y% }7 {Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul6 v6 j' X* ^' g! p* i7 B
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn: l# F9 [' U7 }3 a+ _" B1 U: ]
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the0 w; P v7 g2 _% `
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& D1 k' d: ?" Y- f/ |( O$ s+ Z
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like2 N$ F8 x7 q# Y/ `. i7 ~ I
that," Ms. Freire said.
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/ K$ F! K. k- eMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
% Z: {# J5 R( U4 q& }3 v" Chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each6 s" L# O5 k. Q4 |! V! f+ k
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
$ l$ W+ G( Z! \# Y) }$ i) wtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make- K! N; u0 K: _ G. W3 e3 W
room.
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/ q! R) T+ h+ h W u: B2 KChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 t2 l: t- e( ^# F/ E6 M" P" r
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% }9 ~9 @5 `) f1 ?" ~7 o' Lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( c; U- N: `( k) P' {
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified2 q% ~$ G6 ]# L1 x p
because of that missing certification," he said.
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# ?3 V: N7 b: R, `5 ]# oThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* G u* w* C, u* @
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, [8 p* W5 Y- j' s0 k7 _5 Y" \# _
Society in New York.. c% Q$ m4 W5 M) w1 H" a: @2 u3 p
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
, h/ x7 { H/ k- }5 F$ C5 _7 mChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, e/ |6 ?% u& c- V: a9 B V
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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6 x1 Q( }2 n) f& ~4 Q"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" J9 c G, m6 k% Z8 H- x% t
own."
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. Y5 [ r0 } YCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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