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October 15, 2005) P4 |2 Z( g! z7 ~- u! |
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING6 C0 f5 A9 U3 Q2 V9 X/ l: F% i
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 g& r' ]$ u: e/ i4 F: W4 JUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 \8 M3 G) b& P
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 C. J% L# Y9 u" I; P5 p Jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese1 ]! t' o- n( L: R, P
flag hang from the wall.
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) z7 t$ _; L+ P6 R+ o: jOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 O/ u$ s. j3 w
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% g* |5 {# Q5 L7 Q% R8 ~practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
# F, [+ ?0 i% x+ Bboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
1 Q" h$ k1 y6 ?3 q: sare already choosing it over Spanish.0 \" S. J/ e, S: x$ _" A
, ~1 g' o/ e9 |3 c' A' p"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal( ~# v0 C/ m8 E0 l
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 j8 n0 \2 k. Voffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 I* M! ~% p- u8 X. O m1 o% b
: ~) [* {% v, h9 ]+ P- H, S" ZWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,$ u g/ x7 B! Y& p! Y2 K
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
0 A8 Z" r- d: zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* f; _7 Q- ?7 A2 O. l
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
2 T$ W7 [ d* j9 rpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students5 Z& g8 ]' D. ^8 L
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ f. H1 F8 Q) e4 t' {) O+ [* Q+ `
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! B0 L% R1 T4 |' b/ i+ aTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 l4 n4 l5 r( i7 m0 _* wChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 x) b( r% D% v" V0 P
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" @& o( M; x& L1 R
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
" V" H7 ?5 X- k; ^% n Lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: E( Q; p) r' U4 s' F
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
9 U: q m% }4 q" M' i" L1 w% Rcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director+ B3 ]* H6 \/ y0 @0 `
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board./ x/ l- ^) a* O5 u! u9 S) R
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. k7 d3 L: ~9 i( @0 g
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
$ q+ t# g1 `5 X$ v) ~; }$ m- hConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ E* ]: t7 s! x; i
can."
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, V4 f; ?8 b& z$ mThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ q1 D2 f9 e$ o) `
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
/ e+ b) K4 Y* r8 ^/ iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 r$ C& X; a) C5 R# \" Y% m+ u& FInstitute in Washington.
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1 V+ \1 R& G( L6 i"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 C7 d6 Z& {' j4 K( m& Maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: P6 \( }) V9 m+ q' q
McGinnis said.4 Y! ~" o9 I/ ?" Y: H* P$ ~, ^# y
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
4 h2 @8 S: O a# n( k$ t+ nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
6 u& t: W0 h/ fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' `& g/ n1 \6 n4 y. a8 U; X6 Lchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
. [3 Z- ?3 C+ V/ I* w- asecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 u; l- G, R4 W' k6 }
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
" S' Z. r' O, B- S3 iChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 e: G! X" A# g R
on weekends.
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) l1 S* {" ]6 R" A7 b: E; GThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public3 {- h: A, {% d( g7 ~3 w
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 F- J9 j g* I1 E0 E# X5 gstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( u& g# |0 k# I
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 d) R2 g$ F: O/ `competition. " x! {; x. ~- i3 j& e) C, l) K, c
N& g9 G+ t& \5 r7 b"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley8 Z) o- I. i) K4 F2 |" g( v
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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/ y {& a. s/ h% W# \0 DFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
/ _1 O" K# l7 p) g* {all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
+ T' |! _' f4 w3 B! i1 Ischools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from$ e7 j* n* G6 I" H0 q
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% B; g6 C8 h' v$ p& Awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to) u0 D3 w+ V3 o
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 s, b( o5 E( ]5 Q/ D
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.' ~' B# M( b- R! U. O
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
. P) l4 _8 F! W, O$ ?6 rclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! f2 k9 l0 Z+ f: C+ r/ X
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 d( D* T5 B" |
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
5 _) @8 t& }- _& q" hon an equal playing field."
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% g! Q2 L! J, T5 g9 cSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
; q% N( q% Y9 j3 J& _classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign& } F3 T3 `/ V( v) S
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. Q0 [0 d7 S9 {9 ~+ A9 ]
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
! h6 M6 W, z* ?7 F' i Caverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
, z/ e5 J" p/ u/ h: L3 V/ lChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* Q4 T% J8 R7 h t/ Ninstitute says.6 t* ~) V" p5 G6 ]3 E' W1 x) Y5 Q
5 t& J7 Q. N2 w. _$ N+ n7 aSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
$ V* U2 e- r+ { R1 zgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) W+ V7 q% y! _ X3 U+ L, xdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she7 |0 O! g9 l" z" R- }' j' x
told her daughter.' K5 V, J' B9 x8 X8 N* p
) u& O% O! m9 c" z% \Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite* t, C8 y/ G! |$ V% i+ a
class.0 J6 f9 j" F) z+ Y9 A' R) G k
5 p, O. A* y k% W o2 Z3 _At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are" b L3 c, d: v- k
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without2 J& b8 \8 u" V3 R3 V
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ M* v3 |3 D3 ]; Precent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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8 o( l# L. L$ S. i# t, _# `' gRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
2 A) s% p% h% B9 N, X; jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 E% ^2 v2 ~- N
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! O: h4 Y6 y5 o# p/ E
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
" Z. u% v" P; @, lsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- {) \. X: W0 b1 V6 U) Cas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the0 w( H, t; p9 O& j. w" S+ U: f
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
& T/ a' v7 J" L# C7 Rmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
/ N) j9 U+ f" v! ?' `- I- Wthat," Ms. Freire said.
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: L/ \3 N! G( y7 p2 \* u: MMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 o& c0 M0 W8 j' ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each" {6 p- |! G" S( Q3 B ]
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking* o( W( `, M# @
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make- o. L9 s6 ^2 P! j+ }2 _
room.2 m% u0 v' f V3 V
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 {! k7 @5 p" P" {
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American- Z3 c3 v. W3 w- v
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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5 C6 ~2 e" o3 ^1 H: ^( D- L& c"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& e, F2 k2 L4 H+ S0 j! i$ E
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
z& E& u! o. I2 u1 Asaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia7 d. w$ j4 G( h' {; ]# F0 U
Society in New York.) [. _8 Q9 U5 F
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
: u9 P! B* E0 s I, G" Z1 n+ ^, lChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, P1 B! _( X5 d( ]) V* F
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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7 `! Y( A! i) P2 x8 k! ^) W"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our; f6 g4 }+ W1 `' N7 b
own."
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* Q% Y& d5 {' @. bCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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