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October 15, 2005
X; D. T% a3 f, M- }, q0 MClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity. K+ x& t' t7 _
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, o* R9 O" A: B& q3 J& M
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary* R6 i- \7 J5 L
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ d( `6 H. i- v( ~
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
5 A5 h! i# j, W9 |0 ^, k' ~( Wflag hang from the wall.& |3 h6 q5 k7 w8 V# E
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one8 u" I) H8 c/ ~' q3 D) {0 a
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders- T7 `" q6 }# E; ]7 r
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) y7 o6 V5 @) f) L, L6 Iboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 C% u# o% ]) L; U: |- I% T5 r
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal0 j8 e# a, H9 M
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
8 o+ Z; I+ @' Q7 Eoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' ^ B- E' ^: {schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" i7 |% d4 M; U3 u6 m
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 y0 Q* A# \2 G, w ~
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to. _# x+ o: [+ q6 S! W2 Y) j
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; k! j& F' w* pstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 i# k& F$ K: z; {Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 k: S+ I- d* | j4 z" NTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' g; Y% \: H' z+ HChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% }/ z1 n- G2 y! Y/ `% y( uimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( t3 x8 s# K4 U# _
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement/ {- i. G: l" K5 g: Q
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) R5 T' W. H, L9 j ]
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to8 n( a1 i' ?9 Y; K5 k" V3 q2 e/ l
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing% J9 X! p/ o, @7 n8 F
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director/ \ ^7 @* Z B, B4 Z/ g
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
" k; `$ k2 O: d; v8 m; Aspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& i2 e: s. R9 pConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
% [9 @6 _# H% K9 K1 c% pcan."
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) I: u! R. y/ KThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from p9 R) f) G0 y
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10! u8 u2 u; h- q) n* A
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language% I+ W# U- Z7 L
Institute in Washington.- D w: T2 M7 u4 J, ^
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages3 n9 G& G: a$ c, |/ O' g, m6 U
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 @9 ~) r" V& \5 T9 u3 XMcGinnis said.
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8 m+ E! I. h6 j' r5 u"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
9 D! q3 H: [5 Clongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 y2 ]2 {6 T0 U/ e6 A1 a
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# l8 {: c, _2 ~ z* [% P$ s
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ D3 S4 h6 t5 O" q# l1 P
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ j3 m; O* ]; g# B6 n4 ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
6 k# q) Q5 t9 o1 {$ u) x$ H Kcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
1 P5 ~! f* G) b# i+ ~Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
# o/ r6 s' T; W1 u2 Y, l& yon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! _* C/ Q' L, } f3 H9 M
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves$ g* d# t2 c' k, R' y# g
students who are not of Chinese descent.- b& M! D0 ~$ K# B3 e$ Y
5 U6 }# N1 C0 R% U% kMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( d0 o+ B7 Y0 h5 D/ p
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the& w+ Y; ?: m: {, E
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, Y" a5 }- s# @# W7 F8 a6 zsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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* d0 S4 J) a8 l/ N7 `& lFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly: N3 r: `3 L6 b- ]
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
; T( \4 r# N- i- f' [schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; k1 I' w5 t0 p" s+ }* x3 X
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- R. ?9 B* w+ V8 w. W# wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# K6 [3 [. ?' A( `+ s
the school system last year.8 R/ d6 u% h, F* E" f6 P
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 \. A' I' ^1 ~/ v$ K
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 w5 u4 ~$ \( L. b0 D
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
( ?" v; j& a; L9 sclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago+ ^. z. }9 e6 r0 l2 ]. R$ m$ ^6 s* T# F' R
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 G, O% a% z+ l) T3 G6 d2 Z! n% v
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet: c1 E4 p7 D* W/ H0 X: r
on an equal playing field." B0 y5 `7 {8 L
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% i- }; a* R# A# k" r& A$ M4 N. Mclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign1 [/ g6 Z+ a+ ?! l; ?
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
" r7 a0 `' Z9 {: PChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
4 E) R- \$ t9 ]average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# s0 \3 r Q, O- E3 G* Y
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 D8 r: [+ c, e/ S8 t, U: Ninstitute says.
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; |% u5 h! v3 N+ \- Q) n- g5 ~. l& f0 }1 KSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 E% ^. g9 s: U7 |5 B/ v; ^grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before+ x* I/ i' U+ F0 |% J9 L
deciding whether to take the class.% {3 e1 O, o! o% N% X& s
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she" l$ {: w9 U% U, @$ {
told her daughter.6 q3 ]- z/ H. p! A0 {! V
4 }8 B7 [7 Q1 X4 o. j% fSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& T9 R; _7 @0 C. n4 r. e: E/ F% i
class.* g3 w) W2 k5 T2 ]' `
. }% @2 Y' N7 Q2 U0 \7 bAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ q) }/ Q: g, b+ D5 J5 C- R+ w8 Q# ystudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* k. f( l3 |' r# V7 A! ~occasional frustration.3 y7 R& Z5 a( s- v2 o/ }
( v; a+ z9 }2 E/ \3 N1 |7 x/ y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 v- n, Y% Z1 ~/ V. c# t* Z
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class." f* K6 [* B+ ]/ r# g1 K* d4 ?( }* U* T
$ F2 @' P( y+ m- y. QRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he P( l, B2 k7 x* C, D2 @% H# e
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 T- [4 V% U' u6 K+ E4 ]Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul, L) l7 s3 G1 X5 N: B. Y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
8 Z3 H8 d/ q7 S- `as many languages as I can."
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J1 T6 X% `+ y: J4 ZAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
2 X( X& P- c0 i* a9 f m7 Eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 @. j8 C* T# x7 }market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like1 W! s8 j1 \# [1 q* t3 Z$ v' q
that," Ms. Freire said.
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: \1 n/ u" ~0 q ~) `$ s$ FMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program* p" i5 D# W& i9 B2 }3 T
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
$ L& j8 Z' y6 @9 ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking& G# F) f6 h4 o' L, S
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
* O( q/ J+ G/ o& h* Rroom.
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; ~! k" G/ Z: Z* z0 J, I0 \: n5 bChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
; I [1 ^9 ?: F6 G3 d5 _# ?/ j/ `Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
0 T: p# ^3 |- s- f+ icollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 K9 r/ F+ [7 l7 g2 Z9 b! L& g* L5 r! ?
' V l4 r% n+ ~% n3 M" i6 ?"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified5 }) }1 C$ N7 J, a, h) r$ G" X
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States," ?# D2 T5 C6 r# b. A$ |0 j
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; }9 \8 Q6 k0 B
Society in New York.
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: Y2 ~, g" s4 W! y1 N+ fSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
6 S, V# B9 V( y7 H# o+ BChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, E8 x5 y1 V) G' ?1 a1 r5 mthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 y" {6 ]$ l! u
; ]6 y+ L, n- S"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our9 Y2 ~, X2 ^1 d0 l
own."8 k( {* f( y7 x) |
/ B* P. R1 |2 z" |5 eCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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