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October 15, 2005' j$ N/ V V7 E( a6 ]: I
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity |) ^ F4 g0 r+ n1 w4 e, |
. I9 }# X. X+ V; ]By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the' \/ Y+ n& @; X7 V2 m& n: A
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
, _1 y; X! p3 \- s, e4 ^School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 |2 c( b3 m) W. U/ Hdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese, a0 \7 A' c: \4 ~4 J7 z
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
; ?# @- K1 R- X3 z0 Q/ J4 z( Zanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) ~, U4 ~+ G. a# ]practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
# F. Q4 X, ? n$ u `# N. zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students! P y6 w. D; U' s, g; ]
are already choosing it over Spanish.9 C3 g$ I, o. c; Z3 T
* p$ F0 f* a: N; I Z" ^+ z7 i"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
. W( {( ?' M$ L: I8 C( Rat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
2 O; n6 K% H1 zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") ]) L( c: M, G) [) `+ o
8 [* j- p; b9 |. WWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 H" u: `4 D1 B$ ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. i; i2 l& W) ^, b* ]6 T" {to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* L: D5 h6 T. ?9 _3 ]9 Y- Bone of its most difficult to learn.
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E- X4 q# I7 V& ?$ |' YLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ P8 i* x& i- L9 O& P
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 `% U0 g9 x( O8 A/ Y! b, xstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: \: A' x( f/ C4 T. qLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
, R1 n& y6 @( A6 f; U K1 ETennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on. h; Y6 ~$ V% ?6 W; c
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! L0 @' Q. q8 t6 Y y7 G" simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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2 B. c& ^* O1 N" I( yAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
" d: M) t- V/ x& u& `Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, F# Y6 m! H+ n" h% M3 n9 e) \starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
9 i1 @: {6 l2 r. ]) K; Z; g6 kdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
. W) f4 O5 O+ R+ e: X4 Pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
' \7 c1 `/ u* n% F. j% _of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) J0 G6 U; z% j' N1 F+ z* x
9 l* i+ N: c" h"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
& U6 D' Z0 k1 V/ F' x. M& f3 @% Fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education4 s. h4 b2 Z2 {6 |" U0 Z
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! a) t7 T$ O" S0 w
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from0 [* x$ y& D6 `
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10 D8 @* L, p9 {1 W
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
s3 A7 v5 z$ uInstitute in Washington.8 m* F7 F) w* [
5 F0 K$ p7 E8 N"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* Z* y0 @! ]/ K% }3 z( L! y$ O
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
3 }0 H, L3 `8 u" G/ sMcGinnis said.( b( ?1 v* r6 S6 K
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ p1 o7 M1 B- Rlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
+ S8 l/ P$ E, F5 c, E/ S% ~ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% Y% o$ l6 j) c2 M9 u6 ^# Ychallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! I; }' V" W6 t
0 y* U3 X: U* z* g. _6 r" m4 EUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and0 `4 g1 n, |& [% |
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
6 e9 L! U( I4 I, z* v& V5 hcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( Q3 D6 y3 t# d+ _' z$ R3 h$ Q
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
' x& D e: o9 @on weekends.
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# [' R9 R) ?* b: K9 ?The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public7 _( s, }2 q; r( O4 p
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves5 [+ V$ B5 \( E9 D v. D$ \7 M
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 t! X* i6 b( D# u) Hproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the" ?! o5 o! \3 l4 d
competition.
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% D" B U4 o, g& Y"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 H3 I- G: e( V) G% h
said. "There will be Chinese and English."/ T+ V; y# v" l A$ P w9 a8 W" H' t
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
; k) m& ]9 }3 y) t6 x3 a1 W5 {; tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
$ ~6 G2 ?% a) Y, ?3 Mschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
5 q9 ?- h- H+ p9 `6 R/ Ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
5 }; N$ C3 S' v Gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% w& g2 Y) Z% G$ ^' J- w
the school system last year.( d" T2 C9 E9 [' L) A
& M: J4 F4 ]7 Q; \+ d$ EThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this9 r* G+ P; _3 ?: J* H3 E8 ]
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.4 e* c* h2 r0 z
4 ^' Z4 A, u$ @+ ~"They have a great international experience right in their own& r, Q3 A: \7 C4 U$ g/ \; d
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
. B+ c7 |8 t4 O1 G5 PChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* y A* `% m. G& k% chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
) ]4 l7 g- F: Z. fon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! B* H7 D7 g1 A4 L4 f4 ~: ^6 Dclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
. q' r5 Q, z3 H6 V0 ~# mService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( @) ^" z1 {# d+ GChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An) x/ ~7 t7 ~ k7 s6 m
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, V! A& O8 l3 Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the1 b# h! z$ u2 A( E2 P. ^
institute says.2 J: t& y J2 T; H. a, U
0 D, L7 \ H8 B% ZSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' M; h2 f. Y5 u* H7 w Y3 N8 ~
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) Y9 i* l1 k: B d" E+ d$ \
deciding whether to take the class.$ q: r; z/ j& x! u( G0 i/ Y" S, N; L
3 E' G! Q+ ]; m% ~$ j6 k/ ?"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% O5 G/ R, c1 d. \told her daughter. y& S/ P2 ?! P# {$ a' K
# @( X9 h. |! W) ~2 h, t* ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
; @% s6 h3 [1 k" H: Xclass.; n/ L% G0 [+ m" C* n: ^$ K4 E H
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( P5 D3 s, o6 v' [7 Tstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without8 S0 m0 ?$ }. Z( q! z5 d
occasional frustration.
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+ g5 o' C& R; S$ M# W J"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
m+ g7 D% E( L6 }+ p5 srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.- w9 D) Z2 d: r" M7 ~; e' C( w2 }
2 j4 @- s1 {2 k3 BRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he: C% N- t! ~" |6 w% q1 ^ m
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
( n0 U9 Y/ O4 M) s$ E: ^% W9 I3 a5 FChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 H; @% Y' K4 O* [/ W7 q
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ E3 D/ G6 U9 a2 x! Vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
9 F0 r# Z* E3 U Mas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
# N- S/ Y, m" V5 W, N- ~0 lskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job% V; k/ l2 e/ [
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like. T( y9 h! f+ |; Z# p5 \6 a. @/ h
that," Ms. Freire said.
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( w: i) x, w. y5 n% J O8 w1 m& |* [/ QMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program9 z: m& y! K+ h& k1 u; n
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 C4 u1 b; R, Q
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
% K& O3 P7 n$ V3 h+ ~: Ctime from classes like physical education, music and art to make1 _* X% X+ T) a" W0 W
room.
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1 ~: }. ]: A2 s% j& G- ~4 A8 oChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer2 u4 l2 y2 F+ q$ c5 m- r: L6 W
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
# e8 z' @8 w Z" X) Y% ocollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said., G4 G/ B0 |* Y
. [2 O' ^# ~/ H. U# h6 n"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
& C3 ]9 j* @) d" X g; [" pbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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8 \, g; R6 N3 j; g* |. M) A- c. gThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
V) S: Z$ L+ r. p( Ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia+ d- K9 o0 a0 l6 q& L
Society in New York.9 {5 Q/ ]( V: y5 j4 E* K# R
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the9 Y3 T0 O: k. x( b$ G
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& N$ M& c8 K6 i kthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
3 ~- A$ `) F9 q8 \$ `6 _9 z+ T( z- Nown."4 p# O8 G. Z. `: U; U' W/ a
: w2 K0 d8 ~# C1 \/ {+ U' _* p$ Q( ]Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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