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October 15, 2005
& P7 a8 X; O* B4 b2 n1 F4 jClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING- c0 X. J5 d; P
+ Y; g6 }2 V2 v2 @+ yCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the1 h; t, I* s# H- n) F8 Z* ~
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 Z! j& m) Q6 RSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 b( Y& m2 t& X7 V5 b- jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese v) s! v3 Z$ z/ N: P$ n+ z
flag hang from the wall.% @ C6 x. u8 j4 c, ?7 K9 {8 N/ f
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
) Z7 ?; |' L# Z$ v% d! hanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
$ f* S# C$ `: T- z0 S" Z: ?' o, m' Qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker4 w) K/ i6 ~# _: o
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students( P, z- J0 D" {% f5 R7 s
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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) q) Z4 E8 l) G# H0 u$ H. T- `+ f"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( E# i% x* b) `- tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
; P V- F' E: z: S% G% Yoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."& i5 @) l0 V) y2 J6 }9 K
X" L/ B1 q5 y. O1 l. h- nWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,$ I4 {6 V/ U% t4 W
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings! M' _9 ^, ~4 z1 B; U
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 O) j9 i' \, N4 n, Y! Sone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% D6 Z5 |% Q. w7 s+ Q& |; Ppublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students, n& x1 J6 a T" p5 t5 d4 N
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
( ~, r9 k4 |0 o6 {7 yLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of: c6 d! n. M; U7 o: q
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 U" l4 x% v3 } q2 T+ a$ Y* I7 i$ TChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
3 c7 G0 G- h4 r J _improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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+ y5 J. X! ?- u0 J w9 zAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement& t7 M' p6 z0 m' U5 T5 K
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
" P' P6 y# }3 r0 A7 v& `starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# I- A2 j2 V2 E, m- O: D xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
4 K# J$ t5 g& J, l% ?2 h3 d, p+ Ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& P3 N. q# H) M8 n. L+ _of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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! k7 t0 e S: n) S! I& a"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
- N+ E; O" T/ M! }speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education; H! F6 E; o( R! C9 C" R
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 K1 L4 c, W! b, `; q7 kcan." J' A' z1 O( U3 b- v1 q
7 S4 o# R" V7 T1 `, {$ q1 WThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% c$ z; Z. ?: M) ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ Q" n8 h/ A: u# [
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language" { K6 A9 s1 {
Institute in Washington.. Z& t) o0 H( Y+ Z0 q4 V$ I8 m
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
* N) z7 I7 A" v. \# V* iaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.$ I2 C8 s9 r* k. Z0 q% c
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
1 C2 |4 _1 ^6 i7 D0 Tlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be6 z7 ~) G& L4 r, h' d$ B% b6 q
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
8 w) D. E5 x* ~2 w" gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 r- x$ l2 W& D: S/ D! p; B- t
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( h7 n1 Z3 }! t8 Y; Zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in6 |/ r, f* A" x: L' ?# c# ^& V" E' \
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of4 c0 N4 K5 l. S. A2 z
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or$ P1 X4 l* K j& ^& Z
on weekends.0 R4 j: H& z/ v! e: J" l
8 ~% p) G" c/ B) |The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public; `: I) E: h2 b; ~+ ~; g+ s
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves* V# V/ b" k2 F
students who are not of Chinese descent.% ]7 a' j7 K- X; i8 ^
. } a3 n- Q, }% c9 k! [5 rMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ `7 a7 s: Y3 k# ^3 k
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the i, B: q6 S; s8 Z J* u0 ~
competition. & V: c7 }( x8 i X
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley$ P$ k6 D3 g1 [2 u0 E9 y
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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. [7 }) u: ?( O( v; nFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly5 c5 n' r3 y" I0 b& i
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ ~) s5 g! W4 k# ~; g ~% i
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 F: i% m& {, n4 G4 j
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ y4 G2 w/ i8 \+ twho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to3 i% c' z8 l5 z7 P
the school system last year.+ G3 f8 H& T% |" `* T
' b7 h! ^0 `) n0 r) xThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ u0 s' H. k! ~8 Cyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.7 f9 l2 J, N w+ h' n# D& Z
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"They have a great international experience right in their own( w: j& M3 ?$ q8 J% y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* Y. P$ U0 p+ \9 e2 ]+ L; g7 y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) }( K. a% f1 B0 n$ p% r) e- j3 r% f( hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet+ } @5 c$ v/ C* F
on an equal playing field."
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1 v& e. \, A: e: \! w5 \9 U4 cSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
C# l+ c( i1 Xclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign; Y1 I& T' {+ ^* F5 u
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
6 p1 {' `8 ?# A# o5 f$ HChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An7 d1 Q! \7 i i \. P
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 M! t- Y3 g8 h7 k* v% c
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the( A$ j" Q' M6 z; z
institute says.; s8 j, f0 r8 z! l$ |* u4 {
) X+ K8 P$ g* S4 Y9 ]! V3 RSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 E0 Y+ T2 i: l. n0 Agrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, m5 W4 }: A! H' | v2 H
deciding whether to take the class.
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6 S% U: y2 _2 T2 Z4 B; K) h* V"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she9 E) D7 v7 {$ o9 _/ r
told her daughter.
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: J* i! E+ l6 MSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 G! {" {) K9 l8 Q9 ?; @, e. s5 l
class.5 t- g( U- l5 |& K, w4 b
) k6 g5 n6 }3 \& |6 m. z* zAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
4 z+ l5 e" [" R. `# k1 P$ }studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" r- e& j5 h V' e
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# x9 v: k% W9 E4 t
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% P' L. J# n3 K8 b8 \: X8 g
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ `& b- S( A5 e ^8 W) J
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with# I! M9 e8 B, _
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul1 u; z; b9 J! ~; H+ G
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" d9 O6 H: o5 L8 V# @as many languages as I can."3 r, H5 J3 g. [% {7 u' C. c6 U& C
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 L5 v5 U$ U( X! ?( nskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
& t3 W4 U. F9 O: V- S0 Emarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ s, Y2 X" [* X% \. P% E7 D
that," Ms. Freire said.( W" Z% ?% z+ `0 l
. X1 p6 F/ [: y% ]6 c* {Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
* q# a6 B. ^' L# T; ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
% I& I$ i) o3 R/ ^5 v2 B3 v4 v6 Xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking/ R b! z& q c% j+ z9 R- S
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
& h I$ k/ [7 t+ d% r$ B' sroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
+ C* R Q5 r( J: I# J* UChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
; A! \" p( H; s0 j2 g: ocollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
; ]# ]0 e: q+ {: v- nbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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% _, `; F/ \0 f1 }0 GThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
- p& u, W' d6 j9 S9 o; [said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia- |/ P; x) k( i9 k$ F* y
Society in New York.- `( b) ]5 N; b) y6 n: j, f! ~
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 j n7 e+ ~ p$ cChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
+ S4 y, ~( j" p3 d* R$ R7 `6 \the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 z& w2 U: v* h/ a& I
$ N; W4 u e) |+ \4 \" s"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, B' S0 o- Z- I( J c' p% [
own."6 x# a$ M; m- Q/ @
+ V! K( d; ^+ G0 l; ~6 ECopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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