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October 15, 20058 W/ U0 b/ r; z4 t
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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! o# ]/ @8 ]1 ?. M: U" ~7 {* }" k4 `$ CBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING& F( D, O8 ~9 x4 U! |2 E
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
/ L- @& b8 s" b0 f& \" lUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
, I5 T4 Y; |" ISchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 G. x: g! ~& q% _6 X
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
7 u' V+ @) x8 B0 |. z* k7 P' P$ ]flag hang from the wall.
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8 n, Z& T# Y/ M! i9 Z$ SOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 X( x1 h% p2 E6 T- u- B- W% [: [another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
2 I3 n' [5 u5 y. Q. \) F. {5 gpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- b! _( R3 o8 q' P5 G
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students/ X% f; j0 H' J* v! W. ?
are already choosing it over Spanish.+ @2 Q6 L, j1 P9 }4 s
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* Z1 V8 t) S2 w4 B! I( Y8 oat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ g- p7 L, D+ ^: v1 g4 x& e9 }; _! Q' toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.", p7 z4 R& d. z. {+ A: V9 v& E
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% S9 e; ? j+ \3 X
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( k3 D" l, @( y$ {. c0 X8 F
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* @& L- g0 ~. D1 r- q7 u
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) p" `& Z6 k3 G8 a' w- }4 j
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) ?1 f. P6 ~( R \7 t* s+ m
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ h7 c7 k- G3 P. ^. _, F+ E! c
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 j* @4 _" d8 |+ s! Q( _7 U) TTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" F( C. `$ x4 iChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
( T1 {8 C u3 s( X, Y: ]+ \improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.0 b) K" c+ [ m9 k
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement% z& T" N9 ?: A/ I0 `* o
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 Q) Q, I; ~$ R+ B1 d- x" Wstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to, p5 S/ b% f0 @* h1 |1 L6 H
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
. S8 F. z. L1 J% v4 d5 Q mcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director4 q: z) Z; A0 [
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.( L1 f9 L. n4 i4 O7 U
# }* k. w" Y1 K: ^"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of% O" v( @8 C8 a# F0 z1 H1 Z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 t6 e$ t3 E! k* t2 |( k
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# V4 T: d; e) a3 g# h
can." * P* t9 p3 z5 ^4 i W! d7 K
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from. L( O8 E3 O8 ? n
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 105 R: ?6 o' e8 l2 `
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language6 t; G9 O9 g1 `: I1 {' @: d
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% _9 l% H, z7 \& X: }. f& {$ G
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
# y; \6 _4 n) ?' t$ y& V+ t6 H' O# ~McGinnis said.
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' d: d q% I: O& |& ~/ i"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical! k# n) r3 Z$ T( S
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
* D" V1 ?* q* u) s, j: e& wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ s4 ~) J9 o6 ~2 Q$ k. ^8 Gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
& P/ t% A( P( Ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in6 k3 P0 V% d- Z+ E; {
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of, O* |4 a6 B7 t9 F
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% f- e9 O" X$ h9 n Q' Xon weekends.
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4 p4 E; q* k1 r9 D$ a0 _8 j4 l# u5 |* ZThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! ?" _ ^) W/ P0 T$ f) b5 H
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
" x; i0 T7 c# m+ S+ Astudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, u2 B o/ p, W, z+ o" y" Yproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
0 g9 M7 W* I4 D' B6 ~& Z/ a! |competition. 9 X C' r1 a9 h; F0 C8 Y/ [
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 U t- p! K( M7 Z
said. "There will be Chinese and English."& S. Y5 `% Z. r7 l& T
I5 d6 ?, O/ G* D4 lFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 f1 E: w$ \1 z1 B' C+ g. ball-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
0 d0 z; t0 t, i; \schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
Q) K5 R% N7 H# R7 a% j+ mkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 V6 E8 [% J8 s1 A$ o7 l
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 A L1 m" d" `: X2 H
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this/ h7 N5 `5 z: f. _- Y* s3 y
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.% a, `# l/ H* S" W! p6 l5 {
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"They have a great international experience right in their own8 ]' y0 U7 E* x2 e H) n# t: V) c0 P
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' {( W' x2 N7 N4 S+ hChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 g+ p$ P/ y# m( g5 hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* I3 `% U9 U1 x7 ~- _7 f
on an equal playing field."
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: [1 n0 @* L" @) }$ h/ a( Z! SSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 x( R- f( l. P1 |! Wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign( |5 [. m* P/ T; c7 z
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks$ \& a) ^ q6 E {/ G4 D( k
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# C- F& @; P- w* Y$ p; n% y+ O
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
+ U! M9 S1 Y" B$ QChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the3 v7 N4 V- e# K! `- X! O# N; A; _
institute says.* h/ ]0 E$ l) f% L: r
9 Q4 k. z. W% Y0 c/ Z( C! \Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
7 n$ T% n3 C/ I) Dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before# S6 u; C( @9 Q5 \
deciding whether to take the class.2 E! S1 l3 Y. h6 W) O3 z" X
( ?$ l7 f1 H- U# e- u; y"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) A6 o7 g9 ?5 R5 W- U( N+ D6 ^
told her daughter.0 j* w' |8 w. S0 H! S5 a& B
" ]2 r+ ]! z! u( F/ G. R8 }Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
& g) z8 k* x/ L" ~" I. a% {class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' n5 F5 K$ O4 O" H0 h+ hstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
! v9 v Q) ~) s% s B2 v' qoccasional frustration.
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* s" O) e* ~3 V4 r, {"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a) n+ y8 o! K* r$ r8 J: X" k. R
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 d- E- H8 g3 E+ D3 O9 h
' u; x: a2 g8 uRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
: B6 ?. X; r0 w" a! [( x4 qtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with+ D% E& {2 } ~) A8 j6 D; i
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul, t4 p/ r# v$ G- k4 ~: v. D: _
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
/ ~( [: N9 ], ?0 b4 zas many languages as I can."; f; H5 _$ p. v" b4 A g4 h9 }
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& ]- s8 d/ _; [4 j8 h5 T5 f- ]; B' W
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job8 E1 d2 E) x! Z1 T D
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like1 j9 R/ `, g4 K+ F5 c6 @
that," Ms. Freire said.
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( c: J3 T8 N- w/ C3 H3 C4 T0 B' r) tMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, Z$ t" n- h4 Ohere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 {: J4 \: s G7 T# }$ B
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 D1 f- y! f; [9 A- }* Qtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make3 I! A2 H U" Y
room.8 k3 k9 m$ w' i# o9 N- t2 ~
8 }; n2 a J% S6 V+ m! aChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer) w# v' \. {, f" a- h: Y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American: i1 g/ B3 L: T: x8 C& }* t
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' _# k0 ~, a5 b# H5 {. \* J
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified5 O$ s1 ^6 ~% z4 [$ n
because of that missing certification," he said.: M, p, a' r) F1 Y
/ N. \2 n: R/ O, d6 ^, UThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,3 p% |# _- y/ x8 r! n- [8 V" U
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
0 T7 m8 Y/ D) e& i; S: q2 _1 pSociety in New York.* R/ g ^$ ~5 y& Y2 _6 U
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- l" s( Q+ ]' ]- x" X! ^
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, j k. I$ {- U+ y0 ?- |4 z1 n
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: k6 |3 n) v" |0 ~6 l9 @8 F
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our. i5 L: F/ J( u, f- c
own."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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