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October 15, 20059 g+ I" t+ e# J
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity; g3 t! P6 f8 F, n- C- h
/ j" l% k3 u# `: O* ~ _By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
( U! c9 `& V- j5 i9 kUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 k- X6 L! \9 H3 y- W3 E" D7 a. YSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas+ w! m( w0 u. G f
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 }9 O9 Z9 x: c
flag hang from the wall.
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+ ^. P& Q' A, q wOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one' ~- J1 E* r6 y. ~9 a Y
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders& R! C3 N9 i$ z1 S. G
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, v% O: u1 `" [5 i2 P
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% f; b) e( e9 n" ?are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; S2 ^1 J4 x. b) T2 q& I& Yat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ F7 @% w( w/ ~0 q! D8 f4 J4 l5 @offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* H6 l! H7 T6 b: {' t
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% H: d* T/ Q2 `& d* R4 w( E
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention0 |% W# D$ m5 X' L: c
one of its most difficult to learn." f$ W/ Y. _+ d' L C
R- a0 Z; @( ~( n8 aLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- H/ F( ?5 ]6 z1 Ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students5 q3 T" Q/ |" h
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ l" w- M2 [6 H# \2 c3 E+ R# Q0 U
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
, B; }' y1 r4 \: A9 rTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
5 A* w: q- _- G: O- x2 Y" k N( |Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 n5 k. q, N1 j" U- x% F ^improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee., t6 k) `5 A7 W* X6 x4 M! }
$ A- q+ L& j% Y) d$ tAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ r( h3 @7 s& r( W9 l$ r2 \ S
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; Y: n% n! O8 O: b
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: M8 W/ s# T6 _! z5 V: ?develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. g, \* B# [/ D5 U& D* m' p7 ]+ H- O
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director% O, @4 `: j* I0 ~
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. W( F! E( d& M/ c6 }! J* o
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
. ]( q" U. b# J% J& ?( Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
, j* r. F X0 Z# UConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
$ h) O% G! q5 M3 ]3 Hcan." ' O3 J, v! ^$ x$ d
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from# m7 p/ f2 D0 s4 j/ `: a
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10) y) ^1 q( D- r6 C5 Y& p! L
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
% b/ f- f; `# G+ X! fInstitute in Washington.( ]: g* L" l2 n' t$ Y8 A
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
9 q; r% h, Z9 [aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.& @2 K, y s, ^, {
McGinnis said.9 A% Y9 B; t2 k9 D; `) s' P
- G/ s4 R) K: ^( {: ]"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; ]% W P' i. z' v% \( Nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
0 [ q. r! n; G! w) W5 D4 Dready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a8 f! @5 s: u% O" p* X* [
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". B `2 ]2 {. e0 B* h7 u) u
) A& Z) ?' Q. E9 f2 K5 \5 RUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
; p* M2 B( y3 d# e8 o: lsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in, O. j6 d# p# ?: {
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ |7 H3 T% f) `3 a7 _* S
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
& f6 c; g# y" ron weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: ^4 Y' ]/ `& c G2 P3 Bschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
" ^! h& l( Y) Y2 M- O" pstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said: T) w1 }0 V. F, T9 p6 g" S5 X
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
6 e/ d% E5 N6 rcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley- U3 k6 S) [5 x% M$ P) g
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly; {; [% ^6 x. l, _* N
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' M2 Q2 Z! J3 h `$ H0 Uschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 e7 q" M: q$ |- Z" [2 x8 w+ V
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students) ~/ P7 K- A- Q! W4 B6 w
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to1 g1 M6 w( V/ K9 A7 k8 V
the school system last year." ]. {9 v3 R# i- c& A, _$ ^
' a; F) S# R0 O! ~" R' X- k7 qThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
, s v* ~+ _% s- _! ]7 f1 {year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own. A8 l- P7 m( r: Q5 ]' J
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 j* g) Q: R O* i* o% DChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 {9 U( V7 w1 M7 g* R' \3 b7 jhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
# _* z9 m: B( ?; G/ ~on an equal playing field."+ m* { a; ^ Y7 ~; |
8 Y3 U% L4 I+ A9 SSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese" {2 u9 ~5 d! k/ d S; a& O
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ t' u w$ j% F
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
8 ~" L+ p. D) {$ p* O$ }8 w# C0 fChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' M8 U g) c6 H3 r; j3 U5 H. K* Laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
) M8 Q2 V6 ~+ R* @, |0 Z) DChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
( V [; n9 c Pinstitute says.
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( n% n+ D5 ]0 c3 r! ]Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% A k% k. v" z/ E( o: K
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
$ A9 }! m) |' o9 U" Ndeciding whether to take the class.6 Q& Q) I( T& u+ }" s! h
( |3 o. g8 {0 w- x9 e; J( n"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she" P \' R/ _( L/ L9 ~
told her daughter.
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( Z& a! T6 D, u, u0 ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
' W( ]8 z) O5 Wclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are( O" d: I. P4 \; l! z$ P( a
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without) x* ]/ D9 f/ x
occasional frustration.% o, X* b3 k# ]
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 a7 n2 o6 h5 e+ [
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he- E2 h) Y' e& P; g0 d9 p$ K" Q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% N) T9 T) E5 d* A6 y2 o
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: f g, T7 [! z& I% @3 h- y4 P
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
; a; X3 f& }: N- U6 dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
; S" s1 |/ @5 k# ]' vas many languages as I can."+ O7 a" b% c. G0 @2 l
( O% D, I# Y- V7 a9 w: _Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the( \7 ~6 ^9 x) h V+ w5 L+ T
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job ~9 ?5 e4 p5 n
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 S& p$ s$ B! C6 Y5 ithat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program; Q$ ?5 p# |/ v9 o' M- F( L) h
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
, ]; D6 e% G# q+ b" a( O5 oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
* G2 Z% Y& F. L; W! W, Jtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 P% y. t8 J6 W: g- Croom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
9 w- `+ Z1 v+ M, I5 @2 WChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 Z* [- ]+ R4 k9 [) @6 y+ q z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.! h5 C4 V g/ U: V+ K6 ]
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
( h9 k, O9 a8 b# }because of that missing certification," he said./ Z+ X. F9 Z3 `1 |0 `. G6 i
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States," t3 x8 c8 Z& y# a/ G
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
9 V; ^0 ^ r7 i+ {* x+ \Society in New York.: R% K4 [, U. l5 F: T# s R
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the4 r( |+ S1 t0 F1 T! Z6 x" R
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
* [" R$ O. y% `0 f+ M+ t4 Lthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.. J% r; [3 u5 n! _( X ~
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 C/ `8 o2 m, [: |' i
own."
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+ F. X2 W$ @% h; iCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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