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October 15, 2005; B; p3 H4 g( D0 ]( \5 Y
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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1 u3 ~: E: Q5 j+ o: ]* ~By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ P) l$ R# G6 a2 X P) G; o
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 [& x0 D& u" c- {5 L3 B
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 T/ `7 r3 \( M5 idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese$ z' K L/ d0 W
flag hang from the wall.* S1 i8 l7 @" f6 W$ q
9 x2 d9 X+ U0 A. S# k# ~$ t' MOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one' Q! d- f- m; m+ F
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) m4 K1 Q/ F( ~. k, I1 d' p; M1 jpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
- @( E" J) V8 S+ G1 ^, lboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students O# _! k7 \ x
are already choosing it over Spanish.( l: s9 V" H8 s0 ~0 S& c8 ]3 G- _
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( J# E4 |# f8 m; qat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ ^. \8 q# d5 L+ M8 L' N2 joffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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. L5 d5 z* q( G8 c* c$ }& v7 hWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' o- o( m Q% t9 W' p$ Eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 l4 g9 J) A# x# T; K7 rto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
E5 Q$ F5 q, \7 j7 b4 ?one of its most difficult to learn. G9 z D4 F9 ]9 _4 c z- N+ q
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
2 f1 m/ {1 L% j I1 `! N& mpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
' y0 s) K/ ~7 _3 ^8 a- _* d1 Ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 V1 g& E. {0 N& }5 jLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
: b M8 u# _# v5 i3 s9 ^% I3 VTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
8 E2 X5 W0 y1 B( w. WChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) Z2 ~0 [/ H5 u4 u0 Wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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1 o* B$ Y+ d' ?& z: o# h% c: W% CAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
2 D* a# `) m" N3 B2 ]# _Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; ~/ ]9 D5 x5 c, @4 P" S0 qstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ @6 ]$ z& |8 X. y; i
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ g" W# I7 r, g& ocurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) I5 {" ^, N0 j* q7 ~% f
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- {, R7 j' S9 d! _0 F( N
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education( H6 u$ z+ t9 h" ~
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ i+ z- `* r* H' Bcan."
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6 h7 n2 Y$ g$ r( U! vThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ w* d: L P9 u5 Y
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10/ U2 @% p3 V+ @& U$ E
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' M0 `. ^% T; [" s' ~
Institute in Washington.& _5 K/ \$ F* r* a6 w( M4 }4 y
7 d& b0 o' ~* S- P. x J' L# Z"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages. c( L+ ^; M. k
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
& P, K, e! N" K$ XMcGinnis said.
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5 k" y4 N5 {) e- r8 g) [* l4 I"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical( U1 j+ _4 `' G, b- A2 T
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
$ m m: C b6 p9 p$ e- q4 w( lready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( R- C: l8 K' e/ D P! Q
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."- \2 N& d4 J2 T) z* K$ m/ A
& N) U& n, {, Q+ L" n# L. ~Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
) u4 }. ^' }4 U6 y8 J4 ~; v$ q( d1 M( {secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( A: u1 w& y$ m) {0 O* ~
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 @- g7 D% P6 G' c" kChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or3 Z6 ^. U* `, E c N# ?5 o( R
on weekends.
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! V1 w1 z& s$ o* k, ]! OThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
6 C! e( V5 ]: @" j+ \' U' _6 Jschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, b; ]2 i/ }' h9 U. j6 Dstudents who are not of Chinese descent.2 V# G; ^! S+ B
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 i) u, M# i0 r" t) o) F
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ q# s/ m5 I7 U& [3 s2 V
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 V% U2 r5 D# P6 |said. "There will be Chinese and English.". Y( g3 ?$ C% R# t+ i# _
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
% {3 o3 R( P( I5 D6 d1 P& Aall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse! [ _# h( W- Q0 x1 k
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 S5 S5 P5 F' n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- d1 @- q. ]8 ^& lwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to5 F6 i5 ]( A7 `3 q1 M
the school system last year.. X+ V% s1 d+ k4 ~9 {
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this! n0 k7 \. ~* N/ k8 j/ N
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
7 \' x. Z, K$ a; ^classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago: w) m! a! H4 C* v/ Y% }( l; r; ~
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to- y3 T/ m8 O" \( A! S4 M
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet+ v$ ^2 s" P7 i) k w9 I% }
on an equal playing field."
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$ ~5 d& ?% Y- R) w f* uSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; }& Q( K0 `4 t
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
4 A7 W8 j8 I6 d. W* k2 _/ LService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks$ |) ~# W' O! O3 A5 f6 c
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( b+ r+ H& _2 o" y2 @2 B1 Baverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, z1 Y! ?" K2 u; B
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 V7 J( p; m' ~* z/ yinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth, c6 D6 n3 F4 v" N
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before6 j( A' c |3 `9 G8 u9 q
deciding whether to take the class.; `9 ?8 G7 I" U% g. `
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she& @& h" l0 n0 _8 _8 ~
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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6 M" n' g, d9 [' s! JAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& O3 {; v* V: m" C7 |, {
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 Y2 {' r' l6 j1 Y" V J6 _
occasional frustration.
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7 C; R, g! r: b: l"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
9 O6 T4 Z# x; T% h# _8 n: N9 brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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% K2 R' H G; t. ]9 c/ c( v; A pRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he& S. e w; A4 L3 W0 u
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
# u" D) s. E/ A: T) Z; OChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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' r( b$ g8 F' y( {"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# `) l, e l) A+ O3 P0 D& _said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 Q( | r, g. |9 s/ B) ~as many languages as I can."6 |+ H/ n/ S0 E7 ]/ m- W" g% L7 m
4 @ [: V( S; ~Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: E: M( E9 V! `' dskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job% Q$ W& e: N% b7 F' ~( k
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 M8 J6 K# u+ x: K, v5 ]that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 m5 U- ]8 U; v; D6 O) k
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) R( j( P# t; J9 g" f0 `3 _
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
* z) B7 [' i+ u4 Ptime from classes like physical education, music and art to make, X3 t9 R+ j g9 ^1 @) n
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" o! y3 n5 S& t! g0 y% R) c
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" b9 Z4 [6 S& a# P/ C( A" N3 ?2 E% gcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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/ U2 G9 h: A% l& o4 H4 x, C"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
" B; ^1 q: p3 U( cbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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, V# m# B% N R8 b. h: @The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( d% ~+ E7 r, ?% o% ^1 I: ?9 T2 r
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 u! H/ C' l7 `5 vSociety in New York.5 W9 G4 O l* s2 C2 o5 c' h7 a, F0 A
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the6 t$ p: f2 T7 a! X2 g+ _
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
6 R! }- Q" m7 p) N4 p2 e! Ythe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) L2 F; z: m8 d) m
8 Y$ @9 n, K! T1 a3 S5 x3 F7 l) F5 R"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our2 b0 G) f. }0 C' ^6 p9 h
own."
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, B: i4 J5 G- i, rCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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