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October 15, 2005
; g, u. W2 O& h9 J, LClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: i+ w- R* ~5 B
8 Y* d, g1 Q$ |" C) T1 q; N, y
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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) g) z8 ?' z" a; L& ?7 o0 @CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the6 k; y+ L- j$ w
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
2 o( ^$ d) k$ { QSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; X: i, S1 D6 [+ C! z: ddangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese5 U( v9 J/ K1 a- A1 n$ {, k. [
flag hang from the wall.( i8 N9 C. Z8 f+ m+ C
* S- v- E& M( s F$ i& lOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one# d3 V0 K" x0 B
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! J* ]' q* l, s; |' G+ D+ F( ~' Q4 P. apracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 N6 I) S' R- U! z" | Dboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 }6 G9 [- w9 @- g+ `& ^
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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- a4 c( B6 ~4 Y/ E"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal) V2 A7 P- k' O
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city9 l* i# J0 H0 j3 Z8 W8 o
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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9 e& q, [, F! e( sWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,$ d& k% h9 U( u0 W; ^
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
' N% O% l+ {7 A0 M+ \to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 M4 z0 J- S. t, `& H& L( Kone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to( F5 C. l% M# {8 Z5 b( C/ B
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
( m9 I: j4 U y' L: x0 R- g/ B5 Lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 U/ B1 o5 p0 N, c+ WLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% ^9 k( a- r/ R2 [# d
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on% m1 D1 z) J! n4 m; `
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 H* R4 M3 U$ ~+ F, ?
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* e( Z0 L% t8 Z9 i, d/ ?# s
) p/ l$ P4 h% z. h. gAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
9 J5 p, p3 R; f& RChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 G5 {. U: t+ Q- n0 e8 \
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to- N/ S6 G. W( v
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ b' t3 g; d8 Z- |0 H$ w
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director- K$ |) V; `8 j4 d% P7 [: c! c
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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" q9 }: \1 ]+ k- U z"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
% {3 J) `/ u% ?& a, c7 S, b7 Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
: l4 d S) Z* |. M2 e8 rConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ u0 v+ P: u2 I( A4 Qcan." . |# K" k7 l, S( Q1 g) \# H/ o0 D
) c2 ]$ U% {8 x) f% d5 w1 RThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
5 T7 s5 m/ E" F( _: celementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
& l/ h2 ~% I/ P$ }& Y4 C6 a" [years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language! \4 Z1 |. q! w4 d7 j# |+ ]
Institute in Washington.
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, m- l: h& X, h& ^/ G# u"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# k2 N) x, e# p7 `aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( s1 s7 m/ Z6 Y1 Y, D( ?" s+ IMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# n) H1 L. O. u! z0 clongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be1 z7 k' H% R1 g4 [$ |1 ]" q
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: G% _ J! |3 B3 T2 N( D: L
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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. j& X2 O/ ]: s9 v$ [Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
8 f3 i# L# B3 s5 F! l1 esecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in% q7 G7 w2 p# M" F- E
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* I& F& h7 c4 N6 M: HChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: v) @ G5 \- q0 r4 S" e
on weekends.
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$ x, G2 h! G+ dThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" F' d1 @$ y, @! N7 I& I8 M9 Hschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
; Z! z3 Y" A3 s4 I% P' Zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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* x) ]" B4 W2 N4 s, RMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
2 U$ y/ `) a8 k5 wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the1 _8 y3 {! f# E% j
competition.
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3 \ h2 n% s8 w `"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
y6 b7 r8 {, R/ G; u& Lsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 X- ?& T7 @' T" X: e+ K( ?$ V) k9 J
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ y) D4 a4 s% v5 y& Tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ t- ?% g3 O' E8 N5 x5 H8 dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 u# H& R, E( B& ?, B
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to2 i" N1 j; G1 H; T
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 ^0 P( b/ b% z. @! f' G fyear 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
' v$ f( m2 x( S, n% J/ \- N! Lclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 H+ s9 j8 }7 F
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 P8 f- M$ @8 C) N* i
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
P0 u! a9 m) U8 l" con an equal playing field."9 r9 E4 C! i$ A' Y9 M
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese9 R: c- e1 D9 E8 {0 k' J5 V
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
5 g8 O3 p8 Y3 T% Q7 v7 Q9 KService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks: m/ x8 R- |" K+ T, Z- l0 N! L
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" m6 R: R3 R1 _average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% |! [# F' r# Z" a) l- KChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the( j" }' E9 @2 N: C. z
institute says.
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" G) o( t% K9 v; CSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
. ~6 t$ {% o$ l3 {grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before% ^" I- W9 E' t; g; @0 A8 q
deciding whether to take the class." m+ U, S0 M7 C" D$ B3 V
% y4 m4 B% n- K" W"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( S: J& c. T1 L* n2 N
told her daughter.
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& y# x4 x3 `% X% w. f$ QSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite$ e! a; p9 ^2 f7 Z; \- t) I
class.! Q/ p( W T( z
* J3 O3 m2 l! t7 ^At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
5 @' \( Z! u4 C/ Z1 c" u7 Ystudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
y B% U: I0 ioccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! N9 G6 F4 w% K2 L5 K* v) t/ srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( A/ p" l' [$ X0 B/ Y
9 e5 E7 E+ h" k2 _4 a! H+ TRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
^/ g/ N' D6 @( }& k: G: Utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 V! {) u- J3 X1 FChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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; b. d/ ?( ?2 ^( b. p"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul8 l, f. t1 q- y7 x0 ^( h, M
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn9 x( ?3 j- @; D) ?6 W! J) G' Z+ x, h
as many languages as I can."0 b$ p" p [. @ N: q# w7 v: A
: t9 n: _' N& `8 nAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 c* Y3 ~7 f2 |, o* P" R6 _8 H$ Gskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job8 }. {& R5 c! d- q/ [3 D }& b
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' b/ j% i ~ j; U3 [, V
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ D9 D& g5 A9 A
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each( ~- B$ G5 ]6 L; y8 ^
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- q* }& i; I5 W; N- Y1 A V* O* y: F
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make, n6 v- p+ H+ Y4 x) x$ d
room.5 _! G8 ~- P f& L5 I/ z, s- ~/ Q" |8 z
- \( i; s: C; w8 eChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer$ }2 v0 |& J7 M0 q' K
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; P+ P' `) i% e/ a* V6 [
college, 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" D, \3 | r: c' g+ `
because of that missing certification," he said.+ u$ ]1 s1 C/ L- E) j8 Q3 c
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, U1 Y3 d* H+ I, S% g; j0 @& b4 ~said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- y) A5 W- G3 E. n* T2 HSociety in New York.
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6 H; f4 F, g% }9 }+ l! ]( dSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# s1 e% N+ h& e; t# Y" P, D
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from( R7 G4 `% V. W$ S0 D* \% q1 ]+ B
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
+ o1 n. {/ }* W5 m" Qown."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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