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October 15, 2005
3 e1 ^3 Y7 T! n) a8 AClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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$ d/ B$ _0 M: f( q# eBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
. j2 V9 _3 P4 PUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
2 k" b* [8 o$ F: SSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas! C: a* Q) S) v# } x# z \
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
3 B5 Y6 M/ U8 v' t- V6 ~& ^- Vflag hang from the wall.5 m7 X. m) k/ F# _+ r/ P& x
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 J r9 {/ Y) t0 v, J! G
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 U' H/ O% w) z* G8 K! W
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
$ k7 O% W1 W' ?& jboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 p6 V8 E Q0 D( }- X5 t) Mare already choosing it over Spanish., F( }8 ?! d% K" H: C9 f
1 E% e% A: k" ~' f+ M( [7 g"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 u3 i' z8 N% c Jat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 C/ k/ @7 i, H$ Z) _1 goffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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- _ V! I' z% Y6 gWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( l2 s# Y" Z. A- Q" M( ?
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# `5 ]! T2 B1 e5 C: h; Z1 w v
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention- g. P$ }, _1 M: N6 k
one of its most difficult to learn.' j0 D$ y$ z/ t( z9 A# S5 h) T* c
0 y$ W8 U' U% ILast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
5 J& d k! o1 q2 q* G* tpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students. b M, B }% P: Q+ r
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. d3 j- g8 N( P% I! ~$ C8 S* M
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- P# b1 |2 T6 t4 z: @$ q; MTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
g; j; K& g. z- f7 K# |Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 Y' x+ v, {7 L" A% X% V
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.8 h! L# Y, z4 X3 H/ J
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 P! O! \, m( Y( d- @, ~6 W
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 {7 q) c% _' q" V Fstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
) ?" B! e- m4 W1 Q- c( mdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing" H: ^, ]6 H( J6 g1 {6 V
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 O2 J2 j" o1 V) r( Dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 w% H6 ?6 f& x* @/ }
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
/ q3 a( ]: k( x2 pspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, y. W) R0 {1 [3 V3 Q1 b7 r) W, ?
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we1 ^! Y. a4 @ O* Q/ j$ X
can."
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: B" G y) K% }# g1 F8 E2 y5 Q9 uThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
I) X1 V* L8 n" Celementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 106 p! Y3 U* S7 M# B6 `' V
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; M7 [+ _, `# K: K- T( S \Institute in Washington.- y6 e- s3 S: H! w
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 x* }' l8 H" y' s
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
" g. M. i9 N: w' o' ?. I- \McGinnis said.: x4 q; q+ F9 Y
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical) E- o6 |# q ]% B7 O, c3 w
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
3 i* H1 o! C% [4 g0 t$ jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' N9 c$ Q0 k( }
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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1 T2 K* ]8 J5 _% B5 IUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and0 r, F+ W, E# m# X' H$ L
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in3 T6 J% J( p* J! @4 r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of1 S' U% v% x2 x8 Z! i# X5 p! @
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
- \( J) l+ y1 T/ | n/ v. hon weekends.9 z/ P3 r3 t- l9 ^
* }8 a2 p" p8 y: r9 a" ]The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* {% x% I0 o d1 K' p" z, l$ i
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
C8 a- S J% Xstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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/ T" k8 K- k3 e+ ^# fMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& l% O( I [/ ?2 R2 {3 T9 Wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- ?3 e0 {8 t( C4 k _
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 i8 E3 p' I$ n, I
said. "There will be Chinese and English."& {( s" |+ S* U7 T
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 I$ O, t6 g9 eall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse! V) v2 j7 T$ s
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
2 S0 J/ a$ p8 G) ]; Q8 Akindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, z3 o: \; a4 ~. D) ?. W4 k3 t' rwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
. @% _5 b6 l9 bthe school system last year.5 o: C$ L, l* N7 L4 Y# H) B4 h/ q
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this+ `- ~; c; C J, t5 A9 `# I- f
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
! |: L0 U0 [1 V A( Kclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( R' I& S8 h/ s) h3 u2 t; m( mChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to; q' ~3 u( E' J% X9 o
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
9 O$ H; A& \' _! K8 [ {( E$ u8 oon an equal playing field."7 r$ e* c! ?, p, `# Y. U2 o- s( v
& g/ \5 b- c" y5 e3 u3 eSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' {7 ]/ ]% `) e8 K
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign) u$ E. @/ e( j1 I
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 E b! f+ Q) m+ W+ [8 K8 IChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An% e' C* C3 T3 M
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in2 K$ u- |+ D$ t
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the, ]3 @7 C$ b) b% H# `% f1 W8 P
institute says.- j1 [8 s! I( Q& D% Y. t
, r$ Y/ O# j6 v& d4 s1 OSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% ], C, w7 M4 t1 f! \& U/ y/ R& Y
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before3 J/ E6 w: E$ w; n+ ^8 R
deciding whether to take the class.5 a' {/ x ^( `, b" \( I9 L; G$ P
K" S1 K& W; q# H% B+ W
"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' M0 x* V5 K$ t0 P9 [told her daughter.( M% u o. W4 c2 @
7 Y# b E! Y wSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 O U3 ]) ?: P+ S+ g
class.0 E5 y" m* w# L% p$ Y
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) V h& Y; X7 O) t" x% fstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
% V! M$ ]. P4 @9 {/ l8 Q# _+ @occasional frustration.0 {( l9 S3 |2 _8 k
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# F, F8 C# Z, c2 I2 Q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.: R' d: R. X7 u
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! s8 q( V/ O8 x, A8 ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
; T/ R6 v; K& U5 f4 LChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: ?8 `0 e3 u/ e. u) ^
6 O7 G3 `: o% @* o' ~9 \"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul! E2 U! |3 V- Y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn# b, |1 }# W. i; N" g. L! [, X1 O
as many languages as I can."
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* G$ f% ^/ n9 _, cAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the, d" o9 [/ k. {! c8 g6 c' g
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
/ b0 O+ Z. }' tmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, t. |0 v* C+ i5 R/ Bthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" e9 _# ?) u9 S9 Rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each" O8 @# k$ W& U" A; ~8 t
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
. {) e: M8 m+ g$ Ptime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
1 F% q$ b+ u. ?9 b' Croom.
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2 E) Q! t% n9 r( {7 TChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
* {( B+ g3 F0 }. IChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
3 ]* y$ ?: T- s+ H0 i7 mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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8 s. C; D: s3 E6 ~. w, k/ ?8 @"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
0 W7 [" [8 g* Jbecause of that missing certification," he said.6 @& i$ a$ W7 i" z9 V# m( N, N
) \$ e8 N2 X5 F3 G& J. PThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
4 }9 d! w8 `8 S) F% ?% _- ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia& x9 W0 E9 { u. W
Society in New York.
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' j1 `5 ^" Y0 U9 S; A2 {Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
) t3 O8 T5 I6 cChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from3 o6 x ? \# Z- t) i
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.% c, b- a4 g! g- I$ L, H
% q; B' r( I: ^! ]3 w5 Z, i/ N4 I"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our+ f8 F9 K! Q- X
own."0 Y+ R, K$ I% _" s8 }6 W5 X
- M' S6 v- m7 O# ~Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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