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October 15, 2005
4 `' Y; i% z8 X8 Y+ xClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity0 l8 D% r9 v+ [% g
* v$ Z! j# K' ]8 P3 `By GRETCHEN RUETHLING6 X) M" J D+ z5 u9 _
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 p# h3 D; R3 Q3 A7 x( [United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( Z. @+ i: B- o, gSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas8 o S- p( \5 O; W3 t2 d# a
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 X5 m/ m$ o+ V9 \* H) j
flag hang from the wall.
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) D0 U( d+ U! m' L8 q- ]! M9 P& UOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 s! ?6 ?! b/ X; [- G. A- q% s
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% g1 @" g% }1 y. |, fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
6 B* O( C/ N% V( t, fboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* D+ f N8 _0 D( G" }- _ L
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" v" c- |' a. W& b( s1 r" V6 _
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, l( @3 ^7 z6 Y* e# `, g
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& ?$ B* U( H* u) x; z1 d
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! q2 v/ v7 e' ]7 J8 n# Lto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention' c+ M+ ^0 ]5 M; x
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) S4 H. Y3 r$ T8 Xpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 X' ~' m" h7 h
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.0 J) U1 X1 t; i3 b/ r
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of7 q9 p$ x i) N& P# B" O
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: ^$ h( [! B4 n2 I; fChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
4 ]& {2 R1 d- o& W4 c/ nimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement# E" f3 A( C! D3 f. x" P0 ]
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
- t: @8 d7 `& kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: a! M" T' s4 O+ V( m4 N
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ ^! K7 S' {$ N0 r
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director5 v5 ~+ s8 \' S, A" M ]1 v
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.7 L3 S+ C# g n7 i
* T2 ~- B# ^; e# c$ e"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* E. u& o- J ?! h, \0 }speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education. R0 l8 p8 L% `3 k: Z5 P7 U
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
; H( d2 E0 ~+ B# W: A' h% A+ fcan." , p; ]) d0 q; D$ g
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% ~$ A6 K1 s6 S5 j1 f" z
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
L6 m" ^3 C, W. s- C( z4 \years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 W" l* M# P/ Q% J, O) p1 o8 J$ zInstitute in Washington." y, f ` i1 n. Y
2 a; m3 N- X- f, I' P' G8 j"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* j" S/ J# f, Z( ~* t, Z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
- r5 W7 F4 L5 s" s! mMcGinnis said.
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/ j0 T9 L* }0 {" N"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% R' P1 S c6 X* ?& D/ e6 }6 H7 U$ Dlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 s. K6 v9 C: u/ }ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
" n$ z6 I0 ]9 Z0 Y$ Z; schallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 v- Y. n& B/ K/ d- R" _
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; t. ~- F' o5 u
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 N6 i, U4 S* c% P0 t) n JChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. _( z) b% `8 C6 }5 E" X6 M5 @on weekends.
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+ n# L3 H9 K( E# W! \The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. M7 V& B N8 |/ D( w/ p% G% w8 v
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- a: a8 ^- X9 u3 A v# Z ]' w6 fstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 e! U+ L3 l% Tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# x" E$ u% a$ V& z( p9 \
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley. Q( W0 f: x9 U7 ^4 ]) s
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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: }0 ]- O4 E* A7 D5 UFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly6 R, F; j% \. q/ R
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 x2 R7 Z, Y% \( P! v, G
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from0 a7 L2 H' O. B* Z5 p
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 k5 W; S6 C0 @, `3 K& O9 Q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% I# m4 w+ U8 K1 w. b
the school system last year.
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- [0 m9 [' {; l. y" OThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 I; j$ Y, |* A( B7 Tyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.1 n9 p8 B( d: {. d
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 z- T: O0 I" |8 R# s o' a9 [classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 \$ Y+ i# X8 ?$ N/ Z) FChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% U6 l( L. B" ^$ m* I+ ]0 xhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet% e9 F; ]* F. F
on an equal playing field."
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4 ^- l* E% ^: ^5 m2 p+ PSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese) m' |' L9 }$ K/ X- d
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign+ D# Z' K) m5 c6 r2 r* K# V5 t
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* C. W4 P# ]4 o7 G
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
/ ]! I. ?. k* V5 j! G6 ^average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 L6 m" A& F2 sChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) W. f! x6 ?9 R! p5 j% @/ ?institute says.' n2 M* @ y8 x4 ?
0 }( o4 b+ {, w1 j% m8 YSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
6 u" b- _- e4 rgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 G; j3 V2 w( E" O8 w. @deciding whether to take the class.' v. n8 U3 H: ?1 W/ e. w4 U/ O6 w
1 L2 m0 z w5 n& r, ^% t"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ k; l: r, N- m* w/ D2 v& e
told her daughter.
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9 b4 t. ]. y* G4 `Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ {& y' d7 a2 H5 c0 l* j" Wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" ^7 k. }; _2 v/ joccasional frustration.
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3 v' f/ {1 m+ Y' n"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a! Z+ F6 C9 b4 f( F( }& {
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* }# A3 {- |- O5 q! X
- Y1 b' W1 c, e0 p4 HRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
6 A( Y! |) \$ Z1 X4 Utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ A5 v) H U2 a8 NChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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$ s6 K- B5 `+ Z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
' k" S' d4 q E0 c5 j5 @- H: N) U. ~said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
) S( F# E. x/ m8 d0 ?3 ~as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
+ t; }, l. E: V" i1 V. _skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; L# y3 R9 m5 u9 Q ~) t8 Nmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' d/ p; @: f' v
that," Ms. Freire said.- {3 Y1 t& D4 _3 L, O S4 c5 G" _% Y
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
8 V4 u @7 W# {here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each+ M( C, ^; H. p! Z0 ?! A
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking* N9 W6 {# W8 w' K9 K3 M
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
+ R7 B# ~: F$ U1 Z kroom.
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& N/ `+ U+ C" Q( E# K9 x5 u% z/ gChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer8 X- Y( J/ O: T. ]/ p
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 {! J! `/ V+ @* B& x5 z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.2 v/ W8 D% I) e# ]
) `7 g' H) `. C1 u4 _9 y- t( X5 X" S"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
% N; M- c5 A5 Z- R$ _# cbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 z V) q3 e! {+ t: y7 j- r7 isaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; S1 f/ B3 T7 ~& j& C% Y
Society in New York., O$ j$ Z; h, s2 u
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the( _/ T7 s7 x* c" i; c8 t5 d4 r6 P
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 Y5 B! ?) o# r$ Pthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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; ^) A# i1 o( q, o+ [* Y"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
i# f; C6 _8 D0 l4 `& Eown."
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0 y5 D q* i+ X" t& d" D! o* V& D) \Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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