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October 15, 2005
/ {& T8 H" z% g0 `. ~1 s, V' mClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
$ j8 W0 N0 Q, B$ S; x% z; o+ h3 C( i
/ a9 y! ?4 f1 a) vBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the6 g4 U& `. U' f- T+ ?/ G( g
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 x/ ?- g7 y% w, X; j1 {
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas6 a% T( ~: A/ y5 o2 ` q( Y) q0 y
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& Z8 t; ~- ]; i ]- r! m; O" [flag hang from the wall.6 _9 k9 Y1 F' n: Y4 P# r b
2 Z, _- E. T6 h9 NOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one0 m+ [. w0 E v0 t$ j: B
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* X: @' h, G& y) u7 q$ epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
3 v. J6 Z& O1 u+ a* Gboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" L# N/ N# z2 C E8 d y3 u) M+ t
are already choosing it over Spanish.7 r% j% [9 P9 T& Y
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( {: Z* N, k, S' I+ Yat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city" a# n( c |9 j% A0 G5 |
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. k" k1 A4 A+ Q# q6 W$ Z2 A& D) Y; `schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
% W' e- U% S$ e- @to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
) s' @, K) m# L0 i' E8 u8 ~* Hone of its most difficult to learn.: J8 R6 J c0 t- w
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
O+ o% q% r- ?/ a3 \public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 }* N- r/ M7 sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.5 z( B6 a. `: H: o5 q
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
+ T8 p J. r% d, f" KTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. {4 M8 t( f7 J7 K, o8 fChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! k' L7 ~: E+ B' mimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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4 r! |' ]/ K: M7 J3 c2 ?) T* NAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement2 @) V4 V o- w7 f& n$ h, f
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 C: p2 _) H" a) }, nstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to2 y/ R# `( r# c% E1 P
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing: k) ^% y& H: @/ p4 H4 M
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 }: p0 \. p8 |; b4 G; m$ D
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- }& ^' i. |/ I" E+ w. \
, l2 }; k+ k$ D0 ~"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' T" ~( m: l& `! ^8 [% \5 j
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
7 q' U( {2 j5 h/ o& i4 k0 QConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
& f. U3 X! c& r2 ^; _can." 6 e, ]5 c& U8 N' b @# [* e z1 I8 E
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: r1 @0 n; u* welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
9 Z' H9 E' W% a9 q0 dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
! R% \5 [, U* y% K9 W7 L! fInstitute in Washington.; G" m8 @9 g" }/ M4 Y
: f4 M1 R% f7 X* t5 v& q; {! k"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; @( w/ t6 X4 |4 waren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. O: o" ]# E* c* E, H/ sMcGinnis said.
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8 \: W$ j8 S# |8 I0 n7 e"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
" a6 m6 C1 T- q1 d% }longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ F9 p* q6 Y8 T- ^
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: i$ _ ?* Y) e' [challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' |' R2 Y8 r, j5 m
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: w7 a* E. @; h$ a) {( s7 Acities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
/ Q' e- a& Y6 r+ S- G N, F+ rChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or3 Y* e B* l4 w @/ {
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 Y1 F9 `+ N/ B2 a9 v* G! l* {; p
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. k) W3 U+ A+ Q. R8 d: k+ e2 F9 T
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& K% a! ?& o3 M i/ ~proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 L% l6 z2 J! A+ ]: k+ G$ wcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ @! W4 \, k. Q* j
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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" v* _5 H' x/ v ]From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
! y5 U/ F- W. h5 ~- ]# ?/ x* Ball-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse' V. n7 N' d u' E& F/ a
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
* Y( |3 q0 h# p: u9 U1 c, q' Okindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ Q6 ~5 Y) g! ~- G: l- k8 P9 K# cwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to* T/ u; v1 E: B" z
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ j0 K' e' f- x$ E2 S( d6 d$ {; ?year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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' |/ E4 z. m9 ?! l1 I: e7 h% q2 v"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 f0 Z5 d+ @6 S9 M1 u6 Fclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 N% s% L3 S2 Y7 I: NChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to+ q" u7 i1 [: r1 U" O$ e8 M7 y
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
! Y8 z, V# r. {6 n( L! d% ion an equal playing field."3 M: p* o/ L, K8 T
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, s3 A! M1 _- y" h- m, ?2 l3 B) Mclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
% l: z( t& \0 a. P- S( ]Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
" k. R: Z2 S; O: V, _7 j: GChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 d% }. m1 M) |; aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in+ y, }* @5 A) U J6 n- c S: _
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 ^' l: Y" y) t. F3 r; s( z
institute says.
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+ B0 z+ P2 J' s6 _. N4 jSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; ~4 k! N$ J% W" x0 l% j- g' w/ i
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
3 t) R8 N5 p8 O( p* ~2 pdeciding whether to take the class./ ~/ h: _$ }( Y& |2 _ x
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. m" h- _& t* G& S+ M
told her daughter.& X2 f, V" T) M$ W v$ H* w
9 T4 g! q/ I$ z& M- t( t" {5 `Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
5 D, M$ u0 _) T6 kclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are" w( M8 M$ \8 W6 [- Y3 u
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ Z/ `# M, s, j: o9 e* `+ Z/ Y- t0 Yoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a5 R5 B$ x8 B0 t1 e6 y
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 B: q8 O; h; S
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ J4 b6 A3 a( T/ Z4 Q" W
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works. H: m. N/ Q7 Z/ w1 `8 s
8 X* x. R4 L8 k) f"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul8 N8 b) a# f/ H! T/ n
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, [6 Y9 Z( H/ f' ?* gas many languages as I can."
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- m1 T/ E/ \9 o3 d. m* mAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the# c; g: v$ M" z; n+ b$ L2 a
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
( O0 V9 R9 ~8 `! p- ^+ F! smarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like0 l2 D2 c$ z; d2 `: e
that," Ms. Freire said.
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# g, h X+ j9 B: d9 m) L2 c! DMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 D/ |- I4 g4 D3 y# k) T
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
+ ?1 y( T @2 ]- \8 `school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking$ w7 d* {; V) Y6 W4 j) h7 ]
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
& c7 J4 H; Y) Z- _! sroom.
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/ W& [' B5 y1 s2 D7 ]2 h1 IChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
$ q6 n/ J% R9 F9 Q' @$ ]Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) L7 i% V& [' R+ X# j
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
* z% _+ k5 f( |0 `) }4 zbecause of that missing certification," he said.% B8 ~% \* e* v% C/ i' O
5 G$ ^% Q5 e j7 g f# k) vThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,8 K* Z- O+ Z- W7 t' i
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia$ A& y5 M. v/ \1 y6 V' ~% w# h
Society in New York.
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+ U* p9 G! B7 o" JSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 u* ?5 n3 z; g6 H- v. Y9 X5 n; iChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 p$ A2 o5 J! r7 q
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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# `4 F/ o# o! L$ z7 ~# c$ T"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
, L6 P J l3 d6 d- Y$ D/ R, n9 D, ^own."
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$ H7 m& D" v: b PCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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