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October 15, 2005' N: l6 d4 D3 d+ c0 V8 N
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING; Y! G( A+ p6 b# K) G& g
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& V) `8 z6 H( Z) p" d
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. Y! J8 n7 U7 k; F$ CSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
- t% E5 v- l( _- ~. N+ Odangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& I6 p6 z- G: @( f7 Nflag hang from the wall.
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" x0 C" c; U1 M/ k p+ jOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ O2 b: L( ~- C5 _8 f1 n
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders3 ?/ L* u i- L
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) l7 L, s5 _- O: m6 p1 Fboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# ~' z+ }7 _6 Z5 ?) T
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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; z6 g2 w- ]( C8 A4 M3 i1 I$ s"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal4 d* q( Y1 o( s$ A' n( l6 ?1 p* D
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city1 E8 n5 j% p9 Q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."+ b0 v V3 n2 E" g
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
! |! {3 Y3 ^6 xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& {% A. t& x4 G0 S! dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
" s0 d. V+ ], s; yone of its most difficult to learn.& U8 U' v1 r2 ^ n! m* j
9 U! [$ K) L" ^7 U2 LLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
( k9 r5 f9 ]$ j1 ?; F5 M& Mpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students' \1 Y7 @+ w) e
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.6 d9 P% `7 u: }0 [8 a; T% Y: _) ^
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 n& o5 d1 X5 t) N/ E- D9 nTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 u: Z$ q% Z& l. P7 x
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" e! v& k1 P5 I- k1 O$ D0 Zimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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* ~. g" H$ K8 b" G' E) J7 NAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement6 n2 z/ y+ n+ o6 Q
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 o3 o- U' F0 ystarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ i* f3 y6 k8 [1 x" N; v
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
5 ?4 y2 d) U5 S! Z, |& Q; jcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director- z+ z- J: y8 p. C
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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6 e4 y6 {7 O1 U: ?( P"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of+ R4 n$ i! i! c4 ^' Q% O
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education# F2 o7 B. C: n
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
8 f" n$ T5 f$ j& h6 A0 k& pcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
7 f5 `* G, x8 d8 F- I9 Yelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
% x0 \) Y) b0 A5 t9 N% Syears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
N4 u* L; E5 z) WInstitute in Washington.6 j8 L3 Q$ ?4 m
# t' f* F# q; b1 W"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* a# \1 z7 e' u: O% _
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
0 I0 {, @1 c" {% A6 FMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical2 p J! {- N) H3 n- A" G
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 P1 V" f' Z) l0 ]ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
+ Z" B2 J/ B' L$ i5 Xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."- V- V% P: V! v3 ?) s, u, u
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
. s6 y+ ?3 m/ M2 Xsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 i1 |' O) q& R* f/ K
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
3 ]8 n2 v4 E8 |2 ^/ g0 p0 h0 |Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ h1 E5 c) L% `# p7 d+ |4 q, ~& p
on weekends.& j8 S6 I% g; L* q: Q
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 X) v* D! O# K' T7 A% ?0 d( |schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 X, b) r0 Y* p! ]) J0 hstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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/ b3 U i' T- c1 C/ |Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said1 t8 K% ]# Z: X3 U' L! O5 Z# m
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
2 {0 @. a* o3 N# }7 Z: ]1 _competition. , @) N2 k% f% o4 a* Y \, u
7 J1 _9 L! s. F2 P' s"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
4 |' z m; {) s6 _, c* Z5 @& ?said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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7 S$ d6 n" [3 Z9 `7 xFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly1 {% b5 N2 w' F% x L! V, l$ d* o
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 A) g6 c2 C) O) m7 R! m# P4 y
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* ]) H& `. G: T3 f& K5 Y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 P- N, `1 v) I6 G* z4 c$ e
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% s; W0 e, z0 |) W/ H
the school system last year.! L5 m3 Z9 ]: O( _+ ^; q3 i. M
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this8 o. B, ?2 T! }7 y; K& [! ~4 F2 V
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.* [9 p; J6 N/ z1 J% j! A- g6 Q
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
/ A( F) z3 P+ ~7 z: k( [) g- Mclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# R5 G+ l9 z* O3 R& X7 l" x/ QChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to+ [& e; I L; Q: t2 z1 O7 I4 u
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet) |3 ~# d6 K) _& d/ M$ Y& A/ y
on an equal playing field."- N. M5 H5 s5 u3 O
9 }/ ~# i) R8 J) Z4 ISome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese+ H) X0 _" B* m
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign* l) Z; S6 ~1 @8 H, p; @8 P
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* _, ~; t+ d; O) Y
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An. Q" y# V7 M# Q
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- e: M$ N w0 i5 N/ K: kChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 G6 I7 I% g0 ?( }: _' N
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ W" T! Q" ?! r' Fgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
: [9 S. _, h a" f$ h% bdeciding whether to take the class.5 o# g" j2 Q3 v3 a8 w, ]
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
/ C$ A: P! L6 `$ Y. gtold her daughter.8 Z' ]/ O/ h4 @9 ^1 N2 _
; n* N% E9 y* T( W6 j6 kSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, m1 _" E# X" Z0 G) r& ^6 X; }; t
class.2 R. U1 D. I) [* \
2 O8 e" _$ w1 Q7 Y$ m" ?2 T9 A* a8 aAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 a) K( h1 R7 p" l5 g k( p( }studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 Z; e: t( e5 i% ^, T9 H7 y" noccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
3 ~- W: ~% r) u1 ?, [% \recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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( I! {" W% u# {7 x8 P5 VRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 t% M3 l7 k# Z9 y. I5 |3 X
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with* i+ [7 @3 o3 d9 m A; j
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul* j, l- \ _! I; N) } ^2 [/ y& p
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" e, m* r6 U: [$ `as many languages as I can."# ]: h8 b$ o( ]
: o8 F# X6 F3 OAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- O' [: I% z1 L; C) w. S; H$ Y/ |skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job1 S5 @. E7 m8 V( I
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 Q" ?! V* G. r
that," Ms. Freire said.2 @4 H8 D. N6 `$ ?! _+ ?+ s. j
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program3 F& {. C: n0 b# f
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! _) l M0 f, T; s+ G' A
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
9 y% j+ G' y' w/ x Mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer R* g, ~6 a5 e* ~
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" G* G) c2 I8 y. ?$ {- I" X* F7 Mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; d, s2 V: _/ x2 I- f3 L
/ O( c" x. F- Y% }9 h6 G"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified7 k y( l# v' L0 I2 }: Y
because of that missing certification," he said.; _. j8 G" F- k. |6 w
% L' Q* r; z7 G: k2 OThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
1 H/ J6 i% \* R/ Y' F- }said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, t8 d9 W0 {% w5 G
Society in New York.
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- k9 x+ [4 ]0 z' `0 dSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the7 E8 `. t; R J& K
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
0 {, N0 e: }+ ?the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.7 q0 k+ Z, ^, b8 P+ l0 F
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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) k% W( {5 ]7 Q, kCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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