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October 15, 2005
" g" r* H# Q" q# {, o0 a) A& LClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& J( ~$ ^% D5 M8 ]
- j9 ?5 G9 C; G6 [% yBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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8 l. ^0 f3 I8 [. a" w" J5 t" nCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
& J5 J5 S1 `: H0 @$ o7 v; jUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary9 y; ?: o7 `$ k z6 g _
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 N- H6 U7 ^! I& m* @* {dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese' j: J" P6 v' L! N0 Z( a8 U
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 I0 S- A# b7 s E) Q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) K7 N# `; M ` |8 {
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
5 K7 a! Y( X8 c. @9 d# V# \boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 r* U* ]* m) R3 ?1 H. Q9 W
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
5 B% u" F! P* \at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city: T$ s) r5 B3 P" E
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" M2 \ m3 l2 \
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 w. @+ d3 q# u& P' W: Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings! X. w+ ?0 b+ ?$ k4 e
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
) F: o( o: H2 Wone of its most difficult to learn.! ]# N+ G. ]4 {9 ~+ \6 T$ S
# U. r* q; v2 ALast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to: P7 R5 f( F! m8 F
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students# ~% ~% @, Q' e5 Z5 y$ m
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
% I% g% A4 i: DLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" j9 f7 J0 B, h! B; e! w
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) g% Q' y$ n$ `( oChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to+ j8 F- ^! s, k/ p* C. {7 v6 u" P- ~
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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2 b( ]8 j( K$ KAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement0 o' Y7 n0 t9 E
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 N' c- L" e2 B% istarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to* W! Q) d6 v& g! j, Q& v9 |" C
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
5 }" c* Q3 J! w+ H M$ dcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" u! w9 R: h4 f/ \5 m6 u
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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8 H4 S* C, |3 f7 [, V# Y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! U/ S) A9 L6 q: S$ F" Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
( R8 v" ^7 O% u$ e/ ]Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# z" n: J# b) B3 n0 D
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
" A4 }5 @8 @5 z. V% K+ ^, Lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
, P. x1 A: {! O9 Eyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language- u/ x: M8 j# y9 k
Institute in Washington.7 h# P9 I3 C$ i6 T7 D
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- o6 a) T4 r* v& K/ e
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.1 @* n) C @9 m
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 `0 j Z; |' @8 ]' }longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# H8 C) l2 t- t2 f# V
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
8 R- {. s8 U2 Achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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$ P1 W* p0 m, `. ]Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( w; u) `* l, W0 i& T) v& u3 Nsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- y2 z" o7 T* t5 x k" M, p8 [cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of6 y' Z0 M% C: u8 P$ \, s1 H' G
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
& F6 b. |3 t- b# Non weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
7 W4 _7 [: l! D# I" gschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- _9 C3 P9 X6 G. }/ L$ |8 E# Ystudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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% c3 C1 w& ?) j# m5 R) T- {: f/ uMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
3 k5 V" G' e* v8 D: Q* P+ `9 Fproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the" q- {. ]; w. n0 q
competition.
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+ E* e4 g2 B6 D"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, D- M. O7 f% T( O8 o8 E$ |' Csaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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C+ X; q. ^. ~: a! a" v' HFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
' _# a; }4 h3 i4 P/ K: W5 i3 sall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ v- `. G: F7 L, M5 q* {5 s
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
4 d6 A" x% J% t8 v2 kkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ b n* w" ?5 ^who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- j# \" E/ B# e3 Athe school system last year.
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: R$ s D1 E$ R1 W& o' AThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this& H u4 y" I+ Z
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year./ Q" w6 z2 I/ z# N X# E
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"They have a great international experience right in their own& P8 x* k0 ~2 A5 B" j
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago/ R/ O3 [; o9 t( d
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to% [/ t' P, f/ G& N4 p8 Y+ W& Y
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
+ Z2 ~- g# v8 a, n* Von an equal playing field."" @6 q" B0 Z) l# b' P; v
4 u9 \2 f& Y( c+ iSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- i2 f3 W' G# N$ Uclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
; \& w' i8 A+ _0 z) U C( `4 rService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
& Q8 {, Z% Y" a) r. L' S, YChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An, \ f* Z2 A; k$ m W
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
! K, V, I- S- g1 I5 zChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
/ i; l/ M) t5 P/ yinstitute says.4 h; v5 ]: g' c" j$ J, W' b
" o5 r$ D+ R5 p9 Q* ^( nSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
7 Q9 H7 |# |2 x( B: {3 pgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before4 e) G/ ~ j, x' K8 |
deciding whether to take the class.. Q3 ?8 g2 Q9 p1 D0 w' M- N9 a) i
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. K! U" o* B6 Itold her daughter.6 y4 v0 e$ u+ r
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
$ N# V% O2 G1 T Sclass.2 u4 A# T/ e! |# N
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) U+ e- S C/ d4 J, [studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without9 g( u' n( o) |- s) ?' t$ {
occasional frustration.$ [: E1 ?7 ^! g1 u6 q
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a- E1 ]) N P" a1 P9 p; d# o
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 ]' n; D# w, J0 A2 I) h
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
* C3 \7 ?' N0 E& V' y7 b3 g0 P, iChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! X, g h# R- R- W) {. H
H9 q% u; L4 M" q: H1 n7 M"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# z3 q8 X0 c4 s! P' }said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn; I+ T$ Y$ K0 {
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ p; {* q0 K0 U9 e4 K) Z; K9 Askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job6 d9 m0 Q: j9 q$ Q
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like* B( M# c" O/ L X
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
% x6 X! m& O! S4 where offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 t |) S6 Z& H: W
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking! g& ~" r+ V- S
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make( ]" x6 _+ i2 e6 @/ C' ?1 h
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 X& p' w3 }6 \. A9 i8 |
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& o0 w P, p4 ], y5 H
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.) T. t8 y( E/ F( S# B
" W/ F8 d0 E* f8 Y/ `"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified* A* A% V" L' G, o/ \
because of that missing certification," he said.
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f0 u+ w( n0 e( _+ H1 k0 D) ?The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ n3 T# C) b+ \0 J2 J- r
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: M3 f7 I3 u5 G! x$ l0 _Society in New York. n( ^0 z4 L% R/ y3 b3 R3 Z
9 V6 }3 z1 M4 `9 m# d0 YSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the$ m2 ?& c9 h" H' I" l3 ~
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& S3 V2 c' E; A F. N% {0 `
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 M+ w% c; E9 L9 J
4 z+ m. T& j! a6 A7 G3 W"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 e6 u& C2 t# p& A
own."
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$ Z* c* k2 i9 ?8 t/ X8 ^Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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