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October 15, 2005
# E, B& ]. e" S6 q' }Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( j `$ o$ L ?! c* n
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- |: e$ Y! H WUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary8 ^0 b$ H. z3 v5 A& c9 p# ?
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# |) c( d' R0 D. |! M0 d
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese+ f3 ~9 ~3 f7 D( @8 B4 i' K u. t
flag hang from the wall.4 D' ?- O7 d' o; Q% R( ?* O: D, i
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 {3 e4 x7 g8 s% P0 [
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! D! W0 b; L4 a/ t
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% a4 x- W9 E9 |4 w! s: U
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
5 T7 B# o) ]/ x, w( a% u9 Mare already choosing it over Spanish.4 e. l+ ^1 S7 u4 `+ ^1 S
I0 x0 m5 w, I+ Z1 \9 ^2 F"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 W; Y# D* n) \6 {1 [% T5 cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- G' ]6 ?8 }* B# A% o) {offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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, U+ q% k; C1 @With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 O6 D6 s1 O7 `. X% x
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 L" z& b' n, a, t3 R* O0 Z6 lto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
N% D3 {! A0 M; T" ?one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
( M. d% u# F. }% J1 ^) Fpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students6 A- A% |+ t( _4 Q
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.9 \, G' q# ~, R, T4 ~
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; v" B+ _ ?0 {! k/ B* s" tTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
! V5 `( D! M5 W7 R( o/ W. R F) BChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to8 `* P( i2 Z; \3 i$ l/ F
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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/ \9 c8 z# U/ i8 M( U& s: zAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement. M3 ^( J3 B% J5 q6 {/ q
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
' |5 ? ~/ I2 P8 _starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to6 M" Y* l0 H& ^
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
/ c4 d0 s3 G. n N0 h( Icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director8 K' K: M! Y3 O/ u0 ?1 m+ g
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 m/ p7 x$ @% f/ ?% `" M7 Z$ u b
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education* v. k7 F; m- M* N3 u0 K9 \
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
9 E. z2 k* Q6 G% R& Z: a }can." 0 k9 T- M$ P8 m8 j
9 A5 c/ |, X# k' f1 `- g9 R3 F) [The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
/ o1 {5 q- t* H- Uelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 D. j: z2 Y6 S. v: O9 L! j9 A1 Myears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 K) o: Y2 h/ e9 L% lInstitute in Washington.! ~- ?" S' U+ C1 @: y
& M9 \* d9 K, |) ~) B, L5 @: f"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% {1 E5 ?3 `- n2 ]
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
, R" a/ `# h$ ?! |. i0 _% c9 ?1 E {McGinnis said.. l! J' `8 \7 s. f! c1 i
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical$ g# N$ h. L7 ~1 l2 j1 d7 f+ {+ Z
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be. c. k7 C. G' g+ L1 o
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 W, k9 n* ~3 U+ P/ e2 Achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do." s+ g- t1 D2 g x. i* b3 Z
/ I5 Y4 `2 B; LUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% V8 w' N" Z' D# w6 c3 Q* ^
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in5 F4 T& o* I; y; x$ N
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
4 g, D- ~ ^, r8 i8 f; B4 G4 MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
# d/ Y3 z5 n+ zon weekends.9 _* e! R5 U% ~, v; z0 o
- P% Y5 Q4 G3 n0 @9 h. K/ ^' lThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# M: G- t& Y, a) e% [schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 w* S m1 Z s; R7 wstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said, F N$ E+ i: d/ Y" ^0 r
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
: E$ w) Y4 p4 n* Scompetition.
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; B+ U4 Y! ?) ]"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley2 h. J2 ~ L v& w# q
said. "There will be Chinese and English."5 v u$ Y$ Z' M* S
' S* Q4 E) K/ G# @$ Q/ A2 UFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly N/ ~9 H, f) C2 f
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
3 m; V5 k' L8 ~ b" [/ M2 uschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 l5 D1 J* A5 N4 U/ F
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 ?7 ^5 X6 N( L& x. i3 N$ ^9 h
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- @& N' G: h7 l0 E0 ?, a: Q( T
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this6 ^3 O, @; F! t
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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& Z7 g- k) t2 Y: h( d"They have a great international experience right in their own
. }; _# e. [' r$ H" Pclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 ~/ Y' e5 d0 m- u$ S* \Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 F$ c" G! Q& w( E1 P, shelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
* s" O" O1 _, ?1 ^, b& fon an equal playing field.". L: J. i# K3 \% @1 m- g
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' F' Y9 c3 R/ f$ X- h! @2 O; |
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign5 H% I" v* B4 [
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* Z( L4 x6 q( F* f, b. W$ H
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An6 \3 J! ~: d' H, m6 U. |
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- ~; g1 {* F2 VChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& a: r% U* f! g; e( [institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! l) ~7 I2 L; o7 x" Cgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; K0 W4 |) F' L4 ?# X! ^& M4 }: adeciding whether to take the class., c1 r/ D, T$ D; R
4 I+ \( d2 o3 l$ Y* F1 |" ["If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
0 j! |0 F9 O* `told her daughter. N8 e3 [/ i- k. J' J! }( I/ k, z
Y* \3 ~: r ^7 G5 W/ PSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are1 f6 P) a0 |+ p ]5 S
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
3 ]( N" T, I- ?: j+ b0 s# c, V& Qoccasional frustration.
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! k- F% k3 ]+ r9 V5 f"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, h7 G/ D" ^: Frecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 ] Y2 T* ]. m6 r
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
* L& \% @1 w( n$ S# p8 YChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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1 m1 P# Z- Z7 Z1 y, C+ F"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul- R$ E; Z+ C' Y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- n. `+ _! G* Y2 {; Z
as many languages as I can."/ D8 ^. t- V& {: _: s
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ p) G$ g. ~5 L
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ w. I6 ?& k8 M# @
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 `3 v2 ~6 D, `6 |7 V- B* Vthat," Ms. Freire said.! u: z& L4 w+ M, ^2 S q0 @
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program5 V0 v) u& W F" a
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each+ U! W' e4 Y2 i A, b9 V6 X
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 J$ {; \2 o5 s" k7 Itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 v( ^" E! ~# K, q
room.! J! @! B: X5 N2 ~: T
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
/ p7 X' q3 D! T/ U, \4 [; u' zChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- ~( ?4 M7 a* Y, h Z$ jcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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4 E, v, J5 T" v"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ d" l) ]* t n/ S" ^& V" w
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
# n1 r- P; E& P' L9 {said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia% ~, a5 N1 P8 Y3 j5 p' @( {
Society in New York.! B5 ^) b+ T4 Q; R' V5 s' r* i H* N
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
. F5 B, B# R, ?% M6 L7 ~7 k+ t4 [Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from$ ~7 V1 p, b1 ~, T% m: h
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 m/ K% G, w: D0 H3 w# A
% Z% b" k! S* {: G3 J"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
2 e) W- @- N, [5 @- K. a' n$ L8 Hown."
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5 G/ W0 V) A* [Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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