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October 15, 20059 R8 u2 l* V& {- p, Q
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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5 b/ V( y; D1 D! u# @By GRETCHEN RUETHLING5 b0 i; z: P- m3 v. v, o
& {5 j. a$ l$ J& Q3 |* U. Q l( i6 jCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 q8 g( Y$ D, P+ I* JUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 Z: _$ R/ r/ B" d& T, k
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas* q9 T' Q" }: D) ~" D5 ^
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) d& F3 P( X# Y2 E8 ?5 Z$ B
flag hang from the wall.8 M% m# q$ O/ }
* X; o. Z/ q" ]. c8 g2 c: xOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 M' _, T( \* E
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ W, ^$ `/ A m# a5 a; i
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
' f, k {% V" q: v" O5 ^boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students: O+ C/ j' f, L
are already choosing it over Spanish.9 D9 G+ { q! Y' e% V$ b
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
- S5 g/ p* f' q7 x/ d& tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city4 ? T% d+ c% @: n$ y ~
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: v& @- H( O; Bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. _2 n* X5 x/ l8 c# s) h2 E0 `to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 D7 u* H- X# d( _. Xone of its most difficult to learn." E/ n! b R6 x& H
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to* |4 c Y. T. y" i+ X: C6 g
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: f9 O( o% [6 J7 ~: e' ?$ Gstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: r1 t$ P8 V; M+ G' BLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 }4 |" R+ W. ^- t6 C y# M1 R. ATennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
* B# v3 n5 b, cChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 H( L: C7 |* L- Rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
2 h$ V/ K6 J3 C% c2 k. x$ ^9 ~) cChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
1 H+ _& C% C+ {4 K ystarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 S: G, j$ z5 q6 m; u! N/ v6 {8 ?
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing" O0 v# F& ]' M8 b
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& M" P! T+ ^/ c- J; V6 C( Kof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of( j, K" ^1 ^; X' S: q. H- q; Z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education+ z! ]& l# s" i9 f8 G( B
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
, Z9 G) Z3 _ j( W8 I1 F$ W9 v4 ~can." + I/ t* j. c3 ^$ ~
9 s! }% C$ z+ Z2 x& V: JThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from' |* L. s) y( [! M) w S+ e
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 N/ i4 M8 v* L$ {( O& T1 K
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language0 Z E$ w" n0 Y; W3 I9 a3 l( n
Institute in Washington.( k" Z* c! q4 g: ^ p! }) W' k8 T0 K
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages, B/ l9 {/ J+ I6 [2 q, W6 K/ C% a. T
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
' s& S# S* }& _ o2 p# qMcGinnis said.
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; N9 Q# \6 C% f" j' L"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' l' @) c- }# L+ W! E/ m& f/ N
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: z1 M) J) F& b! B0 fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. d2 Q" I8 Q4 t' F" T) p
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") k9 P+ ]" e) b2 _3 C( \+ A
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% V2 J5 K) T+ u+ K2 m; J2 d
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
6 Y/ x3 [( Q- R) z/ l" _cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 Z4 h( z# `* L# ?Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or7 [" Y, H K1 ?& B
on weekends.7 w! `& m* T: ]7 l% B
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: M, c! |2 I# A- L2 ?6 v2 |
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves5 i/ q) ]6 h' @4 d$ f
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 Z3 M& L8 r: ]. g$ J) R7 y( P
$ ]& Q1 ~' e7 l, n2 t4 hMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said, ~, O7 G4 F9 i- L% C
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the" G* `) ]) \% Y9 B# _ h' w
competition.
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! V3 W" V2 Z$ f% `9 a5 U/ l# g"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
/ C2 ?5 Q0 n0 S5 N4 J3 ksaid. "There will be Chinese and English."+ T! L- k [3 F8 a+ W% [
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. ^' X; j2 v, j% @* a/ f/ V
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 o5 F9 C9 y# |+ y" c0 l- W" S- jschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; h6 ~/ K) P$ {, H7 f
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students( b7 |- s& n& c: X* S8 h& H6 y' K
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to2 q; `% f. J8 _
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
+ u: D7 u: S' K& d' Z* `year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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4 F9 b% R4 C y* H0 M"They have a great international experience right in their own
7 @. b7 I& \. K" R+ m- H, Nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* k4 A" L1 C! v
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 r4 E+ a, _) F
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
t. x. {# r. H' f1 F1 Hon an equal playing field."' r( N5 d! `2 v5 d" S7 j2 x
5 Y" p' D! l& s& w9 d, A. H* oSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
' `* Q. Z. L: K* ]classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 R3 q0 z& }* z+ ~0 W. wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks! G* v& h$ d* _ B8 R/ N
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 H5 p1 l9 ]/ W2 |average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% a" A0 E/ b1 hChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# e! J* @6 [ [* R* R
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
) T8 L" Y& p) L- pgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before0 O8 Q _0 Q, q* n! M
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
, N. u2 h6 e5 k4 s. ztold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 L" h" S* H0 Aclass.0 l( G; M( l- U1 }! j M' t( s1 d4 ]
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. N: v( ~; E7 o- N: ]# Bstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
2 w, q: k7 X5 `occasional frustration.* b* ^0 V) w/ ^
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! K; L# _" L5 V3 V; i: }recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 @0 |# p% s+ ^; ]
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- {( f' j5 E9 Q. v6 T, ]5 ]! GChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 x% h, k) w h) E* c6 A0 M, i
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 b! \1 T4 j) d, B* L, Y% v9 ~# Uas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the( @' Q( B1 `& s! e8 s
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job( j6 {2 M: w5 z: r- T/ Q
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: `+ B9 Q; S8 F# P, qthat," Ms. Freire said./ o* R3 D* t' D! o3 I9 U
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program/ f7 g$ @% G& T! m
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 G" w& y$ Q, \5 Z5 q; |
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
6 e% k4 B/ x3 o! C3 Z; @time from classes like physical education, music and art to make h" [2 E k4 Y
room.
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, T- h! o, Y1 ?% W+ xChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 r; r% h& X. ?1 l; H PChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American ]0 d9 i, L4 O8 x# D; g X( \
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.2 ]6 z, v# s% `
5 p0 j5 E7 l3 t% b/ h3 s"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified8 m- N3 a! ]6 Z- E R# I
because of that missing certification," he said.
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$ G) b8 t. J1 I% k( p$ AThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
$ C5 K4 r3 H3 j, Osaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, W! }9 M. |" r% [8 f
Society in New York., B) G& w8 D$ P! ] F
# P. J% r, N$ [4 k' fSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& f2 [& f, o8 X9 o
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from. M- t+ \& f# R+ y( G8 z
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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% C9 ?2 V9 G9 B, H9 |"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
2 ~% }, V( A1 p7 H1 M, b/ Down."5 {6 c% A* ~1 ] w( A; r5 L/ R4 `
2 w3 U* G% k Q; ` CCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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