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October 15, 2005
/ t8 d) L* p; u2 o6 F9 j. c' w& jClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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/ n' f( r% J% a' W7 j- iBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 i$ N9 v# G4 r2 ]1 H' dUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
; L' @6 S$ W3 g1 _2 N; K7 SSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ m" S2 C' m6 \( \& B
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese, \- [& m3 N6 C0 z/ [( B. }% W; d
flag hang from the wall.- w- p) G h7 I3 v
; }7 _3 s: M' ~9 dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one0 i- B' }5 @5 Z% x) G& l1 X7 C
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, n1 l% S! B* o" Y1 N
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ T4 v0 z7 {$ @- z1 {& Z1 F
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students$ l3 j- @( ~7 Q' _
are already choosing it over Spanish.* A6 x4 M% v/ E- g
9 V( T6 E' M0 W: ^* x2 Y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
- S5 W5 w& I/ @% p8 d( S vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city* D) O: b) t, H. P
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
6 t7 D' H* d; J# H" `schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 j" Z2 B" v% T; f0 D, uto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* c% Y8 \2 s/ a4 Aone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to7 y1 D0 F+ l+ g" ~
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students* y. o4 A% u% i6 u
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
) x9 C3 x {' Q) j& nLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; x& B) P- y3 @ v$ y7 O4 y
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- x# t3 W+ u2 {2 J2 o, ^: Z/ cChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
, e' @6 C: x: a) bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." z- f5 B! U! o Z$ L7 G; @) r2 N
# H( @3 C* ?$ y1 m5 |6 cAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement. t. w) p& x X, V
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 B9 o0 f" ]* ~% b2 o* ?/ T% D0 h9 }
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( _& Z. ]/ N2 n4 H& m5 u0 O
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
' q3 f/ `0 W# Pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director5 ^4 m* C- n$ k E- z; d
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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* M# ]' m' f/ |% r, p"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of0 |5 V8 o! w6 }6 D" I! T9 I4 @ m
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 [2 }3 `" D( B R/ D
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; X y$ u5 n" i. R" n
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from7 v, N8 ]4 n+ u' ?& p; x/ h
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 e( f7 a! y: @+ o; g4 V
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language+ ]* j1 O' H; `- G( d& f9 W$ [7 M
Institute in Washington.& k4 T) [2 b- R5 e4 t0 n- n* ]1 f
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 a' p1 S, U8 k5 ^
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ M {* X& X- q7 ^0 o! t9 }& N7 t: hMcGinnis said.0 }. U- ~5 o* ^0 V& F# k" f2 Y
4 n! z! Z/ d, X) Y6 i. @5 o"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* [3 ^( x3 x* B& p. ]# d* `+ Qlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
D5 H0 a1 x' p: w7 B$ v( |% e# Oready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a" o+ M' b. D% i* S
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."4 C* X: w( a. [, O: @1 K5 R
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( o$ ]: B) V" ~; n$ k$ Usecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in& U3 Y% [, \) A0 L* r/ {' H
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of+ N* a1 A* ] k+ ~& d6 G3 w& B- |
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 r; R) Q* I! E d
on weekends.
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) @3 |- n h! Q) EThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public, v& z2 t# M* I
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
1 ?' Y O& f( k! C1 Gstudents who are not of Chinese descent.- y* M5 E9 ]. K9 t4 X! C- u8 ?$ B4 I
3 U/ \ j8 |8 n- }7 {Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
- h8 f x+ N) d3 X- Y% Yproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
8 M& L- a7 H! l, l2 O# gcompetition.
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1 r r3 T, _0 A- R5 c"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley* Q) `0 a! {2 C- {2 E7 t8 P' j. \
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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2 o' R9 @5 C! }+ U+ k! xFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
! }5 q7 a" ^& U! c1 C$ c' _all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 C0 @! ?' X/ I. \' p* _# E
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from4 q: K: Q5 M# h& c
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 f1 O4 r( ^% H3 E4 mwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
! D2 F: h7 S5 L/ G6 zthe school system last year.
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6 m0 z0 _# S3 Q, A, r) X5 J. [5 f# Z! [The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
y A1 P4 ?5 Myear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.3 p9 M) T8 N7 C+ W: f
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"They have a great international experience right in their own0 k9 b x& l W; g3 a8 v8 D8 l1 `
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
_7 V; y( f2 y( x* jChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to; G: y) v$ \! @ v* I
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
$ K; x3 o; S( b- d5 Von an equal playing field."
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4 A! Y4 i2 k" u) DSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
2 |, X3 w; p" Q9 T/ }$ Kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign+ d1 ?. P/ r5 U
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
5 K5 T+ |9 J' C" cChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* D3 z* k; |3 u' u' c4 v7 Waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
! G% q. O9 T' c4 M% j8 G) z! Z z: KChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# z1 y6 M* p: a% \institute says.
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. \6 S' \" M7 cSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" v* [ U4 I0 \: G9 Q
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* {' z7 c9 i/ f9 \- d8 ]# O
deciding whether to take the class.5 X: Q* v- s3 }
+ Q) Q7 v; V V"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' z: N9 x) }% L% M7 ztold her daughter.
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3 ^ v% H5 p: }Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# [. B6 B% v/ S) k' f+ Y; ]
class.
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2 s, r S/ x0 [5 Q* [At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
; u( o$ _, v% z$ V9 r) L6 Ostudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
}( ` ^1 @+ @: Y) I) z1 H% d# ?; Foccasional frustration.$ c3 r' s! I6 O* q# ^. e6 q$ F
6 l/ t+ a) }2 ^ i; ~5 N' e"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a& n1 I5 W2 J* m" ?, q4 h7 t
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( ]) b* w* O" G6 ^1 U! t5 S- d- K G
9 [% f3 D$ Y9 WRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he0 ]) h) c& u$ {" y0 m
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
2 W; v; m) @5 \$ f7 J" [Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: @: `3 N$ s, u. O2 U) R5 j) J1 i
: S' L# D1 m* g* B( |"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul* s6 z" z# |9 u9 F$ x/ K
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn! e: }. ^! y1 j
as many languages as I can."3 R# D. Q2 g' y5 t7 ^
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 t: l( A; y6 T* D& jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. r1 L, {. C' J5 Umarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
* @0 m5 P7 q3 r% b5 c4 b# I2 f, Athat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. B* x) P' g* D! q' nhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* k: l- \3 P% E( i8 | L
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking; p2 M1 a1 Z0 a" L/ f7 ]! M/ l- Z
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 _# q6 R5 L! I7 y- u' R7 Broom.
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, d$ U& t8 @4 S: c: l' a# EChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 e v& ]0 b$ C# ^- l) W3 QChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
$ n) h4 g7 [' |* Ocollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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* P. V: U3 P8 H% D"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
! c6 V+ @. ~4 d: i1 h4 z( a5 gbecause of that missing certification," he said.7 a0 c$ R. b3 M) u0 m
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,1 C9 H" f: ?0 d4 y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia% @+ z7 N2 b. @: Y# J
Society in New York.
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' b6 j. y) G. y! y: O) ^Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
$ y! L$ n4 m" P% n& y8 d7 q3 bChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- b& \$ l: h( d8 A9 G
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.1 @9 i* l- r2 M& v+ O" r- j! e
3 z+ a5 e- B( {! D( r& M"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
; W. C' V" {, p R/ F$ H" e( `9 j. i/ cown."
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$ x0 f% \" E% U/ h& F0 ?0 @& cCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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