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October 15, 2005
V' G% ?9 S. b t5 w2 G7 E' }. DClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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" x$ B! |: j: O! h( ]By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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, D- t) K' D u. F" k3 dCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the; C9 ~( y7 b7 _) E
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
& X/ v( e }4 B5 K! CSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas% d u1 ]2 G8 G2 T3 j
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese/ @$ f! F0 O+ [
flag hang from the wall.
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' s* q* @6 D% t0 BOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 h% Z- x6 C( F0 fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- `' y% @; a$ ]+ A- W# _practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
/ ^; l* j+ y8 G0 ^boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 _3 q( \% d# C( C# p* e
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: n! W: v5 D$ P6 {5 v8 O2 S) f- Cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city8 Z9 }2 j) ?+ D- {1 J( I) T$ A% f: Q Z- ~
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."; n; O) C7 @. P0 _0 o( }7 d
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 ~! u: @- u3 |0 L9 n5 ~
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
# R2 d+ o2 O- ~* j( ^to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- s* j |5 L- r. hone of its most difficult to learn.
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) c& Y' @/ Z P' ]Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ O( q3 q1 C3 t: \% W9 t: M( q4 L
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students# X" d: `+ o0 {; n+ r0 T3 |: v6 w
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.5 A. h6 G& P! L8 J: v
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 x: o( O, X: _1 I' A0 x; YTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ T9 T4 j6 \' A( _0 V+ v: Q" MChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" b1 Z5 G" t5 J$ O' K% C
improve 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
& q/ }8 Q. u7 l! W: K3 \Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, {0 F, ^9 T( b0 W3 e
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! |, [# w- t7 b4 G3 x. k% c
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
8 y. d( b9 v9 R6 Vcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 h7 ]2 z# Q; Hof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
9 |& j* J; b$ pspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education3 Q$ K5 f5 g6 y6 ?% O5 n$ C# [
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we+ i `5 A/ }+ ~$ d
can." " M" a! n8 t8 b3 H
' H6 V% o5 d! F+ o2 p6 E& uThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
" X7 W' k5 `2 t6 ?8 Xelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
* ~* E( l! z3 g7 \* ~# B% J7 A; Q9 Xyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 F$ L( f; Z5 E% ~2 mInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
6 C0 A9 K- u* q A7 U9 `! C4 Xaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; w5 A. w4 ^; U( LMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% n/ |4 J3 @! jlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be6 R F+ M+ l. X& ~( j5 m
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a) m8 x" b; B- m& P
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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. u( h, {- @$ H) W& r# GUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
/ L" l4 ~+ y! N) ], v. }secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) r: ^9 z# s" P4 S( r! Jcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( j, ^" `. \8 J- }. G5 o9 zChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 m$ `# _4 b5 o& ~
on weekends.
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5 V) o" B0 [- T2 N* {The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
8 `& Q. y1 k8 d& Eschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 x. D X p! \students who are not of Chinese descent.7 h# E' s- s! B/ p
$ x- H/ M" q$ V( E2 dMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said* A2 T) V* z l; F `* Z7 ]
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the4 U( @ w8 T+ R2 `5 H+ R/ y
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 n. [& y9 Y5 ?6 Y* R1 G% xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 y& w0 S3 R( ]3 ^) p* g9 e! b9 o3 W
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 o9 L' b* b& A5 f9 [* S
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& p; N' }- p1 J2 w U6 [8 {& n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students& o" ~' \) K8 y6 e' Y7 \6 z; @
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to7 K4 y' U. y6 g0 V! w w
the school system last year.
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/ M& S" o9 [8 E* ^! r3 UThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 Q0 O. a) c; @year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
! v+ @: z* Q& Pclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago/ }3 w {" j: t8 x9 w3 z4 ~% c
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 B( Q' `( s: p
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
9 k/ O4 K! a- O% ?on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese% c5 b# `; `: K
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. x- y/ ?; A" I7 X0 ~, r% m
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 V/ y9 j# V/ R1 v. j) U+ g
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
. d: A( X# k+ xaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" P2 h# G ~1 x% t
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! a1 Q+ c: z. Q1 x( ~0 O9 ~institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# n) u) n3 o- |6 Kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" d Q& R/ J" ddeciding whether to take the class.+ ], K* K# ?1 Y) D- O
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she; ^ a, h# `% }( K1 f! [; \1 i
told her daughter.( j* D3 L- |1 x) {. }% t
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
* m: m- c L2 X- U, Uclass.
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0 g+ u3 G8 d# v$ v. `& f4 fAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
5 A2 _. Q! k% Kstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 {! t8 A6 X- I8 V R0 T$ @5 A2 b7 coccasional frustration.1 o! s# Y- |. ]& A7 b! c! e
8 r! j A# p! G"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 u- z# k% w% C6 Q& ^6 X% Rrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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; s3 L# |6 q* z. N ~1 w6 KRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- ?/ k k. G6 xtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
' b1 B- i# n8 I& }) DChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
4 f$ p$ z( b2 lsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 C. R" W3 Z1 h/ Bas many languages as I can."
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! g9 }' ^$ B; [0 cAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the0 I& g4 l: }7 A7 i# ~( u& Q
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
+ c6 [; f. u: j4 v. [# Z! J i" }& `market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like0 w# o- z& { V2 G5 Z
that," Ms. Freire said.% d5 U( E1 B) L3 O0 V
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
l/ ^9 E- A5 n- q( k4 H; ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
/ l( h \, Q N& d( \# \school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking* d' J- g; S/ B
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
. h. \1 x5 u3 d8 b5 Croom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' I/ Q$ Y. t+ l9 b c& K6 LChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American: J8 w( n$ o: t4 @; x3 b' n
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; Q; U9 l# s/ J, \1 q& r* N+ h
0 q8 R: ^% F& Q/ m8 V"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& J# H+ H9 p- p) Q" ?
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! z2 u$ [; C+ `% ]2 c4 msaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia6 R8 \5 e' Y* _. p* Y$ O
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the S7 k$ ?7 B) c4 u8 _' ~# y0 h3 }6 _
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 |# y/ ?" C2 {the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.* B: t2 q' u7 r' t' t( H
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
1 L5 u; N" L( {) h% Hown."
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% z! `/ a5 ?& D9 a* LCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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