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October 15, 2005* i& c# i+ r% [( o3 t
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ P" U2 H( u9 W' W# e3 c8 o- R+ I- h
0 k4 h$ G2 u5 {+ M8 K- h3 TBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 Y V0 b- y# N* ?! l) V6 r5 e
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. |! i, K6 w' a( B. a" W
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ o3 u0 T/ A+ B5 ?7 \( F7 t. g+ U
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 i R9 M! a* S adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) n; f0 f% l$ ]0 h& P6 `4 vflag hang from the wall.6 f& {- k$ L5 F u
' \8 V9 i1 p' SOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" ~5 N7 j- n( o1 U+ b
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
, X1 d q! v% d* m5 r7 upracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 h% ]5 Q% h @- l
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( K# j2 \+ x5 D( `7 L# hare already choosing it over Spanish.
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! u/ b2 }% r: m"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal2 b4 ~- Y: s) ]3 X4 ~( y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city. G3 ^9 K1 p/ w* E9 R& ]& k
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 A: J/ h- P* `3 r& M! [, }7 Hschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. \$ l N! s8 M; Y! \3 Lto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: O( z7 U6 ~) a( C0 A3 L* q
one of its most difficult to learn.0 F& K! F2 D4 I0 J; g" q2 s' q
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to1 r, d; F" d) @, S% b! L. x
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) o3 _4 t% X) c' p
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
( v3 a# z- O) d( W/ iLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of' ] A1 o f7 C- p
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
( O- H5 b2 w( F1 D, y0 X- QChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to M8 k2 p- @# m
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.& ^' u; k3 u! ]1 T3 S1 A3 `
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
# G8 @! m8 R6 c6 ?( l# JChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ |% w" Y9 p2 P# ^+ N. Y" s
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! d+ G u) k1 A* v' o$ ~% J. @
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ C7 Q4 E& [! x$ W* R0 c# Q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director/ m2 o8 ]* ^8 ?9 R
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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; @$ s: e; T. |+ ^* f"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: a: Z$ b. S6 A
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
9 e5 ~/ c3 l" \% {+ }Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# I' t- H% w- G' e: t" R
can." ; ^& B9 M" u9 u! e& e% K
' E' c9 T: m" a! \2 QThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
7 L1 c, w. {% i& ]; h4 {/ Velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 U% C% e1 e! d" D
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language- W' j/ ^* j6 G* a* y2 h% A7 d% U4 S% u
Institute in Washington.+ d2 T$ r) B0 J% S3 R6 h4 k% ?$ }# f# x
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; Y" p6 }+ Q$ G. y% f7 l9 Paren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
& A5 g8 q0 L" F, tMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
( ~) }( o' l6 F0 i4 w; Alongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be/ X0 p8 H8 Z5 ~! @8 d& E. A
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
* w" b' Z; s+ d; u7 uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" M3 _# h. l: A) B, u' X
/ w* Z6 K8 f3 p/ sUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 I! Y2 I0 ^, @9 Q) T' p/ y! F. }secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in" k3 ]0 Y# `& k, `! F& m' G3 u8 o6 Y
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of8 Y+ l2 z* g4 ^2 n6 g) f# v7 G
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 ~. Q1 y" ^3 S* R; eon weekends.7 E7 H7 \0 r& L9 {3 o" R4 |1 B
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# p) [% K7 R1 ^* W% T
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
. ^5 y/ x9 B. p7 bstudents who are not of Chinese descent.$ X0 m. c) U3 S3 E4 Y% G- X' _8 t! M
' T* u+ J3 m8 SMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 s6 C- a% z/ q; W! `# n" i
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
/ J# c% j. d, t, C% m9 icompetition. & a/ C `! p7 R4 `; t
% O% f4 j$ C$ M; T2 _$ J- r"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
* E ]( x& P/ e2 B% L9 ~$ bsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."0 C" G8 {7 W+ q* @2 M
' q& }* w# |0 v: @From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# j7 R7 A; t6 \) e! n' ?5 D
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
+ ?' C& U# ^% e$ D9 l. T$ qschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 c8 T. e5 a9 }7 z* j- nkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
* H6 V* G- a: ~/ M7 Jwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# [) ~/ @0 A. N* x
the school system last year.0 i, O/ O: X6 G" ^
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ {7 v$ t9 W- [, Q$ {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
! f' ^1 [4 `1 B# dclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 G" Y% D$ J1 Y( h* UChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! l4 A- H3 E4 ^; C$ s0 j
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
2 Y: v3 s/ ?, P0 N/ won an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% j, F' G& F2 mclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign* [* I% N" M, J9 [: Z0 i* k% v! s
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
, h1 \) }! b% W% P$ w* AChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: t4 X0 l/ e6 Z9 l1 s- Y
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 X! T2 }; z% z8 Z& [5 d
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* R* {# ^0 W$ ]4 o2 d" B& {% e
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 _9 l* P. f g& z& @( G+ xgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) D5 v+ h' |6 v6 C0 d5 \/ S% p
deciding whether to take the class.2 ^: H% y4 `0 l I. w
" r$ m S$ q, V; O* k"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. l1 Y1 r; b7 Q* ^told her daughter.% |. }; p) I0 N2 X! b4 d
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite% f# D# j* l {. Z
class.. C; e; Q; h7 M7 _/ J8 u1 R2 m
7 g# l6 m+ Y& b) ^0 QAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: i( c, K$ n" n3 k7 F; l/ e. l
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without& k* y. D3 M. Y/ a9 l
occasional frustration.; T Y! G- F- S6 f
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. E) W( d* I% D; J* B, ]$ ?: T4 ? yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 `/ v: j3 S$ z( K$ k
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with! S5 n) `/ a( K6 y8 a. @
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( C: W) O- s* k: h
& z9 \+ d: V) V"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 H) {9 l; n1 I4 y3 ?! K% B @/ |
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn# G8 l, L# R+ L$ b
as many languages as I can."7 d1 \) f* c9 _- [, t: W) V" z6 H4 E
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- U7 \. ~' e i5 b# |& askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 a: H3 X9 w& y5 Z. X; O7 P
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
' t) z6 m+ [. I- g6 Wthat," Ms. Freire said.
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/ O* U/ W3 ~" G. ^+ l OMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
1 x h' r8 G3 `, W4 jhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) H0 R( z% R$ O6 \
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking, b ?8 o' B( A: t
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make; F& P5 ?. [ T5 w: x# q
room.0 V* y2 L# q* k. q: U/ N
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer: @: y1 C! D1 t5 ?5 W; v& u- H8 S' x9 O. Z
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
# r. k6 T, X0 ?9 J8 pcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ E% d8 Z- t; l) a0 ~5 |$ Q/ R
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ ^. g: t( c* s# F
because of that missing certification," he said.
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$ N* C% Y8 e/ i |The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
7 Q5 N5 A) _* a: ^& ?9 qsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
G% e l( J/ i# vSociety in New York.
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2 q/ H" n" |3 M3 T/ KSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the1 [4 G V# W" V+ _: v6 x( t
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from* U) w# Y% c U* s0 O0 o( I
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
& C, D8 \" _! ]. {: xown."
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0 j' S. J8 S3 T2 ]9 [Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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