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October 15, 20056 v# R/ p. o# l R( Y% m" M$ B
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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, {5 H" P, L8 E# p$ O2 eBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the: W) t2 q5 H: q! a
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary* e' w, M2 W( d( z' n
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 S5 j: ?9 m4 T" K6 x9 z1 Rdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese' I& W. T- y, m6 y
flag hang from the wall.
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* u( h# S; V* _- fOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! {' \! V9 H, c9 T% S; L
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' L! y8 X k6 w. I$ T
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, A' D6 U, k9 x. r/ I1 C
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students) ~( U5 l. ~& {' z- [
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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( Z6 l8 `2 G% j8 b"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal D- P3 w" ?' @: u
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
, f1 v3 e h" R$ K6 O9 ]offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' y& w( J! A" e6 X+ Aschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
* {7 I. p2 r/ y5 a6 _6 B) Zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
# v! ]% S0 |6 R$ [; [ v/ a( Vone of its most difficult to learn.3 @: l9 _' u5 S; T
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 |7 h& O6 @0 N3 r" b2 |public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 h# R* W% L! N! X: r4 lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.9 K& M: [% K: O4 n
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- N$ l! {4 |* Y) NTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; e8 S6 `4 N) h) K' S$ A# M: V6 jChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to4 i. i9 y2 C; I/ X& w1 R7 I
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 D* K/ r5 t- M. D2 r
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
+ d1 M5 h6 X- \# KChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) Q' S% r) V# @/ h% r9 G+ u$ I
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to- R7 L# y+ U' d
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
8 W5 M3 n2 ?6 m& _curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
E% X* R9 P! O/ I2 ]: [% e9 M |% ~of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- X- [ p# y" c; q C& Z4 v
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of6 k: c3 F! s: d/ x
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
6 R% c3 N$ W# f8 B9 c# GConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
& b( v y) Z; }8 O& b {2 Fcan." 4 I) k7 z. K! H& A% Y3 E
! i! f) h8 @/ cThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 x( o7 H2 I/ T" J- d" y4 M% v& Nelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 105 E4 j( T2 l& j/ y
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
2 s5 O! K6 I9 H+ T) C6 f3 d! O8 oInstitute in Washington.8 e" @: E1 `% N, d
3 w2 M4 N$ ]3 E7 ]0 ^"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; r% j" X" A; e/ Z* A# H A' Haren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.1 N; N1 J# K# @! K9 q* g6 U7 e& @
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical( u; z0 j. n" V/ T4 g
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be3 j2 H: j5 K8 y7 f2 A
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a2 R" H# w0 N. H
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 @6 Q9 M8 [ A( `& {+ x; G
+ L: Y& A# g: I4 xUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and- z: v$ z3 u3 U, s) p
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 h* J2 G# X3 h. E$ rcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of' ?& c0 ^7 K1 u/ Q9 N8 n
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or+ w$ B) T+ a" G( g
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public- J Q) K( t) b: \
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 w' J# P% }( A7 G1 }students who are not of Chinese descent.% m5 Y9 x! m, x. }* s I; D( F5 g
2 Q0 {& [5 a$ P ? \Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said3 L* R% }5 C M5 D4 C2 F
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: | V0 g2 H8 x% w
competition.
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. |, o5 X/ M4 C0 }5 W$ Q$ F"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
+ q0 a" N% {( Lsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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4 C1 n0 d" s$ W d$ t& [( cFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
0 {; G% D c- F7 S% yall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse f8 I8 q+ t. b. [) G
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from' I/ b: Z( j5 Y* D0 O8 G' D' b$ i5 L8 n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students% o' Z8 B0 j1 i9 ?) E2 I8 T f
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ C9 C$ D( S6 R: n
the school system last year.
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1 f, D% E/ ]. Z0 b/ L4 ?1 {The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
7 d/ X% W2 O7 U/ P0 ?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 own5 T, _* T* u. ^$ |1 D4 F
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
; N7 ?/ ~0 _& J* z% T. |Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 v% B$ u2 |0 i$ zhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
! ]! p% L& g1 }) o c3 Oon an equal playing field."
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2 b0 E! u& S: c# Y/ N1 A( ISome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
\" ~" r9 x, R8 Aclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' r) r( W4 F: ~' I1 nService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
6 v+ k# [4 A. v0 UChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An( {0 R( V% G0 Q9 K* p2 |
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" R& w) N1 O5 @) {% H( IChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the0 h& V! h. G! U1 T# @6 g ^* {3 D
institute says.0 L X+ L- z5 Q' p; e" E4 A
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& y/ { A3 {- b1 ~& Y
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
3 ^1 m/ W+ A- E* X* u9 Rdeciding whether to take the class.
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. L1 a. J9 a7 b$ ?' f"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she& M) `" M5 b+ ^ k
told her daughter.
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' x$ f7 x+ d1 j) WSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite) `# Q7 |$ N9 k4 p! z
class. K5 u; j |- W' }
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
2 R! {8 ?4 d( i5 K2 E: lstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without* U% I& X1 o! J4 \8 F/ V H
occasional frustration./ @+ X4 |# r! a$ l! I" s6 |
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 ~: i2 `* c6 _( x8 K
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.5 D ^* H' s4 h7 v, p' C6 V( V( a! b
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he% J3 I9 e' v6 w$ |6 X( c
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with; y( e3 n9 U0 N! B% A2 E2 w; ?
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.+ B8 H9 K0 P' W
0 ~, [ j( X5 }7 Q"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
, ~1 }1 i/ M1 x5 L4 c& m( t" N) rsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 o* ?, s) P: M) [& x$ b- u+ B3 G- Jas many languages as I can."7 w5 S4 t7 {+ x2 G$ X" L
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the2 I6 }% W Y i
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 q: N: U7 k" ^3 B, F
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& g) H. _8 ]# s- B& }
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, ?8 Y: }1 g! r- J4 Ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each" Q% R6 Z6 G' h) z; }
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking) i5 B8 f. c3 V
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make/ F0 y/ r6 s" M
room.0 T& y c0 P" f
+ J6 P8 l# ]; W6 C% uChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( s! { V& C( V9 zChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 O; J4 w% H: N% c' H1 g8 ]
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said./ ~, {5 x6 Y; G+ z9 T4 l* h
0 }$ E1 H& L5 j1 A- w# i4 F2 ^ H"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
3 j3 {6 _, L) y! l. ~7 P; [; w9 tbecause of that missing certification," he said.) X0 _" r. T5 t* u" _3 [1 ^$ w
7 ^- n, X% c3 P8 i$ M0 `9 P. I8 EThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 Z! v- B8 w4 M- |5 Y( Bsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" G4 V+ v2 Q3 G7 Y6 a4 rSociety in New York.
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+ W J: w+ }8 [" X' ~& |Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
% N9 ~5 M( I2 z: R/ C/ e# rChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from( o# }. }, ^' o- L2 K
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.9 o& z3 h7 H5 j- S+ ^' V9 W
. X8 y1 `* ]2 i7 M/ s7 t"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 |" j& u/ I& b* n+ l
own."
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f5 u9 H( |+ l. N0 t& oCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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