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October 15, 2005" V' ^5 ~( U8 s3 E
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity$ e$ t p: }1 w3 n5 x
1 d* r `* v: O7 wBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ h' K8 v/ x. ]& W5 K" u- @) U$ h6 r
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the3 w$ D/ T9 o3 D! T6 Y
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
& F! O( W5 A- V% D- |9 kSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 v- n' R: ^* Q: l3 j3 Q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 [6 Z: ~ j" `; ]6 w* i
flag hang from the wall.$ }0 E* L. e+ ]5 R, _; Y6 Z! a. A
$ U p" B u0 ?+ G* f7 ] oOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* E2 `6 q2 J$ i5 @another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
9 ]. r" a$ z2 n+ q) rpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
* L, H. x7 @& _: o. R4 S6 Z; Dboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
: n( K; M8 m% L* `) Pare already choosing it over Spanish." d& s8 ^( v+ A& B0 p$ z h
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 B& k l: p. fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city9 b8 K/ v2 J; z% |: |) b2 N
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,; m' z0 w- L8 h- F
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
2 T r3 N/ o: \5 c9 c/ kto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 D7 {( I: n) T" |5 f: Z
one of its most difficult to learn.0 G4 t" u) I- B( F$ m* S" I# ]
1 d/ ?* `6 n3 H: X: o$ s+ g, xLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
9 \, [ @& V% b8 m5 ?public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 l" O/ r% m% N5 {9 a+ m5 \studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ X( }$ l" Z" H- p1 F
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of( y' Y0 M4 J: m/ c1 J
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 _& y5 k) I) i8 C& f
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ a1 c3 @& b3 Kimprove 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 Placement1 X0 o& `6 Y3 @1 o2 c
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
: a+ N9 n! w( v5 _% E& n. I& P7 @starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to5 E" O& X/ i$ {) m5 f
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 Z5 s* r, M$ u8 r8 `6 Wcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
* s, O @; Z/ D" p0 p" H4 O& m4 Rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- }% M& }7 s* a; M/ a
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: j. f% h; H# D( K2 _4 M& j+ [( \
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ y7 O6 K) g0 G4 yConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 z4 X" M6 ^3 k8 T8 l; K# R
can."
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& i, V$ L& Z% I0 Q* Y2 c/ h$ kThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 M2 m' Q+ {) A+ Selementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( Z3 w- @5 q9 [2 J
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language ~% R# f. s ^ v5 R+ [ G
Institute in Washington.9 [+ e/ x3 Q; N' Z
7 F/ I) S6 w/ ^, e# N( v% _" J"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" N) X, n4 z# p
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 U* s: j* T, n/ X ~5 c
McGinnis said.
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. o8 ~% @" L; E/ q+ Q3 N. C/ B"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
/ j8 M2 b2 p$ _) d! t: D- ?/ Ylongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
6 F8 r" z8 \# P% m1 {% p# m( ^ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ j7 T, `) m& F, x0 ]' K' e) @challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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9 y* Y# X* q. T4 O4 z2 }: gUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' x) p3 U3 N: |
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in! F r9 H, M5 ?' r$ g+ A
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) n" Y: c/ v5 R2 yChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or# t, {$ H7 z- c$ F, f* }- [
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public2 k1 v* r, g' H, b# n
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
* \2 y( {3 z& d. Rstudents who are not of Chinese descent.7 b5 x" X0 {. ^6 K4 z, ^9 o
8 g# i+ R$ o# q1 c6 FMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; }. q) W7 Y( ~7 D' Y! |
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' t4 P5 o' x V7 s6 d3 R
competition.
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1 b; M4 c X* b% Z. z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley( r7 m( \' D6 U; c+ F C; \$ s
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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# X% s+ d0 y- Q- }- vFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( Y( ]9 h$ W' q: h) ?all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse2 e& n' ?( r0 `/ R- B/ J4 n7 I
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
7 v) t2 I9 h: {" ?2 R) Ckindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 ?( M1 {, H( [; R
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# d* I/ [3 Y4 {
the school system last year.& P V$ o& G6 {& g7 X
+ |3 P1 Y5 h9 yThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, i, J F6 S2 J4 _9 y2 D, i! h
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 w1 _( k6 K; Y
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
8 P$ h, D. t, B8 V7 Q! h6 A8 Z kclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
% _$ s3 @6 ~% C/ J# Q9 e: [4 J3 RChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to+ Z# b8 L" j$ [1 h
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
. Q _/ R' n* l/ O1 Q) J% ion an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
/ u/ K' w6 L6 m3 E9 M- D! hclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- i% P2 s% J7 i; n' U# t* QService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 n5 U1 [ |4 S, h$ r1 V) E
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An. M" L$ p, R: d T7 G9 @
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
q1 O: q# w- s/ p% UChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the3 |! b* ~! e7 B. o' m4 L5 \
institute says.- P P8 |: j' {2 {5 U
- |6 P; }2 x# f" C7 XSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
1 f" B- ]$ t ggrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
* X0 C ]0 O* o& J: }+ s+ s; Fdeciding whether to take the class.; e6 i" U- H3 P- O' O
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 S+ r. a8 X p( L3 |$ F5 ]+ vtold her daughter.1 v3 M# G: {8 H. B
& v0 Q" g' Q3 l" n4 x+ t6 x. bSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite/ z @5 O4 q7 X7 f' c @% H6 p# t
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) S( C. I. V( Pstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
) w" Y" z/ O3 F' I! D- Ioccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
|' u5 I4 p# \1 E0 Yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
$ S0 |! M5 d, ?- E9 B- Xtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with0 i- P" g- |" V! j: V' h
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
' s9 I8 J, W i3 f1 Msaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ \" n3 g* P, P: P& t8 ~/ [9 N" C
as many languages as I can."4 |$ C! p! s$ _ a& M2 ~) u- Z, R
( k, \& I3 j$ k& pAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 [# b- }1 V0 B' T! b1 v# xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" ^+ v: V# c( a3 g
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) d/ r$ g) D$ A' D- Z$ x9 O
that," Ms. Freire said.2 ^- h* D+ [1 Q |
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
5 D6 V$ i6 s4 R" _here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each+ i/ P8 t5 |+ X* j
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
6 T" N* z9 ]7 Qtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make1 i" e8 B9 q7 T% k% s& p) l0 V- |* H
room.7 B6 ~1 j: |) b( ~" p
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer: t( q- l. q& r
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% F2 }- w0 _: ecollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.& B& L3 R2 K- Q
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified+ @+ P3 a8 z% Q5 `+ z
because of that missing certification," he said." c3 J3 s$ S) M& F0 l
9 L) _6 k: ? Q" {The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
( M R/ H0 J2 @said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 g; Q/ K' ]% H, k3 X, A- S8 H( @# WSociety in New York.
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! ]* ?5 T& W& Y5 z+ RSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
! |. Z9 C3 b C& t( i* `Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
. U1 V, n3 `7 C" Hthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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0 j5 L+ [6 K9 a. j' V"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( @; ^8 {5 {* j7 ?/ |
own."
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! K( v# O# i" g' l+ L& YCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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