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October 15, 2005
9 N( P+ l3 k) Q+ Z9 cClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 q' c7 K* `7 [, D: d" v
% b2 z2 J9 }2 T/ u& E8 {By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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- ^: U( w6 _+ J+ v# k3 L4 kCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- s U6 J6 K+ d, g: WUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 l+ H& ]# d( b! G4 x k
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ Z+ q( i! w# Y2 g& M6 v
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 Z' W! q: n4 C) Nflag hang from the wall.
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8 ]# O0 K, f* b6 @3 j3 @! e, xOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
# N4 k! e8 N. c& Banother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* b2 ]; N$ F- C n1 I
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ A \9 {% b$ T8 j( S
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
: \0 d$ x3 l; zare already choosing it over Spanish.
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. k' d; t- W# W& p8 i$ E! o( H7 S"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& ?- l# C$ o' l; n, K* A5 f
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 k& M4 l; i0 N/ o/ T' Ioffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# B* ?/ R! M# z8 A7 q/ R3 \
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 d+ X1 a& x3 j: M
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
0 {+ g0 R# V6 v( C/ v* H4 vto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention/ o" O9 S# D: ~- M
one of its most difficult to learn.. L8 a, g6 c; Y1 }9 o8 ?
& }! }; M" J6 h% pLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to. R( o' e! S/ o# Z$ w: b
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students* i* _: ` g& X" x" N
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.8 ]+ k/ A0 b' k. Q( G
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; |& y3 m, J1 [. ?* DTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on2 C- U4 |( V- j/ w% `# D4 j
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
/ F+ h d; N \9 x& r/ Kimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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6 c- r l% y) E4 o& T9 sAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) n; M3 F/ l/ I4 |( [6 ?5 \Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 V& ]) Y4 ?% K9 v2 P& X E
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
7 q% R! s" h) j! ^develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ \4 I ?6 e6 p P0 H; y: i& h$ @; U
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director2 }3 ^& u' H2 P0 n6 I( E' R5 w
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& ]: ^$ g5 e' d" R& h; P
r6 l; X4 Q* x0 x( M; D$ I$ ["Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of0 ?+ N( Y" i M) D
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ R% M: ^- C. x( A9 m
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# K7 }. X; B% V4 y: f( U4 a! A
can."
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6 q3 b' n* n' LThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from& N+ [7 ?% e$ v. D) [# i
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 P/ {9 X/ |3 p) `' c4 u
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language! i, S0 s O8 M' B+ b+ ^+ c- D
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages4 J* W1 o. ^1 @ H
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 d/ s4 _, q: H% g: D
McGinnis said.. G: k3 _* A6 N6 R& F
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical( x P1 d3 p2 a0 m0 ?
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ E; _* W$ x- v( W5 ]" ?9 W
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( B9 m2 t0 V+ K, o& n7 c
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
; O0 V' i: _' W6 Rsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* @: T8 ^3 b G$ [5 A3 B5 Jcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of3 E+ z# B5 r4 D( s6 z
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! j$ I! y' L) i5 w Y5 q* w
on weekends.. z& P; J+ Z7 O6 t: E! _0 x: L
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" V& p6 y/ ~6 z; s0 Y1 mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
* ~- S0 [1 ?( O1 _5 F; _+ Cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
' g7 J- i! M, e8 I) W/ Sproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ w( h% t/ H+ d2 |: V) i! B6 kcompetition. ) G6 N0 _& i8 x
8 n0 `, s8 K7 j( Y8 m: `"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley* [2 ~5 t9 b0 g" ^2 K# ]7 z# ]
said. "There will be Chinese and English."1 @5 F2 K( O& E
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
5 V2 z; ~3 U! s! Z# K! l" lall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse {6 g4 r! ~+ x* w2 Q' m S
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from) H4 j& {7 {2 x5 |
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
4 W3 o! {( ?, E! j6 P. \. fwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
9 T5 M! i2 J+ A. T- |the school system last year., D; W* R( ^3 g7 y6 I- ~
$ E7 R( b+ i$ N2 B* S" @9 Z. jThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
- ]) u# V: `+ U8 c$ b% myear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.# l" h9 N% z( P( {. D, G4 q O' W h
9 ^$ P3 ~& M% X2 r w, D"They have a great international experience right in their own2 u0 [7 m# f) l; L; G0 i% @
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 a. ~+ C% L9 V, ]/ ^" N
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* p* C8 t. C2 b# g! H4 {' x0 O
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 t7 y) H! b' g7 p
on an equal playing field."
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9 D' o/ T+ f6 w! R( TSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese: P& |% R6 g% m) N$ f: _
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign5 x' l/ ]" E6 \9 v, J4 u. k( R
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- K, C9 I- Z. G( t. w5 E1 s
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An! z8 p2 H& ^5 m
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" Z& V. s$ h, ^2 y* A
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) q- t! J9 U9 y2 [' b6 C: @( }( z3 Iinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth* m# Y3 K O! l
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before+ r- s6 ~) b3 j3 }
deciding whether to take the class.' u$ H& \& j0 S; M' [- D
$ b& V/ T# ~% X"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she8 P. ? I }( \" W2 u+ [7 r
told her daughter.. ?, z7 d7 \5 D3 }2 U, E4 C: s' q
8 ?* V; ~& C' m5 J$ }Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
4 u% X1 U3 c' I3 X& W6 o& ~class.
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4 g( f! a& E7 A) @: T& G& ZAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
/ V: _' F9 U! [. m3 s! @studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without! T) I L3 c+ K4 @
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
) |+ j* g- W$ D: |2 h# O7 t7 Jrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
; J! ^7 P( {/ j9 N9 n0 {taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
; q$ ~9 i1 C1 Y/ L" [Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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+ T+ T$ k% F5 \4 ?9 Y' \9 D5 p"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 t2 \0 U' y+ ^& ]
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
) }) ], G( R, oas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the0 ~( V# A, m4 `5 p7 W# k/ U
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 l) V) p2 _8 W6 L, |7 m) V: _+ b' Emarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like! Y$ Y3 D" f/ u, ?7 O" b; R1 a) m: B
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. ?+ k8 m8 q7 f0 K3 e( V. ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
: R+ q' I0 ~2 }, w' a( q" R5 eschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
* P1 z, `; J7 N6 a8 gtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
9 ?7 P0 d. r& {5 z/ M' O) vroom.# O5 Q# S B. i( [8 s& Z
' q3 Q; R$ `7 C @$ a' U
Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
i) @$ }! K2 r' i3 i/ p& kChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 |* \! a: f. D% e+ Y
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.1 I' D* m$ J& h/ i
6 T! c' ^* h) m0 ~- \7 h"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified: X: ]# q. o( G
because of that missing certification," he said.
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0 n& ~: r, @$ L5 ]; z" g7 ZThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ `$ n8 N Z$ c4 g: h, Tsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
' Z5 ]- |0 q" R% o! jSociety in New York.1 ^5 k% [4 n; \% g
' ~4 U& e* Q3 ?/ w( TSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& o. l3 w L7 t; [$ x6 xChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, n T8 r- ], ]- D0 Wthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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1 P- O) u2 j+ G# i"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
) ]9 H6 L- r% \5 k: F8 S8 G M* Down."
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7 C% b: C3 f, x; ~7 `- z: lCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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