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October 15, 2005
# u, G, n v, i2 D+ _, Q, @Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
8 B" S. w2 S# P* R: T" @; F$ y0 [# D5 ?3 I, S
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
: }$ I: r% i" K6 {) r1 n3 z8 l, b& n" O6 |- M* f( }7 x
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) L. @3 @1 w% d* l! a* XUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
- t7 p* s$ @3 _+ M: qSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas6 r# W! l% z' `/ G7 b
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese0 \5 n+ @( t# [7 K
flag hang from the wall.( k# _, Y# m# B
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one1 ^, ]3 L) q' f! D& [$ v
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
c& X, a; Z% Ipracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; ?; I4 ^ u# E
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 H( o6 y% D/ w- Q' e/ r$ {are already choosing it over Spanish.7 ^3 Y- y# f b' \% ]! b. C
4 `2 z# g1 B0 f"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
' q; O0 T. \* ^& Vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& b: A; ^5 X( @8 |5 g/ N% ?offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ R! G$ x( ^6 V1 m' [0 Nschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) O' E8 k$ p o4 s: ^to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" u& }4 T( _( z% N8 a. Y
one of its most difficult to learn.
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. z! M6 r V! l% p, m; sLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to" L. t1 x, g2 O+ h# l! P
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) w: y6 J1 A% S: O4 V" N0 j) Qstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 P& h+ l0 K# A6 tLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of) C% I7 A8 {6 H8 F
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on) w7 \+ o. {8 T6 f* b( t
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 _ [' @ ]: h: ?3 N" M
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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! \. z5 v# H o* xAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 g2 _" [' E( G: S, o8 N
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
2 M" O* H% Z9 astarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
! b. N# P# V. F/ p# Jdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ M9 ~& N7 R3 K+ Y
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" \/ U N+ |' q# _# I$ t
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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8 N) L/ e; U1 q, }, f9 E: H"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 s6 ]2 P1 y( f7 Q" u2 M4 Xspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 ]0 l* J+ m/ w2 P! N# K' C
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
; b: k* A5 r! _& @8 x6 W- ecan."
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: d6 m0 X8 G" {, ~The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from2 X) v9 ]' f; s6 I- N3 `
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
+ [5 A! y$ }( C5 Ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language0 K; e* W9 v! I/ }/ y5 S0 q2 L
Institute in Washington.; c( H( ?! O6 v' ^3 x
7 n' V, J$ F8 z' z, j"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 ]& J- y2 X7 l+ z6 {- c
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
) y' x0 k9 Y$ V* K; F9 b# e0 @8 SMcGinnis said.
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7 x: T: O, ^1 o; ]2 P5 [6 K"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
& `9 e/ R& h6 n0 Blongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( N3 \3 t6 w- ]
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. u- G, V8 Q" M
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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6 D1 R; B! M# Q( M3 V# X3 E! qUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
: i6 }6 ^4 v& _* Y1 |secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) A- q# i5 p# ]$ t$ Y( t$ scities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
& `* w4 P; o5 H% z1 [! fChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or Z! e+ f2 h2 z- u' m
on weekends., x" o( y6 {2 W4 e" Y
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( k# ?) ]4 `' Z- R6 e
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
9 c* h/ e) j: n7 Estudents who are not of Chinese descent.- ^4 J" a) r5 ?* ~. T! q" a8 X
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
. Q1 `5 r* r. \proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ P8 C" T4 z) t& [. W
competition. , N" S8 v/ ?/ W' K" w* J
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 J- S7 c; K: Z V, _
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 K* i7 M! s8 call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 e1 P% `$ V. H! ^2 [. D; Kschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
% \# w* Z0 j" qkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, k7 d0 N- z" p" }6 Owho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
% k6 O5 r" s1 T/ a1 b! Othe school system last year., |/ W+ r r9 w
: k6 ]- ]" c: ]( S5 F% AThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this3 ?( _' r% w+ U5 J: A0 l! g
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 `* u# a! v$ V
+ @- V0 k( u: m3 q) h1 O2 l0 k# B"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 T/ b" ~1 k' [, ^3 V$ cclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago( t1 W* ]' {" s; K
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to; p& o6 d" d2 x* L Z/ f& h: q
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 s3 `1 Q9 B& c8 G/ F, J
on an equal playing field."# ~% I m& _' B7 [/ |7 w
# n/ z! [' Z) `/ q8 d$ }5 Y4 SSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
+ \% U% `1 |. `classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign+ k/ W t7 H8 } y- J! I0 e' A1 B( f
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 ]) r, l1 I* d2 F' f$ o" P1 x& [
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An9 k: i5 q, U# b; f, {
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ d; s( y) s1 }Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
' ~) E% B, F( `1 k; J( Tinstitute says., a* n, k5 X* s. p* n( h9 Q' d# F
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
' j. L( B7 ]" n2 B% r8 K" W- Mgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. r8 O( C, S3 g; ]
deciding whether to take the class.
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O; E5 k1 u$ A% ]0 A$ A"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she6 A; m, s/ j+ X, z6 c# O
told her daughter.) g' d. Q) W) q) {. |
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite* `8 H: s' [- S
class.
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( A+ q* s5 j- S" f6 t' oAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are7 z, i6 D, y t* I$ {+ T6 W$ T
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without+ v. f: J$ v- X2 X# F
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' t. @2 X5 T; r6 l erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he& w) o3 L9 D6 D
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 S) C4 {) {" x) `1 d3 [7 `" uChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.2 z. C; B1 X/ n
0 G# y |! e: S" t# H4 |9 f& a1 N# d' Z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul5 @9 H# d& w t- G/ `
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 E4 G* D A+ C$ Y* X' m8 jas many languages as I can."2 _0 H1 I3 l' n4 S) R4 h% M( B
: ^6 T) r$ d7 O; QAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the" h: e: O- V7 d: G
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. K- N |; P' X6 U6 b8 K& k4 }market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 W0 r4 q0 w% `. N( ^8 @" _( Bthat," Ms. Freire said., r* B3 P; g# d1 m
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program; M3 g# ^1 B9 a: v% ?) }8 K. K
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
# L. K1 Y1 i; X1 Y/ Aschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking4 l$ ~+ Y% c7 y8 ]" w' u0 Y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make( z& _7 C. w7 B
room.
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; r# s0 S* p. j& \2 x3 t: ^# WChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
0 {! q0 M, B7 F( o9 ~Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American% ]& z" Q8 i' r) G# n e5 S
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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2 e5 k* V6 ~( H' Y# q' J! {"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
! }: i3 I5 m. [5 zbecause of that missing certification," he said.9 X1 z5 g) s* V; r, j0 h7 R5 X" a ]
4 m3 S6 v! _) m: o. R2 tThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,% H' f( P+ T- U, b' [8 G
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) Y! O! r2 x! z7 S: [0 @Society in New York.
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& D j$ q& D& a: b7 vSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' J. f/ ~% N$ {4 P1 c: g0 @Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 U5 y( |+ d v% ~
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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/ @* {0 t$ b: |$ k% c; m9 B5 `9 L( K"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, k4 M9 `. E! }- u ?- f9 J% A
own."# k V* m9 ~: T( Z _. V
: h1 v9 `& J+ ~+ rCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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