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October 15, 2005
( o9 B& b5 U! yClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING! O' I3 C9 A) f5 g+ d
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the# E* m4 j/ u m) F6 A: q
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 t9 d0 y* K; p& V& K
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas. G8 T9 D0 R/ Q( {/ ?3 q6 E8 q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
9 L/ |( d7 C8 B9 Gflag hang from the wall.
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& H# r5 |* @5 M P1 ^8 b/ ROne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 A5 S! o% C7 K# w% D3 a# W: P: P
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
$ f- x+ K' {1 L! upracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, s0 x& B6 T1 w# pboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# R. [9 d7 E1 ]
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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' H( g1 X. \" r# t; e6 f1 K' y0 t" R/ R"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal7 f) ?: @# c) p' ~' O, I% Z
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city2 C2 w8 y8 Q' q6 K- w w( [, @" @
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". o. @+ R' k: C0 l
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 u( o) Q. J; [# Y' ~; Cschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 V3 R; s" ^& l4 U1 N3 f8 \to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* u3 V) D- Z6 none of its most difficult to learn.4 f+ Y" d8 L3 g$ K: W+ F
+ C' I3 e# x- l6 ^* ~: r5 RLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
( b$ N# r" ?* \9 Q# _public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students1 M$ E) B! q+ {4 g
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.* ^$ I; U9 l* E; ~$ N. e3 A1 Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of+ c L$ q: Q E. g( V2 U8 \. s
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; Z, [1 O2 l' g7 h; RChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ S6 ^( [& V. ~ [$ \7 oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 ~1 w4 z4 V2 }1 n
1 R; r/ L/ q8 y/ P: H' m# }After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 F9 r* I% Z5 Q% c- fChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country: o- O9 B1 S6 P- ]: k3 w, U" \
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
/ H; F" x; h* J7 l( B- ?develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ R. [! h3 ~5 D8 i* ^curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* V" T3 o, h" s* t6 {
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.9 K" |! k3 f. H" q
& B* @. v, }: s' K- S"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 i" z6 U+ G$ {. r0 w3 S! w
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 J. `! y' W: C- ~0 T0 CConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
6 a# z0 M- I/ J3 y: r Pcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from. U# z) k; j. W5 l5 W" a9 \' K
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: }) y5 F4 k( _. h; o! M+ g1 Vyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language8 W' h9 }% |+ c4 r5 O8 g
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 m" F: U8 A) l. ~6 v& K( oaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 x( U+ G0 [+ t6 E( d f
McGinnis said.0 w3 F* }7 r' j1 d1 G! G/ Q
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical4 R& C7 r1 @- B3 S5 ^
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
# ?- {# Y9 ?& `ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a) b( r9 i0 S7 X: y, v9 X4 V: l4 G
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."6 o9 m6 [& C; J6 s" P$ i( m
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and/ N0 F# g+ j* p3 `* u4 j' Q
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) {3 t' h% t5 f: p1 Pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 ?% L$ h8 p }/ l- |
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or, B0 v5 S6 N- F* }3 ~- x+ R
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
/ F6 O, B, J& S2 b- ^5 b0 s% o cschools during the regular school day and primarily serves6 V0 c8 y: T( z% C* w# X
students who are not of Chinese descent.: ?9 s9 ?3 m2 v; ?. Y% u+ G
5 a+ K0 J; j$ n9 Y: LMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ G. y( w7 g5 N$ r) ~* C
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- v- n& e3 S7 D" J! Z$ ^2 H3 C3 zcompetition. 3 {2 q0 K* t$ P! ?$ _9 b/ l, R: r$ ?0 U4 |
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley( S) H: k% C; r. B2 z
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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4 T9 G' V0 O; ^5 X6 v6 RFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
2 j i E4 m/ v) }# Rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 w4 }* |4 U1 vschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# X7 {. \$ o6 ?$ ]# k; x9 ekindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 a( P4 u$ g) M/ O$ k1 n
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
8 T9 w9 S$ {5 ?5 _$ ]* D8 Dthe school system last year.( }2 u' a4 ?0 V2 ?6 V' Q
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 J7 Y! {; S& b. h, B2 ]
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.3 m8 k3 |6 @5 Q% F7 u
?4 d; E- [8 o3 b3 Z8 q* |"They have a great international experience right in their own+ q" N4 r' @* ]+ y8 G
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago+ O( z: W" R# W' {: M; p8 m
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ p A) }" e6 R! D5 ?help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
% \8 }# m9 O* v( s O$ @: qon an equal playing field."
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- j/ e1 y/ M1 a7 xSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
8 K9 ^0 R' r u7 \+ z1 aclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
7 [' o) D# d! I7 c0 p. s% JService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 M: w& [* R, SChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" _' J' s: r) O% `: }average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 l+ E. g; N9 E' }2 i5 ]/ W1 pChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! O# e$ M! b) ~8 G; A0 i
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth, f* T. o+ w8 w" |, o2 w% r
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 o- x2 t0 o$ Rdeciding whether to take the class." Y$ u; y/ X$ B8 [- h" {7 f/ {
5 ~! \8 m1 E; @7 t"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# J& s) l6 Q/ F
told her daughter.
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# A: M! M* O' Q& E& V6 A) Y$ LSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ }7 z% c' f* S' F
class. c/ t0 |& D. V" T w
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' ?. d( A9 `7 s, c1 Ostudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without, e3 A1 N% L. r- m) i
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
& x+ U9 ~+ G- k1 E1 Q2 ?recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.! i* _: a# C9 P' t7 r- l, ]6 D! M
- \+ G( G8 f) H9 [" A. ^Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
) b1 _) f2 O d8 B% Etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
' v# c) c% }+ ]Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.; _9 k$ u% c& l* @6 ]
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
4 b8 l2 g0 k; ^3 A, Usaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn$ s* O! l2 C W$ K* a
as many languages as I can."
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- T8 ?2 |5 Q4 c8 @1 BAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the- K+ {" H: S6 E/ C B) ^+ u+ \
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& }3 K9 U) `- {* X& _( p
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like! O* Z6 R% `2 d' y6 q- g. T
that," Ms. Freire said.' C* m" t) B h" h3 m, }- O
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) q$ l2 Z% Y' |7 u# S3 Hhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each: Q1 B; W' }* E$ F/ l6 t
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking. C2 F$ r6 ], j: y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make) V* u$ O9 Z7 C+ M3 y @
room.
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* q) ]+ U( | h. L) Z3 ~Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer: S6 C. D. A% C! ~" B6 l
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. N- W2 q+ s& x- m9 ocollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.4 S+ v. Z, H2 q8 m) h
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
0 r4 X/ y! E2 l. t6 pbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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1 p& `7 O3 F1 O0 y# iThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,- P! P) X/ O' f1 J1 X
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ n. F' ?4 X9 q! f7 ~+ M
Society in New York.- [; D3 C( \' y* E8 Z( v" S
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the1 o2 |! n$ S' f' R$ h, l ^! K. ~6 e
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
) n2 ^8 ^* p3 u# T: lthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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3 M: I' f: v2 d2 d/ I+ o* W7 r"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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; s6 i0 K4 t3 NCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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