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October 15, 2005) {! x/ s( \5 e4 i2 |) m X
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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$ ~7 M7 {+ I8 K/ ?0 o: KBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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# h9 ?! |: [* {" h* zCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the4 o% M8 m2 v5 Z9 G4 H' S' b3 \
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ m. s7 \% L" \ Y9 B0 G8 [& c
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
, o6 a. `5 ^7 _4 r; o! l% [* adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 h( l5 i" H, ~( P
flag hang from the wall.
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0 v" H1 M) n4 t- ~3 f" t7 g" i4 dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
8 N' v: k. _5 C& yanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% Z0 o4 F: H6 m, v7 H# Hpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker2 w5 N M( c9 Q3 H7 o
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students; I: I2 g, D5 R5 r9 `' r
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* t+ ~- g3 `( H7 s- g2 yat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 Q R) y0 w# W+ V7 M; k4 U' Ioffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") s W5 l$ @" p2 x) c3 ~
" l, T" q8 o" K$ a" `With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 s6 ]! Z0 s+ |5 N( A$ ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings+ [0 T+ T! m' ~9 W% p! k
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
P# Y. A; M. s3 }8 b6 a7 `5 V0 lone of its most difficult to learn.3 w# I V- H* m1 ^1 L% @7 d( d, q
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- A9 w2 ~9 A8 m" zpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students j; n2 ^- b h7 W
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.- G8 v0 m8 A) u4 p4 n8 X
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% L( z! {2 k5 x+ yTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
9 U. ]. P/ |! @) f( u6 L" CChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
4 T3 S5 y0 j5 T6 ~' q5 Jimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.1 f% x( S" _; [! p. W
% K+ h `9 a% T) M5 ]( RAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
1 C- S9 J C* g, _% e V5 d$ x8 sChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 \; O" C& H4 d7 u) g' Q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 X$ [% z7 K* R( L$ S+ Hdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ E0 F2 {( N& G) }- h0 W z
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director8 K% j* b: ]% j" U' z) R. t
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
, y! o% G: T! R3 x: m5 |2 Dspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education7 [. c s: ~+ g7 @$ \0 Z
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" S/ O% B# x1 r w& `
can."
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" V' ?! B6 O9 y# X) `2 mThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
( I* o2 z. |, w" U( q* J1 selementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ ~5 e( D3 M; V% syears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* y! D# s- o6 y& u; S7 PInstitute in Washington.
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l- M+ Q! V( f2 B1 {"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" w8 k4 N( `* A) R- \/ R
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
2 N) W0 ~% q; E/ A1 LMcGinnis said.
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- n% ~7 ^* N' Q5 X; d"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 i; H, m$ w8 i# S9 i- h5 v0 Ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
" E$ H) v! G0 l: Z2 G) |ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% t( {) e9 n- _; Q$ l' Kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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7 s5 p' l, N' D" E6 fUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and" J0 E: D& H) h2 W3 N; n
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
' ]6 f% G8 e# icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
, m+ b0 {4 T) t6 R# ?& q3 jChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
, M* a q+ H' C! Zon weekends.* \2 M% ~. {, R* X. R: l
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public% X k6 _9 N( R$ w; F+ Z$ r
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
: L( V1 x6 I r0 c {7 j1 Vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.( |: h6 Z: {8 {# }0 y a( W
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
1 ~+ w2 X3 i' j: y" | rproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
d+ w7 B1 ^! u& \2 Q7 Ycompetition. # d& q) x ^5 x" r: G0 z# r, d
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
3 Q8 O7 w. T+ G: y$ q: D! A2 Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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# v" U' V0 A/ {0 o0 j% cFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly0 v! O, E+ f0 k
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% D5 R$ c( z) I- W0 q! D) v* q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
5 S# Z/ e# S3 _) V% ]" kkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: c$ ?3 x' y( ^8 i. R
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
4 B6 K) I, M) Q; J; Gthe school system last year.5 o; P* Z0 _) \2 S; ?+ A" x5 z- ^
4 d+ V5 C- k" F/ ^9 X6 o Q: w) ]4 EThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. m6 o2 Q. D8 j% G9 L) \: A lyear 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 own
7 ^) P4 z z9 |/ }# A- Pclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" L d& Y7 }* [9 V( }0 m+ }' d: c
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
6 m- v L7 V. ^# o5 Z) }) Ohelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
* V, D$ ?+ q0 x: t6 g' {% u) R0 Qon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese p( Z1 R; C8 ~' }% b& H
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign* A2 i" @) H7 a* n2 _2 t$ I+ k
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
3 K0 G k1 J8 Y8 G& WChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An4 L" T/ q/ ^/ A5 [1 O$ f( W
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
3 u7 b* w( \" U% yChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! g" Z$ [! b- b' U( M# Q
institute says.9 n2 h* r, h: h$ b% X* E
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
7 n( f0 a1 E$ Q3 f7 Ygrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before% ^# m4 C0 S2 ]' i: r G+ w, m6 p1 S
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 T* X0 Q1 R. q
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& D; ?( y6 ^( X! {5 u% A
class.
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X) e& v) |6 I, pAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
, d# M3 N! [' n& p( lstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without% k: q; q! Z0 @. G& V7 J! H: O
occasional frustration.: E% y& _% ]4 }9 C+ @ {1 n; Q
* `4 F1 H2 n$ k L" X"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
3 r- {6 Q4 Y" J0 N6 U/ |* `' crecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
. ~$ D3 T: I3 e( B! L. t$ P4 vtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
: f8 @; v X% ?+ I1 L3 f* g2 ]. i4 lChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul @+ b5 [8 H( |, x6 W+ f! }
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 Z ^0 [0 g- N* }( J9 K) r2 N5 Aas many languages as I can."
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/ ~# o) J) h9 m9 Y' FAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" ]2 ]& C% U. a9 Z! @skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* l: Y1 Q0 x4 l/ Rmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like* W& I1 ^4 n! i3 l" f
that," Ms. Freire said.$ y( {1 A% l/ T3 {, s7 D: n
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, W; y& j) i" W5 K* Bhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; N9 u0 T) A; `, `2 U( l7 o
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
1 T& z- u- ]* e7 p: _9 Z2 R. {time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 o; q* z1 G8 S" Groom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
. L2 r1 B- W; D. F3 r4 s% MChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
; g2 C' W1 Z! y0 j. ^& Fcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.# I( y, n6 ^/ L3 h4 t, G/ p
- v2 R1 a$ c1 l2 r! H* I: l5 o9 }"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified( D' P1 b& M) {& }; ]# C) ?
because of that missing certification," he said.
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8 k) e5 m& F/ p& A. G9 YThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,% p/ s. U# W$ m& w
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia& ~& w4 c, c8 }, z4 j1 v; r
Society in New York.
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: L% Q4 h0 @% k# G. s! ]7 w4 MSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
- |- C; D2 m: P8 _- W3 oChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" w, m$ u8 }3 b2 q4 M; m2 a# a
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., S0 F/ S9 ], m& O S; T7 P, Z" V( J
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
% R. U$ E: ^( m1 I; Z" C1 rown."
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) J; R- w8 s) ?/ K- g- Q7 W: k8 V2 kCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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