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October 15, 20051 J* C/ M) c9 o" {
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: _( N0 D; V' Z8 r' _& F; I4 F
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ m& e' @4 S8 C; F' y
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
" S- f r( C% w' X: m0 F3 Z# U5 r2 wSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 v0 j+ W6 K! Y/ J
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese1 F5 I3 E* O( n* q6 c
flag hang from the wall.3 j: K. H D( s
) C9 r0 z. P. V# W* F4 IOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ \9 ^$ B: g: g, X& }
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' x1 y R/ e# }3 G6 T
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
3 Y! S( Z0 o& { i3 b% }boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students5 A( T( w1 {% X# n9 x6 ?% W
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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$ U- ^$ ^5 t6 T"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
. c! g6 [8 u$ }4 Mat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, Y" {: `; \5 K& S' w8 @
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". Z' H6 I8 e+ s8 V! s6 D2 j2 e! {
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,; M% [" j$ B6 ]# l5 u7 G
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& e" G' P) L' H& z& Mto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention/ ^! O; }$ \+ E5 h! C2 l$ R; v
one of its most difficult to learn.2 A+ B+ r1 h: `- Q3 L) L. s
. M2 |! a; U( d+ M5 l! F. yLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 x/ \8 d" D6 h& Wpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& F0 z: H) R* S
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 W4 Z( D" a5 I6 C
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ G4 A: c( w) q7 [+ {8 _, j4 E
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on, U0 U. ^6 L; e9 P1 v0 U3 H
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to- G) f. g I) M, A( c" ~
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
4 L E" g* z9 v6 ZChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 \& M9 _$ i& ~" Y n0 ?starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
h1 [6 n8 w( S2 n) K5 c9 A$ P. ?$ ?develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# Z; p8 j6 H8 h9 {! R
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
y6 \8 s! w) ]; s) ]% @( n0 Iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 d7 E" L% i5 Q k8 @* m5 K
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
$ u% k: X( m" B2 o$ GConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
$ @) n! I! ~5 J2 Ycan." , T2 J6 L+ B& X* v" g
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
1 Y( B6 v+ i a3 felementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
5 f/ t! R7 h6 V" Y( |' r6 Cyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, O# }% U' |6 T# e/ U+ o( e% GInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages/ T7 t9 n6 ^" f r3 @% N0 n" B
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.' Z; ?( i0 u4 |/ y/ n- O4 p# X4 f& _
McGinnis said., s& T( ?5 P2 }
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical8 m8 ?- O. ]% ~6 [' W
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be4 V& h0 }0 u h, ?: F l
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: ?" E6 f/ \% d# Dchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."1 t y# x2 a: |+ w
8 D9 v( S9 T9 L7 DUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and4 r+ V {( E k' [* O
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
3 C3 M2 B+ i; x6 J5 H9 Pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. d+ H6 J6 K& N/ T# z0 t2 N: T- G1 IChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
& c* e; M) E! N5 zon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
, f* l9 y9 N" ` l' ?schools during the regular school day and primarily serves# L( a0 w# u6 _9 l
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said6 N, p5 ]6 a3 k' d* E% R/ @
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ g* z; y6 Q, }0 F& O {5 ]competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
/ P$ e1 z+ R* D* d& `6 l' ysaid. "There will be Chinese and English."/ i9 b3 G- e2 B) ]8 e3 i" W
; M7 y9 Y$ M: l; _From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
+ c( v& G" J$ X; U6 \all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 f/ C8 Y1 K6 m: v4 e0 I* }& U
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 C9 |( B- R5 t" E7 B9 }- F
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: x* u! E, B1 f- O2 X4 E9 ]
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
$ }) R. Q" Q, \6 L S8 K: gthe school system last year.
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9 z6 v2 a7 q+ M5 y* SThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 e& m; S1 P9 p' A* n& e# I! p; f
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 s3 M5 i1 M1 C: ^$ l
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
7 z6 X7 t* k$ v- ^5 Nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
; i7 Q/ C4 q4 U7 y2 tChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to# j6 e+ L( ]4 C. ~/ B
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
( ^. [1 Q! [: F9 ^, r2 d$ q* don an equal playing field."
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% M* q3 v* B- ~% N; v5 i7 H) [Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese9 U1 F4 u! ~; ^0 a
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign v" q- Z1 W% [: \ `( M5 R% w
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: R" d% ? H5 t1 I/ s; l% dChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( _$ r0 b9 g4 w- r+ p% R& m# t4 gaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in! `* z8 w2 c) u6 c# K) b" t6 b0 c4 Y
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the4 |8 [; D$ g) l
institute says.# Q/ y0 [2 }5 {( ?7 f
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ a; [/ c# A. o5 m; Rgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before H3 {- I/ X) A& a; ]; i
deciding whether to take the class." O8 t0 ?& P- ?
% i! y% X3 g B7 f" b9 ]9 C"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# E# W3 N& {% k5 \2 Ltold her daughter.
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- {( f5 z( @. b. m, i! ESahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
0 d H" z( g/ s* aclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 ^! B( _9 |1 Z1 L0 }$ Kstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 |% F9 C' j& U( M7 J
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
3 Z6 b o: f4 B/ @recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.: ]% Y+ r8 B+ Y8 G! p8 Z
9 j/ `& \/ T- JRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ G' b& o% M. y/ o% U! [$ P
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with3 E( I# d: ^0 e$ |
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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3 I6 V/ x2 \: u; S. E9 i"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
0 a3 g2 g* A1 K c4 c9 Xsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" Y1 g$ p& W3 las many languages as I can."
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8 \3 C+ K7 Q+ s( ~. gAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
& y! p, Y- Q) T) i5 o+ H, gskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" I) ~/ ]: L" g0 z- G7 \
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, y( h* \+ W$ h; q1 u& P7 T! V! b* lthat," Ms. Freire said.+ u" G: V% [. \7 j. B% _- X$ Y% ]
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
' ~5 _1 E' V3 \* ahere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* T9 {' J; P4 K- s) x
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking9 U7 `2 a& s) f% h' o( h' r
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
9 _- s5 I0 H9 ^. X, w" b* nChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
; c a! ? o- |college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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( @9 C. y! C8 Y* T% g3 P. l"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified( Y4 D. i* {9 f' w
because of that missing certification," he said.& X3 u& P0 l) o4 J# C5 m, m2 b
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
1 Y. v+ @2 U; L- V% @said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# ^) z e8 [: c0 nSociety in New York.
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% v' B" O0 ?6 cSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the/ \" d0 k$ M' ~9 x8 F
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" B X" b [* [$ f3 Y6 O2 y
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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! v" y8 n8 V& |, ~Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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