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October 15, 20051 B& z$ z# D5 [5 _ ]
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 O4 H$ A. H. L) T
6 {" R' x4 ?. \CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
+ \6 m6 N; s4 U& g- D, N0 S& d* E" ~United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
2 E, h' `, R& I v' MSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 D+ @6 k& T* y1 x* x& h
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
_! `2 a! j/ Eflag hang from the wall.
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! S& i r) f( m" U# j t% KOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 c* x$ p1 m3 i/ E
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% }# a; B6 N) y$ {5 {; M' m+ Epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% N6 |/ h2 O% ?8 E
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 c% l! `0 f7 f$ o$ _6 }. ~are already choosing it over Spanish.1 s! T) ^6 b+ q- A' ^
! K$ u8 I. l- R6 u8 E* x"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: q" Z# J: X# x# q( H: z0 J) @) Kat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city q* G+ p x, e7 a5 T, N- f2 R0 t
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."' b. G* s5 K% j1 W! ~
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,4 ~% z2 Y) S) z6 q$ {4 ^
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) L7 @4 R( S6 e/ }" t; l3 W6 w
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* R; z( j2 N7 p- \
one of its most difficult to learn.
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* _$ A9 f* W: V/ x/ p7 MLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to7 w& J2 f- {" H+ ^" Q' I" E
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
+ _- }/ p. E3 R7 V8 xstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
" q! s6 L( V+ m' A t7 u- C5 Q1 _' B1 RLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of) e! h/ O7 A+ g8 ^
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on5 w4 r7 p) B8 x0 \* p
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& g" @5 X. s3 e
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.0 j- E" P* M6 w4 W$ [$ H2 l9 U
4 I/ Z2 V: I% d& H1 R5 {After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement& _) |4 k9 X8 T
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 o# g4 {4 ` z3 i. q" @3 Lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; t: N- I1 ]: v! W( f3 v; u6 Z( Q& Gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
# J8 Q% H* O+ X/ C' Ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
" R( l! M5 a$ Dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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) w1 A& l9 c# G7 h1 D6 Z e8 T% G"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" v" ]: |+ k U1 q4 z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. v2 _; i2 i: v4 Y* S7 bConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
2 n1 Q7 w% s7 j+ W1 V! `can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 X) h' o) ^7 s, b& I6 Ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; R9 ~: s i0 A+ G
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 V# |6 n. m9 A! S! F) l
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( a* f {& o+ aaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ j0 a( z( L% ^McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
6 B; s. L0 }* P, o) slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' E. d X4 v3 L+ n. G) t# `0 `
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 }+ @& H! c0 v8 O! i& |challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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( d1 B8 ^5 K% |Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' s3 o0 e- b4 `7 z* @0 @, N
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in& f) }7 L0 L, T3 V# x' A
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
/ K7 ^3 o0 C: y* z1 |3 AChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! {, t" f" t' p' H6 d3 O
on weekends.
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9 M' @' G# d) u; y8 LThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public% }* m+ Q# [8 ?9 d @; O
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 \8 K# Q9 ^+ l6 |students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said ~7 T" \$ p0 w
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' G n: D6 \, u$ j4 ?competition. $ d+ R4 P& h& U
8 j. F6 N' G/ V, w! G9 }7 s. m"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; I. L2 F7 `6 _" C6 \said. "There will be Chinese and English."7 g5 Q$ x1 W% I1 b6 S
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" `! m; y( @& x X. d
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse! t% e; G4 x- Z. e, q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& L. A6 a; u Z. r) g
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
& X3 G# l- E* ~who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 B; L7 g- O7 e6 _4 ^0 athe school system last year.) W! c6 ~! {# X% J' ]$ c% ^
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this$ [0 } [! D: q) {1 T
year 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
' W$ o/ f2 G; T0 Z9 i/ Y, D+ wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago% E+ H7 g$ J0 ?/ I" o! {. Q) E
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to9 H$ I1 ?$ ^3 i: w" f
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, A7 t# b% d: s6 \4 A& F/ h
on an equal playing field."1 n% o+ s4 x/ o8 {5 x+ |
7 l+ l1 u8 ^( M- p4 P7 mSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese5 A2 w4 I9 M9 [" A2 V
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign O$ ~6 ?" o, l% T: H t+ h) E8 H, ^
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
/ w; h* {, {' f) Z0 tChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An4 m4 l+ i3 R3 m7 B. K+ j9 a
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 ^$ d4 z7 V3 v& A9 V5 xChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
% l! Z8 U$ J, G7 i+ k5 M) `institute says.
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) b3 Z0 T+ ?% V/ E* USevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth! n1 ]% B8 p' U" D( e" l* h+ m5 w
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
9 D! P) d% h. F8 ndeciding whether to take the class.
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) V4 Z9 j) {* b"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
- O% f& n1 r% @* etold her daughter.5 A( b' E4 t0 A& G) M
' Z( N/ \, _0 u/ q3 Q1 eSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 P) G. \& n4 j7 m* ^- P$ X6 [class.' @: g# D$ A! J/ [3 L7 h) q5 M0 n( S
7 v9 b' E* y# c; f0 SAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
5 {* G8 a- U% o) e- a1 j! O4 Jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without/ Q* X; x' G& V; R2 H1 r
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
) j' a8 ]. X& Y- S) [recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
. m% C1 [% G1 e% X$ ltaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with* x/ S, {3 x" I
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 o% \& F. l1 ]
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- n) w: u6 m) b7 U* y9 kas many languages as I can."- s; L5 T7 g8 v5 B
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 z; A' s! l8 o2 z" Bskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
+ z1 {! W& W! i" U! e0 `market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, F4 }0 ^+ p8 C! [% } L, Q
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ T3 v' k1 g: U+ @
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' ~9 e* j4 I: q) N9 u, f+ Ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
( U4 X/ L6 u% Stime from classes like physical education, music and art to make( N3 \4 _2 C/ n
room.
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* `' J4 ~3 {& p( RChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
& ~2 W$ D: H1 ^* |) b SChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 X% ~9 S- a: h/ N
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
3 d: j* U* @3 \1 ?because of that missing certification," he said.: S* H, n8 d6 }9 N0 e
3 M3 k; T- c( }7 N. y- E. ^The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
5 h! g/ @ Q. J5 Y5 o, c+ H C |said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
* C3 G8 U t; K3 X: r3 OSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' y/ R, M& C h2 a( KChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 g4 S5 B0 i' k3 H- k1 }6 D- V1 x
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 f. ]1 K" _2 T
own."
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* y. O8 z( z" V: e6 `4 lCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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