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October 15, 2005
) _* @+ R+ p% Y- } RClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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" w! f* y, u- q$ P" b0 E3 XBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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' C+ e) U" \$ g9 l% r0 ICHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ e- U! L' D) n7 @" }0 I- ?# F3 _. r
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary$ k" W, p: d0 d W+ R+ @3 o
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas, {7 R+ \5 ^; P2 O& X
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: e; n( R F. z5 v5 ^+ c6 f: y
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 t9 T. _, `: w
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders2 e" m, ?' R3 h2 ~" y& |
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 H: E% K$ s. h7 ?+ h, G
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% K- V. v& P. Q: u, R1 Eare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal+ H3 g% T% f, C/ F* U* K
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
F: Y, N( W% l K( ]0 L7 P7 V& N6 w! ^offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: K4 v* u; y' E8 O+ N3 T
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 f' K, N/ N+ m& T' e0 f [. D
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 ^/ g3 v% r V/ hone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- N) M9 U9 K* X5 F
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students" k' _. z" M. g- Z9 k6 f; Q$ c
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
8 J4 K& S6 Z1 ^+ Q. V2 Y/ sLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 U5 j/ I: P$ W6 ]9 H$ E
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on0 r% L& @: ^, o8 h# e# O
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to! P$ y6 _; u1 f0 P- D
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.% f0 ^. Z( R0 z& g' m' c
: A: \/ j+ a' [: I1 P- EAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement! O7 U1 n! {4 U8 t
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" W9 T! y. ]! T+ B- r' {, z2 a) B
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
3 {8 ]: F& ~" c2 R Q9 xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 w$ ^" K2 Z% icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
- c. L5 [) L- W5 h* X; dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.% X) r H# [ T' F
9 c1 O6 A; D7 s' @"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of7 g$ j( _5 F+ {: w
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
! z3 b, E% D5 U5 ^# M. eConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
, O. E+ H- _+ x% ]2 A3 ~can."
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- J6 F1 Q$ a4 E7 u# pThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 y! ]: @; _" H& x; C# e! Oelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 102 ^ S2 Y8 x) e. k8 E
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ L! e: ]4 q" w8 M. TInstitute in Washington.6 G. r+ \, K% \4 |0 g( ~/ Z* O
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages5 K1 d$ J8 W J& g: a9 A3 L
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.- R; h8 z; N/ G3 F8 }
McGinnis said.: }7 w1 ?$ k( F. y( d
( S) I7 u$ T* N, A# ?8 d"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ `( Q) |7 r, Flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
' f0 A. o8 L. a2 M: S2 Vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a" g. D3 C J! b+ S! c- v2 w) W; \
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 [. m1 x1 e& q5 s
. t2 l t6 L$ `8 N; ?Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
! f) I6 Q8 ]8 r6 j5 `+ s6 Csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( d' F: o7 F1 `3 u. N; {. r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of& l) A% W6 J$ H- |
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 `, L# m: y+ X2 m3 W+ hon weekends.% x6 b: }1 `% E" s4 H- h8 w5 l
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# [/ C* L& K% b' U3 B& H
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves( o1 [) F$ B, D+ h+ [1 j: r
students who are not of Chinese descent.4 |, q! V# p5 r% ?$ H
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
) f' a8 T- w* c Y0 Gproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the% v# W6 {) T+ c3 u/ w* {) |
competition. ( z( T6 Z9 S; c6 T) G1 V
% n& E' D- V( T0 ?# J4 f"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley5 W+ C. b1 k0 ^: @/ g+ B! j
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
% k9 a: j( ^! \' kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
* @. {9 M/ D/ g8 u, I) t+ ?schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
' h2 d$ ]5 c' Z/ N! Y( L! P W* wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, p" ]( ^4 Q M- F6 bwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( ^6 `# P0 z6 f, K
the school system last year.! `3 V8 V. j7 v6 {; E
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; X" x1 t8 \ z9 \( Cyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- N- O: u* V" ~* @2 M0 }
# S& K# E7 \ S' q"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 L0 L! B* X9 _7 g8 G" }; T( L" z$ mclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* P6 J4 i8 R$ G7 ~* sChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to3 t" a& y! N: `, r
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
3 c! ]6 W& k5 D0 c9 {8 }on an equal playing field."; W+ C) L- d" f) T
' E* d; b2 e+ D" I VSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese& B6 N2 J/ \9 I. t
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
: S( \/ K! B5 j( y. m* O. AService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 h2 \6 }' ~4 ?- N& J; x& [6 tChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
8 P. ]$ ]3 ?0 O9 e) R( Vaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 N- y) n. |2 p& f' i g: [
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
% U/ @) _$ A9 K2 linstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 C: @$ O' F+ M+ m( E$ X `grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before# Z4 o$ Z2 R- C# h- j0 ~6 k. I1 B9 F
deciding whether to take the class.5 Q6 k; h' q% E$ {' w
: s W5 _+ N0 M \) b"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( ~8 M n2 J) H) L1 @
told her daughter.
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: |1 g2 C/ n3 o8 eSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& ~% r6 q8 ]7 B0 c, m
class.8 Y# z) X* k- {0 O6 y+ Q
2 P! o3 A8 e+ o0 u/ ]% hAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
: W& }2 h! F) U6 y" w1 Z2 qstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 U) s% C5 `/ U' soccasional frustration.: d/ p. ~$ F- C( ^
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 R* f% K w" s2 ^2 Z/ H; I) S7 G
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 O* a( G5 m2 t' }
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 X+ n+ A. ^8 G2 htaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ ^% i! o( c% L4 DChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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e/ A8 ^% D5 Q2 v"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 K: g9 t3 M( L% P' fsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn, Y7 a4 a# v- y+ g8 b4 r) L
as many languages as I can."5 Z% a. [# E3 q W
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
V7 p4 {- E( d- I4 h: cskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ u6 Z5 f0 j2 q% x0 J" u
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( r2 V. m- O1 Z
that," Ms. Freire said.3 t$ d9 S9 {( `" g
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program: ? I+ O* P/ u+ V! g7 b4 ^# h- b1 D
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
, w& f9 b* O7 A* b+ Q8 H8 v# Hschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 o, b% a+ l, F9 X _time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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8 O& b: D; O* e% AChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% S* U2 S8 _/ t# w( |, ^' U9 C
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! F6 L7 k' f- P) Tcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.% J) J9 y" t7 O6 @ x) p
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
$ o0 F7 u7 t. R% o- }, f a4 _, Mbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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" V5 m: f: h* c9 jThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,) |& y: ^" ?$ s2 D# K' x9 u
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 Z6 i* S$ y* _' \2 hSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
2 u- r" x' d$ R0 E6 B& sChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 l$ o1 }$ C' @" h2 a
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) h# O+ i! D# f4 k' C
0 s0 o1 r" C2 a"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
. H0 ^5 Z8 u9 r) E+ L; Q i) b, j% }own."
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+ _- J* O) @' A9 zCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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