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October 15, 2005
) ~4 Q& Y: e6 h8 n0 v; G# iClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 ?) [" K) @9 a
1 E u0 e: X9 F8 `6 D* l; {; Z vBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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% L3 `! m2 N0 k0 J" s0 MCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
4 f# B7 J6 c( O! [5 ~- k8 V( _ ?United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
8 |5 s% {1 |: o4 A$ @: l2 QSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% h; H8 n- h/ [: s' P5 Jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese8 z* V' J( d0 y9 j9 `6 R
flag hang from the wall.! E! ?% Z+ o, T+ i: U* _
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
$ i* M5 Q/ I# {% L; janother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ @( i6 w8 t& ^4 T% {0 A _
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 d8 i: h& U7 gboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! Q9 W5 G0 F6 B6 z8 nare already choosing it over Spanish.: C$ K- h, t2 L
$ ]* u( E+ L+ f* V/ J"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" X5 N- M Q9 ^% `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ _7 `% U: M( y% t. Z% | W/ W! \offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". W- y* c8 ~3 U: v
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
, Y" d; I5 d, e0 I- dschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
( h( m+ X$ d+ k- I- N Yto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 y+ E: J5 x+ _3 H# R
one of its most difficult to learn.) ~. ]5 J7 m1 c) l( |
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, Z% x$ }8 x3 A* j. i. O. Z1 B( M
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ q' r2 s3 d7 j
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.2 m- M# i! Z3 K( \) _( t9 E9 @
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of. R( F. b3 |/ s5 x9 [, y& K
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# ?+ B; _8 j: V; t
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" ]3 B& q3 S7 |/ b0 kimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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% `8 {1 q( q J; L* j0 F/ [After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
; W. q- g) \! L p' f* V& vChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! k% y o9 D% A t5 `: G1 Fstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! V6 G- s* [8 `: \* k' y( u2 x
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing5 S- \+ p; z6 a- |
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& q* _8 }7 f+ C9 Z2 r7 C* F+ J7 M+ ]of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
3 x! h( e+ ?' I8 l$ n9 i* d0 Aspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education) _, d% ]* e4 i: Y3 |
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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2 ?/ c8 Z. Q& d6 e0 y3 o. rThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
$ r( T) K7 `, V( q; p+ U) |" Aelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
! b+ g7 e4 N& S# |4 m: U/ X6 [years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language# \0 `) e& c' s! k% C- y
Institute in Washington.0 n- b0 S# S' x6 f! y: r
( K) F/ ]4 z& J B; d. v"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# W! S5 T' b0 e+ waren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: k- h8 W* D I& `% r
McGinnis said.5 G" k- W- K0 I: [ U2 x9 `
n: E) ]+ V' `% i3 q5 k4 u"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
2 i4 N( A. N5 d9 Nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
6 k8 D( G9 |' W- d zready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a9 E# C& j# a% S( P" s( g+ o
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."- i) u$ d b3 S- r5 h: h
( ?5 p; j; ]8 p4 vUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
! z0 s" ~) ?0 Wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in0 F/ z1 |- G7 d0 G; P. U5 q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( ?4 R+ x# e9 E; k% @Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
, V" j) Y! [7 D6 P: L- r7 Q+ Oon weekends.8 v, Y( v, J& d( d! R7 ]
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 Y4 M8 N2 i/ z" Q! u4 R
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves; w% J3 O$ Z- ?5 q% R/ J/ M
students who are not of Chinese descent.1 G0 D5 w) K9 Y, U a- |8 u) B) O$ T% V
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said e; X0 Z7 m( X1 S: [
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
6 Z- ]! p0 R. u1 q" m( }. P# Mcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ |3 C! {8 a0 E$ ?. w, r- n
said. "There will be Chinese and English."; M. k; R/ @" X
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly& V, g( c; C7 J
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse! e( Q- D6 y8 h
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
' [8 D) }0 V2 R* `( K& _2 ekindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
3 z7 F5 v+ B+ Y( k; @who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 e8 n/ O0 ], S) c+ J athe school system last year.+ A/ {% x( K( J& e0 i
* Y# t4 j7 n5 z |9 M6 D5 \, \2 X; JThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; P; Z I P$ g2 n. ?
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.: Z1 @7 x% m% y! |% a w
% w# ]6 _7 _; P* R3 U; k% ?"They have a great international experience right in their own
! W% A$ _' Z5 m; Fclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
/ Q8 e! P0 u8 R9 _# M4 KChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* E) D+ P" T0 F! ]+ h
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
2 Z" S& m* ~+ von an equal playing field."
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" J3 v4 O3 ^5 b ]Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
" D: i% ]3 V/ B& x; x% ^2 V& ?8 lclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
" c6 q3 D* ?% V3 pService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; t/ N/ ]. i7 C8 E2 x0 mChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: v* x+ r* { @1 O
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in2 [5 i8 V( S* Z) Z$ |
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# G8 ]) O5 G+ m# [. Yinstitute says. l5 [2 a1 {1 z4 I
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 f) g$ G, f+ w. f0 r+ A% mgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before+ R+ _ C7 I6 g0 [
deciding whether to take the class.: c9 |1 N, ]/ }6 q( W
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ O- G0 Y: n- Y3 T( v2 g$ G
told her daughter.( e) u% p, U& x1 r/ V
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite- v1 Q/ K4 O4 C/ t
class.1 d/ D9 S# N! a2 `7 I& @
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are( w: C. i8 S7 f4 q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ E- W0 w7 r& E& X( Z
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a9 p% u- ^9 g+ {
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ t3 L! I9 ]' ^
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with2 [% I" t# G% Y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.9 f/ O! R( b& a6 @% G E/ i$ z
! [4 y" r/ V: ^( u$ t' r- J7 ^; n"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul# S2 Z- P' H k% n }1 A
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ X4 L0 B, `+ N9 a
as many languages as I can."+ \# r( b0 l( u3 [1 L @% d
; z3 X' _9 l9 P4 r [Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the# T3 q) u* W: E
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job' {1 f$ s* n% i- S
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; R! p2 ~2 a3 D; n4 M/ G; f
that," Ms. Freire said." Q1 p C @6 a3 e
# I$ R( [1 j, r& n' T, FMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
6 d1 g! R! b B+ i( d+ Y' x( Ahere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ _) ^* e9 v. k
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking8 h- W- L s4 o
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make% u& X3 u. @& ~
room.0 i: v" z6 [2 C/ J; M6 G, L( Y
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer0 q/ l7 K* i t; \0 `' r
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
3 S* a1 A8 }" J3 ycollege, 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 U& b( c7 @8 }; P G. _because of that missing certification," he said.7 S# R+ k8 \/ l& g& n
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
% U! q5 h! F+ R; j8 ]( L9 K) i' vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
2 @# W+ H$ K' f9 |( J, ^, o$ ySociety in New York., T6 w2 ]' d+ Q5 ^$ T0 Y! E. Q
0 U: Y0 d& r& ~+ sSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
; ]; Q) D5 g) ?5 I# z3 e2 q" p& TChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# v1 y0 a& b# a: {) ]$ b* g6 L
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
. w7 }8 v' S, _own."
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@* G/ n, Y& `& s; {8 JCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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