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October 15, 2005
/ ~0 O$ M# c+ F: ?' H! v6 R" j- _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 k8 R/ r P9 h
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the* V5 @- T* e- w0 {
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( b# Y. w$ Z8 |( p) Y; U* ^School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
" j/ r" }: F7 o7 C2 l) a3 } Bdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 Q$ Y0 l. H2 {
flag hang from the wall. I+ ~9 Z0 D: ?( l& v
: b, N+ I {% \5 b: b( P. q! B# F/ A1 yOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one8 R2 z$ \, W' S$ v* Z; M; [
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders4 x4 G" B0 @3 {
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 O8 F4 }' `" O/ ~& B# ?boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( \; F! A4 C9 ?: [are already choosing it over Spanish.
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( L1 t; n+ Q2 q# L6 U6 O"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal+ ]' x; Y5 R. y' s' ?
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. r/ ]8 j: ~" K1 v8 b; Zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* ^: G1 k7 d$ Y$ X4 [
9 ^3 f3 k e- T, U2 e+ m1 qWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 m# M' \+ j+ z: h/ @; Bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings0 D5 m0 _' e1 t5 Z1 s: R. ~
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 l; F: I( a2 x, G" p1 ^one of its most difficult to learn.
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5 F. m* v4 v, W4 Q5 F& dLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- ^6 t( l5 m# |3 B3 w& ~1 l
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students/ t- m, Y& n8 B$ U( M
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
- n, T5 j6 B. A) KLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% E& O( J% j V" Y+ T: h
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
& L- v% e) ^6 r9 H6 X- `& w/ _9 bChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to# r6 C" W3 r' E/ P
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 Placement6 C& ~; N" `2 D
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country( h0 G1 s3 i u
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ W# s1 Q9 t+ l; ^/ j# ^, P
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
- k# h$ b/ V( S, Y7 icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director& J! ]6 Z( B2 Z0 T2 ` t9 n
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 ]) N( l7 ]! D* j3 b
3 J$ C0 W" c- K/ p I! z"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of! B/ @+ j: E+ m6 c
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 r+ Y+ [0 u" G- O$ m
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; g+ M* u. \7 v, q# ~
can." 7 r& }0 j0 ~% A3 I
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from9 C* w7 b, h% _0 h
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 102 W: A X3 O$ K( M1 R
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
- N5 l4 V- N9 K- O9 QInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages. V1 o5 K; b; f0 P
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.+ u1 _- }* U+ F% b- q
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' j4 Q7 X2 i1 a" W; B8 O
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 }6 R6 [7 Q$ N/ ^: Q+ }ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: k/ e, U7 g3 h& L1 achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( s8 V7 H$ ?2 r8 V! B9 ?$ D/ k$ X. E
4 u( t6 U) m% |% b2 V/ eUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
$ c4 X/ d6 m! K, \secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) G F- Z, ], n$ X( u- @3 ocities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 H9 \! ]( y7 g, _8 N* DChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or3 G4 e% c. J$ X; E
on weekends.( |; b% ]) u$ E+ [) d8 q* e+ ~
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
) G9 n9 z/ |' s `0 }* v/ [/ Ischools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 \0 S: v: J5 pstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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4 ?" D; m6 o8 h- U. w- `+ fMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said9 q1 a5 Y3 u/ e* U4 r
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
: o1 U6 G% |2 X3 s* V. N! }competition.
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0 m- \% ?# ~; t! |3 v; K, M"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley+ l0 W/ `0 _+ r( s' L4 U$ l
said. "There will be Chinese and English."! r# ~( R" k- K; D1 v0 m
8 i3 f9 A. S8 e3 YFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
: D- g: P7 h1 \all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse; c- y) [- {5 i1 t' E" _
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from+ }/ d$ e- P: y3 [! N, f: N
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ W/ }3 R, ?2 d: fwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 R2 E& P1 y. Y* Xthe school system last year.' D/ u9 R# V* `6 d; d: y6 D
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
: O! a- |6 R& Yyear 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
5 p2 p6 S+ P! {+ v2 Nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
; M _1 s2 s" G( yChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; n3 a. L, i( D/ H( P1 Ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet# f8 m) e( O# p# z& u# B
on an equal playing field."
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. d @0 t2 x5 w7 E) kSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese0 M3 x8 L% M5 _; ^1 s2 k! ~) `
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
6 v, u" ?1 T+ @* s4 V% n6 F" X: g1 jService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
+ a* v4 p1 ^$ ]2 t4 QChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 K3 Y* U; X* c7 Javerage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 {+ D, b: L) {9 `5 }+ H$ {
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 P4 V# }) W; `2 o4 I2 `* _& g
institute says./ \! }( W, K8 J. x, P5 [
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
3 M3 \1 H6 u1 I. w; G8 Q/ hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
4 M: O- C$ R3 J* h3 @) c* G8 ~4 u; adeciding whether to take the class.' ?2 f3 j2 \# U# s; M7 L
( c6 y! P9 }, j) |6 a"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
0 X2 T, [* E- c) T- w- \) k$ Q! j! ctold her daughter.+ L0 x f+ G8 l6 L
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( n% N# R$ b/ d8 y0 q$ M
class.
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1 p( ^' O M2 Q @At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are- G! b% a P/ W, B2 P& n$ E# c
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; z0 T8 J3 I/ Yoccasional frustration.) R4 _1 v7 g6 e, g: Q6 z! y
; N9 x5 x9 w2 ~5 ]9 i4 Q"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; C; t# X+ @( Yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 J/ i) W' r- U7 f
9 [& j5 Q7 {0 g4 y. T/ n7 E8 j# yRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
3 r9 G! I# x8 S, b1 A3 ktaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& ^7 ^! s5 l: {4 H& EChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
. c$ p0 P, \; \0 hsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
. v# c, D2 E( S0 s, ~+ R( R+ Ias many languages as I can."
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' t1 `9 y; v& RAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
9 M& h0 {7 J0 o% I" h9 @9 jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; |1 R) L0 x: e% k, r
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like! p- C! M* _) M- T" w& H
that," Ms. Freire said., J( S) q2 \0 O1 a: d. q
( ]$ t: [, o2 [ ?& s4 s! rMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" I# N% U0 K( i5 @here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; K$ n2 w; K, m5 m9 N, W) u
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking% u: T% U% `7 t- D$ `$ i# ]
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
7 S& Y/ h6 W7 k" @ x3 lroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer/ b/ z# d3 E' i" c, B
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American3 P0 G- P! i. q; G, {
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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: x- o, F; ~6 P6 a0 F"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
$ b3 I: y3 _4 G4 x/ _ x, c- y4 jbecause of that missing certification," he said.- |/ N1 F7 @7 M2 |6 ^9 v& e
+ R* A! p- v* O0 JThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 C6 K4 `6 f' N7 R
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
! `, `( `: s% g' \, x8 fSociety in New York.( F$ ~+ F6 [: _
3 M& M" x p6 e( ~. \, ~2 C- A4 WSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& ]! z v6 d7 v8 s9 m; e# |
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
0 H9 E( {3 T/ T1 W1 ~* ~5 R: ]; ] m/ dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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5 A* d9 B# _' t) A4 ^4 l"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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2 c' G' y: g% T! p/ `( o8 f9 kCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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