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October 15, 2005
% T5 _% o2 k9 v" `9 a5 ?Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( O$ z, g% _: [# D% _: [( K
% ]5 B; l4 S, r& g" M- h4 i; dBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, P5 m* T) y$ _2 s
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 }7 U. D7 B+ t6 Y# j3 N. N# LSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
, B; j1 l" X6 D2 C1 U8 a1 c/ Tdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
* e& _7 _- _+ ^flag hang from the wall.3 ~ i9 S& S6 \
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one5 d0 F) l8 l5 O2 b
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders2 r2 G, r( s8 o. h3 C( q
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker2 F) ~5 }' E- h# q, C, z! n
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 }( A2 `' H7 t/ e c9 @- Z, g
are already choosing it over Spanish.5 j/ q% l; W+ o6 f! t. D
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; T p% \& V3 r5 b% `at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
' z5 D8 y% n+ |2 b, ]8 V" q4 v/ Doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
5 i' n c. \ m# ]4 }3 ^' u# cschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
8 [) ^8 z+ j z8 I1 fto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention' b, _! b! L$ h _0 ]8 s
one of its most difficult to learn./ @, v' f1 p9 A
$ @4 ?2 o& [$ c" s9 ?. v* ?Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
' ?& A6 ~2 \9 hpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& j8 k( h6 I! a- G! estudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.- _( r- d4 e2 c, {6 r. N
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 H6 u: W6 H y( w8 E2 x$ t" \
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
8 X+ L$ o* k |" DChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
' w, g0 A; Q, Wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.; p8 u5 o2 d- C, E
: p: r- i; E% V/ s# m2 O4 xAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement4 l+ B; F2 |! D) y% s
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country! Y7 H# D# ?& r) r( N0 T. j
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
9 y4 H1 n- m+ V2 } }1 Ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing& ?- r- ?2 y& N, m' U3 t
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director0 }7 e& |, G+ ~& Z. `! x
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 D) C3 u c7 ]9 \2 L7 P0 p
7 d# B6 J6 o% x8 J6 p" p3 [$ [2 g"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of A7 G; s! }6 d$ @0 ^+ q
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education. h# C3 h- X# t1 M# j1 ` g/ \. I
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# ?0 i \ K; x* Q
can." & R; L" [1 j6 d, Z. Y, J. f& {
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, E8 c+ f! Y) S% Y; S& g: k7 e. F5 lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 103 t; L- N- |$ m4 i+ \0 Z: u
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
% H' p: K% n: VInstitute in Washington.- N4 O8 ]; N a/ B
% j* E/ Q2 O- @0 P1 N"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& w0 Q3 ]. ? A+ D6 w: Oaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: h. e+ x- @$ x3 [
McGinnis said.6 H* R4 a: H0 K4 _
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# x6 P3 Z1 y0 K: g9 nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) j, C+ o5 v! k; k( C: w
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
9 J: n) @8 y/ p; vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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% |, V% F2 X9 O6 Z1 E6 XUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
: ]& q7 h2 M. {6 gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
6 m4 P. k' b) u6 B% E( v; ?cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( I/ H1 X7 X5 p
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: X% G8 u4 ^! d u
on weekends.. q' [) K! Q5 f* S; S. p
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public S6 B, A" V n0 w/ u' D1 i& z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- w+ g& r Z& k; {: X' R% y8 T9 xstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; g* m' e/ ~8 c" P- {proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
4 A3 k* {% P0 a) p% {( q bcompetition. ; c( m) Y' G# B5 [5 L
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley) x# j2 k# ?3 H `' W
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly- l3 c L; l* |' R0 L8 I3 C6 p
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 y* L7 y7 g) pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from/ P) r! \2 F) |4 J/ j
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students$ o+ |4 G5 g5 L. P. B9 ^
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
9 J' Q. |# G; Z! J' x$ |: ?the school system last year.. [" T$ l$ b! C4 e5 E3 x- A/ z
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this* A& {: o6 L3 L8 _, q7 ~
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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! _5 }- f+ M. ]) v# i"They have a great international experience right in their own
5 s5 c4 h5 u: X# V) Yclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago8 X. I2 L5 z% P7 { Q
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to- b% U. t9 z- G7 {5 i% {
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet+ M' y ^ v( D4 B: f' s
on an equal playing field."2 P! C) o7 J3 ~* @- Y u( @
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ l, e5 ~" E2 s! ~classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign5 m$ L4 |6 ]5 x
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- V( F9 l- q& A8 r+ |# H$ h
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An, @; o9 E) {) y! o! _! v
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% W! R, g. d3 K( m- D. p- WChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 S4 c( M5 r, }$ Ninstitute says.' F5 N, s/ X( N1 z! U: _
5 {0 H1 ]1 e! K \Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
3 N' }5 J! ?" R2 m8 ~grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: F7 @' }/ E1 ^% A. B
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) q& ?% t! [ N
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 P- L0 U7 @6 N* V* Z3 S5 vclass.7 H2 v0 m1 B: \
( J1 ]$ N# i7 \5 T( r6 SAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are0 g- \ `: G- f( T. R7 l) ?
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without/ y0 \8 S, ?6 Q6 h- ^
occasional frustration.4 D; `" i' _1 [( z9 Y, Y0 A9 B
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
1 I! u2 F: { Krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class." E; K } G! x# e8 Q- e
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he6 {/ w/ a* u8 K
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with; f8 i% S6 I* @2 h6 c' E4 E, C
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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2 ~! s, Q) d# y& _! ?2 h0 A- c$ o"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 A' r, M8 }. G! B& Y+ x' j9 H' ] Asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn' |" A9 o9 S1 n9 F
as many languages as I can."
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4 }% p- {0 a# r: i! n8 WAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the: u# d% y, q, Z, m1 A
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 [: w) i8 T3 t, G, Q4 J0 h
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 Q7 r1 }) g& n6 j" ^ L; F8 D
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program+ T Q6 A6 m9 K# R# s; J4 Q( B& L9 u
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
/ T) |3 I- b3 ~- nschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking @$ ^! b- J- W c
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 d* F3 W1 u' K. R5 d; n/ n Proom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# Y- [- T: e# y4 FChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
( V5 V5 d2 |5 u! y3 ~college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.1 ]/ M. y5 _" b4 E7 E w
0 l4 ~- B8 V$ q/ H$ |- |8 `"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
: V5 [" Y, P7 G5 J7 {because of that missing certification," he said.) g/ f: M1 ]: |. q8 b, y, M
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,9 ^( E( `: y1 K* E2 J
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
9 Y4 n3 Y! Z: g3 P( o7 U% oSociety in New York.% {3 A6 f2 L2 i$ q
7 a7 n0 b9 u5 R* D4 ]Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the; n2 w& s' ] r, Q1 z8 X
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
* A0 l4 x) @) [' r) x0 `# t* athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
8 a3 M7 P! q: J# {3 o6 i, M2 ]own."
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' h( _: e* n$ a/ v; t$ eCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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