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October 15, 20058 b" d; o) w( I1 S! v- [
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING4 {; k) } N; ~/ ~, b* N
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 c0 O. s8 O+ K, |( D/ HUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 z$ R% X( U' y9 b1 r) j
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
0 L: u: R5 N0 N9 b& l0 |- h0 E ~& i, fdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 ^0 @% i; t$ l1 u2 U; c
flag hang from the wall.6 g8 ?0 N, {. \' ^1 T3 \& s* L
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
3 l0 ]* K- n+ l# t9 u! Z. T7 h2 ^1 L7 Manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
]* w* h# h+ ]% u' G& Epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
" b! \! C8 w# K6 D ?/ g& l' c4 ~3 ]boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 \2 Q. _0 s4 \
are already choosing it over Spanish.5 L5 |6 J4 J0 S8 o
& h9 p' A" L) T"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 ` [# p$ m6 e+ \. Y9 Qat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city" f+ [. g1 m. y( N2 S* b4 b
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 I: ~ l2 F/ o- R. @% F
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& y* S4 }6 R( H; Z2 q
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings7 ?( u3 d2 i2 G! _
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention$ c. V6 P) h6 L; B* e) t) r. }, q
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 F/ b6 h% [* epublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 N* b+ V P$ y, l" i2 i+ F
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) W! d O8 ]# {- D1 j5 ?
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of! ~4 y# o" Q& o9 D. a; y7 k3 x& }
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: W9 p6 _$ Y, U7 b! {. yChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. a) _- Q6 o) W; H1 _
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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2 m! y; A5 u. k& \After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
8 u. ]5 C( x: |! j( j. JChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ J2 C# n2 j2 Y1 _* {$ Astarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) U/ ^8 T& e/ z1 _3 H3 f
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
# a5 \, m$ d( W! ]curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director. S( z) {/ R, ?* o9 ]0 J8 j( L
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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, h' j7 t1 y4 _"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of! h. l% x! [$ o' j
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- B7 f6 k' e. S2 |8 i8 LConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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) e- a6 w( k9 FThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from# K( V+ b4 T8 Z8 u9 c- N
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10- V& j4 m c; Q* z! B
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
( ~6 w( D5 @6 B( gInstitute in Washington.& w1 }# I: |; K8 w
. `6 e7 D3 i5 R" K. x: \/ q u"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages. J% @: J3 Z, \, u2 `; ?6 ]. o
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
A+ e" ?! e9 b1 h" {& ~: VMcGinnis said.0 O0 g7 |( }! B2 {1 z1 N/ P4 ]) g
+ \ d1 a7 S& P8 r$ v: G0 }"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical5 N& i; _7 v# J* l% R. o& M7 ?
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be! A! w z0 B; y g% Y3 A3 z; `( v
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: j9 J) W, S1 K; g2 G1 K$ Vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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7 j2 j/ N9 a- \: R6 mUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 Q* Y4 t9 {& r9 v' ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* n- @7 N6 f7 J0 Y. @' k n, [cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 o) X L/ {# G2 E/ Y6 ?' F9 pChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
" i/ i8 U! ^# Y2 G4 y) ?on weekends." l- \8 C* M$ t' \7 ~/ y
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public, X2 ^4 E0 _7 a8 t7 @
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves! @0 G9 W$ ~# |+ b7 e0 s+ P
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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) b/ g% N3 ~. a- WMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 f! B' \' y$ T5 k
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the3 J$ k S% `% j" g1 a% M
competition.
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* w- k- \8 T% ^$ G# w. @$ w"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley) H2 O+ u- f* M: k& q7 i
said. "There will be Chinese and English."6 [+ X2 }' R* u/ X
! G* `% W5 k) DFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( @" W) y, q; y) W3 _8 Oall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
|# G/ A" L- ?- ]0 r" x9 G0 L2 ]schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ H- Q+ r% G' k& U+ [3 R/ dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students. a6 t% t$ ^& f, B1 @ z& p
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 N2 _( B6 L, W
the school system last year.' C, _+ k8 Y! n- o/ _7 s
# O7 z9 D! d3 ~4 D5 qThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this7 o) U# t8 m2 H
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.+ `7 X0 \; g/ z( r1 x
- u9 E7 Q. k8 V# |1 N: \' @& G"They have a great international experience right in their own9 K% \0 ?9 c! {
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 S9 ~. | ~) D5 X. VChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* V! n7 O$ _+ A
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet1 r& N9 Q" I, r! C* ~+ e. A, _9 @
on an equal playing field."2 F c* c; ~" \
3 t4 u7 T V! H8 p9 \* nSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
8 R4 M9 M L* w4 @) aclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
1 {- A2 i7 I( h- k% x. \4 t9 j! e! nService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks# b& v0 a. R& x D8 t4 A* x0 J: b; E0 F
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
) I& C9 w% N: F& ~, \5 L9 F0 |average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in) w w; d" e" W
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# E$ ~. ~% D* x! l9 Kinstitute says.* Y# O/ \0 Z( w
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ _2 k" Q# I0 O5 a0 C/ D( V' Qgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
% p/ x: m7 R5 |7 X; ~# G1 f# Ideciding whether to take the class.
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+ Z9 b& t2 k6 a; L"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
$ D" h- a9 _2 w% U* jtold her daughter.+ B1 h9 d; t H
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite: P; t: Y; \# x2 |+ S! j
class.
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6 ^. j5 O/ A/ ^) q2 V+ qAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' _% @! O5 }/ J# z5 |
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 F2 X$ B# m( o
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' Z# y+ h& E8 a9 H" frecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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& q2 M( m3 Y: Y) wRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he6 n3 f. f% _* F- z8 ?
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
; N; H" S! i/ P) a& ]) D7 |. M/ GChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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& U! {, R& M3 U: i"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
) n' t0 k1 ]0 |& l" R+ i% p$ xsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn5 q5 a% f3 A, R9 a
as many languages as I can.", Y0 V& K. q- \, r( l4 s3 r v
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( p+ G+ `, L& y0 v, @$ }2 Eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- Y$ |5 k* |, u }& g* g
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 S9 g1 P5 l ?: b; r! bthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( C- C* g7 \# Ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each7 @9 j9 Q, ~3 X8 _3 X H3 D1 d2 W
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) P5 a8 k. v1 @time from classes like physical education, music and art to make/ H3 @' V3 o+ r5 k; s" _
room.: {$ O* L( q1 G q- L) u3 C
$ U6 J; M: q3 b1 CChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer+ g5 M: r0 j3 T& @
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
4 n3 U0 F9 u# W( G5 S$ [college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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7 q# T. Y' H, l' x0 K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified1 b- x8 e# ^4 F: |
because of that missing certification," he said., H5 y. q+ b* W, Q( ]$ v
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
& F- c' S6 ]( f0 w$ W0 gsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, @: S( D* T" dSociety in New York.
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& Z2 E' |0 l1 R& Z" R7 T2 M4 K1 aSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the6 A# h! ?, f* ~2 V1 q; V8 [6 y2 A
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, J' w& i1 P2 f- o
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( w& N& b# q% E
own."% N$ ]& O' a! R9 d4 s4 l
6 W6 E6 W+ R& d9 d6 M( n/ jCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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