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October 15, 2005
$ p3 z* i# i9 z5 V9 q0 y% iClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ }, V% f) t' R) o$ x$ b
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 s3 s7 g* r- O
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the6 a2 V. S, O& N$ m( `; N: S3 G* G- w
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( C# C3 n6 ?" F/ T- P3 MSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas. U1 a/ a: i# l0 M
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 _8 T( A7 _- gflag hang from the wall.4 P$ Q" k7 ]. T2 t& R
5 d. i& O5 w, R( KOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
; Z" a" b: {" }/ nanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% O$ O% Y0 }/ I3 l2 E' K7 `: rpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! J9 V$ t) M, ]0 {/ \6 A
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students9 a% `+ ^, w0 B; ?
are already choosing it over Spanish. \* r% w$ x$ U5 Y9 x9 O! ~
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
% Q7 \: R: B6 w% Uat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 b. m% b* O" A* ~/ s( g. Aoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") X. Y& h) p" K. L5 w# f
+ z5 \$ x1 `; I3 {With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ @# ^3 O& l7 w: g. {% w3 z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' V: ?2 M+ N+ H, Y: C
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
\8 y0 k7 Z, T: u# ~one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" k6 H6 e2 z0 x- C* x9 {+ ~public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students: c, A" X* {) c! K2 }' k
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.; U# }7 ]* m2 x; S( C' k# H. s( x) P
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
# W+ W) j- x: P/ d; h3 b8 J( {# FTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; x6 o) K5 ~1 A2 P: pChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& |5 W4 b+ M- B3 a j }/ \1 P* A1 Qimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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5 l) _8 @8 [6 J. B$ F& SAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
. x, ~& d0 N, h3 P: J+ N$ [Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 e f. A9 o+ V9 G6 Hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
0 f2 [* s, M8 h7 h! n" ?6 O# Vdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing5 M! F1 k( P' m3 W7 E/ {( Q+ Y& W2 c
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director: o1 H" s; I0 J5 h
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.% X& c0 }1 H% n2 W% }
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 w; \# W/ l& z( I) \' Y. i+ p7 ^speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. j& G% I* M9 R9 }; ]' JConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 t; y9 a( k& i
can."
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% N& l6 o3 {# A5 Z$ [9 SThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! [1 o5 c3 K8 \8 b8 p8 Zelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" F; E; _0 q" j8 A! V
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 J b& I- v. f3 P3 rInstitute in Washington.* g+ b+ k5 g0 B3 r' u! G. l* o& v
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 w* @* e% s u4 t2 yaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
# r" a- E' X8 K' sMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! Z: j$ ~* ~' v9 H, llongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
+ g- ], v$ J4 O4 J' Zready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% f% i# k4 u% f7 Uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
' d% V& @8 d2 G$ ^- Psecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
( ]9 r- C9 U8 fcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of* L! P' I; I4 `- f" M
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. [- l% W. ~- f& t0 O' A+ I/ ?on weekends.: R: o \. O' m0 H; O4 A
& l: N7 r) ^: P E, i6 d' F3 g9 _The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" j# k/ n* {( Qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 D2 F& w' S( \5 B" f* o3 wstudents who are not of Chinese descent.- E' U6 r0 j2 I- D$ C3 {0 X
3 m6 D" E# v8 F/ Q* YMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
% A3 o% {+ }" xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
* L1 m; A) C: M, U& |# C7 {4 ^competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley6 {1 p4 Z8 |8 q# |
said. "There will be Chinese and English."6 [8 {! N$ q1 j4 c# H O
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
% v- k/ V5 m( o1 ~* {" j# T5 Kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
, k& o) d& ?7 F0 S& Bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
, f) t3 V% `, ^kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
: X/ v; n* B3 a$ v! o& P$ vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 H _) I% B2 B5 g& Qthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
z/ s+ @( ?4 c) O6 Zyear 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# Y M7 |1 z; c
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
7 ^( p4 W1 g8 lChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
" r0 ] E7 s8 v9 d3 Q9 l3 zhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet$ j1 |. {4 M7 J" |
on an equal playing field."5 }0 V- B7 A' c- C8 b& ^
7 q+ S2 H! q% Z) a q( C: K: BSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: D* G q7 D( s, e0 A0 \classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
5 u) K* X7 ~; T* X' p/ b- {) Z" E' EService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; |4 g$ W) o: M3 ] z3 E5 q
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
/ T7 a5 _9 h4 k- m# O0 V2 p. [average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, m9 i; t% B6 O4 w4 P: [
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* s# w1 q: _1 a) X2 ainstitute says.
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1 x$ h" B% Z% {Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
- ]& O* B, ]6 C! L: G6 Q3 dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
! a# z4 M6 |" I; T& J9 P7 p5 F; {deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
: H8 v4 t" \7 U( Qtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
, k W' Q! r" w/ ]+ _* k9 O* pclass.' [& M2 f* q3 N/ t8 v$ `! C
. R/ X$ v1 ]% d# X' }At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are( m t9 g8 D7 H; l5 t& f
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without# A# O$ G: k8 S$ V" k( K! a9 b0 F
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
0 X8 _1 p7 [0 U7 ^, U P( I2 ~recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.& E0 ?2 M B# M* ?
0 `5 X" d5 Z* O, k2 dRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! s# r; O* U3 w8 |( Btaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with; e* `# G" y3 G( l4 f: Z; Q
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul. p7 t' F& V# H$ v
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
( o) g5 e- R y! ?; E! Kas many languages as I can."( L: S* ^( m+ W& ^5 k
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) I. _) N' @- jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job4 Y9 |( E0 [9 j& Y* A+ f1 J
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; K+ A/ W" w) d0 K& v
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 A7 [+ z8 m5 G$ U7 V4 {
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
]% \9 k1 O4 sschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" o" w m6 M( ?: R9 e6 z
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
. S: Y+ Z+ W7 r$ D1 c1 Q, t& Aroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer' z# L$ X6 d2 K$ u
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 q2 f3 h! N# q2 `college, 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
$ U4 v! Y. j7 k8 \because of that missing certification," he said.: s! ^ ?) _- Z3 B- U
3 |# B" ^# f8 q* f) J* ^The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 y5 |8 _0 }9 A+ p, L9 n: H% e Bsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
3 |5 G F6 t6 ?1 r* s8 p. Y" }8 rSociety in New York.: O4 d1 U3 }: ]: `. a4 [
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the9 ~. a! O- j, P. P; m" X
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& Z1 A6 G: t) P6 Z: n4 L7 b
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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: s$ e4 |) ]9 t X" f- Y"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
* H) i3 b& h0 R$ B& t+ Wown."
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( T4 X n: n; v" i h6 I/ t- yCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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