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October 15, 2005
: {# u( o& e4 P+ P' B' h. `( LClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 [, g5 Q2 c- [' ~ {
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING, S/ Y0 G f& B3 G) ~
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 E9 s- S0 i1 x% n8 w
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
! w) O1 b. ]+ C9 M2 c& `School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas% v/ f% h+ x3 q: L$ D6 t
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 P5 F7 p1 N2 g, I* t0 h5 s7 P! ]0 t
flag hang from the wall. \! r) X# e% e# M3 U5 y/ e7 _7 H
' I, T; g$ J0 p$ u" R/ mOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" R; ^" x/ D; W
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders$ K8 y& `" u) }, ]% J- o B+ x
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, s1 P% x+ e5 K( P7 m# iboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students' D& O7 H! J1 Y3 n4 O3 d
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal! k( m' l+ S7 E+ g; g. n6 p: B
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
( N% `7 Q( ]3 k, l: eoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" G3 v4 l% n/ n+ P" q- ^$ J5 W
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,0 u' m: h) {* Z, |, C, E, C7 Z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! g# A1 U2 x5 A4 B( }+ x, Eto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
" f7 w0 w+ ^: I9 Zone of its most difficult to learn.$ S6 {; r2 G$ r/ F6 o
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
+ ]9 N; h7 B* t% \% opublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 H$ l j# k8 n* r$ R6 fstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. h: O7 f# d: ?6 V! D% }; Y/ l
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 P8 [$ p8 j" e' h2 p( ^
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on J! [) q E+ E7 |/ [6 N, A
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! G5 M+ a5 ~# B5 ^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 _) [) X! p# i0 T! f! m" ]
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
% Z8 c+ n5 m: b8 cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
( t8 w5 `& r$ {5 l' g3 Qdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( z0 s- u8 {# C3 N7 F: @
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* _4 r& V7 x, p6 |, {
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.( x) ] \9 ]) O0 H$ e' M* I7 u
. }- P& V1 T* O* o% p" u"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! f! \+ g# E( W; @9 C6 i0 zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education: {( X# P2 a+ L0 y2 U" O8 v# Q7 R
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
7 h; l& s( t& u, i% xcan."
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0 r) N6 y, L9 D$ YThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 N' g1 _: \+ k C2 w) Welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 106 y; f1 p! X5 g* ^0 }( p0 x
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
- }; m' l. c1 r5 a/ G, hInstitute in Washington.; I0 x: o7 S+ b4 M8 D m0 o. j
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; l" T& l7 A8 h: `* |; l9 g
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.+ q4 g! H. ]! A" M1 i! L& ?' e9 W
McGinnis said.) `; b+ j' x* s3 x5 O
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 a0 \" ~( M# [longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 i8 Y; C5 F* i9 H- }ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
6 D- g5 K* G bchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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, Y) _* d) y1 V2 K+ e$ YUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and& s1 O5 p0 J# N
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in5 `8 P2 s" G* X+ S7 f% M$ p
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of6 C, z! g. ^; F" P
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or- e& ^9 [7 y: }% }: @; b8 i9 Q
on weekends./ A! S" |& U6 ~; b) n; B/ o
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public$ u( N) h0 I$ z. ?( P* U5 `# N
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves2 l- Y. q% @5 X' b7 K8 |
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" u5 J% ^$ C6 l9 U2 T* t1 w, Kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) c/ U, g5 Z9 W7 k" K) ]% Bcompetition. . Q" C- z1 d9 l1 d
, d0 u8 f( h( i6 }1 V) m( k"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ K; Q) k# C# j+ _said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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" j8 {0 J/ H9 X4 k% H$ W. W" DFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly' n8 Y% h2 p8 p' i" Q4 M. E! d7 H9 ?
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse @1 m% W/ R8 z9 @2 m, {# R
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 ]* R+ \% U4 j4 W1 F. e
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 T' w* C3 ~ @- [, h
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 k1 P+ }3 d/ v$ ~, F) }% H) o
the school system last year.
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3 z! j+ h4 F3 h4 \The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; A6 t, f+ z/ x' C5 u" Fyear 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
f; z: P8 u: {classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
, o8 U- z) V0 ^/ m, y VChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% }) V- U; c3 Z( Nhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet/ k+ t' \( N5 j& s7 q
on an equal playing field."9 V! S% a# x6 F6 h& w" l
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% y9 h4 q4 O f" d2 u! ]classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 e; n% Y" {( w/ B5 S
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks j" D2 ~, h, A+ i: M6 c
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ R+ V# Q! ^- H8 m4 x* m/ x
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 g) {8 d1 l t9 R( b0 K
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
, }! i1 \3 F/ P2 z8 ^/ y7 W7 zinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ W k( K( l! Mgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before3 q1 D! E. {2 O0 M9 k
deciding whether to take the class.+ N; y' o! F+ `% Q
- d! z* q6 |# K* _9 a+ b. C"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 o6 o8 ^8 O$ y1 A- m& a) I4 Ztold her daughter.$ O" B; ~3 {, J* ~: x# I
# ?; q9 Z2 V ~& @: eSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
. B" m# U( @2 Q- o- U% hclass.
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# y1 L8 |3 q; `) ~- zAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
& k. R9 J- y9 ]studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
1 z5 I% j% l- p' M' Ioccasional frustration.# }5 f0 u) A" y* K1 y c" `
8 M, R4 N7 d; D) r9 X. C' Z6 Q"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! z3 ~! ^) S, ^1 @ Q/ o3 qrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.2 `- D4 A5 Y, y
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
) T0 B/ D, h1 j" m: o( H- \) `taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- i+ \1 n1 u& f8 z! uChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.$ U+ e7 h! @' L7 D6 g0 Z; S
4 d- F/ q! n, ^"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 @* w0 w. \0 s5 i$ v" J
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
9 B, T+ `1 E! `+ w! jas many languages as I can."
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L0 E; @3 u0 y% o- iAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 H' D1 @% W6 M4 z' z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
$ T5 G' Z& X @- ~4 |0 z9 ymarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" y5 ~% Y. G& {# ~! sthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 J/ D% A0 d p8 E* zhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each# i# G: o3 R/ {" T @) Q
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking9 z% C" w; S3 Z* _& g4 ?
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make7 ?2 Z- E- Q9 A' H. z& l
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- j4 q7 W# Z) y6 ^5 i3 B' E9 |2 ~Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
) v6 ?, m) V3 \6 [0 hcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.! N9 D3 \# ]; }$ j5 R9 d( o3 ~
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% }' f3 J) L7 ]6 W1 D+ v/ D
because of that missing certification," he said. V# @/ n1 y0 w+ H: E2 Y
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,: _$ o$ e/ }7 W
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
1 Y+ | X1 ~! a+ q7 `7 R' _Society in New York.
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i) ?7 ?) D) A8 X% gSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* q, C; L9 f, u3 @
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: [9 M* u6 T, | m$ J
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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8 @( }5 R9 P4 o: J: M"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our$ Q7 j9 ^0 T1 x/ |$ \/ _
own."
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$ h3 E3 Z0 e5 H, U* ACopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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