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October 15, 2005& c% I$ q7 |' O+ E x8 D
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the4 y8 J# z S8 k; C
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary& I K0 ]# K* a7 e' }. \2 `
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
. \& _+ o0 x [$ Cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese/ p7 b. J& h' K" ^
flag hang from the wall.
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: \8 N7 r% d! Q# P \7 LOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* W$ T* { `3 J, @" ?another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ q5 P9 ~+ a) t! E- Gpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker8 E; ^/ w- N( ^+ D
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
_% G$ {! i0 Z: U' Yare already choosing it over Spanish.
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2 k% _ ?1 e3 K) N# O5 v$ h"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal c2 D% m+ S% K6 N* e
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city4 R) Q" N7 ~4 N& G- i, w; q$ ^
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."- U% n- X" p/ K9 R% _8 {
& e& ?$ f& F: _, t% kWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
) o- S2 \- j+ L- {schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings5 G( y+ I+ L z
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
, C% B: B8 D, Y# mone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to5 K3 T- Z0 ?3 o" v
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 o) Z, I$ Q& P$ N1 Nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I." n9 a7 M- l3 C0 b
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 w8 }+ Y- b( } u
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ \0 Z$ f. o! r- [: tChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) B) m) J8 d/ [4 N! Rimprove 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 Placement( |5 t& j1 u' w' H A& k0 S
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country9 Y+ Y/ R- J( \1 A
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
5 K% T, v i& R+ D$ V6 b7 {, Idevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* v* N+ A, g$ z" K, E% I
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director7 L1 N$ S$ w; E8 c
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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3 }, ?2 V' H+ y: ?9 j; q"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' u9 X/ q# Q* v$ ^4 l. _ a) k
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& I7 n: }+ V/ }# K# kConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
( ~( s0 ^8 O: r( zcan." - Z4 D2 F- B# L) u, a& V- P
+ y8 A) z' N. B: U' Q+ t' FThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 `- W6 W4 e# r0 T& E7 v: ^
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 T" J+ F* V2 C% }* [
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language9 {: k `3 J5 ~! w& Z3 [
Institute in Washington.
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3 Q( x1 T5 h7 v+ z"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 t X! B' | s! b" l
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 I4 R! e% ~7 _" y% ]( r. ?! i
McGinnis said.: ?2 Q& U( c: W1 V
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# ]) Y( w, s* t& }$ d' R8 Z" g
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" t8 O! S5 h/ E' f+ _
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. v9 l n. A( `' hchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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$ Q' t! x4 q" E. B" DUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 Q9 D5 j6 k1 `6 i0 l
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
9 P! v) m; i4 gcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% `; ?) L" J U4 X2 g
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
, d5 K0 R# E1 m. B# O% y u9 Ion weekends.! m+ I. j( f& O: J
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: V, [5 n( i& a, k
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves& t" t. m5 d2 |" t
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ \0 @8 t, ?* u" R; _3 [proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# _( U4 {: E/ u+ f
competition. 7 H4 M9 x9 _. G A; m$ N/ _; m, J
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley6 k5 X9 G; H( H! A
said. "There will be Chinese and English."3 `. R$ R6 D5 p+ Z' A; o
A4 m9 X6 `& B+ YFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 e& V L3 B$ h4 O& c+ s F
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse1 n n- L( a/ |: ~. O3 B* ^ K
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" \, J* P. `8 }; w7 K4 l; Hkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students- H4 v: ^3 \1 b0 i. K0 n! `
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 [) y3 h* s! X6 l% S$ X5 Vthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; m- S# L7 v8 B8 myear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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/ \( I1 n7 M5 L9 \* F- l! @"They have a great international experience right in their own
1 f5 _; Y/ K$ kclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago# N/ L& e: G- T; E& q
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. p% E# d6 I8 k, T2 Zhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" j* T/ R4 e5 A' X) i
on an equal playing field."9 y g0 Q) X2 V8 M1 X6 Z7 [
% S) M) x: z+ w$ m; pSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 T; D5 v, Q3 _4 V# [% Q5 f$ fclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- r9 k9 q i, X/ s! U% mService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* ~5 }) h" x" t' h+ V$ t4 C! L* wChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
! B0 {9 _8 h+ r$ z( q1 @8 k" Saverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in6 ` u+ ~4 p8 q; {' A. g* z. K" p
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* L- x* s1 `4 x( [institute says.) `! C1 S0 c4 m
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
0 v: B6 `5 C& _: [9 K4 @grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before6 T7 V' B8 R* |
deciding whether to take the class.
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4 r& V0 t* G$ \, q1 |% [. H"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* c3 L) `' q) j1 A9 T" Ptold her daughter. c4 H( L( w/ O, j
7 E& G8 ` l! ?Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
/ J5 k9 a) ^: }# _5 b/ o3 @class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
; F/ T/ [/ Q# j( B& z. Gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
) o$ s2 { ~! Roccasional frustration.3 i+ k3 |2 s6 K
O6 |4 L' [: p$ w; e- d1 g5 m9 v* n"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a" V1 G) x3 m' k6 t: w# u; f' g
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) O& Q' p) _# T8 R3 ]# a( c
. i. U* q y# V$ Q5 T1 kRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 v9 O; A* w3 J6 Z1 E
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
@& m# V V+ bChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 L' `) l/ V8 A5 M/ L( isaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn+ z% v, x0 O9 ~9 `# [7 Y. F! d
as many languages as I can."
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1 F' E$ S' F! y9 {2 F, tAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 t$ h- D) J# x Y. B7 \
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 @# }7 d+ O8 |! Ymarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like# g0 n$ Z" @+ p' B4 C9 C0 c
that," Ms. Freire said.( C; c* E, U7 k4 K8 o* K
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program& Y$ h: Y; ^% i+ D
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each6 ?" z$ t) g* w2 p" K a( [
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 b$ Z+ U( A1 h8 R' E7 U
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
' ~& X4 O1 X; N, k/ broom.
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! e+ o( z0 }; _% XChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 K8 T$ E; |. S5 F* b+ a
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
6 V( B7 p$ P* Ecollege, 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
' l. Z5 c+ g2 Fbecause of that missing certification," he said.' i! t+ Y6 A( @0 `4 g5 m s
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
. s! e7 _ W: Y+ w7 dsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% C/ @" U% D# [$ P" t% k. gSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ r! R9 g! E& n; s9 `8 J2 [. m+ @3 OChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( d( Z& U3 W& x) S6 vthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., B ]6 g. u! w3 u) t& K- B
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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+ Q8 ~: b# d3 y4 n+ x4 KCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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