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October 15, 2005
5 l% ]' ?4 |6 b! z v4 [Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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" T' l3 t! y. L; x3 eCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the9 y6 Z; g* J, r* e
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
4 _/ @9 d7 X- h' O) f+ _School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 d. c2 v8 J4 k& C( [ Q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese$ q; _8 o" g" H+ H2 T0 H
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
+ ~# b8 ^5 s1 K% ^3 X! ganother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
5 F# ~% r9 u7 J! b# @/ Qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
o; p& F9 x* Z, `$ aboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 y7 M+ R- k0 c5 C3 t
are already choosing it over Spanish.- g4 ]9 v5 q- P+ T$ K* I: o
' \* R5 @9 p: n5 K% o/ Q' d"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal2 C6 K8 o G G: g, f3 x" X5 v a
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 C9 D8 ~7 ?/ h- k; ?
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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3 m: M7 c2 X' C y+ Y, WWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( a3 i. l9 \. I/ y! X
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings2 z% o6 I% I" i: a7 O- U+ g* u
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: O ]9 b( r4 F/ [# jone of its most difficult to learn.
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4 J y9 B; z2 dLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
7 v* U: ]' c) M; S& `public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
L* Q+ h% V. Z4 r @2 Cstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.9 p) Y- u9 m+ h4 B/ S/ K* M5 p, h
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% k& i x* a' LTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- }5 q! M/ h% w* [0 w, `# F* O
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 }6 e9 c" l+ h; f
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.3 {/ c3 t: E/ h9 D9 j
$ h/ [2 }( `! w7 v7 b. RAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
/ ^7 i2 s; l$ q" p6 n. mChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 I, n* `& X" h
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to u) J9 x- f a: b* q6 d8 ^
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. [! ~! ^- a0 d8 V) h
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
5 x2 p4 Z/ ]9 J# v7 C0 H2 ~& Lof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.; u" x8 y/ T1 v0 s8 g. P
, J! Y! b% i+ \8 s2 o"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: k5 j, p3 g1 r5 R
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
; ?; f: b1 X( C8 T% Q2 cConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 f! o, z' G' I' P# R" xcan." ! I. V( W6 \5 ?/ e
, }, E0 E7 k( R6 h, nThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 t0 I% g/ J; I- `# S0 qelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, `2 e. J. L9 V1 ] J w( K8 i0 ]
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
& o# o9 Z: y# w6 eInstitute in Washington.+ E2 i ]- e( L8 a
1 q: J8 G( k! ]4 z8 @9 K! f"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& L- O* x4 B5 |1 G7 U/ o. ]! ^9 E! Aaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
* }7 ^, P" H7 D! x" v' X- H# R' j6 zMcGinnis said.; ]: U1 R. e% r# W! @7 |
1 }/ s1 G0 U" Y2 k4 u( ?, U"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
& M0 _% \6 A2 ~9 v- x+ tlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 A* u: j+ P4 s; ^' o" ^- Rready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a7 Y/ x+ k3 X* i4 o8 K- l% K
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 V/ l& G( o& o5 D4 _
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
3 ?- }0 K5 ^8 D5 qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
' Y# l2 G6 g* P' _; |' u8 ~5 Pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# p4 O) B4 H" x9 i8 F4 [
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 a$ j, @ g) U% K8 Von weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
$ M2 M; n6 ^" |: F! yschools during the regular school day and primarily serves" A* _; v! _1 D
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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0 {8 G( B, P0 Y2 J( xMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said9 u- B1 K _' t7 L* k" O
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
" y$ w6 Y( N0 g# X7 acompetition. ! a; h/ g5 A* f; C$ \6 _
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 f& L2 k- M7 L, }. m+ K( _
said. "There will be Chinese and English.", F% ~; I, G* l' ]! n
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 F1 L3 i. S( z6 tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse1 T$ F4 q" I7 ~
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
7 [. T$ Y4 w8 S5 Ykindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, i& E) W/ P3 H% s) |who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to; D. t4 z5 |5 x
the school system last year.
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; f, E8 k% p, ]) |The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
7 I8 h5 Z3 k+ O9 e& zyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 d: ]6 Z& U4 ]: ?) S- R2 G
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
! }8 q( X" w6 @2 |classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' m: P4 z5 C$ [2 t0 J: k
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to J4 k* h0 h& s
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
: J/ z/ c' N0 l- _on an equal playing field.": ~% I! e* A' _1 q$ \
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
4 _2 N3 T9 C! |classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign W1 p5 y$ @' I# E, b/ E5 A2 S* y& R
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. A8 K2 Q2 b" W. a2 y
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' ]6 f) p; X9 W5 I/ @& {' _ Raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in& x. E' _6 O8 S4 Z2 Q7 i# A
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the/ R* P5 _' r V) v2 x
institute says.1 w1 e' L6 O- J( i2 A2 o
9 q A |( N* A3 z- bSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth9 s) f1 V3 \/ e2 l
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before8 C: s9 |5 T4 R8 V* I) K9 i
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she' G. N& e- h( E$ g2 W: M
told her daughter.3 S/ o" p) x9 G! c/ b* v
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, H. j+ x; P5 _/ [% |! A' N! `, c( T
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are# J; u' z% i6 M- W$ y
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 p5 E0 n" [3 H' N* h. F; s5 \occasional frustration.5 s) ^7 v1 r3 M$ e3 ?* @ u, Z
- [) I- C% M% `$ p5 i' ]6 s"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
% i1 \- l3 s5 {' N* ?# Drecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 J& j- R1 d' M0 p; g0 A9 X2 ~, G
3 B$ P$ E7 Z: }! f0 C6 [Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' Z# \; T8 [0 X! q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 M# B- [% d1 h9 Z- oChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." @# `; V I) _. z7 V8 J
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
! I. \1 a L0 w) esaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn' T8 d( w% ~) }" \3 w$ U6 P
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
+ u0 {- }$ V, \) \skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; V& Y4 b" h5 r& t ` j7 e
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 m! y: a* |' n6 ]: X1 w% l7 s/ b/ U: Mthat," Ms. Freire said.
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0 M; ^1 p* y2 X) WMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
$ F0 S% N. ~* _% }7 c+ {here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each, ]& x7 }. n5 o) O6 x
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- [2 M6 Z9 A# M7 V# U( [0 Q) y, h7 F
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make* O1 R6 h3 \. ` o- _: }
room.
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, i" i, l2 A: {# f+ IChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer, @' }: y' e2 C$ _( V' Z( d
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American9 w5 X, [" o, _$ C6 r( O. Q; z: d) q
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.& Q! T2 f& y' ~+ K
3 G$ K0 O$ E( G0 d7 z6 A: Y8 o"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 C% G/ x# |0 g/ B( i2 d( H% ^because of that missing certification," he said.# N0 {* W( s% [9 F( u
+ ^5 X1 y: i. h$ u5 C% iThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,7 _; ^% o/ x( u) p/ r6 ^& P
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia1 R9 E2 Z" y J' J5 }
Society in New York.- x: O B+ L4 i& C2 \+ z6 z
4 N2 K; U' ]3 G, fSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the0 `, I7 L4 Z7 M9 N! q0 W
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 ]& O' S0 z) N8 z0 F9 |the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.2 T) g; D+ h" w4 i% d
% C8 k6 n& Q' r: Q% |; x3 H"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 r- r+ |7 A6 o$ m. O
own."
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0 }: T- W$ h }5 Q0 [6 {Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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