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October 15, 2005) V* w# j" n2 Y1 O. z6 T
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: D7 G9 W+ h0 ~2 ?: f
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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# T/ ~2 \2 r; E4 ?( J6 N5 v8 N6 ~# aCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
$ J1 a% F4 U( k' lUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 v' c1 Q3 l6 Q) ]7 Y/ j/ _( c
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 U: i. f4 v6 y6 }2 `dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& B# k' n d" H
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 F5 ?; A) l1 C9 g/ F' l: |1 u4 R
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- g7 O* Y& A$ j) c0 Ppracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% a) M; \% ]5 o6 C8 M
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students- _0 q U' J9 }/ }. G
are already choosing it over Spanish.5 `) s% i9 I$ v9 @+ o. R* X
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
G+ Q/ D- R- R/ H5 F7 dat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city9 t" j* v! {3 G3 M$ R( I4 g, r
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments, C) Y1 M5 k* O# A7 h2 @2 Z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
# T) ]& h ^0 F6 a1 W9 z3 kto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention5 B7 Z/ }; t9 Q% ? z2 B
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& h/ }% d" n* J( B. x3 Cpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* O- @9 I: E! h& E c# h5 jstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I., X* s) q/ N! b7 S6 O8 `2 g4 w: }
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" O8 z# ?6 m. L# l* s% f( g) f
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- p# s0 d, X6 L. v
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to( H8 F/ |* _, ?! O! M6 D
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.7 [, K* V" ]/ q! c
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement" w0 ~+ _& J9 A% \! U# [
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! w E _% t. @/ Q8 y9 Lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
5 t9 d3 \7 Z9 }4 [develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing% S, [8 _" L4 k* S# R' }, q9 g
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director$ ~4 B! m* Q& O9 E6 N9 F9 I v
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- K2 N/ z/ p: A0 c$ J! w/ i, C"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of$ J2 y1 }: f8 n
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education) c+ U" E; w* y5 H, w3 i$ I- |
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
/ Z0 q* w% ^5 x4 ]3 e8 S- T" J1 E$ V! ncan." ! p$ N6 G4 o( W" g* z5 o/ `
" H* N1 L/ N3 F. f% e1 J8 OThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ L7 U8 M% R0 r8 J a( w4 W# R F
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 q, B4 n1 k9 W
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language h6 ]1 b6 {5 D
Institute in Washington.
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- o( z2 }; H2 z a8 A3 ?"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
) W8 T; Q) }9 G! u- w' W" v. ]aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; X9 W/ @; a* a1 A! U4 @5 q( u
McGinnis said.( P; c/ a( W) @) e; b
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
2 \) K1 P* I/ Z8 Glongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ R: W5 K7 x; T# Z% H2 A8 x
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a$ S1 T( ?4 e2 j1 p8 y$ V
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
" \, ^. _7 E* I3 `1 g7 t' U$ ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in- Q6 I% W e9 e( ~
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 o1 J: d0 s( p& u2 @; {1 cChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 B$ n% U; e+ U6 Y6 r& y |on weekends.0 ~0 O% W: ]2 k3 b$ {
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public+ Q- b3 ]2 q4 R) o1 J
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
/ O" e& h# J2 h+ b/ j1 P/ cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
7 C$ b, U# g. t" c3 y/ Y: _proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the; u) x. A/ q4 y8 B0 y% b
competition. : S* ]& z8 ^7 T
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" h$ R( E3 E8 c+ m& T
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly: {' Y' j; J/ J2 K+ P% o& _ D$ p
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
! l$ \# W6 K4 T, e3 d# ^. ischools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from, w: x9 j& M. _. g- a' `: n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
& v, _% O1 r9 a- u8 m$ V, A; R. }7 Jwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 |& }- l5 n( B, e: @3 X/ B- m
the school system last year.2 G! o0 ^ U* c ]+ g' J3 p1 f2 d4 U
& _4 y# L# r* R* PThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
) a* T2 L) V3 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 \! T. P: Q8 R9 e3 }9 l) N9 A3 j$ e
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 v1 E" \4 X3 W4 r
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' ?: }8 `! x" d1 e. k0 chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
0 b/ n1 R; A$ @# v+ G" d$ Hon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. l& D2 b4 U: u3 ?( S
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 d8 y! d' A! @" O/ w0 t) ?
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks3 |! _# x! u, M, j- ^9 f
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" w$ }% H( j3 S* }' |
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
# O, r6 f* | I! |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. _! {& y Y# M5 Q L Einstitute says.# T3 o2 K% n$ D0 V8 ]4 x1 L* c" e
* b7 z- k. v7 ^ |Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
: b- h* I5 I; ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ I" @! ?: i! I I; l" X' Z
deciding whether to take the class.: Q8 N7 R8 X" V
. R, A7 L6 q# v2 D7 a, v"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she; ?. G* X3 H9 G2 X
told her daughter. }5 |$ B. ]8 g6 _1 R- Q+ m
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite/ m6 O/ s! N! W( c8 ~
class., w! U2 c/ d2 W7 J: g5 r7 K
Y* k7 \/ h" L. H6 P. k; cAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
: f6 _' R' J2 H! t5 O4 a* u, o5 Ustudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ `- K" m; {' S1 `1 `8 b( _* _occasional frustration.6 j/ e7 Z- N% z
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a' @' {$ m8 T& X
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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, A) l! a' S) A; K) YRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 M% z. @- H3 E$ B: [* t3 y6 etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ d6 L" W9 H7 g2 l Y1 ^Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ Q, N5 f7 Q7 v! t0 R
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 a0 [% g% @$ Z' {7 Qas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
! v7 i/ J3 p5 Askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
5 n- d5 G, J, i6 f, ^8 t1 tmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, i: `9 `' n8 k; W0 |, Zthat," Ms. Freire said.3 }2 Y8 U, h& y
: J" Z4 t+ K: s U8 X+ u3 v' k; NMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program) r/ B0 P' A; t h& G; H
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
5 @6 Q2 _( [6 G6 Ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
/ \0 g/ z% V7 K& dtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make7 g' F% r5 k4 i8 V; G
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer6 g3 l" C( n G, u' r0 W
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American/ ?, j) U4 E5 G
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
7 e. E/ ]) K; Z9 L/ a- Y- j# Kbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,6 q% ]3 a4 Y3 N6 {; h, l$ {
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia5 E: o/ O% k' }# E* i( n; Q2 i
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
: q$ A( x6 y" J! z5 zChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" X/ o3 _6 E& |" K
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ m% D* p8 i! r9 k* y0 i
9 |, E6 p/ b4 N @! l6 Q"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
4 f7 O5 U; s. ^own."
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3 B$ e# p' r4 hCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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