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October 15, 20054 H) _5 {# ^, ]; p- ]# P( g
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity" f, h6 h% u' j/ I* o8 r, ~
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING) x3 H( N& J0 e5 f3 o& a3 \9 F
: y/ H) C Y0 nCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 C0 }. ^, \# T! X* N4 | a- }0 YUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 ^$ r7 Q( s, TSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
9 ^+ J. k6 c% _2 Sdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
# E' Y# }4 g" q, q# e: ~flag hang from the wall.
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& C' g6 S8 ~. e" v; WOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one5 m$ U4 i/ B7 Q2 X9 G% `0 r
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders8 U" y; \% y/ e4 U# A; |/ n0 X+ N7 v
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; @; d$ ]. o+ d% H1 t: Kboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( O1 r& z: H( M5 Q6 nare already choosing it over Spanish.) k a2 F0 V, K
; ~) @- a3 `. q) W* K"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal3 Y/ [; v0 l7 B+ Y* Z* o* ~
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 v. B& U5 X S$ [7 [offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 B3 g' ^2 K" f6 c& }! [4 I
. J7 n- F& _1 e- Q8 ]1 kWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
# B+ Q2 Y4 k8 ?+ x( U' ~schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
v9 n" I9 e! O( K, {to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. P# E& m8 m" y) {- f+ k
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to" d; c4 T7 k8 e$ B
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% K7 p9 E. g, m" I% ?) J. g5 [studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.7 y, {+ F" n/ U: E8 o* m& B, M6 L
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of+ O+ o8 M( |; e% F: R7 z/ Q
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on6 f9 Q. H; P7 @) `+ F3 e
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
* m, [; N) h' p" iimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee., B; G3 H. d2 Q/ i
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
/ _! ^* L7 h5 K8 x; |) T P1 vChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country- P8 M4 @- g: w" L) z7 d& Y, A) I
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
* v: r+ }' ^3 B Wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing" ]7 q T; r/ L) u! P7 s
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director; t3 U3 p8 ?* u* |8 U' Y
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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3 h. t0 i5 V8 n5 `"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 _0 Q% h1 M1 F. F5 H7 P! Rspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
5 c; z8 C, x' Q7 _Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we0 J2 u* u( @5 `! e( ]2 ]% A
can." , g6 X. A" O# ~$ g0 w/ W
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 c4 Q+ D* R1 Q! Ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( q3 [# k8 Q; V4 Pyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, |# l& ~; W K: b: [Institute in Washington.4 e# ]8 n: s( H, u+ j
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 C5 ?9 [( W) p3 j: {aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.. N; g' L, _* a3 h# ?
McGinnis said., f- f+ J: v4 l- j6 Y( o/ o
) g" l5 D7 K/ j0 j" W o* q# ["Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 p- O& I2 A4 c! |6 D$ j* P( I; [longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be4 W0 A0 F9 v& r2 P
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( z6 t/ V3 }2 g
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
: ?- y+ ?* V; [5 n3 V# L3 Csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 {6 ^- J [- kcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
3 O9 B4 Z9 a( Q9 p- j/ E4 ^4 wChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or" D# c/ e, q0 B M6 |* b" l( g
on weekends.
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. S& c ]$ P0 h% ], L. K1 WThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public" n, |% Y. D2 I) ^( Y
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves$ o* l- r. _4 r, i Z
students who are not of Chinese descent.5 R" W w, W( G
6 I, {: S1 B" eMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 J) H2 ~/ o Q |6 B' N d
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
! Q3 F2 o3 I) E+ H5 {& h# `" jcompetition.
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" x# Y, f2 q1 [2 A1 j& u+ c" W3 Z( c"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
* N, ?1 g9 n: [! |9 G+ M- M4 Ysaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. t' ^8 Y6 o" Q7 ^0 k/ H* T
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse, U7 \. P& m( X/ m( K# ~$ l6 z$ z
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
, M: i) }2 Y% V; fkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
/ `4 d' `' r: ywho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 X6 J* ?* M; W& L! }
the school system last year.. W) j, t" B6 ^" _4 v- i* S
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( [% q# C0 m/ k1 F6 Syear 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 own3 m+ g' j* i: c. r/ |
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* X% F6 E/ w: k7 i
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* p% i0 d/ {' X9 b( `7 L( m- ^" ^
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 N7 d) R2 W* e: B
on an equal playing field."
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! S9 ]6 t; W! S7 q& P1 K. |& t2 y+ L1 eSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! V; t, f! F' ]) u, Pclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
4 t0 e; o f) q( Y) \- v; pService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks, j0 m" O" J) U" p0 A
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: T" D8 X f7 `* `( T) N" ^
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ M$ s/ O- U) YChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! x3 p$ _2 V- B1 \" O# C
institute says.+ J8 ?6 o! E( }
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; b; c5 i! _1 e- R Igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
0 K9 V+ F4 l. L9 B8 _deciding whether to take the class./ S& G, |! g0 e& K% k
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she% i' S4 f$ P& R$ H8 d# Z: ?( L
told her daughter.
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7 U, h, }7 o! M( vSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
& ~' S8 T7 ~# x- j2 W$ S# ]class.# L \9 r# x7 U0 T
& Y0 l, D- r. i2 yAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
, X3 H4 [- l$ }+ Jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. f) S2 u" Y' H: Z6 Uoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: _' f. d0 R5 D; V4 _
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.2 J6 _! R7 H2 E2 S4 n, c
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he3 T5 O i1 q7 ~. T' ]! b
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with! Q& N3 D' \/ d9 Y( O ~
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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% O x" S# o' C6 ~2 {. v' K"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
6 k5 w, E2 H3 `! ^' c1 O& V) E. Gsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn3 T l1 B$ T; h
as many languages as I can."( Y7 y8 }9 B7 q
! }, U6 h2 ^: |% X$ Q/ @Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 V6 } |: O$ O `, [% q; dskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; c8 q9 y! m$ _
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like0 x! H9 {# F7 O! E
that," Ms. Freire said." o8 [9 \) o/ z. l
5 X% h3 A- E) z" bMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 z/ b' b* p! ^; Q, {7 F
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
, R. ~$ c% ]9 o2 Y7 {school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking9 r: U6 x- t [* h; E
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 K0 h8 B# a% hroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
9 T2 p; b) j- G+ XChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American, T* J2 V$ f0 ]' D9 E
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said./ g' }/ }$ G; w- Z6 u# A
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
$ m. D# o- d' \2 Ibecause of that missing certification," he said.
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5 \5 m; |' m0 h. b a- UThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 D6 k7 B1 [( x+ ^& P
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
; V% k6 p: A3 J. HSociety in New York.3 |) L+ t# c. L* d. [
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: c5 |) B i! W% ^' S. |
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from. o8 H- \. G. G
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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0 d Q. [$ `9 E& s"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
: [+ x1 S8 N+ Wown."
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* Q- ~' B/ B7 t" ~8 h# N5 YCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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