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October 15, 2005
* H t: j: Z9 H5 u1 f" |8 hClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity, K F4 X' I. N X" T. W
6 b0 l* w1 x! i/ FBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING ^' [$ M) I5 O" ?7 q
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the3 q* N6 O! C4 O
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary7 i. Z; S, H5 f( o1 Q. o3 @5 X. X+ t
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
3 y% Y9 \) x8 Gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 v0 C3 G2 y9 a
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
$ i! f" c. |! D3 Lanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ I3 f, ?! M- w+ E9 jpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, o; c/ G3 ^& O- ]boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 E) e/ ~ ] u2 ]% @0 vare already choosing it over Spanish.# T$ j" c2 j* o# y
5 J2 |) _0 ~$ x5 w( w- b3 D"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal2 Y: b, g& @9 R. c3 D E
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city" C) w* b) ~" h) s- @
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
2 k& g! o% y) [1 ]schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! U$ V2 s$ ?. R* ?3 sto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" @ |5 K' o, \
one of its most difficult to learn.
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5 ]" ]2 P, j2 M, R2 cLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to5 j7 |) L6 b1 \- v- q3 |' T! s
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 V$ B0 P. I1 Q- Bstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& x. m) u1 M3 R4 FLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; G. T8 y' S- s& cTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* r/ l; }8 G1 _/ }" \
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
. Z2 w! P+ J. F1 r% d7 bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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8 N7 C9 B: J1 X3 i* h9 JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
2 d4 M- T4 t' `# R2 J% N! fChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
& a. J" X3 ]; f# f1 i& j. n7 Ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
5 ]- F( W; s6 @2 R" Ldevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing' k, s* _( e0 i7 h% D; W; J' B
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 x2 a; y- E7 W, x* Z
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 m( R- j: z5 H- Z/ I4 a2 J! S
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- W# m; j& a0 K4 e9 F/ B7 _Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 ?" ` p7 c, C2 i. J
can." 4 u; @: X; e- `6 X/ [- @: E
# C% J; f3 O# g0 HThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from8 x2 t4 G5 q( X7 t1 T8 ^+ ^5 S9 j
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10. @; A/ ` p2 }7 N- w: `$ \
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 R6 F+ R. B+ z( `) p, c- H
Institute in Washington.% Y$ C9 ^# U& _1 [8 I, }) {
0 u- N; \+ G; C, }+ R"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages. V: d4 v( I( E# |" Q9 x# B# T8 [( t
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 t5 K/ B2 ~( `# s' Z; n" M
McGinnis said.8 e( Y* p! K5 U- [& T8 e" j
8 Y) b' e6 C* w A"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- r8 _9 @! A. C) q( slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; w. }' [7 P0 A' l
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( K% e2 @, ~% `7 Y4 s) d3 v
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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6 z7 r& V6 e @, X3 kUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 a5 Y$ \2 y7 I q+ _
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
0 i+ ^ P; ^- }, D# k6 u5 C/ |cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
" t% G5 J7 n8 T$ C" t( _Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 g n/ P# X9 F: c( B' q; V+ son weekends./ [( P( _" y0 q" L
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* p/ a! b! @& n" W, X1 ~schools during the regular school day and primarily serves3 u( s3 J: Z" \4 D% L1 y( Q
students who are not of Chinese descent. }% I r6 j* m; D
. |- \9 W( I) J7 R; x$ S" q- rMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said" T$ U D/ R# ^/ A- v. H& L" B# y3 Q1 V' U
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the/ z$ N& l( m) d
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 V7 J9 n$ \4 k8 ^6 a& R* e, Z
said. "There will be Chinese and English."/ l# S; {. z% T) Y& U
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" p# }$ ~* k I
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse9 R& [+ z8 A( _- I% q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
2 a6 {5 Q# L9 i# s8 h; W) J0 ykindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
: q8 C- v! y5 X4 `3 m: q+ cwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
0 ~0 X. A: ~* p0 e; athe school system last year.
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' ^1 |- R/ h) \The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' L4 F; R/ `- \3 D; Y$ ^9 Kyear 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
( @( }& X4 S+ f* R( I3 L5 z6 I( iclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 W6 E' D: H% d% c! p6 n0 J9 Y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to& L3 w0 ~' ]5 c% j% r
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
6 W" I5 o3 ~5 K6 e0 i! hon an equal playing field."
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. a- b0 @$ _) T' @6 `) u" ?Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: F. I. Z# X' c- Y1 O; X2 C; j1 o4 dclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 r: n1 `8 J0 d; M- q/ f
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks9 x% l& }3 {& `4 b
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
4 _, \% N! {7 j- T+ _average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in6 @5 L5 n# x1 c
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the. _/ a0 w( t/ a5 U2 L% k, C
institute says.8 N7 Q0 t7 ~: [
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
: v) O ?, v5 s$ g6 s; ~grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ y( n9 K$ a C1 n
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 A% |6 `' D6 H2 ktold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- K$ [5 ]( S" w* u; C# }) C, e- P$ oclass.
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6 Z0 H/ t; M% YAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 l% P8 O7 L0 estudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ L* U" C7 e7 R5 K) o Y2 B
occasional frustration.0 X& S" i9 N. l6 p+ ?
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a% n0 e' r8 b- S! r/ M, N
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 c2 O4 d x" |0 s; V
) ` {5 V K! Q& i( V1 PRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
0 j4 C2 m! ]: U; }! Wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with! @1 l/ n" k4 ~+ z) s
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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* R2 \" K* T5 y) k; S# s"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul H- L# U; Y( M
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn0 `* H! F7 a+ R: _6 Y* P' _
as many languages as I can."% k3 @" b" z# z f
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: D& u& s* c! D/ A- Dskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job4 _2 \, g/ p3 H* w( A' P
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like8 V4 ~2 h( A' s5 A7 L+ B* d
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, b8 S8 m8 B ?3 Y1 r7 \% Phere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) t* _2 M9 d" z1 e, x' W
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 d/ z! U$ h, A$ O5 L- k. e
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
4 H6 f+ r& \$ M: }1 s& Croom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 m) K' e; h, i( _# V" h& `# {( A
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 |6 X) C2 b G0 Ccollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said., ~6 u- e+ e0 G% S6 o
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ P' T0 f1 s! j. w
because of that missing certification," he said.; w" Y- h3 f' w0 n) d- k6 A
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ z, u- |1 I2 W% o; @said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 e3 X0 o' _0 ?# d( Q4 N1 c# z' gSociety in New York./ S4 w$ _ Z3 `
7 Z$ ?$ z) R2 u9 pSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ S5 G/ ?$ {* a, PChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from3 S! `9 c7 C! O
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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5 S$ b, S. s) H/ V/ A"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our6 o' h" L8 Q' i% B9 `; |0 w" H
own."
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; t V& R* ~! S7 LCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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