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October 15, 2005
) b3 S9 y1 j" V1 r- FClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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0 f2 f$ p( a( eBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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8 y) K" C/ t, h+ M- HCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the' a' n \* w \6 Q& x6 U
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary: {& O' J7 Q+ {. p+ v! I
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 D9 y9 L+ `/ n9 Sdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" {! j1 s7 R" dflag hang from the wall.. K% W9 x9 S* Q( W1 C4 V) z
! O2 h8 m. s- ~One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 s- z" [& C; V. l9 D- i: manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% W% [0 I- L* j! J3 [7 t2 h: bpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
{. B6 D0 X/ g: tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students% _* c3 x5 g' y" l) X _
are already choosing it over Spanish.2 n5 C* f! O# [5 g/ R6 \9 r
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- f; M: c0 J; Y; y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ n) G) d+ G( O3 ]- o! B$ ^
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 t# }% l$ p' u( o
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' \8 o; x% `; t! v
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
, A- t/ o) l" `$ Zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention% _2 V; o% K' `# o' V
one of its most difficult to learn.
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' q7 ~2 T8 F3 g( h2 |5 HLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 F5 ]) d, e* {3 Z2 vpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! V2 `3 l9 D( s% V5 w: W" H
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ n: G+ ]/ ` {$ Q
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 b- D" U, D2 d2 u
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
3 Y# {3 W: y# k' q% GChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
2 E6 w+ _' [- }; p; N" M: yimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ e* \0 F! t# i" f9 C6 u
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement0 C l: k, [1 A9 Y' x
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country$ m# l( k! t8 L/ E
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
5 V" a+ L! S; Rdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 \5 \- r* }( y) O9 I: W
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 h8 J$ a4 T) v1 Fof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) p6 b/ [' i. E0 S9 ^" W( I
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' _1 g2 s6 r# ~" ?
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education( m- X% u! L% Y' s
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ l4 o# l. F L2 \" v& F
can." 8 s4 D Q9 M0 h0 G
) E# b4 v/ G; d0 FThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from7 O: O9 `3 b# v; b: F
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, U% f9 K( \& P) z
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language# F! E9 ^) F, z% k, ^6 D6 i
Institute in Washington.. Z7 O4 _4 j+ `" k
) i) m% O; e, [% v( x! s7 M"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- V4 x* w1 b3 n/ k# G( t
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
8 y2 `+ ` f! q6 Q& K3 X }McGinnis said.& ~: [+ \, [; [8 L4 J
& @ C: G) L7 ^/ n8 X"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
, M. P* E# T2 S; s1 g) p+ N6 _ _longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! d. Q% Y4 d0 x$ O; ^* Q U+ O$ o0 t# qready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) G1 `% Q" M; r9 k% K8 Wchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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) h; e9 {. j: A- t( e, H) I% T. kUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% Q1 j& u: ?% k' r1 J" w' xsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. K. j$ |6 v8 U$ R
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of0 q; Y3 i$ Q0 `+ S
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 ], A) y* ~. s4 bon weekends.
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% K" [, l. N$ L7 e$ Z0 bThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 O) O9 S8 ~: s& ^- t8 d
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
" q; I N3 S! _) Istudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; e7 K% b R) W7 s& z
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
2 H3 {* P b" T0 `' \! x- v7 O2 ]competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley& t/ ~' J: e6 f* G" A
said. "There will be Chinese and English."- ^1 x7 Q5 x6 h8 X: r
) f. f5 X0 @- F. v2 \From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 C7 n$ n9 j' A9 l. @- s' t1 m, U3 B
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 I1 N+ l2 y/ y2 `1 l, s; B- ?schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
5 R# C- T3 y: H8 ~& qkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
5 c& ^- k/ i1 W! T G3 h) owho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, a% B* R2 A1 Q: ]& Rthe school system last year.& ^& f b. h6 Q" b& B, m& m
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this& m& m$ ^1 B! Y$ F8 u N" ?3 \
year 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
`9 W. m0 G1 Yclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' {! _; J+ U; p. N% f
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 o' x. G0 |) ~( f! R/ f
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
6 B$ F' |6 f. j8 X+ B- }4 Ion an equal playing field."/ h7 j9 D' t% _; c
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' K4 ^3 m9 ]+ j8 r" B# W& V3 U
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
( }1 Q) _5 y) T& o; ]6 mService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* B- P$ E: x6 {- b8 v3 P
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ M7 x" l# J4 Y2 B; \
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in) `2 Z* f2 S) \) E$ X' v- }
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! d+ z( ^; r& j' \9 o
institute says.- z; [ g. ~" E% ^) U
$ a) f7 w4 U9 P, X, g( v6 S- XSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth. k# k5 Q1 w7 u/ U6 J
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
, u' ]7 h9 `* Q0 W0 T/ ^6 l4 Xdeciding whether to take the class.7 l" y- K5 Q/ q
2 O6 c0 s6 E3 ]6 Z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
9 F% @1 X' B. ^* l: }8 btold her daughter.2 S0 o2 E' j. ~
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 i5 I" P) r: M/ I: ?; G _7 g
class.
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x+ I" J; E* y W% d% vAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 W( k& T- r( c% q5 s& s5 T
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without1 d: _# u9 x, ]' ~" A+ |
occasional frustration.
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5 U \8 H1 e5 p3 [/ k& j"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 D. [; `- ]% K3 C) }
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.4 L. z" @! u. c# p* k
& m9 X% `+ O c8 i/ fRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 I' W; A2 i# G4 z# Xtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
2 u; M7 H, z1 a3 wChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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: J0 z# q/ `( c( e7 \5 M"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 F9 J7 T {4 ]* T& p
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, I, e9 w [: e7 Y9 b8 vas many languages as I can."6 j; B2 E4 b/ L2 u
) H7 J* r1 | K3 A: N" QAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the* u, C* o. h' H& l) F. f
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
) d+ ?, Y$ p7 d6 jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) j5 Q$ K5 [( o$ [
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program* ~ |+ ?& e; g4 Y# J; P
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each% U! U7 g: F; I9 U I& V
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking) n) D' B! u8 i
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
% |- w$ U/ w- ]* E3 s% k: Hroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 {3 t8 i6 A7 uChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% `, [9 G' B: a$ K$ a7 ?college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said." r' } U; W4 F: W6 \" i+ P
! d n6 T$ h4 f- j4 a& t"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 i$ V6 g6 Z7 A1 [) Y# o6 l# S
because of that missing certification," he said./ N6 [( V! M4 s
4 K) Z, A. ]$ p1 L/ EThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! @' R, D( s9 X) Fsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" T, {; U5 q( H; ]6 fSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 M4 h$ U* q; D" r3 [Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
4 C9 V7 \/ z8 Fthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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; D |( ?; Y+ m& dCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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