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October 15, 2005/ Z6 q* b( x# o- w4 v4 _ z$ U
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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5 `/ _% o ?; f& ]" T. u6 u5 W( WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING) l9 G) W* ]2 G9 w2 y+ i& y; u h
+ J: U) P9 L4 ?. T4 l
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 b1 E' F$ f5 I; fUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 q. `$ `$ s2 V. d& N
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas! b5 ]! h, O* ?7 n' q M4 ]
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. u9 w5 o* Q ]+ ?
flag hang from the wall.4 G6 H% |( p7 l
9 q3 W0 G$ M" J8 y% ]/ L) `# J2 ~One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
3 C( I: D) P* i, y1 E" }another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, L8 F ]& B- g* j# P4 f
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
. M% ]% f$ P1 @: R8 ]/ rboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 C, J5 s$ P) H! Aare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. H+ F/ b( w) ]: e& q
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city I7 R9 _% `2 c( j# f/ k
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, j' y* F. [/ Z x! U( P
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
5 T9 q! ?6 J3 t/ w7 g2 t8 mto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
R5 i& R: p' A- Ione of its most difficult to learn.
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/ I7 V7 d" p- [8 p9 ]" u `Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% v2 S( s( w0 L$ P4 C$ R/ a6 f1 O
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. W% Z# V8 }8 O8 K: zstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
$ u) L# N% s* }. f- @8 I U- J+ q rLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of7 t! v( k: {; }
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on9 N' x0 U5 d9 j! P- N3 d2 A) ~
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ A' d9 V3 x9 n: P/ M4 G
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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& N/ _/ Z1 e8 c3 A+ [! V$ r- I" d$ I- JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ F; V7 R9 _6 L9 u# K% i6 PChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
# a5 b2 U4 J+ }8 J/ y3 ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to8 W! @! u: u& ^4 ]. m
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
# L* ^% C: p4 {) {0 e4 O1 d4 icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 z# l6 O6 {5 e8 I. d* m+ E0 gof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# o* T& I* E U+ M) x0 Xspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
: \" o+ O( p3 Z8 ^8 l0 DConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; Q" l7 \$ L9 c* L
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: ^9 W0 J @! s. y( ~elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; p6 m- S1 ]7 M# K* `% S" v
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ P g( |' }6 |0 J5 I8 y/ }" w& g/ nInstitute in Washington.
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z. f# e9 F1 h& n& Z"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
8 Z- B1 I' Z1 i) x l/ P! Naren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! ~" S" B3 J* t) H2 h W
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ {7 B! c) F! @6 ?' Z6 z$ Y9 i$ X
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be: M- I/ ^! `9 [. v
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: H. e* g: Z3 P* O( L/ j+ B% Y0 Mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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; _$ N+ T0 _- Y2 j) W+ ], RUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and& S; |. [* f2 s$ Z5 z; v
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
" A1 T s0 X* D; H1 ?9 ^cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ c9 z' }1 e( e+ i
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or9 P" K' g1 m. G$ J6 ~4 }- V! o- C* E5 E
on weekends.2 v6 S; I3 X; l5 f3 r& r/ m
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public7 t5 J& P8 d9 |2 M# N0 [
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 p3 D6 o8 l* d/ W, B8 ?7 O: ~students who are not of Chinese descent.& J3 J/ d- e( `! p$ ~0 J! [
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said% F. v9 [, T1 g; S3 o
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ C8 u* }+ \& L4 s
competition. 2 y6 J8 I6 R1 {* `* B# ]; O8 P
7 @: M7 `0 O. i# Z, p; S"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley+ T! V# r g# C; A' m: E& X
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly5 [7 p: d, F1 m. T/ q
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse. W% w0 L: Y- i$ Q: W, E
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from h: f. G/ @! p( z& u# q7 S
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students3 P( ]* P. c: O5 f" [' s
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 k# q. K5 c, X6 w& z3 z7 X
the school system last year.
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' m1 l% v+ ], Y: p3 ]# W+ P ?The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this* u' X8 }7 p4 ^3 j1 C- W: ^
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% j) A) L( T, O/ i2 y7 z0 A
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 I. y8 h7 t$ n |: E
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" c T* O3 q- e( E n
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet& {( e: ^% E% c3 E. j: `! j
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 K, W' H$ b4 u9 U1 @; _" sclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 E9 h) P' L! c9 |# rService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* H, `* E$ u' o" f% R
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ U: R: Y8 y1 e, W: \
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; _3 g/ y/ \7 D7 r3 A
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
P) h4 S; t+ r# r" V8 M9 R- R- Ninstitute says.' O( a0 H9 I/ e% C$ {$ `7 Y
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
G4 h' [. t* D5 A# p) `) p6 [grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
! b' Y: T" k$ b( Ideciding whether to take the class.# S: ~4 v4 A0 d: z* X$ d
+ {! U+ T0 D8 v/ `4 S) Y1 R"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
: L2 E1 K5 f( S, v& f' m/ I/ ?told her daughter.0 r; [# H% [) z! g/ t- }" r
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
6 J1 }; ~, }- ]class." S4 o/ S7 `: \3 U4 A1 b
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 {; ^2 c8 q, sstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ W5 I( j( i9 q5 s3 L5 \" L4 l8 I* W0 e
occasional frustration.. l3 Q# Z$ S |( A' J7 Q
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ _5 Q% n; N) _+ Trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he: {1 M3 \6 N0 V- j
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with3 ?! \9 v/ d5 }4 Q4 `1 e1 |$ w
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.5 M/ J3 b) e7 s
; h* o5 {6 y! p# ]"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 c+ z, u7 t+ h5 a6 v* K
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
/ f# [7 a. M7 u& v. g4 aas many languages as I can."
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, y/ S, w/ g: J- e- D0 Y# k& BAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" c! ^$ `" q+ c! v: u w& m; Rskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
$ z) b7 e6 B5 Vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
( D1 z+ G1 s# q1 q( z& p2 Nthat," Ms. Freire said.) t3 X0 V+ O ~
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
8 K M; ~( O) L8 m/ xhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
+ a7 r! B- \* ]6 q) a4 N- Tschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 c! V$ F3 q; Z1 i9 v
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make+ N# w% c! ^; R. R5 ^
room.6 f7 i* ^" E" V6 M' {3 ~
" e b; }& U6 Y/ tChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer. G8 B: f; Y! w# k" f+ E
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
G+ O- Q: \. G3 C$ u9 D, |college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.8 M9 g; w* b0 r7 Z
U7 f7 R6 F" Y+ y* b4 n8 \"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 v K) w8 r' ^, jbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
5 Q3 Y) P2 T3 Z+ b3 k( fsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
6 g& F+ ^& n* iSociety in New York.
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0 ~+ M. S9 O4 tSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& I# q& s$ z5 \) c* C8 T' T
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from2 Q4 l5 |) t& X$ ?8 k
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., e* Q7 h& _ B, l) H8 m
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 z# f( Q) M3 k: G* K, v
own."8 n6 w% F! t4 [- `7 G0 t
& ^# X. f' Q+ @Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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