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October 15, 2005
) X' q" h, n; O; Y0 LClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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' l9 V/ n+ V% ACHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 ~( h& E9 D2 t* G! m' r
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
* }% K. w1 }+ J' L4 JSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 ~# H4 r3 [3 k& O- Cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
k7 N; r* X' T* U/ Fflag hang from the wall.
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, y1 A7 s: w4 O6 ^7 ^& jOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one: [) M0 O/ m: ] Y, C6 d& d
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' m# Z/ X9 s2 K' G; cpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker2 ?, ]- C# W' T
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 n& @& i" ]6 `: Y/ iare already choosing it over Spanish. P) s/ O6 g' l
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; A$ L0 ~2 u0 i0 ^) F, d/ wat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city- V9 N/ i- r4 @
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 c9 C& z/ I# ?5 Q# T
9 j# T4 l/ o* a8 u$ D; `9 y, XWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& l: u* ]" z- J
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
4 ~0 k1 Q$ w) Z; oto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* d2 r2 U! F6 U0 [
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to5 P3 j' _$ B: W( Z9 O" s
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& P4 o) W* x* Q. b3 f) K1 G9 h
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.; l' ~; T1 n! C5 _
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 Z0 l L% X/ F @$ n
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on) G* w4 j. d4 T p7 L* O8 r
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
5 p! D. o, G+ m( O! R# Timprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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3 K( X: Y; C3 L7 I0 B* ZAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement! i1 F: @* p. h" C2 ^8 ^2 c
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
& z9 H: u8 [! @% } c. g& x1 G9 Mstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
! C3 v+ a/ a7 u; Odevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
, l, y$ r1 u% ?curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ x7 ]2 `% X w) X0 O8 M: hof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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# J* K! {+ f7 a- `( q"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
& Y8 u6 B' W& ^0 p3 z/ _speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
6 {" [3 a0 Z; T" A" s, h: JConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 N( z( [, m: S
can."
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% k) f. |8 e- T5 u& TThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
# P6 t7 m9 }' t9 ]! f2 m% k1 Ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 R% ]: s1 q& y
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language- p5 H6 J* W) x& m$ N- ]
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 ^9 e. o5 u7 O K8 ~7 s1 @aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# h0 ?: j: e- H8 v; `" C
McGinnis said.
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* b) S2 X. _1 A2 h4 ]3 X+ R! }"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical, j+ y v4 Y j8 q' N
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be- q% T0 U: |1 p' S, s- N
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a" o8 J0 V+ }% O5 B/ \
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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: a% Q- I8 c3 t& q* E2 U0 OUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
/ o- V( S( Y2 q3 Usecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
( Y" w: C7 w: v9 Ycities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
% }0 I5 W% @' C. M8 L8 ]. EChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or& D9 a; ~% x! Y& p
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
/ K* [$ @" E8 a; |- z+ G, Vschools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 q7 \" P, l% d5 b% K' u
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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% q) J* a- T( ~) O) G/ @. a: s/ mMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 \# H; l2 |" W3 M. q6 t0 s `
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
3 p0 Z8 R5 K% C$ U) t6 h' Dcompetition. . p1 {2 ?# B4 b7 J
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
/ y; Q6 V- S0 V4 Qsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."9 T4 N, A- }& [: P
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
" j' `" H2 J0 q8 n( }* Tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
0 M" u' {8 E- Y% Pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. d2 x! l G' [5 V
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students" M; _" M! B0 r1 |
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& Y$ ^$ |6 D3 Z
the school system last year.
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- ^- t, d# l5 Z d* |1 eThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, O7 `: L; N# ^
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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3 a9 F8 M" r2 m; B# T$ g: d8 d"They have a great international experience right in their own
# s# z* A4 _" }* I. Yclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 n3 P3 W+ u9 B# ^+ ?% O2 mChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
3 {; ?+ r) E; R7 O5 y% B. D% Lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet# [5 a5 p+ @, B; t7 B8 b( ~9 Y
on an equal playing field."- z! D4 V- M3 t3 _+ l Q9 J9 U
9 N" \: T' H+ h3 |7 M: D" ]! QSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, P7 k1 m7 y6 H) _- rclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* }( b' m' ?( O# S9 FService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 e7 T, h/ t& G% G: rChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 y: ~: R0 s- {+ Q$ i( S2 U* X0 u: qaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; C* S) w' { H: g, U: @
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the4 Q1 h- T y8 H7 q. \4 Z9 q
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth4 r3 [8 G2 I7 Q( _& `% d# J
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
. j8 L# y: O+ ydeciding whether to take the class./ \1 c5 M! H! ^% b: I) Z" J
8 F5 L% R+ U5 T4 T3 X" W, X"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
4 Z: Z* f( t2 ~( j! D: }- Ntold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 j5 T7 G3 ~) \# b5 e
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( e* l8 r& m2 |% M- Wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
2 `/ C2 O! |1 R! goccasional frustration.& @4 d7 q: @! D4 ]3 R/ U4 j+ q
' a/ R7 w- u: N6 m"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
4 \6 v! U2 G5 g2 Q- C hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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, A# e# I% E+ g3 G- B, s* rRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
1 C7 p4 j* U5 M& _0 Ataught words to his mother so she could better communicate with9 T" \. ^4 e! P/ F2 U$ N
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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# j% H+ V! z9 `"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
3 ?$ e' o" U D. p! Msaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% ~. D: P( i7 y0 w' z$ I. p6 |as many languages as I can."$ n$ U! p0 h( O2 [
3 s/ u. m$ l5 B4 R6 xAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
' Z# c" l5 V1 J! d h: u- mskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* r. _' o5 W5 ?1 Lmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like5 l* e; z; H c$ Z
that," Ms. Freire said.
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) b5 B% m" t: O& n2 C+ d% ~! ?Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( X7 d) U3 j) d% ~: [' ~here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
& E0 B Y4 \+ `0 e0 I% Oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 W4 ~" b: w& `0 u7 Ftime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
) s% |/ v1 p. M4 Sroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
+ W A U. v6 UChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American7 U6 f, B s2 [6 U
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said." E3 y5 k4 G2 X) @: I
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
3 c( u2 ?1 D5 Ubecause of that missing certification," he said.* v6 Q3 `/ D2 w' h# Z
% C1 J, Q0 B9 |1 p y+ o, V. ~3 RThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
- d. p6 |# C2 E# Q3 x4 }said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
5 [! X, v% t3 O' t, RSociety in New York.9 T5 A- W, J9 [, [ a# S
6 l m7 r. Z& r$ `: GSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the4 T0 W( h# O4 Y1 [ x6 K) U
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 I+ r' i F4 v5 @. t
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. ], Y2 R- O8 t- z% }$ @$ W
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our R5 v |- Y( c( e4 S2 R
own."& f4 W+ L2 |5 h( Z9 k* Y6 _
( Q" E9 r' u# H" x$ t$ D6 R; _Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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