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October 15, 2005- z/ m0 D; N1 E m7 r, ]+ M
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 L: i3 ~" V! }
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 M& \. `. f! I" A; jSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 g) V3 v4 i3 }5 e" Y* Tdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
: V; ~3 ~( G$ F3 q* l0 @9 T+ Y5 jflag hang from the wall.+ [# l" V; Q+ n8 |; N& n1 m
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one( K; g" P, J$ `3 g4 y
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( |0 ^6 z9 b' k3 _( `2 K$ o" xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
' m% T5 J: p$ @7 n; mboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students. Y, t) b( c) U6 j
are already choosing it over Spanish. R I; q, Y2 Y2 B* S- q# `' U- x2 N; f
: g$ N: N$ G8 X* }: W+ j"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
) K* f8 U' ?4 [! p- I7 p: Yat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 u* W/ S( F: T, F
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."4 i' n# x- T$ {" o
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: u$ c4 J0 `1 U' P5 P" H' Q# y
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 p# T7 D7 \: v" l( g( Z
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention, a3 ?) A0 r* k7 U
one of its most difficult to learn.1 s" K9 ]6 ]5 h6 J. W. Q5 f/ ]
" ]; F3 m; a/ \* M& F9 F7 @" S" [Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to1 j {% ~$ s8 A+ f7 g' W g+ _
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. I8 q f. h. c$ Zstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( B! G5 |8 z0 U5 z& @4 h( K
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
+ z7 B! B0 m) g% R) T5 B; B: hTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) V& ^# r: m( D4 T8 H& tChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; M# E4 j# ^- v$ Y: M7 zimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ k' K# R$ {6 K0 K& p
, @% \8 v5 x- T: B" M+ W3 {2 n! eAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement# H- X' {3 z% K1 M* c& \
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) l3 V2 {7 O; w: S
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ V$ J A) W r9 d6 B5 M5 j) X
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
2 ]) f( H6 G3 W9 \curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 s3 s6 _" O L* L7 ]! Tof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.+ u3 A" k. v1 K1 f+ H( w
4 o9 U" V" y% N; y- t6 W, l"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
$ I& ~- y; v5 T$ @4 v9 ~. Espeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education `9 {( v) _2 H! Z1 X) i$ x
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we: e1 @/ ~$ M1 f; B; D2 r9 o
can."
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1 t% s$ D5 Q5 t! f! HThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from9 K) g+ E7 o" r1 o0 D
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 b, Y, }1 R- H" @ y
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 Q; F; x! p! ^Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 i! S. k& l k; J- v) m- _
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
# g$ m; G7 \9 ~1 w1 jMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ z9 g3 o; }! j( }3 s, d# }longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 T# ~+ W A4 C1 M
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# h% ]6 M& Z& |' @2 L
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
7 P3 v# q+ |$ T: L7 U$ g! U3 l; Hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 R+ ?! E* M; |( D7 g( C
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
1 L5 M8 f- O* G; o, @! O# {9 UChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or' u7 a9 y& [: ^! V9 `
on weekends.- C5 y6 M' n2 _
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public, @9 h) \% v' `, m, I& T* Y
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
$ E$ R/ s& w" k! |/ o, ystudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ @8 _3 h. v" [( D4 l9 m7 Xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the, t$ `. O0 Y" `
competition. 9 ^2 t/ X3 ]3 `8 s' ^0 n$ s
* H2 ?% J% l; v- b% @, l4 X" e"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
- l7 A: Q2 W$ h8 ?, @3 w; Asaid. "There will be Chinese and English."" c! q) {# J- t3 p
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. `0 F5 B" _% g' Q1 q' H2 y' v" P
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
! t. l: b b0 i4 n4 pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
9 V# P% C; a5 j" Kkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 ~. x& U2 W- ~- K9 {/ |who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to* D8 w5 U3 T' u& x. }$ M
the school system last year.
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! a! F* f6 t, kThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 |4 E' v& k- ~% i# D3 p% z
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
3 Q3 B* J( q5 x+ I# [6 X9 {classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago5 }7 G! `! i- ]/ P8 I
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" e" X( N( a0 [! L9 A4 {. \
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet' c I) u" R1 q
on an equal playing field."
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1 k, p2 F; a5 CSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
8 p: ?' @7 b, q$ oclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ B. I( U" X0 u+ A+ ^$ l! r
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* x' u; G! V# h; o' [$ }0 fChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An. }& `$ y! x( @; n" V
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
( ]( r W+ a2 w% TChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 |& @% E. W( J3 N" ]8 E0 binstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
% B9 x5 K6 n& `/ H9 |( ^grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before1 t3 d- t( M; @' ?) H6 W
deciding whether to take the class.
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& Q6 r/ Z2 R% ?9 ~6 c& |: H"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 q" l. u3 k1 C2 Q+ v6 f' b- Gtold her daughter.* r- L8 z8 X5 p- C
% y9 F( z. k4 j3 F$ @4 f1 RSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& P" }4 B! f7 T9 y* \
class.- |1 J; j; q2 g- O: t* @$ N
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. r. [- M' i8 X& @" {: [. s. nstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
& r: ^+ H) n) Doccasional frustration." M* G0 W$ S2 `, j% L/ h: o
8 h7 q9 O; A s4 {"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a8 B2 ?2 N! H; I5 G2 E: E: N
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.$ V' L6 p# n2 e" }) X9 h- I
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he( `- u0 n3 Y$ i' g# G8 Y
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
0 V6 }' c6 c7 N eChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul# m, r* G _$ `- R
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 V* c3 S) s! {# c' R$ mas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the6 Z! ?+ [1 [/ S: z# E
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
% b4 l9 g' ?5 @; Omarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
& J0 `1 ^" V: N0 @- M) Pthat," Ms. Freire said.1 e3 z, r* c; [! z K, H# F, A
* ]' a1 P- t' x- s6 \9 |, uMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; x1 D ?, [2 Hhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each$ G4 y1 z' I5 d, ?. R: f7 k# ?0 a
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 {: e6 \1 \. V7 F
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make, v5 q; S, L! b" m
room.
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6 M; D. A0 z, pChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
, _& F. ~/ \* i" h' \" T0 F, U) @Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American- I) N) j; Z" z8 P$ V) U) Z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said." R/ S2 k8 u2 V
0 V. t7 _( v0 F& I' U0 e"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
3 u) H7 j# h0 o! d! ^because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,$ s8 `% L+ c- L* W
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( G* [& Q+ ]+ k
Society in New York.% g* K! n3 }5 N5 n- v
}+ q7 C6 U# E# OSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
/ W' Z0 s; m& E w! zChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
% s/ K6 G* p+ k0 ?0 j! R( \the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.! I5 ^: ?9 H; H. l6 D6 W& D
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our# g' m4 T" ?. j* q: C9 o2 u
own."
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3 C7 p/ d9 x" nCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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