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October 15, 2005
2 h3 D, o( P( r( a# p. IClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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K! B2 w1 C) f( L: bBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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# \% N$ Y- Q0 YCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the( S1 r5 a9 z* E9 k
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, T6 y& N( ?7 F2 O2 V0 O
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ i4 N0 T0 c p2 o
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
; P. g& t1 j1 [8 iflag hang from the wall.( @, ]2 C' y2 A
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
: G) K7 ~/ }- O/ {$ Y2 d. n( yanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders; q5 X4 S* r& I3 \& B
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& {* O6 P/ V+ R
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
0 F6 p- g' ^0 S) mare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
' R6 m1 K2 g& ^6 r+ f' O+ T7 n5 Gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
2 g; M8 x/ m; s9 K3 noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" U- l2 m$ \ @! F( z4 ?
/ r4 U$ C5 g; B' Z- u8 v# x6 ?With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* c" E4 {" J) v5 x5 ?
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings2 S A/ _0 g5 O# s+ G& M7 O2 K; \
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
8 R9 C4 w9 Y/ P ]; y7 oone of its most difficult to learn.4 ]# G, q" A" ^
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- g3 M- m- S+ q, l3 v9 Lpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 W" i) L* o; ]6 e1 l: P: B* X
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
! G) v) p/ Q: S: RLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
$ ~0 U8 F% k" C; M4 fTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. I0 j; F' B T1 Y8 }Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& [9 ^, y/ P- p+ R# A* s% C
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 [" f5 c4 m& j* v
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- M7 R$ l* [2 T3 }1 hChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country$ J/ i- m1 t& U5 C4 h8 K) x
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! {# D0 S6 | d% G5 A
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
0 a0 P! X" E m9 G/ T# a0 ocurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director& I( Y' i9 ^7 I+ q! _9 y- X: ?* K: N
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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4 x G( }9 L! z8 \. R. r5 S"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
3 n$ b2 I- Y* w, I! x4 Espeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
G, [3 d, Y6 p, A+ WConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
0 M" {- S8 l3 s. }# d/ w- Bcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 e5 K* X7 r6 w: z5 x7 g( y1 R! ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; k/ C! a! X1 n& z; S( i2 F# d
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language+ D4 c/ R* T' M7 m6 w
Institute in Washington.2 a& D4 d2 c" k" ]9 F
2 [8 M# b" [6 \ E"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages5 @ t* h7 l( B
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 h# V" S/ y! S. n9 f) P; pMcGinnis said.0 a- r" \( s7 B: |4 g# ?1 [2 F
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical. s* [# f1 K! V/ s; s j
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 l9 \2 s N" \4 T( l! O' B
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
- D! \4 \3 i5 @. C4 I8 E. T- r( _challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."7 ]/ U7 p* `5 k8 r( o0 Y
% A8 |4 m% d( d! \% ^1 \Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 o+ m% x% `% p" V
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* {. |6 ]+ ^, E3 R* `8 Wcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 i) T8 Y! m; u( l1 @/ y; `Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or; i% P% ]8 E" P; C5 K
on weekends.; v; y3 {' T8 R/ W2 f+ Y) E' z, f
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public6 K+ d+ l l% k I+ V
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves) r* r0 z8 G! X4 A/ B+ ^9 e, E
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" s( F, R- y- f- C& s: s" U: @proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
& e+ m: Y1 n% f- P7 b' y1 Scompetition.
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5 t) w, u/ g' f, P8 _" D w"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
! |9 F. y0 j- [! X: n0 J( Q3 Xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."4 [2 B+ I2 i9 N2 {: O6 ^
4 x0 ?0 V1 }7 i! h: d. M5 JFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 ~- ~6 S; t0 L/ M
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
$ z$ E% z, s. q& Mschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# W1 U% Q1 V2 w( o4 o& tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students$ A- E* g( { f4 ~2 [( f- n' o
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 A Y& I( [& k
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ |5 t6 p3 [9 b& n, ]( M: n/ Eyear 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# a" h: T6 }% o% z) G
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! [4 E. `- d0 a- r" P4 ~: X7 H
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
5 J1 i4 |* ]# J& ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet! `5 C, M$ p8 i) P) ^$ |2 u6 g# y
on an equal playing field."7 G: S f3 ^2 W! j
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese, |9 o, D" Z" w K+ R' p
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' s0 W' ~7 `3 V' E' U2 nService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* g& Y+ s7 v2 r: r/ X( [$ N% v
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An2 o2 v8 J7 s) a$ \3 U2 u
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" V/ u' V1 T: v6 F1 i
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
2 h6 m3 y! z# l& h6 Xinstitute says.
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& B( C _( q$ c3 Z. ?Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' g$ E; t) Q: }3 P' s4 b: f, r
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
* G6 Y7 ?: Q/ M2 ddeciding whether to take the class./ k# G# s: Z) h: w
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she: m$ S- V1 \! a0 F2 S3 s% d1 \ z
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
; i4 U- T% q( n- G q' T" F0 |+ Uclass.
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4 |% { M9 J' iAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are x3 Q' d3 |' Z3 V' A, Z% Y( ~6 M
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 E' N% ]; i. C$ _2 ]occasional frustration.2 \5 Q8 A1 @7 d3 q7 j) s3 H! O
, G. s0 t# \! b# l" ?# K! w"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ s1 h' s8 G# nrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, F! ]5 A% N4 `6 u9 c
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
9 H4 M% S8 P: Z3 V, K+ vChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. @9 g9 I% }4 @; ]) W- ?. |
x6 i( J% t# v& V7 I7 j7 b"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 L) z1 v9 ~# \* Dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
# Y5 F, p$ l( c: P, {as many languages as I can."
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: a: I7 T0 s% B2 X6 X5 r/ I* {Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( D, f) L# O1 G3 D* ^" c) yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
- h G5 j* f5 X+ Vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like! F- p& A" b: ?' |/ I
that," Ms. Freire said.0 o' A6 t9 T) X2 v3 X
! D) x' c* U) J8 P; F" O7 Q& \5 DMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
4 W( q% n+ B3 |! v- shere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each% m* Z A2 k) }: R& A5 C
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- F7 p2 ^; e1 E: W
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make7 h5 Z4 _+ Y+ a+ a6 \0 _
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 s: k" B- l! {3 D' K% `" ?
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
+ [; ~2 r4 p! n ]college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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% V) A. I% P" ~/ _8 r"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified. r. ~. Z( K: D& E) k7 L
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ J- Y9 i/ _, j: b( T: k' P% A0 S
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia. u+ q' ~1 M& {5 M3 R3 R
Society in New York.
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6 o0 q! x( T) k3 z/ Z) o- C: uSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 r% L& _" _1 A, {, p' xChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from! v; d9 l l: z5 E
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 L& L/ x; W: |+ l" `1 M( @. ~
0 S& ?3 L; U# @) V# E# L6 i"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& A/ z& v! P- m3 M, |
own."
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* |& s2 {" J' h2 @! c! T4 y" FCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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