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October 15, 2005
( }" G1 L5 ]- y$ I# b4 E$ j" tClasses 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 the! Z3 a8 Z* S7 G; p$ V
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary% @; {6 a' g5 }$ S) W/ b
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas& {2 q |& X7 `
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% ?# E, F7 q3 v+ @4 l$ @7 q/ N/ R$ ^
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one/ Z' V( x7 c* y- r, m! a% U* C2 m
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! @1 c; a6 `7 n0 H3 n8 N/ D
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker7 v5 ~; Y6 r% U5 F: U! U: {
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 a5 u0 c- `7 H$ C! x' ]( yare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- W) t: I$ C, V1 x; R+ n
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! \, E, Y/ }7 Hoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."% t8 e+ T& V3 \. w
) T2 L: j3 S: u+ k) pWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,9 P7 J" f, ^* m9 i$ R, b; x# [
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
5 x# Z4 |) W0 R' a; rto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
# x8 f. G, H3 u% C: r- t- ~: Eone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 u# N# f' L d$ r6 |- T8 |* w
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students8 Y0 z6 _8 e6 h9 I" X; A; w$ @
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: e, s" F! F4 s
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 A; f! ^4 d; q$ j8 F+ _
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- h- Q# R1 h ^6 W6 ~, F
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to% r( g0 V0 ^0 q) f5 w7 t% {
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement, L! V+ K! V. u6 \- h3 y* t
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 ]* ~/ w) `% w. M+ R+ dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# u4 x5 G/ I9 \4 E6 \5 Mdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
) h7 f e: P- s6 Ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
^0 r1 c- {6 d" M7 l, ?' I3 h# n$ n: r2 uof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* \, n0 }2 O0 \speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education( L) ^/ ^( L% K0 Q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 h+ `# A- _2 a# M \& |can." ; P% o! K% t# k( \6 @1 T
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
0 _& ~4 z+ Z) J2 p+ W8 |3 d7 Oelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ ~( t8 I: C" b/ C8 X r) T+ p
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages, J+ q. U" y4 e/ `" y$ ?0 ^
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
h' g1 X6 X, w( SMcGinnis said./ G+ l- f. t. S# u5 [7 a! S3 W
0 t/ V9 a F# C) n3 W1 k7 g"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical ~) | u8 \) n- n# M' ~/ j( X$ `
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% h2 X" f+ N5 x1 L+ q4 ^ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( f0 Y6 O3 z# @0 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
$ C- T/ O/ Q2 a( R8 t! m Fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in# I8 }3 L7 U- m6 y
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% y+ f/ k* ~6 p8 E* O9 R
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
) E4 J5 }! L1 c0 Yon weekends.
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9 [! V: ^) {9 fThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& T0 \, V: h. W& v& Q& i) r
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
# _% a, G& g3 N1 v# e/ S' `: Z5 ystudents who are not of Chinese descent.& l q+ j$ ]7 B0 n6 q" t1 z
2 C, ]: j8 n, l) T }$ s sMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said3 h5 |. N) v- N, l' L6 _' ]- ~2 l! j
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
8 {, u5 f; I2 H6 h+ ?7 r: zcompetition. 2 h7 E: K$ y7 G3 f( a8 M) i
4 X6 Z& i) }- r"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
% k$ f( f/ B; H( A; qsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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% |' }2 ?$ b% R2 Q e" fFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
' F$ N e* m W+ I& {7 hall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
7 y# ]; f# j1 o- xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from/ w. P$ c9 ]2 y, c, N$ w
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
# K) g6 n/ M# J! |. N) Dwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to5 I5 e0 X9 b9 v9 A7 z& q7 }) Y# H- n
the school system last year.- \- ^$ o% K: E+ R! H1 G8 z
9 i+ H ]9 d) T; UThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this. s" R) n6 v7 [6 P; [7 j
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) e5 s r" ?: s+ x1 x! p% F
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( {( |7 }$ U; A1 F1 I" u) b" A& d0 [Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 w) K1 t7 M' U# G+ }- E( |
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet+ w6 v1 |; d( L1 C$ i" o$ n
on an equal playing field."0 S8 {, c. L+ _- L3 x5 X
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# O% X5 X% C; p9 x) }" Iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign' }5 R$ Q* @2 S6 r" u' Q U
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
. n% A% t) \, o( o( U. YChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An. z `' }2 q+ D1 j+ J* R
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 I3 Z8 o7 n6 M& u/ c* e: j4 s
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 x- R/ Q1 M. k% A Dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; U( J+ t0 R" S; R9 M& Pdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' m8 w3 ?6 B2 ktold her daughter.
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" f- } ]% [ T4 z6 m* V! ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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* P& X. K( Z3 v0 v5 S& _! SAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are% B9 c- |1 E- Y, I M" V' Y9 a# x. q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without& F X3 ^3 |8 G: l) w
occasional frustration.6 m% x E# A; b+ A- h
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a, j S/ c) x, ~8 f- Z# k {5 a
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 h- V4 _) |" ^' p# n4 Y/ h. \$ P" w9 y; m
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with# M( _- a# T' Y- C' w: b
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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9 d8 z a) A" [1 Q1 w"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 R, P* I! m! a T6 o
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn; ?3 [0 J P8 N% d6 g5 _
as many languages as I can."* n+ @3 L. L' _: @0 V, [+ R& M
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the2 s) O& q2 M7 R0 `( j
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job. [2 L: G; W3 h4 u, `) {; R5 M/ ~
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
/ ^/ a: n5 U2 f5 X: a6 @# S/ }that," Ms. Freire said.
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0 L' H! ?% Y4 M! T5 W" nMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program- f8 Y7 c+ d0 i# X& M9 g* X
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! u" B/ ?' M3 k9 K
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking3 |4 W: ?, T# P' W
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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6 J9 ^$ i* J2 [3 L: qChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer2 Y* ~4 p4 _8 T& w, _
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
e, d$ T6 h" G" ]$ a" R4 n) X" Mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; y7 b7 G8 m0 `1 \8 F
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
" y' ^7 O. ?" |% C# k+ l* r! A; ibecause of that missing certification," he said.
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6 D( B& u( Z4 H8 }6 }The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
) |' V. i: a6 i0 Q& ^said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# `+ u# j G. n/ Z H9 o$ P' ZSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, V* G5 a- j& P$ j2 R, `: {: F, c
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
% Z& B' ~) _3 M# Gthe 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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# I* Y' e0 M; J5 |Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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