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October 15, 2005; u2 C! f+ Y, ^& K; ?
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity8 Y7 s6 _/ H7 p6 X _, {3 M) k4 Z
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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* S$ O) T2 j; CCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, J2 g% R& B% S: ?7 Q$ M6 S( u
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
+ W- @4 E; S. l% g6 s E' USchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
! d+ [% j. S" \# J( ^" Hdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese1 }7 {/ G0 G0 S2 X3 w6 k
flag hang from the wall.# l0 ]+ f( p9 n4 C
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one9 e5 x- _+ g# F3 C" g; x* n$ c" F
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders( M" f9 ]5 A4 D5 X
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 {2 [) a& y/ x F
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% ^8 l0 y+ I. ^7 n: U5 f: r3 nare already choosing it over Spanish.1 Y# \; z% q$ R: t" ?/ Y+ P, z
) l+ R A8 j# s% @"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal4 J8 m' V" a5 _: @) t, Q
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& i/ [& ]/ |- doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 c6 f+ O) s0 B9 t* p: {8 f
* _3 k$ p( x: E# l9 k; _; {7 bWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, @* c% ~8 k; ^) m$ T5 [+ T% W
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& V% q2 ] V; \$ R; a8 b
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
2 a0 m' q" V9 [% G7 Bone of its most difficult to learn.
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/ S1 D: O2 c# ~Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
, j; e# ^0 N/ r1 {: n4 }public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students8 o& j l; n' d, l- U3 R2 N
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ d& M8 I( k2 R" b# i- g( c' w
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 ~2 p( r- e, \! ^
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
7 n9 x. H" G S& ~8 dChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
+ S! D- W$ h, B8 h/ I7 a' k5 limprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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! @% d+ W) j8 k5 ?/ |8 ~After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; P' \8 }% w2 B0 q( F( [
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! r/ D7 ^" S, M9 }7 \! Kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to; `$ N1 S+ k. p' n) e" i" h
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. t! N$ X+ Q+ [( f" D3 D2 m# Y
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& d' l( W6 C! Q6 E9 x* x' |of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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! X; ^1 ^! Y5 A9 l/ ?"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ J$ | R. X8 [" q' Xspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
6 H! f* a( b" \Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we8 {3 }1 K* l' R; l5 w* \$ y7 O
can." 0 x5 c6 e" M- R" a7 K, E
& h6 V4 g6 c; p A" ?The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
1 b* G! @* z6 a" Z* c4 X$ Lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 109 m: C: b" P V; d! G
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language- M; e8 ~; g6 P% m; H, K* \3 M
Institute in Washington.3 _: q" N. n* _ {% ?
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages' s7 g5 {8 w4 a2 F! z. L
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
0 `7 q# N! w" _+ s$ fMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical5 r8 p1 H0 h D4 `* o
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 y9 n' F# m8 {; Z2 M0 h) R% R7 J4 W
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a/ k. }+ {0 ^, J
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
1 M1 c0 K j- ~3 B( c4 osecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
4 O' T4 H G y L* d" z; ~cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
; D# c/ v' i) V0 B- pChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or# r+ ?$ e2 Y3 V! k# H5 l: _
on weekends.. W2 H8 T5 w1 W
} ~5 s& f4 Q! `: y7 Z$ QThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 H/ g/ _6 q4 \% Tschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
q) ~+ \ A( d$ o* i4 vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
2 ]/ b W% J+ I1 b: w, C% Y5 j. Wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 U1 k( O; D+ |3 ?competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ H8 A1 D! i" R4 Nsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
K6 c5 d7 u" i$ E/ {; T/ V x1 yall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
, U4 ~% I. _" y8 \3 _ K) }schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from7 Q- T- Y! b* b8 Q' @
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
' ^7 y1 e% A# y" f4 o- O$ f3 _who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to/ @, d2 r* m3 |" Z* O( B
the school system last year.
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7 t) n, }+ C# l+ S: u6 HThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. D+ G4 w" J( L/ R; ]" Xyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.% N2 j8 f! s- X' g0 R# p
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
( A$ G$ ?2 b0 F0 Mclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
6 B: E: |, F' q& }* ^8 tChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 e8 Z$ i. ]5 z5 }8 V
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
@; f/ x7 D+ v4 B* Eon an equal playing field."
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$ K( Q1 f5 M. K; [0 m M- uSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
* ]! s: U+ ]) e: tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
5 S/ o5 X' P+ x* Y7 k$ s& j7 K. x2 ?Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( H* n8 u, R2 E; OChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' t' Z4 Z, Q# a/ h/ Waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 L, D6 e1 ]( X& a& a9 V" O
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the; S( E+ [6 C' E
institute says." I: z% S$ O- @3 @' @: k$ j
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! m3 Q; m. S9 t# _ ?/ U% ~grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
q- E1 a3 |7 g; b) gdeciding whether to take the class.
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! L) k3 W4 `+ u"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- S+ M/ [4 P- `6 @$ g
told her daughter., q! X" _- H2 [/ c( a. [
4 C- g( w2 z3 t% a2 t& |Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 K) H! d6 o' j' s0 |
class.
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0 {; o+ l- ^) B% Q5 x" A! zAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are) Y Y& U. v# @% k$ T
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 u6 N: ^8 d' y3 z
occasional frustration." E7 q% ], P& p5 }* p9 C' ^# _
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
% k0 I0 L3 x- ?4 R( W9 C0 Arecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 U- e( V# Q8 O; G3 [" q
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 B+ c. g3 F$ ~1 ^) ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% _5 \0 f( V+ q. ~1 u6 V+ D! E
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 i3 o" r+ @, isaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- d2 _ S$ T& z( a" P; i# F _$ gas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the$ E, B- C9 V9 g# X( t4 b' A* I
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job ?1 t3 R! r: k' u
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
6 \3 S# o& { t2 e$ k: lthat," Ms. Freire said.$ V+ c; g4 V# T. H v# n' x
4 n8 A; Q; @' \9 {2 dMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program2 |4 r1 C$ c$ \* ]0 G. c- q
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 G7 j" X1 [; t/ L n
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- @' y! z+ c$ I
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make. i0 X6 ]: c9 F4 R; S4 i
room.0 f$ a5 }6 ^! e# E/ Q
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
7 d0 Z [0 ^ b6 mChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ K( R- E6 E1 a# A
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.+ }/ L# |, r; I; _9 V; a) V5 \- k5 d6 c
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
9 Y4 m2 k& W, }; d4 \( tbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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+ h, s- ~6 t. z3 X& kThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
. k0 e4 ~! v$ }+ }0 u. y! Zsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% m# t# B' [2 h( M" ^( F* G( [Society in New York.' O- ^5 z9 F* f) w* e
/ `6 z/ f; W9 G9 ^/ e3 a- x' i; ISix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ w; ~' E* D/ @0 D4 H: W
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) s ^+ X: j9 A* ]2 ~, G: ^
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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+ _% J5 @6 P3 v( r1 o$ x% ]6 K"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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( r3 ~8 n' @7 J0 E! u0 M5 O$ K* DCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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