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October 15, 2005
8 G5 ~( A2 Y. E& w! f- qClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ G, }. ?, h* {$ ?) c; ~
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING# E) L' w8 m) L6 E) S% Q% I
0 g2 n& w: ~( K" B+ x! oCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the! d: @- w: m" Q$ X+ S( c; ?
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 ^- S; _! M' b5 x: P' YSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 a# O+ [+ g7 I, K2 f. S
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese3 m) Y) E; J5 L4 D
flag hang from the wall.9 P. |2 h$ ^# r( z' i
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ ?( _; V9 N/ d& t {
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
5 G$ F/ E$ v' M8 f6 h2 \- fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
9 v8 }( ~8 R' S! u% Dboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ a( T5 I% ]% ^3 u7 Hare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* W" h* N6 I, S4 w8 j/ k9 p9 }at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city; P& k" w( W: | V6 T& P4 I
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 Z/ T+ @ P% a. c
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, b* U) |; Y p Q1 q8 x
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& h/ B. P0 p5 t2 ?
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
6 K, K! h+ T! T6 N5 Z, R I8 o3 qone of its most difficult to learn.
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% l8 e6 ?$ q% l7 Q2 QLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to! P0 x! L1 h9 l6 D
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
" i" O5 C2 Z, Ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: d1 M5 j( I+ q$ n0 Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of+ V( ?# j; ?3 j# Z% {
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on; _( x- d' `- z+ _$ j
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& p% u2 X' X% J. j" L7 x5 B6 a
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Y+ {4 J+ C b% C
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement2 x/ }( |; A" D3 A; i. f, b7 w" G/ b
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 ]8 I- W0 D; k9 T. M9 m1 f, sstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
z/ ~8 \7 D1 N) Q9 i% t" m- Idevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing9 Y, }3 A+ Y8 N8 _- ^5 z9 d
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" N& @0 p: P' u, h
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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' k* g5 i+ k R"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
% T7 }2 e* v, yspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education' J, p; L9 O! T5 P! [: V
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we E, U; k2 x: f
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
$ G$ q4 h/ g2 f1 W5 z! ~elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: Q: X" {6 Q9 Q1 x" `6 Gyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 @; Y9 X3 ?/ }) q/ e5 T. `. O
Institute in Washington.
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3 m2 J+ R' `; v" R. Q"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages. j t" R1 g- h; S4 {& V0 [7 C4 S
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
& F" }6 S0 {5 C6 ^McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
. `* a5 h( r5 Rlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! F: `( ~2 s6 H- S0 C8 O& R7 Oready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a- b5 a: ~. [% z& `! n3 A7 m
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 G- k5 n: J: x+ y
$ b, d% u" ~0 x- [* q. j. R. v# bUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and: j$ x) P8 T- s ~' P7 k- K
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
9 @" G2 u* ]& {! `) scities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
% s- ?, U4 p) b+ w1 \1 MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 }6 f+ x( _1 R! w: L _# Ron weekends.
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3 d- s) [' s4 k+ R5 YThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public2 Z* b# a; W4 n3 j% X
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
8 G* n5 ^+ D! C5 G$ ~students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; @/ o$ F- i+ m- ^proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the9 Y2 d3 C, s" V; C1 X/ I2 r o0 ]
competition. " Y' K) l, J: S2 ~" ~3 Z
1 k( ^! K6 T3 j; j0 c9 b"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley8 M# \- ?3 b" H9 T, X8 ^4 Y
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly0 |( l% r4 s" A( n, _) U7 |9 j% V- C$ Y
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
7 L6 i* Y6 N; C V2 f. Lschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
y5 ~3 x, \; G/ ]1 ~! r- Zkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students. k8 x/ T# Y; h! k' ? C1 U
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- q: g! n# [. L* u# ]- }6 c' F
the school system last year.6 I" j3 {8 t% q- P
7 p, u9 u! w. T' [The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( ` K; Z2 C3 W7 N) S. L; n$ r" y
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
- X$ G$ K8 |' v8 X5 z$ h3 Jclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago( e g m- \+ Q9 D( Q- F9 r: ?
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ a( j, O' a4 c; H) r0 B4 Uhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
' r1 x: Z1 P9 Q1 @on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
( j; i8 I" a p; b7 n' y5 O7 O! _5 L1 Zclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign( _, c1 ]/ e+ ~! s$ ^
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* g! e1 I6 z% z V: k
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An! G- _: v' z* u& g* I
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in0 K1 E/ K5 g' @! s4 o
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the; v5 M- m9 o! d, f4 j5 n, E, s5 Y
institute says.% N2 b8 i) ~* ~6 f. ? B
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" C2 C5 W! D9 G
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before+ d+ Q* B( g P! ?, Y
deciding whether to take the class.
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0 O8 }. p* {7 V. V' W"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) S/ O/ D- n! F' @! U. i1 C0 _
told her daughter.9 g# X& A B* y
: f5 _/ }: v, L$ C' L9 OSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 S, Z! l+ k& u% C, j" ~
class.
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, y* x& q) h' W- r: eAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are) U7 C9 @% P4 f/ r8 ]- f e
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without4 ^2 M9 t0 X& a& e
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a m8 F) u( N+ L" [5 c
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
2 m, L! M& N% D* d# p, wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
% m3 \5 E" I r) s) D: Y7 vChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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# Q; O) p: P( d. {"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
K$ U: e* ?7 K% l3 k8 i+ ^said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn3 H2 t5 \6 {1 B8 I1 |
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the# ?# A S* C8 X3 Z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job( |7 O& @6 G1 r, A8 {
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( u" I% W% `0 o: e' Z
that," Ms. Freire said.; ]# K) r+ i0 \$ P) g" H5 c
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 C m$ Q m7 s& y3 j$ `8 a
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each' _% I; {0 C( w7 {' k% ^, d
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking* Y' J* J9 A- u6 N6 [
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make( A' s" ^6 X$ ^# B7 H% y
room.) D2 A. C* e, A2 W
. [& U, I9 a/ d8 _) a% _8 N8 o2 GChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer; ^6 v5 j2 O7 g" m
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 A4 W9 v' e% _5 x9 l: P$ _
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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# l! U& C6 ]2 E; v# V$ n"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified1 _& y' [" s: Q+ y( Z4 X' \2 h. P4 G8 D4 l
because of that missing certification," he said.0 `# I, ] N. H q
4 `2 ]; Q2 B5 N, h# ?7 ]) UThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
7 V7 A% ~6 P9 u; }/ u/ {said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
9 I5 K* P$ R6 B7 [Society in New York.
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2 w6 }& I6 {- m- USix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
* N x Z+ Q/ M& [( `' Z* e+ [Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, F2 M, w3 V# |# X3 [6 vthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.7 p, ?% y- T k
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, h5 b5 v6 H- }+ t% `
own."
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( m* Z- f, S y4 a: {/ aCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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