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October 15, 2005
, K/ }& n* |) B/ o, m+ X; ?6 ]Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% m2 H5 e7 S# Q5 ^3 n
; ` `' M% v* r5 f: o. n% N
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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3 I* \* O4 D! T2 s) ACHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the4 G# N$ q) I9 I
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
V0 [$ w A* VSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
6 Z# y; T8 K$ g6 F8 Mdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" B; C0 @0 n( Y% I) y% Sflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
% f/ l! H+ E; ?+ D6 ~& Fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
. q, `; @$ D! |0 ^practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% d- w% x6 @ b8 ^
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% |' |6 r5 w# y0 `( A: e1 zare already choosing it over Spanish.+ n5 p4 F) x! @* W; |+ o& x
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 j% Q) p3 d1 y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& A; q! ?# A- j. Eoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 |" K1 S1 Z: U
. i# p8 s# s1 w* c# o) iWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& N- N6 J& ~5 ~; |; J; k
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings+ P; ?5 M! J; }- t2 d/ G
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: \ O% H7 K' y( u7 V# Aone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to" n7 W0 B# U7 o8 V; S, R
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ ^4 ^5 L' @- y% K# n
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
1 J! `8 S5 _; v+ c/ PLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; x- q7 {& h7 i q
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- Y$ K V7 M r& n+ V; B5 MChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 g5 _# j: P7 o4 R. C1 E! \4 B, v
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.. n2 k' f; q; p
' U$ G# B4 A5 k1 i4 p: GAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
/ c F& }. X: GChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 v+ j) t3 u5 L, c7 U$ a' z1 Ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& a. h6 n5 l/ m. gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 Q3 [0 I- u: H' V/ K
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director/ A# X8 E9 M! u' g+ ~+ F
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
/ q* A% Z2 @7 yspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education6 R+ X7 f$ H" x( q: P
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
. M. F' M0 p0 P$ r7 o, ?can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! F0 H6 c* S# |9 Q/ J, |: selementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 n3 J$ T5 ?( B
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 {; Q! N1 _7 K7 q, _! m, HInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages5 a$ m. t% r: _3 w g2 @ J- h! e
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: w$ f/ q( W3 ~
McGinnis said.: N* x/ W" R& C @1 y7 L$ _% U
- N% T% x" ?$ {7 M: F( V. A"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical0 o3 o' }8 \# g1 }. B5 A T: O. S# @
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be& _9 B& w* J6 V. N
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* D* j5 S/ u& u$ M# |1 L
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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$ p7 ^0 y2 Y5 R0 X9 D$ t @9 ^. iUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 \, B6 O& c) h' I6 n: [
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
8 y/ e6 ?! I" ~7 w) ^cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of9 `% m/ d5 Z. A6 m" w
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or& K* N6 g7 s9 m0 I( f' d* z
on weekends.
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) m, B( _1 I- w, ^! j3 o; kThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
8 ~3 O0 g) X) I/ P4 z4 Nschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
1 W: x% L6 f2 `% E! z. Sstudents who are not of Chinese descent.# D2 K# I' L5 A+ d+ D
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said) z6 |* s% t2 [/ t! t8 K& ]) ?. C
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
6 j& B" ?6 E9 Ycompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
4 i5 A- t% s. j& ?0 _7 L% ssaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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. @, i% }- u# e4 j+ MFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( j6 p3 p0 O* ^2 ~" ?$ { @) Hall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: b& }: G$ ]2 [ K) oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( T7 p! e8 k3 _( m3 {4 p1 z" r
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students! c% R9 v5 q' W8 P J: O3 i
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to; ^. x2 b# k# t- K
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 F* w* T9 p/ |4 D* R& d! p6 F2 gyear 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 B8 O* {, ]. a; O5 E( |
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago: f3 b+ m0 R9 w# f
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
m. T- E* D& x& b c/ |3 j# Nhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 l9 P8 K( o' g" @, Hon an equal playing field."
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- p9 A6 H0 W. g4 o: L9 Y2 R8 WSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese( i6 ?- J0 y# Z( X# x/ x7 P
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign+ M. t, k8 O% P2 L/ f
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* X- u: t6 g2 a3 @5 YChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
0 g6 |$ Y4 y% B) |average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
' c5 M8 o2 ~3 ~( V& S6 ~: v8 tChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 `$ T$ H) m* v4 J
institute says.
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- O, R9 V. z. mSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
0 g; W( y1 q. q" b9 a: F- egrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; |. ~9 T- @4 f) `6 fdeciding whether to take the class.
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( w- `2 G* P( h" o6 m5 f0 ]$ c6 z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she' z5 U5 J1 n* H7 s- v* `
told her daughter.
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3 b& O0 s0 k+ hSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- I2 X+ r$ W& d& j; I8 x4 D+ Uclass.8 Q" r/ ~8 [# X0 K7 N/ p2 s
. r; m1 s. a P+ @7 i; uAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
8 _/ `. O) ?4 X! a. mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; u8 S5 V! L$ ]% U; K ^ coccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a9 C& t0 B3 v2 X4 L: l
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.5 |) I* o" G* v) V
2 F. g- J- C) H) q$ g8 LRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he. L2 e; |2 k& M( r4 F
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
, ]8 V) G: m2 t8 v }/ b) s- kChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( S' x J+ k$ j8 v
* Y' S& ~2 y+ r" R" H"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul, k9 q0 b$ c7 N3 w ?
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn! B/ a, B8 {( j4 h) z2 \
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ c; z3 Q0 u" x0 ? n4 K- ]$ x- Oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
) L6 ]. s# I) X& O. a6 Umarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ t2 @& C: L" Y2 T; Z' j: q
that," Ms. Freire said.
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% v5 K& i( M" C) sMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ s+ t2 m! \# ~6 s
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 ^0 d2 u6 r& f9 B' ?$ z8 ]
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking: Q6 w: P* C8 Z8 j' c m2 \* E
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make; b, A7 t) @' Y1 N
room.
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; C# N: z+ `, zChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
! S) w% U6 q: v$ p9 V. z) l. t ~Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
* Q- }3 C- p( |4 |1 q: ?college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.8 ?% ~4 l$ c* H6 Y* z; ~2 e( V
7 N& A( b; O" m# s% w5 c"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
" P- S- H: F* V! Fbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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6 K8 I# f5 E& V- p& OThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,3 [! r; Y3 y1 d8 ]. z: X! ~4 f
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
/ ]. o; H- r, {' j5 X: u! PSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
6 Y; G! y. Q5 P' C" g& @+ E8 pChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, u+ z5 U) C6 D- b
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. D5 d: ^6 l* z" h* ] m& j
7 n* `' N. s+ E) @/ M. R1 F"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- t0 X/ A4 N6 H8 `. i( u
own."2 q; D' j2 `! m3 u
: V! T% J% p5 s( p' oCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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