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October 15, 2005
* Z4 n/ e. ~2 |! t3 QClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& u z# K; p! d
0 h& i# v3 \+ B$ [- JBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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2 S1 ^! F5 t6 Q) n) g5 {6 x/ }+ ^CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
0 X \% z" J! ?! z i+ ]3 v% H% VUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 w& m/ w0 n2 \2 @! z) h! ~8 bSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: y I$ `4 h! z+ m. wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% Q4 P7 M% k* G! R' H5 a `
flag hang from the wall.
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) R7 D h' N, {. m& Z' Z. e: {$ {- lOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
' M4 Z, m, _2 l% ^# r- O% ]. T, \ Ianother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ _* I7 w* m) A
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker) f% M" z B, y! n
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students' i) ~$ T; t X, G4 t* v
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal) z; Q" ]; R* I- y) z( F
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! g" ]* _( q: Ooffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."9 |" r; T6 C6 m( ^, ]& ~ O& x
4 c1 `5 }! r h+ ]) t8 qWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
, Z$ o. [+ m& O2 Tschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings5 v/ D o8 D( l& {/ `( e M
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
N8 h- K5 L' E1 Eone of its most difficult to learn.- m/ r8 L& B$ D* f% a, _9 K
% f, t* ?8 ^4 G# jLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
: T( x1 E+ ` ` @5 k* f' xpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students K0 ~ l- C) |
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
2 h; b) \. d' @. wLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 ?2 @1 v9 P: W7 B4 }/ B3 ~! ZTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on6 d0 _7 u7 R3 I- V) v2 U
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to3 a7 M! J2 ?& [, t0 B: X2 M
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.' q" e4 v1 C2 U7 I, R/ M4 H
/ S* u6 A5 u% G) X$ I, y! mAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
1 o& r7 ]" f ?- n" e, cChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 B f: _% Q3 K9 H# g
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to. R4 `2 I. i! p# p4 H3 D7 v w
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 H' U& W' J/ _
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" ]! U4 H4 h8 o+ |3 A! L9 ]
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of* J! x. v5 l4 o
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
2 H% J4 Z% R. n) ^) J1 i. D- T3 lConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
6 z, k T: n9 @, ]+ t1 e0 Ican." % c4 ?. c% l1 m' [; e0 g
# F$ E. N$ L2 t% }* u. r2 x% aThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, f/ b& J/ e. |4 Y2 e) \
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
/ L4 Z4 U4 j6 t) N6 M4 O8 Ryears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language! ?6 ~* o2 t. K
Institute in Washington.3 b" k; V; t/ e) D7 G
1 x# d9 n U3 t7 S5 a- b' v1 W/ t"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 y, O" k) B5 `! \1 w* Y) G
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.4 C/ s7 t, O n2 z1 s% H
McGinnis said.
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9 ?5 r0 l) c3 j/ ^: d1 }3 D"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 n0 s! f3 {6 W* a* J+ U8 hlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 g' Y3 w3 D7 l2 g) |ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
+ l, ]3 X. d/ I- F, ychallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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! N0 F! Q6 `. DUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
6 M. I9 |1 z/ Z" q6 d$ Fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
( F( j& \* U z( N6 |cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 b3 w) | Q, [; UChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 F$ G ]" w$ ]on weekends.
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1 z8 P# ?: }+ @2 hThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public3 m) `5 a+ t5 f4 L; v
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, _! n8 D8 t& @students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said @! X3 @# Q& c% R# G# z
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 l; f: R7 [0 E' p# B7 L kcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley; {0 l6 z, }" f% G' {% s( Q
said. "There will be Chinese and English."3 ?( c& | i$ ^4 u3 x- }4 e( C9 L
+ ~: {# R$ t! e" g7 I* ^From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly& ?% w, C" @4 Z8 G
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' l" H4 y# Q# ^schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ ]2 {' ^/ m! _kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students; ?# s* x, ?6 v2 C6 _$ _
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# ^$ R: U! Z+ G9 ?- }
the school system last year.7 d/ r3 r' p( n+ L4 `/ u
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
: `; C0 h: G7 ]' c( D! byear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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7 O! P0 \& {+ D: `' M0 ["They have a great international experience right in their own
" c+ K# b: U8 ^$ q5 Cclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
: _# G& [3 j; f7 U) mChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ Y/ M# j- h) I3 Bhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
' D- I( c, Z1 L1 n8 jon an equal playing field."
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) N' Z, ?9 H' x6 V, nSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' \& @) E: W7 S$ c+ h) m; k0 U0 d
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 _7 ? D& S; Z4 C) J6 V) pService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks/ w$ E V$ }" D8 A# Q
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
/ ?7 r$ L8 b2 ?# S u& k# W. naverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ L' o' ^* Z% R: qChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the; n+ O. y/ ]* R, Z
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; O/ T2 V: q4 m; E- s- |
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
8 P h. E' f# v) C; tdeciding whether to take the class.6 C7 U9 E2 o0 A, q; H- A2 t1 l3 e9 O
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* W# U: g" f+ r/ Ctold her daughter.( k- V: Y4 Z+ j: y% d8 `/ l7 ~
6 {% n) A" c8 N- @7 bSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite- i, ?8 o8 F& S+ e
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& T( ~* X! D* ]
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ ?. d# u- [6 x! P; z9 \! ~occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
) A% \, D# ^) S N, [5 ?9 r' Irecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class." b( O5 L/ b+ ]" f+ E5 Z# D
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
" F/ y" \; S% k Qtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
( Y$ \% Z0 Z( l/ ^1 e5 b: wChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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1 F9 c( e8 y4 i F$ K"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ i x- L b: X2 Ssaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn g! l: y" J0 S
as many languages as I can."# b. p8 A. t$ a1 y: t4 \% U
1 \. g( K Q8 g: y, {3 Q% qAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ f. c: u* B' ~5 I$ M. `skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" a2 y9 O9 I% d
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like% X( q( s! e5 d) A/ y
that," Ms. Freire said.$ V5 n# |5 \3 f R" w' y* F
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
! L; r! B! E2 B/ _* phere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each$ c9 ^# p k8 W
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
/ ?2 v5 {3 L- {time from classes like physical education, music and art to make' r7 ~; K! A3 T8 o/ i
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% c. a/ s$ q* ]) z
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
& s8 l7 F3 D' L" H! m6 Gcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 y$ h$ v+ S: H+ _because of that missing certification," he said.7 E5 c% P$ m W; D' M, F1 c
3 i. [4 Y4 \( \/ Z6 \* cThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( {7 S1 }/ Q7 |9 u
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia4 v# S0 h4 v* r
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& a7 u- p% V5 a' r' OChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" ]" Q" u* f1 |" r. C# y( s
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
: }' j) y8 ] i: Q) Mown."
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1 z3 H m) |$ O6 UCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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