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October 15, 20052 Q6 p3 j( ?) f& u, r
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ z" R% i) Q" s% z3 ^1 n- f+ g* b
2 W7 @' r+ o$ s3 Z- R7 Y6 u+ R! xBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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" g+ y7 s8 m8 T! s1 gCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the9 F/ h4 g. D2 t) M% b5 a
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
* m; ~9 d( b% _School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas M y" T I- D! [" _0 q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 n( D$ h" W" \! _: h1 V" ]flag hang from the wall.
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5 o" r2 k( w; J. o2 k! n; E7 ^One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one/ z& `5 G# G1 ^
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- e) f6 u- w+ Z; |' u4 }: W" Dpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! s8 N' n5 o5 s8 C
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students, L" Z* {+ s0 q0 N# a
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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$ t* x7 q5 s( o+ D, N3 @4 W"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& I$ A$ ]6 A* e1 {; o& U1 P+ ]
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# q( }6 m% p7 E9 d7 i- N! r, Foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 v( o4 Z0 l# l% c+ n( x' T
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( R" ^8 {: `6 N) t. k8 ?% Q* Jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
4 n) \+ R. G% R$ u/ ?to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ R9 S" d' e4 S0 vone of its most difficult to learn.
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% J1 o% P: Y2 [Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to' X5 q6 M. X6 q$ I4 P2 q
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students5 m8 z- L$ |/ E" s5 a/ ^
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.0 t3 h7 [0 }) y+ [8 T8 m! B
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
) c- v4 L! y1 P: J$ F7 PTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 [$ v# G2 _) O: u$ P" a" l
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 r! i }. { e5 x: d7 Z6 y
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$ [2 i8 D8 k% p2 |( }( `" |
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country0 g" M: u% }' E) s4 B' O
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to" ?6 O& [ A/ n6 j' O
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing/ _ ^/ m: N) j+ a/ D. t
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
- H6 X# h+ s1 l# j/ Y) f6 f5 ]of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* V* G5 U7 _5 v) E, sspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& h; p$ T2 c. [Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we: n3 a% s. U, }9 Q4 U9 l
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 ?/ F* a' ?- V% x9 Celementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" C, h$ S' x" o: R% A4 g
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
# G( F) X; K0 Y6 m/ L RInstitute in Washington.8 a+ W% W* I' ], t
- V1 [& w$ t$ l7 S6 f9 l8 r"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
' [1 H. B! {; ?: @5 k1 {8 \+ Uaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 x' D# x$ q/ H, k- T5 r2 jMcGinnis said.( h: A. j6 K! D0 [2 b) I
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ ^; Z3 O; E6 A6 U6 Q- p- slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
6 ~; y2 P% V/ Vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' F1 j5 j, h% s' j6 [' |
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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. q i) z. W# Y1 u/ e, ?3 ?' yUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
/ _; ~9 f1 g1 {9 x, ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
+ M: s' P# J; A4 lcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of; K/ w t0 j4 w5 u1 c
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or+ L8 ?# z/ X1 P) ]
on weekends.% W+ H. f/ r5 A% E& C b
8 x6 Y8 Z. P2 L& t* V0 k! pThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
, x6 U" F- F" M: ~schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
+ @% E! e/ i/ Estudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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8 X& i" X3 z& k# @6 L% fMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ v/ A8 Z. v7 |3 zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
# n5 o/ k) g8 R8 k4 U& Gcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
: X X6 T5 A, `) V% U' rsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."' i$ V5 T, Q+ t6 d6 l0 t
! L. z* p3 |' |6 [7 `+ MFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ F9 I5 y* r! [8 j7 Fall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
3 y* M2 p7 c4 ?" @* I) C7 qschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 q* \5 b: g' e& z
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% r" o1 Z4 [2 y$ fwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( y1 j x; k$ I, Q( Q" z4 N
the school system last year.
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! P" {2 X( z: r# B+ B, FThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 @2 X# Z+ d" _
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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# r" ?" j! _7 R' V; }7 N K6 y4 Q8 g"They have a great international experience right in their own5 o- O' N9 V; Y. z
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago# A' ]; [% R$ v( s9 U
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! B/ A% _- S" y1 q9 t* Q+ L
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- S5 Q0 b" y3 n) J- Z1 X' f
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese: C* ]' t* i; m9 Y
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* _3 [) S* ?4 K! R) E( f L( uService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. M d" b7 v! h& p9 _
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" \- \! Z1 L: e2 z6 Z; m- V: x
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
3 V( S0 _4 v7 G; pChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the4 n0 H! l4 K7 `
institute says.: c4 Y; C- N- h# D! S) R
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& o& {2 @1 V/ r' V
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before8 a, q( T5 x% _- g2 s9 T, \, s
deciding whether to take the class.
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, w$ B* v* i l2 A7 T- {"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
& ?' K6 Z# `; V7 n3 Utold her daughter.0 q, C, D% [- {& Z% \) N
& C! A( {* R1 }0 y; o: ~Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 ?9 k X0 l( u) M: B1 w4 S3 O2 T1 `
class.9 p* s- J9 P& C
$ \8 t! L$ b5 q, M' s7 R2 KAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are# x p" @# G. U' e# }6 E
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" f, @* |: k1 E: V$ l6 y
occasional frustration.; W# r7 N) s. W0 \6 w! }) H- g
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ ?! }& c3 _; }0 r( A* Srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.- {2 K0 I! n- D B8 n: ?6 W$ ]
9 Q4 j! m; V# `8 MRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- e; [$ `3 i1 s8 wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! k9 B0 o- n' y j$ ?# P) fChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- o9 m& u8 l3 m, L' P5 V7 T9 X; T
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
4 Y9 O8 D5 V( x- b5 ysaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( J4 y/ G, I( _
as many languages as I can."+ p" u8 k4 Z6 ]4 r# C7 z0 ?. ?
) w( }3 m. _: @4 mAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the: q$ M( Q/ I+ T
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job8 j0 e! j) ^% u! I* W' [) t" e! P
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like- B6 Z: l& H( o9 D7 U
that," Ms. Freire said.
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/ g- Y$ s+ `" ^" ]" y2 X/ A" ZMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, ~3 m8 x% a! lhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; m" p9 |+ w# Z4 Y" |/ |/ E
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
# t7 ^# p' \# ^: L4 wtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 D# t1 i! N7 P7 g: ?
room." }/ b5 ]8 b& ~5 i. q2 i( @! y! ^
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' C- o) e, E9 ]1 [+ H3 lChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
0 j' G8 B% |/ C, T; P5 Scollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.0 _2 r0 d5 c/ r
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified# J# J3 ^+ e. A, I2 `3 [/ N ~
because of that missing certification," he said.
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, e% n8 H3 z# x+ E' QThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
) N" Q. G! g) a1 ]& b4 P: tsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
* u& T5 A4 H, s8 O: k2 vSociety in New York.( v- `! C5 Q7 n) v, @
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 k2 Z9 V& P: R+ ~Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
7 c( N( u/ m. S1 ?6 G8 ithe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.3 L7 a5 q6 H/ Y; O9 ^
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
, o) ?- {$ c5 Y- P! Qown."
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, }" V( {$ S' K( q2 A7 V, Y( v" cCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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