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October 15, 2005% h' T& |. \% l2 q* x. s
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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' e, |, A: w0 i4 x/ {By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, g9 V. ^+ y4 O* |% A3 s
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
+ Y- J0 d5 Q8 o' M: W* h# ^/ CSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
$ p- }8 u) z7 Odangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese9 p9 V' _2 [: y2 T
flag hang from the wall.. J8 c2 Z- o! r8 x3 o
4 R) Q+ Q( c& b0 O8 F7 IOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one; K r( i1 X4 }; K/ a9 J( i
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders4 q- z$ j+ ], K" n9 R
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% p, k0 A/ R, i4 j3 Q/ A
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* K5 l& K9 j8 V) S6 w8 C% i
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( J W& ?5 f1 T" W; n3 @0 H( R* Xat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city+ ~6 k# L9 j4 Z# `7 z" s# ], W
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 L$ f) A! d% g5 h; Y
& u" Y3 f+ J+ m0 O3 l1 \With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,0 I$ [& j- y; A% J; n) t
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
+ Y' p# P7 g9 ^) R* f" U* l5 yto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
0 L' ]9 V O3 V- x! M$ _one of its most difficult to learn.4 w4 { i5 C0 T
$ N$ ] ^: Z8 F, l$ H5 B1 qLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to3 w: X' r2 M" [- v* ~+ T5 k- y' z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% f8 y; V. q# G- Q _studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* _+ t3 d a" S: d/ v4 B4 _Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; n8 ^; H3 s% Q) LTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
0 P: W9 j9 r* [+ B3 T4 AChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
1 R( X% o7 N7 g7 {' U. A# u2 `& Vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." l; |2 ]+ [, h8 t
& o- l/ V3 l" f+ m" D9 n, e; m" \After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement/ q ]7 p @8 o& k: O/ e+ M
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
1 z5 e# {: N, Vstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
1 m; t; d- t! ^0 K8 A( ^1 J8 sdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
6 W/ K/ l3 u; }curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 \3 W% _! v% i! H$ \4 aof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& f! K: ]- c. T% O
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: P0 |! }9 g. Y- \5 v, Y
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
9 X% `/ P A: j/ Y+ c. x! `Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we a" [! M2 b' K* ]& ~
can." 3 m2 o3 |/ {( o6 X
" [4 k0 t. ~% q- m0 y: ?4 x) j$ S+ iThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from: r0 p! G: W3 r9 U7 n- H
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# _! N0 Y. Y( x* J$ q3 lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, g6 y8 x7 x* a8 xInstitute in Washington.! P4 h- b, J: b( Z, I( o t
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& ^ _+ c# i# T* D3 Karen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
: a* K7 D) r' G0 Y3 cMcGinnis said.* z7 p0 v" b1 r4 P* [
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical6 c" ]3 h" V# R& z0 P( K" a3 H
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be- D/ b* I" w$ K# k) g( I
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& v: ^2 a$ ]5 Z$ y2 d
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."% Z( L1 \3 L1 r% l& A1 @
* o( L) j0 ~1 e" _* F' o6 [* `, WUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 q% J; t% [+ wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in& b$ I! I4 |# T7 j. P5 o
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of, a9 [5 ^1 q: a5 }. G
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 _) o8 l& @% Y( l. s" u
on weekends.
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+ s1 D" u/ q( SThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# ~3 O* C" U4 I2 t, X3 m
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves* M4 ~, {" `8 U9 j1 V
students who are not of Chinese descent.# ]' t. {0 f0 o9 D) s0 F
+ r5 f: I7 J- C+ {( PMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! R6 ~4 ?9 n% t& \: N% I7 }% z) Tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
. G8 N( K, b+ w; c1 ~( \2 ^* Icompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
& C8 ^/ E: W8 F+ Nsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."; @* s" G) _$ G( B) k
2 g* y' h n6 X8 e/ |! }6 c p* `# H% \+ SFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 f- m0 V! i6 }5 ^all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse. |* m/ J1 x& X# a
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from9 q {. x7 U5 l, f
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
# O# e2 O7 ]: O7 wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to2 W1 a6 K1 J# e0 J4 \
the school system last year.4 E6 T+ B7 _5 w# O2 R; m% u7 w
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 |) h6 o7 t9 Y! Q
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year., E6 R$ D8 k% B. E6 v7 p
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"They have a great international experience right in their own( u5 q) P) l% ]7 o& K* [ G: f
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago( z7 P- \' T+ q0 r
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to. o9 ^. A5 i5 ^1 [$ N( f' X
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet# |7 Y: c* l0 l4 l, U
on an equal playing field."
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7 a/ m& A* @3 ~% H/ [Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
) Q; N- q9 i7 E% C* v6 L; y! wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign( C, m# {8 L% l2 |5 P* g3 v6 E
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
$ t+ z$ z8 D% x. \! y+ SChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 C9 Y8 [; U8 Y1 ~
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in/ H& e' a, r$ E8 U. p; W1 }' W* R- c
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the c& T9 S9 t; U4 D: e
institute says.7 f. a' v+ j% c- y
: {8 p0 j8 g) Z6 cSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth9 }' U( {7 K0 h1 E
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 `' Q4 L m0 P' M2 cdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# D+ b2 U/ E/ B3 C/ E
told her daughter.8 V2 y* n! L$ k A6 x6 _9 ` a
/ P; l5 C0 T# {: o. z+ wSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
" @7 i2 E* c4 j- [) X' Iclass.; n9 G, i" j# v0 D
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
# B& q" e9 H3 rstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 ?$ a9 h# C; \( } m# V
occasional frustration.
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1 O9 r2 @+ J2 T"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a/ c! l. R3 T6 B* X7 @! W }, _! s; ?$ T
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.; f' H+ `9 l, `* F6 ~/ H
/ x' Z4 v) y0 }Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he) I, q) d) |! Z! |1 O. }
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& M3 P; h4 \6 c4 T( PChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( ^5 l" a( \8 I4 R3 k% S
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* P, T; |6 s$ Dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& Y- b' T7 M! y3 D0 Ras many languages as I can."
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" A0 J! y9 D5 B0 W7 [0 f( O2 `Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the. q- k2 t* Y" } x3 G4 E
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job! s7 Z$ s$ l: U2 N2 c
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
1 Y3 L: }5 }4 R7 z) K4 l& Fthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program9 ?% [# @# ^. n" A# B6 e' I
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each' [! [. K! K1 I. Z5 f7 V
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( t" I8 q* D: [0 V* ?4 @' g) A5 `
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
9 |# G. E; u# ?0 |room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' a3 @6 q6 C/ W7 M# q7 FChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
& O9 _) i- [* Z5 ~0 Acollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.& A2 M1 _0 l0 k. a0 R
0 S3 u7 F' Q3 Q6 N: E"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
- Z1 Q' K b7 Y- Ubecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
5 `4 z3 @8 L: X3 _% @% M9 @* [9 C3 \said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia6 k# ?! t" i, w* W/ k% A( {
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the" Z' x y, W+ f( H
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- }3 Z- G6 d H$ T9 N: C# ?/ z9 @6 Vthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our3 _0 m: N# Z y, _$ x& g9 ^
own."3 |; K8 Q6 i/ K0 G5 k
% }& `" P$ |1 D$ h0 G5 i! fCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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