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October 15, 2005
0 |: h, a* ?% a' V2 q- b; Q7 k$ hClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& {+ d d2 _6 ?" S0 r6 g r
2 b7 t: ]. c# Z& i. }2 XBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING6 r" I. o) j* J' \3 E% q! M& U: B
7 S- k' A" Q/ [7 L) l( f+ }CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the1 f7 w* H4 ^& g) x
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' |7 ^) I7 F- y0 j
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' a: n/ N. \8 Z: }. K) qdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 f: c& Z2 l# B0 C) R0 Xflag hang from the wall.
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* ]& w% W( j# z' EOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ o8 q( f) Y- @+ F$ N
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
: d$ m9 ?3 r# q: H' ipracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
: g) M Y; n# {2 @0 E- ?, eboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 R+ p9 J1 O5 N" J! `are already choosing it over Spanish.
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; Q/ l1 N/ o, ]"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 [: y2 { u; P
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
' z3 X+ q7 R6 d0 Zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.": j. C' k8 _. j, Z9 [$ q+ ^- \
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,0 V, l' Y& a' \2 D3 ` h
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, d- _3 t; ^: k; R4 t
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 s0 T. q, C1 c& Lone of its most difficult to learn.
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8 m8 l: B7 ?7 \: Y* w# fLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ [1 A" F/ c; c
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students6 w0 T7 h9 N7 V8 C% Y0 A; ?
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.5 ^' @8 @7 i n
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! }& g( f* }4 \' b9 G& pTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on4 y3 M% M) t: V; f1 y0 `
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
Y* K6 F j. |' Timprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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5 P7 H7 _( b' e( p& ~. r0 |After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; c/ H) K2 U& y4 D z' W
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. ]( V/ _7 s* B
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to& d% x5 ~# f# V, f8 p% [/ ~ A
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% W* C8 n6 U2 w# c8 jcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
: H5 q8 f. ~4 d' K |" U% ^0 x3 jof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
5 I) Y; \! |* E; d% F( j1 lspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
2 _9 }: R% o- l( u; ]+ A+ K. G. ?Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ e( d C/ u& F1 m
can." ) [1 V: ~6 H; p
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from. _$ O) W& X# N5 P4 x9 C
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# V" P: W* s, q- uyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language3 q, K( ?- s% c5 |- S3 R& v( h
Institute in Washington.: w) ~5 \% E9 u
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( o7 Z8 o$ C( m* M& G9 M# {; Maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr." I4 @4 ^( Q5 i: {- ~ Z& ]* w) B
McGinnis said.$ K! J Z8 b* V) ]2 G+ K
4 {9 h/ f+ L" E2 q& \: e"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
5 z$ Z, B, a4 [" y' G7 S' A+ Rlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be7 f" e* n( j" C/ A- v" Z* w
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
- x1 m) T' b: D& u0 l5 j7 ]challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."2 ~1 N# V3 \ A& q# I
6 f6 e; D# ~4 |/ W9 i) u' H0 yUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
7 `9 D3 h6 F; ]( z% |" ~& Usecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
/ f, p3 _! J, S" c2 A2 Bcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of9 ^3 Z: ~: D, f5 C* d
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
# u8 G8 C4 ?" {( v# D: f" i3 B+ Ton weekends.0 C- {9 V" J& |8 S* g7 w
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* e1 C# E) S0 f- o7 {4 R
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
$ X# X" y+ J0 m1 c% C) Gstudents who are not of Chinese descent.3 P8 i) u. a/ F3 ~1 W0 S
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
% l2 q6 a" @; Q0 G1 f# jproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the% n- C" m$ ~8 B8 E- e1 Y2 G* T4 m# P
competition. # n$ {3 r4 j& C- k$ p+ S4 m
8 j) Y. u. m J! v' ]- X"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ _; \) e+ p( | Rsaid. "There will be Chinese and English." ~* D; t( @: i8 U
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" _' i3 X* _7 d/ q0 f
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse) Y( z \! w7 O/ F3 i
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
6 h/ t9 T z! R7 |kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
M+ s& P- q" e& K$ Bwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
$ B( e: J' F5 f" i. y: [7 z7 U" s Dthe school system last year.% b( C9 h$ R8 z8 g; Q
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this) `: T4 r& _1 R0 f/ Y& B8 e* k2 c
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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# T& K! D" ~) e! u. V/ Y% d"They have a great international experience right in their own: ]2 b2 z0 N; ?
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
+ K# j4 t# P. |, xChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* n% t: e# q1 T, D2 l! G6 b
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
& X, C3 t0 m3 ?0 a& R, d1 jon an equal playing field."
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" A" i. f- r. m, V7 G4 rSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
n) U2 L" p# t D) Nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign8 o7 }7 E W$ o. A, E7 @# s( a% Q
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
6 L8 U9 W0 p' C6 A% `, t0 vChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An$ B4 A0 Q" h& Y, q7 E0 m
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 I3 ^( ~* @/ q; l" ^# }5 {Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the( ^( F! ?3 O' p$ y
institute says.. ^7 V$ _6 h, o+ w, f
; Y @# m+ F( u% fSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
: q$ e, t+ Q4 S# sgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 \$ U+ r$ }8 q `8 ?7 j% edeciding whether to take the class.
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?) {$ W" i9 b1 ^; u+ m"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# T/ v1 F& C$ b8 X
told her daughter.2 F0 F3 J! k5 n
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ A5 X$ U, o+ F! j
class.; W, P; A2 U. Z. x! U
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ N9 z' p9 A: d, ]4 R# `
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 c" L' {9 Y b: o7 y8 q3 moccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a& i W0 P, y8 u& k
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, g- U+ F. t. v3 W9 J
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
; C9 K% L9 ]# {* s, x9 |1 M jChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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$ \$ ]& t9 F7 v- w5 t, R& `"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ @1 w" S5 [! o7 Usaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ e- Y" ]/ F) Y8 K" a# x! i* H$ |as many languages as I can."5 r2 j0 _' M) G% P1 D" E% B* e! K
! v1 T6 l# }& S. ~Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 P' e$ j" U: Iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 g3 }+ e9 ?9 Q& v4 A1 X1 Bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
4 w' z( G9 c9 m- `that," Ms. Freire said.' E* R6 p- V; {- U" |2 {3 U- p
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, x4 U; m% i: U4 ?here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) L4 c k' ~. b5 @) o" d B
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking8 {7 T2 t, e; ^
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make+ n# q# s: w; _* k+ {7 g
room.% H) M' o) r- ~7 W' g- c+ Y
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer; l& i$ W, c- U. @% U. @, s0 A' p
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 R' u5 f9 K6 N- b2 ]3 W" E# Tcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.! `# O; u; O( p; G% {
4 w2 @ t _9 i- \5 v"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
4 l. i3 X0 E% Kbecause of that missing certification," he said.4 a) U# Y' h0 X! z- x1 V1 [( A
5 `* Y; q* P7 i2 T" m! wThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
7 _2 L6 D" l. usaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia5 U' o5 @( r: w1 ]2 p4 Q1 |; j% w
Society in New York.0 F! \" t6 v. K" e) |: K+ W
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
! ^( H* s! h, j# SChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
t' ?+ B+ e) s: J+ Nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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4 O O0 X U% c- \; C0 K8 _0 t"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
2 `# a3 u+ l! m$ _! uown."
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) }% f1 b5 s/ ~6 QCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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