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October 15, 2005
3 B6 v9 @0 U( DClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& @0 {" S, }' ?- @+ ?# S8 A/ W
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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3 T$ ~3 O" u& y/ n1 n( ^+ P! TCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 y$ f8 W A' w% ~3 I, E; E" Z
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( g; X9 e4 O- d: {1 FSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; a* h. `5 h' e' s7 U+ C9 \
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 `! w5 j: t: a5 s, D! Tflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one0 u3 ^& X4 Z- W3 U- _) X' q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
: j& z( x, N2 r- U# Z9 r9 Opracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; J, y& c9 H- s: ~boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# f+ G3 Y- g; q* P
are already choosing it over Spanish.8 I2 P% ^: t& d9 [$ f
3 k+ a3 e( O1 V) {"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 S, v! o7 q6 ]6 yat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city* A2 a: x p% |1 @; r
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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( T! v! e* x& MWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* d& I$ h; ~& E5 hschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
6 F0 Y. |6 p! d0 R8 y9 Q# u& qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention' \( i0 a4 k3 ~5 T Y. R0 W
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ B( I# k3 O, z3 {! D- B4 z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& q/ _- s- Q9 O! Q7 I' ~
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! W. v. a; k4 O7 A1 p6 F
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of4 a7 ?, u4 T% c: ?; b
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
0 u" e! C4 s( b" eChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 k- G. ~, @- q$ _2 Limprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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8 s$ R: q( K4 c# i) iAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
' v1 |1 a( _) W1 M3 `4 wChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 K" i- l. j0 O& n. nstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
+ |& w& ~3 P/ F3 y Pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
& ]* l5 p: { p8 H- L( fcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director; H+ N8 k$ G2 L O4 l$ |5 _3 {
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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( I* j8 N; d) O/ {4 U: k: e5 P"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
: p5 u+ j% f( l7 z% {6 N/ aspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! e% Z4 z4 o! b/ O+ J
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# w9 i( q5 C) Z K1 k
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: L! ?- r( x7 j& P, y4 _, C+ L$ T- T* velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 100 Y2 o% b/ E/ M* l4 x8 v4 Y0 o
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; c( {: E' X0 T5 n' n
Institute in Washington.3 d- V5 c. j: W% c0 G+ z
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages0 I- P" I4 @% y4 q% h
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
' E7 H7 U" H9 ?; v1 U _McGinnis said.% P5 c$ Z) U0 p
& z% s# F# q( R7 h C"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
' r, ~0 P( }& a( f5 n" l3 P1 Plongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 q. S. g3 ]7 h* U9 W6 t( G3 ~
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
9 P# {0 e g# v5 W0 @( Kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" r: {+ ]$ k1 f& v7 f! V
- i! P; M. X: [Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and! W. p* B6 t% f, \9 G
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& M2 T7 M; R4 ?5 m0 E( I5 N' w1 Qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of) r, Z) p1 B3 i) B$ f2 A
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. ^# D) W9 q! j' _ V0 r, G4 Oon weekends.
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8 C1 w$ [7 a7 c9 i- b& _* xThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
0 k1 \! S8 J3 i+ fschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 Y" w2 b6 F, P. hstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
5 \4 G3 `6 @$ s* M% }proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 W0 k A( L& V Z" N Gcompetition. 0 B% F9 U$ i/ O+ R* X8 { e- H; t
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 a1 g/ y, [2 v$ F. z( e Gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English.") p# n: |/ n3 f C( s3 [5 f( v. v0 B
0 E) Y; n; | b8 Z' U3 Y% {/ \From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
; A1 T- k: E! m8 Z4 z* _; fall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ v* @. m; O% w* Y! @) dschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& O; I7 ^( k! x, Q2 ~/ L
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students- E+ |4 F' V5 q. ~" k
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
# U4 U% l3 D9 bthe school system last year.
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7 ~5 P/ s! V: h8 t) MThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 ?( o# a; ^6 r# v
year 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. n3 W' v! L! s- [6 W: ~$ r
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago f" s0 A2 q; m; F
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 e9 i! Q) k# `
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- i! r; q% ]/ h
on an equal playing field."# D# q( f( E* X0 [$ P# M
* S$ _8 {8 j# t3 ESome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
4 T+ F D$ g) n6 C5 u9 a) t# \classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" U% N) H2 G1 q; ~$ D6 c' o
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 ]; f3 _! h1 IChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
4 \/ A# P( d! w7 haverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in' @! [# n4 {7 T/ J, b8 a
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
H' _ j8 o6 G" ginstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth3 y) o5 W2 |$ n5 C) t) ?& @! g
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
* G! g. A( z+ ~4 ddeciding whether to take the class.
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. h) G7 L# N$ ~"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
& p. b7 `* N7 Mtold her daughter.5 ~4 \8 t; K) }3 s& X( E) y3 }
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite. Z3 u0 z! b3 V9 b' G! ?0 N$ t
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are) k' t* ]8 T* O& c" w) _
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# h1 U! Z: D4 i% f5 j8 I V9 xoccasional frustration.
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R9 l% F2 `- X. V! p( Q) ]1 n"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, U0 M4 f% a$ {7 lrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class./ ~6 M2 j5 W9 @: V$ I) p
/ O% s6 _. p5 N1 v3 ], e/ H# zRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
' o& ~) }; x, g: @5 btaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with- X5 ^3 L& d9 U) `" L E3 M
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul L! D$ C1 k; U: `7 @7 Y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn; V, Z2 e, ]& |7 h; q7 |
as many languages as I can."( K- E: {6 H6 r' f+ ^
: m, o" p& m2 C* Z C5 b; m4 {- VAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( v: D4 ^6 w. ~$ B+ j) D: cskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
( A' K) a! u+ e8 F. O) Rmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, M7 [; ]" ]( rthat," Ms. Freire said. B Y5 w w' X/ t2 Q8 E% `
& j! o6 V+ Y8 c- uMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program3 S' G5 ~5 T4 G- }# h
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 o" R' A5 S3 J0 g( o
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
. m/ Q8 p! c6 G+ dtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make L6 }4 A3 u2 w4 k, r/ c8 B" }
room.7 C" h3 Y9 N1 ~& I, i0 z
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
K" D N0 C! O UChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
* a; Q3 Z- S5 ?3 ^5 u ?' M% Pcollege, 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 qualified4 Y& ~* J+ e+ ?8 Q' G3 ~3 x6 Y
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,1 z2 `9 z' \6 D) i0 I
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# p4 y. U- t& b, a
Society in New York./ D: e2 }) J, v! m9 U$ Z
2 f2 h: k! Y. l& O* `" N8 cSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the5 `/ @/ }+ M2 B4 P
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) |, A m$ x* E+ _. C! ?
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
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$ ~6 I# I& c$ \" h# |' tCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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