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October 15, 2005+ q6 ]( H; H+ ~& {) A) j8 g. C
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity [* X3 N: B3 S8 a. f L: [
5 I* a0 U" K6 xBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING5 S+ E h- Q! r
9 Q$ j1 O$ a' ?$ ^5 e% T1 vCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
/ |! K7 v6 }/ z9 M, X" W! M0 eUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
* F5 u" i `: Y3 ]School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas, z5 ?/ M/ B5 C) L; o4 i
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
( ]% k; l+ L0 f1 o8 z, ^flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one9 t; Q) J. S* n$ f
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
# d) ?5 ^" ~, ]6 t, w6 ^practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
0 U6 g3 @5 `$ v( Tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" |; ^! l- {- \& T4 E/ f4 V% R* J
are already choosing it over Spanish.3 ]' C% G& C) U. l. T4 N! b. W# p6 q
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 _8 T. Y/ N7 C" Aat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city- T7 Q/ S, D" Q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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( L4 O. @8 S% f; n5 E0 z4 n2 CWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
& d# i& O B: k% T( }6 c' Q; Hschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 G3 |; I2 O5 `! N" H
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
, U* G7 @; E8 vone of its most difficult to learn.( W, ?* ?( n4 V# W! O5 q! f h
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to7 e9 j4 u; y+ I, r
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& n# N6 k2 ?1 @' astudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
2 M6 Z' w/ y' n% V7 a# [Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of* E* k2 U" ]2 H: n p6 q3 F
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. ]9 ~' m& L. z% h2 LChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 F" H' _6 q( v5 _7 {
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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$ W3 F8 ?: J6 g) c" @/ h5 A4 [After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
( J3 y) d9 Z- N! d4 j+ GChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country2 h; @: T8 x5 {2 M# c3 l9 q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& x, A! r# e. i; k0 V+ R' ^. bdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
- N% z6 _: V% v& M6 @1 h5 s0 s" {curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
# f1 ]" d1 ]3 X5 B/ {of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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) M" H, K: l/ t"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of( h* A7 E8 h% [& j. [
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education6 `6 }3 f! n7 c- X# j& p: j: m
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 q1 e X& V0 N" {can." 0 J1 ?8 I0 Q S6 n
0 w% C% g9 L7 u: T+ TThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from0 c- q2 E/ `5 o8 H! L2 o5 ~
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 v3 b8 x# c N! Z- u
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; u2 r6 \- j2 c# q$ {Institute in Washington.- x7 a3 n: z) N& f4 }7 u
2 D+ M: A! o" G; l' {& k+ W4 a"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
' K: Q" L# c1 v0 M1 U7 ^6 }aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.) c& c; y$ W; V- d6 Z
McGinnis said.
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8 H, E" `) R) i* x4 `"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical5 y1 H0 c/ d. G2 m5 x: ?1 a8 S+ K; I
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
y$ h- R! l* W7 x% Eready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a4 [& ^$ a# u) b1 J0 o7 p
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" W( e0 _0 q7 _( t
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and, U+ j5 U t1 W: v h
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% f/ L5 q5 a+ |cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# |! C; }% l$ y0 ^. Z/ F2 fChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 X* f, T& g6 l; }& j6 z9 |on weekends.
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, H1 i' j, I3 D' z7 K, eThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
- J8 m0 q& }+ b+ N- ~3 ischools during the regular school day and primarily serves
. B; v0 w% x- J) D& Fstudents who are not of Chinese descent./ K3 c: D) i! y- \
# a5 O: b6 k) X9 h8 lMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
5 q/ x/ v# B! |1 S9 _' V6 |proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the4 [2 N0 I4 n( O7 m$ E' `2 } c& G
competition. 6 e: i" d2 p2 i5 N: r% o* L% p
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 _: G* O& o; j/ a; Usaid. "There will be Chinese and English.", o( W. z. U/ n- E9 j. \) b
* D5 ^; [9 ?- p y% Z3 X# `From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly6 l6 s3 N/ b. g
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse, W# k! U" U0 x* G; V4 q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from7 l2 K% d& H* _ [6 j! w6 r$ V
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students* [! G t' Z# u/ y: M( {; y
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 v! [! f$ J9 u* L' a/ R
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
6 ~2 u& z) U1 E0 R* ayear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.' ^% i! W/ t' C% Q1 z
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
5 V+ f8 C$ X3 e# s% w* x/ vclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" l. e u6 d4 m. Z: n: rChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
# H7 K4 v. V% G" y, v$ thelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet/ G6 { q9 k. K% ], N
on an equal playing field."9 W1 K$ {5 o7 J
% x# Q' u; ]+ y; T NSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese- W) M# ^6 i4 s8 t2 Y& m7 U; S
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
: k7 a5 {+ Z7 j9 z6 O5 y: i! ]' |Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks d q% ] ?9 z$ R: `
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& f ]0 P7 Y5 h* X5 K. ]6 Q1 naverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 A1 O- h" T$ I" g& W* ?. s/ sChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the( [7 N. T% | Y
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth4 f0 d1 T3 |1 s0 Y- c$ D
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! v" r2 h9 G0 V: Y$ ]# a3 k- q
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 M0 b8 C ]9 z! o2 etold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' |! T- H( ^* y% f
class.
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, l& O5 y0 @. FAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: ?% s$ ^& [9 Z' B' W; z+ ^
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 {1 Z; E7 ?/ B$ I' \occasional frustration.1 @* _9 [8 O9 o
( |+ A6 Y' w9 n0 J& C. z- x4 o"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 G) f2 L# ?7 W' N [
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 @& C3 W H0 Ftaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
1 N. g+ z# K/ p6 z5 g! iChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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) Z/ X0 k a m- W"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ q" ]0 g# M# r+ B) { p
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
. [$ Q; d$ E3 fas many languages as I can."; P) U; n& y: A* `2 N
" D2 e6 S. F( m- ^5 Q) E+ @% MAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the# F9 L+ L. M" _, l z& G
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
) [4 \) r" a7 g( L _market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
$ F. v: R$ Q# w! V/ \0 C/ C4 k+ w1 }that," Ms. Freire said.$ o1 e9 S" h5 T1 S5 X% e
3 K( d- t% ?# F* gMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program- v M% X* h8 q6 [. u
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! j0 [+ A: E9 K3 e3 _
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking Y% u% e1 |" n$ J3 t- u3 `: o
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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5 D( t3 F1 T# o& T( PChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 g8 H% T1 v+ ]1 {% Q( x" MChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; g- M/ A. S- V' w$ O. t+ l9 F, U8 e
college, 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) f* O; I6 b8 c5 J9 y: \ X
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,3 A, x. \1 i( M5 U/ i. \$ D' K/ U
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia0 ~5 X( k6 t8 U# a4 g3 F1 B
Society in New York.
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; Z# N1 j! x% e$ O2 ~Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ Y3 j! B: M5 M# y: T9 i( Y& PChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
w* |: ]' h" Fthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) d$ _0 M% s: k. R# Z
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
, \# [2 H8 ` H( T Gown."
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- c$ Q/ U% I) V+ N$ JCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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