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October 15, 2005
& O, S9 S% ~* M0 s; JClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity! K2 j+ _# d3 M7 K3 w. d2 {
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING# i( t, Q' D, R" n) L
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 C+ c/ O( V" FUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
$ _) E. e+ Q- ]5 E3 Y R/ v+ jSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
, @" w- o3 I6 ^! g u2 i* Wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) u! b; ~% h, v, n4 |1 e( Wflag hang from the wall.
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7 M* I& v( M: `% a" ^1 vOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
, b+ \* G" w9 I; ~another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ ^ v4 s! L9 F5 [2 `0 x
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! I7 k9 y5 f$ I$ L" u6 v' W8 ]
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 z2 n1 t R9 k! ]$ q' lare already choosing it over Spanish.' U- k. j: ?& L6 p
9 {" ?( m3 S7 l( C& w- _; B"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal; p( n6 ~; P8 e* o h, Y5 C' P- o( I
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
' T( Y! v9 w/ ~+ poffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."& p7 h% q% l( r/ `4 d
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. e( q/ `* y0 G. H1 X' L! @schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) o# _" u5 f4 n+ P6 p% E9 Dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* }4 C: I0 @9 o6 U
one of its most difficult to learn.0 k4 p6 O: i* q
; E: n4 w5 a# ` L: e; YLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& ?4 E! K1 x& ]' h G3 fpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& X7 u0 q9 R! S* kstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. A8 Q) k; ^ N7 S3 XLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of) d4 _" v( Q7 g! J* v
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# n' R ~" [3 D0 ^# C
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. K% x; q2 A" `1 j, v. O5 k
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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' J; k; G% v0 W3 x" G, f. |- vAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement3 T$ ]/ K4 o+ T! O% n4 K- q2 v
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
: I" B7 h# ?( \6 m7 J2 m/ o. kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# [2 h% a2 {0 m( s7 }develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
9 Z7 d, [& ~$ w; o9 j Lcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
! D' v: \4 ]3 rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 [9 ~9 [. v7 ~ v1 B
4 x9 e1 O4 Y3 W9 O: O# w"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
% C/ F' Q8 L) a. T* y8 ?speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education. w; I, a5 c- p1 }4 w6 ~
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" \# d' T- K4 ]can." . W9 E, b& E' A8 Z% }. [
9 a" y9 W" [( UThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! ?; A1 g/ @! o9 telementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 v! e' j3 o' E8 ?
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
" Z* C9 ^2 Y- T8 I+ }Institute in Washington./ D( C( D* P( j9 @
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
% x+ {9 T0 q, j1 ?7 Q* varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 m: ~. Q# j( Q! N c7 X7 \
McGinnis said.
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7 C" p6 S& g: Z; J! p0 f/ D"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
" B+ V; g. K+ o Ylongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 G( {8 L) L7 j S* I
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
T( j, \/ U. u' p" h. z ?# M) ^challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 K' ]; J% l' X/ z4 v) E8 V9 ]
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' Q0 V9 f6 ~0 Q# ~) K: M" `
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; \9 D3 u% t# I! J6 U4 M+ x
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. |3 L6 A: u; C) GChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
& i) S7 c7 H5 ^! T( Q% xon weekends.: q8 P& v. [- o' S; F) j* X
# s5 }! D) K0 F! A8 `6 Q- r2 FThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
0 i: S$ e( i+ I4 r0 r% T3 {schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) T. H* {4 s/ Z# A( r+ `4 bstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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6 y, B/ e, v3 V, N" w8 w% a% E, MMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said" x8 c" p0 {0 M6 `1 Y* k& j
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: g# A( p5 h E
competition. - C7 Q$ p+ h* R7 d) C8 s" |
4 p7 p6 c# \. H3 S3 e; N; `"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
]4 X- M6 h; `1 V+ s& |said. "There will be Chinese and English." V7 W! y, ]# z6 b+ ^ u7 v
6 V+ J* e7 Q5 X1 g3 o) n' ~5 nFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
5 J# I( s9 l; @) R8 u; Eall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
$ f0 C: d6 V" i) h* D9 i# Y6 cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
9 L* W* n9 G- C# tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
4 y6 _( @& P/ s, _) Ewho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 ?9 l' u1 r/ n) [5 e
the school system last year.
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# D. F$ s! d& P" ?! L2 M3 \The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( R6 h3 P( _' V ^. t2 Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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/ f# ^! y) G1 r"They have a great international experience right in their own0 P; d9 U/ d% b
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago# I- A$ U! r [
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
d" N( L: Q, N+ Y# ]4 @help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
3 h+ }* _; b( O% }on an equal playing field."4 G- E, K0 Z5 Q8 S6 |
$ i: g. b/ h2 s% D) DSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
4 W: M- |8 u6 b& h% Vclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 g, e0 ?' V1 `. m" Q( f
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
6 y; P' M1 ^/ f9 c+ T7 k& u [Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* c& T/ ?( S* w
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in+ E) k1 z! p1 u8 x: y3 H* ]) q1 j% ]4 \
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the4 V: m |- c% T G) h
institute says.& w" }: Z0 Z% ] Q: c& V& a& X
% }( s) H8 d# c2 y- tSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 @% l W3 V9 a! [% z; O! U3 D1 s/ Jgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before; r% y1 q" C- _, U5 c- ?; l
deciding whether to take the class." D: @) P/ U7 B0 ~+ G. T
1 R9 }& o: {: _5 \"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! A- C! ?4 _. b' n# }told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite! i' ^" J3 g& g# `6 b1 ]
class.5 [6 z) m6 U1 Z/ C9 o9 B! y# s
! J- u) P; @- C, @8 {- sAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are) L: h- @; I! n& X
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: e4 N: L' A l! t" r
occasional frustration.- f* @6 v3 u$ c) ?
% X5 A- [! x" j; M+ y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a; ]2 `7 J6 K" J5 i- V" C
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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3 f' M3 F8 j/ @4 ~Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he* f+ D0 E& A' g- e
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 c' x9 a! K; A/ X$ X: Z9 W' rChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: x& [8 B& S: n0 v G
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul! w1 r3 [* s2 B& c6 }
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- x0 U9 H9 z2 h4 P* E$ U
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 _! t: O2 @! z w7 D, Uskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* W x6 `$ u( U6 n/ j# k, f4 V+ [market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ v! x* [0 w; K3 ]0 d
that," Ms. Freire said.+ B' n, U( l9 ?+ x o
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; L4 E8 B8 V6 Q5 j5 K) Nhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 g2 T6 ` g! A* Fschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
/ U0 G. v: ^* {7 E, D: c0 |/ Gtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
) u, M" E! }. u, {' croom.6 f: u2 k j7 f/ y5 d9 A! s
/ \7 i% J6 N( a) P/ J9 lChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 ?# v6 C/ {. ~6 X! c" AChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ A, Q9 S9 {; z }, q5 T- L
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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2 k8 M# u4 p: H0 K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified" M6 f5 V# c( M, C {
because of that missing certification," he said." ~. L0 |: c( `+ c) Z1 N5 l/ q
/ E9 L: H; d$ M8 G0 e3 f( A7 j' CThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ Q% h$ t5 n1 k* D! O+ d' ]" Q) u5 `said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ F; t9 E2 ^! d' ASociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 C0 a/ m% H9 O" l6 j% y) hChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ E) c* a% u% B* I2 c, d/ ithe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
+ N4 w @* x7 d$ i( w4 { g( Rown."
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# n. n* i7 k! }- B; e$ P2 m4 zCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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