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October 15, 2005! e# B1 \3 D2 g) M4 V0 @
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 @: G5 N4 t/ x, S5 k# H6 |0 T* ?
- l3 }6 e) Z8 z m6 _9 S: }. M6 PBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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* w8 E C2 r8 ]" ACHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- B4 C* y; [/ h( H1 {United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
7 ~5 f5 ]! N* k4 I0 G5 USchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; R) w* @8 f5 A# c3 r
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 I; T- f1 V! k% L
flag hang from the wall.
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8 L$ o; Z3 I' \9 ]& NOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
' ]3 b; |0 @$ ~9 z, e( Qanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders5 w# v* B6 F5 {
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker5 M& \0 ~1 q% i; n- @8 x- B
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" K. n' ^9 N j! x V
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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6 d* ~. _, K+ d, w# q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
3 ^# Y c) E, Dat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city5 V$ X7 |! h7 V, s- y
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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+ n2 N0 W& x' s, b$ P$ FWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* r! {, |' t, |* }2 e
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
: b. t2 u3 L2 `( `8 wto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention, \: b. ?0 z! M; S! B8 R) G9 x
one of its most difficult to learn.* r0 G* {3 m7 p) J' {
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ u w+ X' v) _+ d/ K4 |; b" d; [7 X- Q
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 @# \& ?3 ^2 X6 r8 w' h7 O. o+ xstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
5 n9 Z' Q: s6 bLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
6 z4 `8 {3 X& q- l, G( k g, ]Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ S+ E$ Q* d! s6 Q9 x. j* h4 D# B1 V# q
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
+ l$ z# o( a, simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
( _8 `6 z# q3 n- P) |2 _. f4 cChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& o ^# Y ]& _4 K7 {& `% P1 w
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
|0 s" b7 ?8 ] u# q: H* Z+ Xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing- m$ K7 e! ], ~5 Q7 X5 I0 x
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# E0 h% R- [5 i( c& b& z6 C
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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* q" A( \2 m* W$ @7 ~"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ [/ g& [" j' R6 t4 l+ lspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& X; q* f2 |- u0 K6 T0 Q: V" ^( t. {Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
7 A: Z7 M8 n1 Y/ |: f- fcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
2 n7 B8 l# G, Y2 velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10. O8 X8 [" A4 l) d7 O6 B
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language" j l% R+ j. D% R
Institute in Washington.. s1 f4 D" E' k( X
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages) @8 X0 w% c9 x. j3 ?0 r
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# p8 \ h b4 S$ p. v F: ^' L
McGinnis said.1 [ F0 x6 y q$ t' ?0 h, M3 [
9 ]9 K2 E) B6 O, E& K0 q8 ~9 n"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical0 I4 c& g) C% m
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
3 H e- U! X! p. T* Eready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a `: K/ o9 u9 l. n) d
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."1 D& }* M2 n& T* s5 D+ L9 h# I
# l" E2 I' H, @$ n% u' SUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 q3 I: S! Y" _" B3 }3 J& ssecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; E d5 `0 a1 L6 Q# m
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! @) |$ k$ C) G* i$ ?% LChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
" y) u! a: m4 `7 [2 k- Gon weekends.5 y; O# Q; E( S9 A6 u
`& C5 g2 \" Y9 oThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# A3 p4 n! n# t$ |schools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 |' O$ J! u& N* g% V$ n
students who are not of Chinese descent.; V U3 L1 l# U! M+ S2 A
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said% n3 p, p( B, v1 {. ~/ n5 j. h
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the1 X0 L3 S3 e& U, C/ z: E
competition. 5 s' n8 ^( A9 x2 p1 i
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
. [# ]: G1 |! Y9 F* F) M! q7 ~* usaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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: Y3 l' j4 s# i! o3 U& K6 rFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 M: M& R( G. k0 S. g& Wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 j: {9 Z; ~: F/ m( m! i0 v
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( T2 z8 ?+ \# G
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students( U: y Z4 o% [/ D# E9 g/ R7 E
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
: [: r5 n, C! d* @3 ithe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' o2 K3 ~7 Y) _& F3 @1 l6 \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
1 W2 @4 P% R0 C. ?* K. qclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago$ R8 ]4 k& Q: p
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 y! B* _& T. P( C. t# T, V9 b
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
: ^5 I1 ]) m8 k) ~on an equal playing field."" E4 R' m* ^3 m
" g3 ?/ ~9 _6 O" s) WSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese4 Y+ s _, Y6 N8 h- @) S
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
# N/ I- |* ^- @Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. h. l' ` V1 G, l- R. A% N
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
7 a5 ^/ }; w- B% c+ c0 yaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- I# o2 Q7 y" {) S/ K' V: wChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
$ k4 H4 Y2 p1 e% w: x$ linstitute says.
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: E% g4 U7 B7 eSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
: r6 p- |. Z5 F! f, O3 cgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
8 \: c% y+ ?* zdeciding whether to take the class.
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0 {$ ^0 y0 r: ]* c6 S+ S7 v1 x"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she7 a3 a/ K: G. K9 F7 s V( H! a
told her daughter.
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5 `3 Z$ h# [* H. `; x- l: vSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 _3 t0 _1 f4 ?3 {0 S0 W/ t7 }
class.( F) ^; N0 ^4 k/ l2 N7 T6 k
l5 C) a% J2 O$ O2 f; QAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 S' h! z9 d* G6 Kstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" q$ p) g: M2 B& i- ]+ ?- woccasional frustration.
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9 I& f# G: p' C! P* E9 v& }"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 Y9 Y* W R; q' H3 u- Brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.+ E/ Q" O; H! {+ }0 t$ g. p+ d" D
# h1 y9 x; H7 }Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he) z) T% y% K; V6 T4 i
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
0 d: h- N1 F1 q( M! F4 w& @3 S7 MChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.& D6 l# I6 u0 E4 ~ h+ F4 Q
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul/ {! n8 W N1 c u3 G Z1 I0 Y7 I
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn% u# D* Q6 T8 E: u. Q% ^
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the! o4 W3 m; C$ ?3 R8 b- w ? f8 p
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job3 p0 v2 @& ]8 ]# J
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: W3 s- j5 Q. ^1 V; {0 Lthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
- H8 w+ U- x2 c% h) ^here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
9 z5 p" v! ?' S% Kschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 I: j9 O0 v4 S2 Q1 h2 o
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make4 ]' n9 ~. y& {( a
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
" v6 m! `4 x: Y, V0 dChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
+ N. c3 L" u/ e8 w9 i4 `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% ]% t" l' S* z
because of that missing certification," he said.4 s# F, [5 w4 _" X0 o/ I. L
5 v8 F y3 H( w/ G d( X, fThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,! Z! b3 F7 F2 a3 }1 N2 N
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
5 Z6 ?7 S3 g! G$ C4 ^+ e: V9 @1 QSociety in New York.; @- Y( W: h' y# b# s3 H
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the; W' ]! e6 Q( z' x( ?
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from1 v; {- i8 [. W5 ?6 Z
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: [7 [8 j" m- ~) T3 ]# t6 n/ P
+ }9 y% l9 A M$ p
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our! r9 W( d& j, c+ Q/ H! w3 I
own.". m% i' R4 A+ Z$ B- e$ w% ^/ R
+ U* O! |3 f2 jCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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