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October 15, 2005
& w! O/ i+ w- W2 m n# o$ xClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& z0 S2 z9 V l$ Q9 L0 E: P; ]
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING% h7 c* p& V* N5 r, t
& A5 O$ D) A' J" fCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 y+ I1 v. W9 B& NUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, Y! }, L& x9 E |1 W- @
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* R$ k" w4 H3 o/ A( ?dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese- z( h3 \4 X6 v4 ]
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one/ A. G5 ?0 E! {, |" k
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders$ F$ `. H5 s" _* s+ U& t
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 }/ Z+ F; h* k5 v- O0 v
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
1 w4 N: ^# ~, s0 s1 T1 pare already choosing it over Spanish.! K' z# @: e* m/ N h' d
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ f+ ^& t, h* c
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 P, z6 o% [# [
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( B. B6 o: \9 `: K- K
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& O$ i' l; \* {
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* {* c; R1 L' l1 L4 E% b
one of its most difficult to learn.
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& y4 n. ^( D/ N' i2 o$ CLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to e/ g: G8 ]# i9 R
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
3 _& U b3 m. F8 Mstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) j4 z* R7 `/ ^8 Z3 ~% [; b# W
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! b: {) ~5 L# {! g5 n! TTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on5 k, D: Z) i. P- m0 R! d
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 n0 l" Q. n2 k' n% ~0 t& ^3 O" Q
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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& t. I- ~7 r, m4 kAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) a" f8 `( n/ I% U8 `8 WChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( u' Z2 T- Z6 p5 J0 A( z* Xstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 l3 F0 T X a0 f9 E0 ^
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
. Q+ g+ F1 A7 j. o- wcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director+ w4 C6 V0 z+ _# N
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board." X+ b) Y+ @2 ^& d6 x4 u- w- H
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of; \1 d5 M$ w6 I' L
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 W* w0 i3 w- d5 ZConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
0 z: N0 j3 U! j1 @! o5 Kcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from: v, ~6 Q& m6 F# a6 d& p$ W
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
) E- F2 s8 ~6 ^1 l- R2 E: r% ~ M; I Gyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 j6 l% K6 u) h9 |Institute in Washington.
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, S7 C* ~' v, S! `: _6 ~$ z! \"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 @- I, D' ?1 daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr." h% p6 V0 i' }7 T, I4 N m+ a3 ]# E
McGinnis said.' |* K( [3 K: g. X2 R( [
+ S" @2 M$ ^# {7 m$ a8 q"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
. ^( }4 s% s. \( r7 Ilongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be, L$ A) b* R# y8 y: Y: e. F
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
0 e2 _* {! p( e! B, J7 ], }challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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; B% ?. R! O/ u6 q: O1 ?! C1 BUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
; b4 T. V2 E6 f/ w3 \secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: ]" W3 x+ U t! [; A4 d
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. T& Q; T" P* j3 b: J7 \! BChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or, L9 J+ c) V9 t8 H' Q$ p0 g
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& ?# Y$ s$ g, Z. z( d) k* }schools during the regular school day and primarily serves, J/ \9 ^8 Y" ~3 S
students who are not of Chinese descent.( K( w# G3 I7 ^6 N: z
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said4 h) ~: [) ]5 U( n
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the2 g8 z6 Y! ~7 G+ ?
competition. ! C7 ]% ]+ P% `& M4 x4 M
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley2 Q) _( k' w( I( i0 O' Z0 W
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly- t- B$ J9 q0 p' P/ u4 m% P
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
7 T% _. y, T9 U" D% ^' zschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
* G0 `7 ?/ W4 N' n P+ | f5 @kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 k- w* x! l& N3 j+ E& R4 }( |
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to7 I& d' c, J- S2 R' b
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
& f& [# ?4 s. ]year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; e9 Y$ ^" q h
: A! _. h$ f7 ~. t5 Q"They have a great international experience right in their own& k k, X3 P. [
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago1 b6 j8 w, Z, e/ b+ b8 t6 j a
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 M' S( n1 F; ^help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet! C, E) A8 M" e2 T w! L3 X5 }
on an equal playing field."% @; }- N% T( ?" @
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese: ^* ]0 e D1 k- L3 c
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ E- ~, s8 o0 `6 FService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
. F! |: n' w# c% b* u5 WChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 l9 ^, z) k2 a+ xaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in' [5 V6 _7 Z# C
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the K1 A; F6 C6 D9 i8 l1 G: L
institute says.3 M3 y8 `2 T0 i+ H' _( Z
* V# O; q$ o7 k6 N! LSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! e: X* M4 ^. fgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before3 x+ U% V% H& B* I7 F* h5 x3 Y
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 E0 G4 B# Y; j5 o$ W _" _" l
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 X0 P1 C( v) W' H
class." q1 g4 V6 |4 \% @& n3 U) w
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
" y8 h2 _ Y2 j! |! H Y; N# i& jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without6 w2 l# X* b1 P# J, [
occasional frustration.- s! S$ h. }( e5 t% P' d
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ i& ^% C9 j$ q! y: F5 Trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 [1 t ^9 j2 \+ T( F2 ]
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
e' ?( g# k: l/ Z+ k; gtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! Z% @9 X4 K( f, i! tChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul6 }7 d! H' X" T2 s1 x$ |
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, T7 G/ ^0 f5 j* D$ H4 n$ Ras many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the l: J/ f7 F: X
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job$ Y0 J& F0 m/ T9 o. |) t
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 g0 m( s5 A/ L8 [4 gthat," Ms. Freire said.
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0 n4 u( R6 e/ E1 j. T _Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
% V& C# B# k6 n- R5 Rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each2 Z# s6 F: e; V/ J& ?
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking. S1 A" T; X4 L1 A
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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^4 u7 L: i( F% I/ Z5 WChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
/ C# G; C' S. VChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 l: {) u! F* ^; d
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.8 C3 E$ e5 ~# Y$ G `4 F; J
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified+ q$ N5 _$ }( u! R+ G
because of that missing certification," he said.! [' J: {5 f% _1 j; t0 k; F& O
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
8 @8 n+ ?; i& Xsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) |9 N2 u" z2 O3 `
Society in New York.4 R' `% ^( C c: [: s4 k& w1 G
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, Z. i( q1 T- i. |
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from+ V4 s0 x6 A6 k* I' B6 B" ^! Q% F# c
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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6 s6 l! L( }& ^* J9 Y# E"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 w: u# p6 O. G* l) w( T! ^
own."
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1 m5 x( i5 N2 I9 J8 Z b3 jCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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