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October 15, 2005
: K$ z/ ?" D) Z; R pClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity+ }1 G" f9 h( s1 x
/ X7 `' A* D" a* q' T8 |By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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9 |6 C0 W* D/ }6 m pCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 A7 M( |4 ]+ X, ^, cUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary1 c/ q; b4 e/ F' u( H( U
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas) b8 l8 j2 a7 d- ~ C& E
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
' u! J3 b1 E& xflag hang from the wall.
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. {5 A" N8 w* g' O% l- |5 \9 O" SOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" q0 d+ l% Y! d' ~ c2 E1 J; }
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
; E2 b5 I7 H y9 l3 e) ^! m1 P6 zpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, x! H" N& R, Z3 ]& F9 B9 _8 Q
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
5 Q) l" E# s9 m5 O1 hare already choosing it over Spanish.' i- w% |! k# F+ h+ i/ d ~1 E
; e2 I( L% A, H' l"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" {7 M, P( G3 E8 J9 @
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 x5 s; k F7 n' q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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) P. o. ?$ Q- n0 u* x2 C. t+ ?With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
# V; z% u6 s: T- @* G- eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings2 F- F" ?8 k: ^+ q
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention1 k; ] K$ A; S9 q2 Y' h4 B
one of its most difficult to learn.0 ]- w$ [ t/ s4 n
: f% ]/ l9 f1 H, \* H6 M xLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& Z2 X7 b0 O1 O& w: \public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 Y6 g, R" }! f0 {
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# j7 U: M/ ?9 T! ^1 S* [Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
6 u* j! ]8 P, G( h6 sTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on) i2 I! O- ^5 q4 Y1 R+ d
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ W; l3 K, h0 W7 p4 b, e9 d: {improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.5 y. K7 W7 @+ \! d5 |) P% G
: M }3 z7 ~0 b4 l# hAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
. y4 B; k( n9 a; B# ?( pChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( M1 E U$ i3 q, istarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to" G* V7 f: I+ ?# G5 W3 a9 D
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
' M- P% { F% @6 i5 L# ocurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director1 v- ^& |9 ^; |0 i1 q. B- w
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
) Y/ s1 c9 r" J. B* n+ M- Aspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 a5 h: S/ R r5 i. G4 U7 j7 f; e9 X% \Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we1 ^! b" u* I$ H" Z9 Z1 L
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% u" I+ n. l4 Q; }( u# t
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 `& @1 j6 v1 r+ e
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 b* x8 g& O2 ~Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 R& n5 O5 x) W: Raren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 I2 ]/ A0 r- kMcGinnis said.( S" \9 x r( L6 d0 v/ m6 |
) U3 b( B" h) A7 g"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ a) j+ d! D) H+ a' D$ b/ Dlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" @7 n/ a8 i4 O
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# M) p5 m2 R- `: A f
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."% M7 F t6 V; Z8 w) ^+ u- @
' ]6 M% @6 V* i& }2 f% _& rUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and) a. W* I, u3 ^& B
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' H8 L6 v; X' Q7 h# Q+ i
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( Z4 Q- m2 \% k$ e' e8 aChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
( p0 ?7 a4 P u( a2 R) Q/ uon weekends.! W9 @4 }/ R% S- N0 H" T* `9 K
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
5 H, q2 b5 k2 r, T% T# O, r3 Tschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 P( G* D+ x/ r( Tstudents who are not of Chinese descent.+ Q7 S7 U2 b) D
8 d! W2 }9 A- M8 R8 c! AMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( [8 r$ O. R4 {
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 m6 p$ H: m% m' H1 o0 e0 {) b! wcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley, G, _8 _; b/ [ X9 F) Y
said. "There will be Chinese and English."* |3 u) {- x# Q$ S1 l
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 T6 J6 ^% I+ h/ V- V# Rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
$ }5 |8 s8 U4 Q, Yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ m7 g: S5 O6 T" [6 Xkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
5 u8 X k" P3 o1 V( K, u4 owho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
. ~" v% i( n& ~: O d% }9 [the school system last year.
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* Z- f5 Z, k% W3 Z8 }The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
" Z5 _! R1 G* H) Q4 F1 a9 Myear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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" [8 w: h J; g& H1 F# x4 I"They have a great international experience right in their own9 Y5 a5 D* U: [$ [0 Z* b2 Q" j, {
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 Z' K# n, @6 qChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to t+ {# `8 ?! g8 \: c s8 u9 T7 ^
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet% I% G: W0 p- @* g( Y
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: o: u1 ^/ m/ R0 fclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
J5 k5 m2 q7 i- A j: MService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
) e; Z" T9 _- @Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" s5 H" s4 F- h$ w2 g1 baverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in2 J4 q* z4 }( x! y7 i
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
' s9 x9 a2 I# A9 L7 A+ Oinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( G1 P [( X8 C! V1 ^grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* b: b w6 t' S
deciding whether to take the class.# Y8 I* Z2 g4 h; Y( q! E
/ F% m! u# t' X"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
, W" g5 K" I3 L Y1 B- W+ Xtold her daughter.# L5 G+ ?4 u& e) v# R- S4 n
8 O2 f5 E, l+ d9 uSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- E4 ^ @: s- V: ?3 `class.
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( }) ~7 a- E( w- _1 [/ }9 gAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
" U( y2 E% c6 j6 J( Nstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
6 ^4 B1 {: v3 Z& ?/ X! g$ }occasional frustration.* |) \6 h8 [ U' L' E7 C( W
2 w- k" U4 ~' v" U* @$ V Y- }/ z"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
1 U, n7 y1 ^ Crecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.2 B2 D1 r0 q; I
0 D4 a/ ]- K7 y& _" F# nRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
1 H( X6 p+ L& n8 k3 \taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with" x( V( G/ D! @
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.9 d/ U- k% F0 m. h. S
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
1 ^- u* F7 J0 ?; W/ hsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
) A/ ~+ b# e7 o5 C. Ias many languages as I can."& p5 O% x+ k( ?% t9 H
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the; ]5 x' Z: M O! G7 g
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job4 Q' J4 P' k" m! Y
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like# W" n6 w8 ^% Z- D- Q
that," Ms. Freire said. p/ D9 Z, g/ s5 b7 m$ _0 y/ H6 q
$ E% y2 W2 N' f. AMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
1 Y* N2 D7 O5 k8 W2 j4 S* fhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
; S# Z- |- }, x, }school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
' o3 P0 _, B4 ~) Vtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
! @1 O5 c7 D4 }! \% Proom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer: v- V# M H6 g+ a4 `1 V
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- H0 y0 v I3 N/ T" I: {& S+ O+ scollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.6 H) B* A* R1 v& w
A5 P. k) {" M+ T0 c7 w9 H"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
& _9 ~' k1 v; a. ~because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
5 A2 P6 @: l% Esaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) g1 Y; x' F& X8 D9 ^8 b
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the$ V) d! m2 v3 G$ k- [5 z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 Y, V% M. f. q- g# ?% [/ mthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said." m/ M' A5 H, Z5 b- L m
& a% J0 l# ^# Z( L: s0 U( p5 ?4 J7 v7 G"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
) C* f% g& I( Bown." G/ z+ W# Y; n6 I5 {. L" I
, {3 a7 Y/ @- `9 r2 }Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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