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October 15, 2005
4 K, X6 w* s X: ~; H* nClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( [' G E J0 _
6 ^& O( H( `+ H: ]( U4 _$ b
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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) l- i$ R1 ?5 `( P( r6 s) z/ o, d9 GCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the6 G x$ _4 h; o9 {) t
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
t- j5 c) ]# j& [School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
( k0 ?) |* E6 [dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# R0 k. k. _. X$ W3 I) T! z& k/ U/ K
flag hang from the wall.
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" |/ @( h4 i* o. zOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
! @) b+ L" m0 j8 Oanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders6 N: d1 o5 f8 i- x) r! g
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 E1 J6 M1 ]5 O. Y; v
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 M0 U6 p& \3 J3 M+ z" @are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: t" s; m7 v/ Rat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city+ N }5 O: Q9 k# }- R
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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2 {$ E/ i2 m% _* _8 E" W3 @/ GWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: m9 t$ R% M" o) l1 n v9 O: Y
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! B4 Y$ @' y3 V& ~to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention% B* Z* ^ B5 U5 T8 E
one of its most difficult to learn.
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7 M1 Q; Q0 Y4 O9 q, E% c& K7 OLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 f5 X9 {1 |5 @1 a* Z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
B5 }8 M" t- `; y3 |3 Ostudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
; W8 H( `0 @5 T0 }* Y1 FLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of, l; x4 }+ g' d' p. C7 Y/ Y0 P* L
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 u' P+ N2 ~% u* p' O/ H+ l m
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" f+ F1 L( m1 W% ?2 N1 O
improve 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: ^3 f% \: t! B/ x
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country5 y5 Y0 h/ a: f* R! L5 l
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# b& v- O$ [2 Xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 b( W2 N6 w! P; ~$ j
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director2 R' \8 d% V1 L
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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0 A3 V$ ?7 H3 p"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of8 h; E4 k7 X! F6 S5 e9 R
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
) G# b' E% A6 n2 O' m7 }1 tConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we9 @2 H2 X3 y/ P. y i7 q
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from2 ?% T7 A* U( i# Q
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# ^) ?7 K7 z Hyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ L3 s/ }) x4 S8 J: b& nInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# |( t7 G' |1 Z4 C* E0 v. W
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! V: i% r: J; F2 D9 I; nMcGinnis said.% ]* x, J N* S6 V
$ u/ C% J$ Y3 W/ j6 g$ l5 U"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical- |3 a) v7 B8 w* {, M7 Z! O3 P
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 s, o$ O/ t0 ~3 d" i3 F) Z# h+ ?ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a$ E/ J+ P& ^3 e4 z6 r
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."- I1 j7 z! ~0 i9 H, H! [% @
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 Z% m; q3 G: q7 ^3 h
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in) Y. K# d6 T) m3 F
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 P* d& S) w. m2 {4 [+ C+ |Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or+ z+ @/ R$ G- d) w- P) o
on weekends.+ w& Y* Y) `, _& @8 E( k7 Y
1 T2 i7 o1 I" k' H) T$ M S( JThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public/ n1 r+ `; O$ ~3 S- s3 }; R+ x
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
1 f1 l0 h4 l1 a9 D7 j# Y0 w4 @& Tstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
1 g; l0 ?2 z) T' Kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the7 H5 ?. n9 Q& h' N' S
competition. ' D+ k1 s; F8 M. F- H/ y: K" P" l- |
$ J" J3 u3 a6 C8 p"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley% ^5 a# t( b4 \/ V1 W# o
said. "There will be Chinese and English.". {! E1 r& S5 r+ U! a9 Y
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
0 p, W; N9 @. d6 f+ Fall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 A A$ q; k, oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from6 M) n: a, D+ W3 ^) v: u& h
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students D! {) c- Z8 G. K4 z: h
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
; ?: q; ^4 V z0 d7 D o9 @the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
7 a2 ~+ A- q6 L# |. J; i- a% x- l3 Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 |/ \# }6 @: d9 M" ~! |( u
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
5 K8 N7 O- I; j$ n4 q* _/ Nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago- e6 [# [7 U L: _6 z: M
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to, O9 x; t, b8 M
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 v0 k; e# N4 ?; I8 @& P
on an equal playing field."9 M) ]: S7 s3 F2 ~4 a1 ^
; v7 t- x; y, }& f6 L" j. X" ]Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
8 V, X" g3 f/ _$ e9 O# |classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign& t2 C! D2 e) a0 u+ T. z
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 `: d6 E' N. D1 S# s' G' P
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
+ `( g& L5 q# P% S) @average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
. A* [# R9 k! R2 m3 YChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! U/ [8 r, r5 ?- ]8 x! n
institute says.' C1 |4 y7 m: c2 ?7 w& f, w) ?
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 Y7 u! O1 d7 ?9 Rgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
& l4 _" X% ~# [8 Ddeciding whether to take the class.
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! A+ a+ h6 i) v3 l2 y"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she, e" E+ b% h! K7 v% g9 p& I h
told her daughter.' f, B/ p' S) C6 y! {
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
0 Q E6 }7 g, u6 b9 s; |class.0 Q4 Y! I0 F& B0 K1 G
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 s5 E: k- @2 r3 t y+ dstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without# R0 `# G b) T5 ~7 v1 G3 b+ l L
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a, }: z: P* j. n) T+ C. p+ `" T! R
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
3 l$ c3 y5 z# {: H: jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
+ V n" b& Q% oChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. x a& K. O8 H. j! U
5 `3 _& @/ G- `! K0 h7 P; A"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
: W1 O' x" B1 v6 T7 {: Zsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn7 z/ {% m E& p1 a( h- q* L$ E
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the$ B( Q# Z9 e( ^; {6 W$ V s# q
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" e3 E& F# m# z
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
; |2 A: k( O2 T ?that," Ms. Freire said.
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) d9 I H! Y" s+ O% n( yMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
& v# P3 W* a0 H8 R* `) n& V" Where offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 p& {7 f' E2 \ l
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking) d# J/ x# W O; c# j
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( s# m" {7 V- N/ C) RChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American. e& G. A1 l, ]5 N2 b
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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& f* ~5 [8 D6 \8 B- }3 {"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 Q7 {( ^7 j; C) @: Obecause of that missing certification," he said.
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( u% v( f( v( m' }! Z/ }( jThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,$ N3 g0 k8 S& @2 {0 r5 o" N" _
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, d/ w2 a8 D% i, m
Society in New York.4 c1 a1 g. W- s
7 Q; i7 R8 @- QSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
% V( L( W. L8 n, l1 [Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& @; ^2 y5 X' ^1 r. L; rthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
3 f' i5 y3 ~$ x5 B ~2 T" e4 h/ V$ Sown."
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# r/ v$ [) s3 QCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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