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October 15, 2005
! n; H- ]) e: Y& L W* l& pClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity f( W1 p3 M0 s) e7 Y9 g6 @
' }" l; ^4 _+ w9 n- XBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- z' _' E: l0 S9 j& Y: [United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary9 A- N3 Z4 S6 R
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 Y# m2 X/ ~6 E9 k! b2 D1 h9 o6 Y- C odangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
3 o# P j d. U; E8 Aflag hang from the wall.9 [' Y% X3 W* a# ~7 h7 t. s
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one' i1 o! m" l& ]/ L+ S, _- X1 W
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
1 Q9 X; F% C! O# U: z+ F: @# |& qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
2 E$ f# R$ u' o; \8 aboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 C* @* C! ]2 a' X4 l3 d: K
are already choosing it over Spanish.* O) S' ^" h4 K! a# j* l
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
5 k! a- |- D% j- R3 J |at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
1 ]/ \3 b* ~' D9 l5 Foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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7 F: y! d9 v" W( H# f* G; L' P- OWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, x: P' q4 E1 V5 V2 [. ?, A9 ]" ~
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
6 `! Z3 N+ v: i7 j# J& Cto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 M) {/ a. ^$ O3 J
one of its most difficult to learn.$ |& {% ^/ {& m* x6 |( M: u! ]0 ^
$ t" I+ q( q( ~+ } r9 SLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
9 g1 J! b4 g' R5 X; ~public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 h; ~# j9 b- k) h4 rstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
2 j4 K, z G" B4 }; m1 pLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
. j) j" k8 h; bTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on6 u+ y3 L r8 C: T. N) Z1 K9 s
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to4 j6 S9 D, }# f! D$ O) r
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.3 _# W1 o" J9 c* H9 d
6 M/ r2 L3 n1 @7 U' b" E( b& y1 LAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement1 Z' W( \- G4 l1 I4 i
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country8 Z) t& K5 T" d. {6 _3 m- F
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 @ d) u4 Q# K2 ]# I& p4 Z+ d
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
1 K; A0 F5 r3 ~9 P5 ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) a. ?6 R+ P. A& h. W
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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% y8 f! w6 f& F"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of l" K9 t( Z, K3 i% B- s. `6 l" c2 e4 r
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education1 o2 y9 J1 G* O% O
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 S# w' a" X9 ?" e, J5 k
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from# a' g! U8 y9 H; t
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 v6 |4 b& e, k4 z) t
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 \! ^0 K) p6 Y5 {+ U0 YInstitute in Washington.2 C- n0 U y [8 \0 Y1 Z+ B# B Y( K
) k) z, \1 y2 I% {"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
' }$ `* e B: H5 Qaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: l+ c) t5 V. V* J* r. o
McGinnis said.* `' {" }3 B) B1 W; N$ @
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical8 n! V) { K3 o7 e
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 ?5 o1 k; ?) L
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a0 V( I. s9 p8 g; \/ z* f _
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& F/ [: V% v' A0 y0 L" @
1 q0 m- I& `' K6 @/ `" hUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 r+ k% p" I6 }3 Xsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
; [2 e7 z+ T" `' M" } m7 A% W( Ccities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! t, y) M0 T2 P: Z: e+ B: gChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ j) W' z; b7 C8 b; A P/ ?1 I7 @
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% J+ k' K! N' h; P, ]' ^! Gschools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ J' J6 m! U% A" J$ |
students who are not of Chinese descent.! J Z' z7 P% I7 }: y2 V$ M7 E( `3 K5 u
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 ?0 ?0 W7 x. G2 @* Aproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the/ o# ^3 s# e Y" M: [ P
competition.
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, h! c" p M0 Z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley, c' l$ q5 q+ l: U% @. C
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
& g2 m3 s. ]+ g. ~ C4 K Tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
$ S. Z8 f7 z* ischools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* y2 q& w" g+ l! b
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students( C! T( b% A( e3 C2 ]
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ F5 N( P/ z9 V$ e" N- E7 R3 b1 t& U
the school system last year.- \, c8 ]$ I/ K7 p3 P% p3 L8 `
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# T/ @1 Q; W/ b) `9 _) l5 Iyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 r. ~0 l. q% Z; y
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
2 a; c# G8 t, I( L, y( O6 Jclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
% q* P# e: |, U6 |Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
# k4 i6 r3 C* `4 t% dhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, ]( l# u8 ?1 ^& E+ A1 B+ [' [
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 q$ v" x: \! p# hclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign+ b5 ^# J: \0 c6 K( ~* f. `
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 u* P6 A; ^5 a8 f' Z% uChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* t5 I7 i0 [5 V! Y# X0 u: V' saverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
9 `! C! ?9 r7 Z9 a3 hChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! H: S, l- _3 {( l' Y: ?0 Qinstitute says.. @ X& _9 |1 c* { B/ P% z2 R0 h! @
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ b6 b6 t. j/ q, W; x( qgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# i6 ^3 Z \) J7 y I+ J6 H+ W! Pdeciding whether to take the class.5 {9 ~( e/ r: F, r3 I% ~, g; \
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 i# O; _" V7 _+ Qtold her daughter.3 ?: N8 u- k" d9 `6 q
8 M% B. F& H L `0 VSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite- f! w, _) c& ^& p7 G" g
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are4 B& t* _6 S) H) Q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ {) G2 D& w+ `7 R$ s. woccasional frustration.
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8 a1 O% |6 l! z# q' b! ~0 Q"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ w; }) `4 U6 S" n; a6 r0 Jrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he% n/ ~. ?3 c- h, h! m6 T
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
" g# U- `: r) I% e9 B9 `Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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; n2 X' D3 o- s5 W3 h6 |"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* t8 p% u' A6 w/ R: W( q0 Dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 [; P. G6 m9 K( cas many languages as I can.") n \" [! u- X% R4 @( d7 }; L% X
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* }. J/ K- }7 vskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 L/ v$ T/ W) v- y# A' ]
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 u$ h w, i1 p
that," Ms. Freire said.3 ~3 m2 H4 K9 x* L- ~
$ m9 ~' k8 x8 f9 K/ DMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
7 `) o, r) h+ B9 e3 vhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 M. v6 O6 v+ y" W8 n8 H" z
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 f K: S$ X# N( e( S% y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make/ z$ F4 d1 A; i
room.
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6 s8 f! ~+ r* S1 y5 n% r8 Y& y$ YChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' [. F9 g& i7 d6 A6 `7 U* e1 TChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 l$ |4 l0 C8 c' U9 z4 n" X8 O
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.* d, ]9 E( g( [$ @! w
% M8 I1 t8 n# _. X- Q"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ p8 B* Z& M2 w7 p, S
because of that missing certification," he said.& a) D* Z6 ^" S/ `" [' r
/ x0 O. S' r& ]* T; u3 h7 a7 CThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
1 V: {1 @$ ~& m6 {- |' Ssaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia. F- o$ s2 Z2 i+ f
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 ~( W6 Q% @9 u! u) o% UChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 q4 l) a, H( B: @
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 D+ ^( g" v* X, @. f
& p; q4 K3 c- G1 q"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& z: ]+ C/ J9 C, ^( s7 e0 M6 ?
own."1 v0 A+ j( c* B
. U" ]7 [$ C) f, q/ E; \Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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