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October 15, 2005
5 t/ e# H8 ` v( UClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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A" e" {# x6 R# ~3 dBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING; ]+ T. \' T4 S
5 t# ^" v) G, S2 @* n/ ?CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) G9 e$ y3 I& v0 [5 NUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 @2 i# v- o6 D" kSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
. L y9 {, X) q7 ?dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
* ]8 x ^8 u3 _flag hang from the wall./ ^- `* y% i, G" g, q0 |% S- Q
- F( h" K* `6 |' C/ l ZOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one1 w% f; v3 `0 B4 A8 j! ~
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) d) `* ]4 ^6 N+ g6 t E0 J
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
- A2 s! O; Z, g$ ?9 fboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 M w# d9 U& P: d3 X7 c
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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i3 E9 T0 ]* F! A"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
. {% v) T( |* s% c0 h; y0 _- X7 Nat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city9 e7 s( `: O9 l, D4 N) p* N, {
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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: ?. d! a: ?$ a' {5 SWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,. b) u6 P) f W6 B4 R2 ^
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
( @+ O7 E( a% vto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
E5 y1 d1 a6 H, h7 y u0 {! E9 }) oone of its most difficult to learn.+ y! F6 j h9 b7 F9 }1 }1 T
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to' p6 |, Q$ i8 r$ m# A
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, N+ x# l" }4 Estudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
2 b- U& u0 Q$ L0 I* Z* [Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
2 D, Q! E @' f9 V& v/ z# l) TTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 _: ~ O: w* E, d$ M0 a- h9 I$ k. GChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to M" V4 `. i2 T0 o* w: d B& Q( Q- _
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 Placement9 O ]$ c, j7 [0 H- p7 J
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country1 E7 K# a x! j) [! }
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
" ^% Z5 E9 ~( m8 f7 K$ F# Zdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( l- O5 a) l1 K7 Y# ]
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
% W7 f% [7 x' ]of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& Z9 v& r+ h+ E
- f7 B$ t I- D9 e* V* R"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 w1 u* T t$ W' ?/ {8 C. z0 gspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! k. F6 I9 h7 `: w8 B) Y+ X& g! b E
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) \8 P9 t7 H9 \6 R+ ^/ Q3 I7 I/ c
can." 0 I; z% z) h4 L2 H' V/ @; L d) w
" k0 J7 Q1 j8 X$ ^* }8 h: VThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 w; e# M- f+ u8 c6 o5 a# kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ P ~2 d) D! O
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
8 H+ w2 f* U% i# s+ mInstitute in Washington., K$ z5 g# S. G8 q8 X% S
8 r" q8 Y. z A% D"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
% T- [# \! K" C! Baren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: z' S/ Y! ]& b6 I8 ^3 f' s8 b
McGinnis said.1 K' P2 y' v6 d8 y* O
& j% ?- l3 g7 t0 F6 F# F2 p/ {4 s"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; N+ P: b1 _8 X; `5 D$ G' R) a2 {; Dlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be! m1 t3 k; K) S( U( E0 O2 Z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a8 r# B Z( S( _) c) v
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( X- y" K/ T! u0 M( l
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( k$ x# }. @. J' tsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
" b7 x+ M! B" }5 Ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of, j0 [# K1 a: X* s8 C1 y- o# r
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
+ ], V% G, Q. Von weekends.
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5 ?) k) e9 v4 B" d' I! R$ JThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
; j; u* Y5 R2 T% h6 W) a- | wschools during the regular school day and primarily serves& K% f8 {% u6 D3 t! ]
students who are not of Chinese descent.2 F, W$ [) V7 ~3 A6 R
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said, m$ p1 ?% K3 o, i8 m
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
! ]* t6 i. J7 l; xcompetition.
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, H. B+ I$ K! J4 U% j"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 k( x/ Z+ P9 S1 q1 Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."! j: m3 C Z8 p4 d8 f' S
! u5 T) d0 z qFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly: Y& ~; |9 N0 H& R5 Y
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse, u& \. I* p% n$ C$ O
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; P9 ~$ M/ F# I$ Q: }7 Q. v$ @
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
/ J& V9 g5 I/ c" Awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' r. ?9 i( G: {8 S
the school system last year.
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" M" d( P) l7 r; _5 x% t- ]: E; qThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
) T N! ? s: P' {/ Kyear 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' |' H6 W" n9 i N/ X4 m, I
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 |; `- a' L: r4 P8 M! KChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
- b' G9 C/ l3 j5 U! w9 l' {help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
$ I( I& b. f4 h8 D( C- Hon an equal playing field."5 I( j5 L' T" v3 Z4 D$ o
) A( K' C( ?8 @+ a; m+ ~$ a& uSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 B# J1 h) u0 p3 P* ~
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign: ~, F ^. Q3 e8 b; N3 K
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
3 w! ~/ m5 S4 }1 q. X) R& U! H$ XChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* {# p( ~' d' V7 ?; R/ o1 saverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ s; V- N" ]5 c2 n/ t! NChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the' ~0 v+ M& i+ O: i9 a1 @
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
: ?; e) G. _8 D- j. tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) m1 C' o% l" u5 ^% @- r. N7 xdeciding whether to take the class.- G/ `- |" ]# r# b0 `
) A% \! G5 R' V- s: @"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 i2 a. M5 O+ ?told her daughter." ^% |8 c% l8 i6 B" Q: z
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' O, P- d# j/ f( x
class.
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+ V4 R# X$ m1 a, n- K+ OAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are! W6 y& I" J- j5 d
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without4 b' k* d. l3 T/ A9 w1 _
occasional frustration.
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" Z% @ I5 I6 G9 X3 P* ]"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
5 E" ^( l4 a3 | C% b" srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% C$ {! ?* X- L; p/ @8 w0 n
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
' Z/ l# o4 Y/ c0 Y; s5 h( x& Itaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with! O1 l& Z8 Y3 |
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.0 g0 p3 @) y+ E$ _- A# l, u8 ?
6 S% i. y, u' ]8 h8 h! M% O"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
( q- A9 V- ^' M: B5 ]' P) Xsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" C- v7 k6 B k4 e" q4 x. e9 w/ r
as many languages as I can."
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# |% P& F4 I7 M) FAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ O: C F! ^, nskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job3 ~2 Y. \6 ^, N& c
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 T$ ?6 |) i* T8 r. ~1 G1 X6 ]( o
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 v) q0 X1 l; q q$ vhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
7 u7 |, \1 k6 V1 e# X0 Sschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; C. ?9 I6 b9 C& b9 |' y4 f& `time from classes like physical education, music and art to make; k7 h& z& g- ^- `, @
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 V+ ^/ G% p5 }7 g1 SChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. }6 O) @% l3 F: S2 t& t% \7 Tcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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7 Y8 Q: x# e4 O( O# L4 ?. ?$ s"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
* c+ e9 ]4 \& h& Abecause of that missing certification," he said.7 p' B. a7 m1 O0 T+ D* P, T
! [* Z; M# h* ~% I% J& j8 i; q+ F1 SThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
}5 R. n* o/ y8 |0 |- x: |said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: V$ k% w _; N. k* v0 p! qSociety in New York.3 K( {" m6 L4 R' L3 d( z
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& \8 u4 u( c4 \9 z, @: [- wChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from( }3 A( C. v/ {9 w6 p% o2 z, I
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" m( S. S( t9 m% `
own."
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$ G8 t3 e- L: {/ bCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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