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October 15, 2005
- O( X' N2 J9 r' Q8 aClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 J' P; J7 u. FUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
0 Z2 |" w: U4 e1 z: V1 I. qSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
F! I5 \" {* h) ~4 ?dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& O# e1 k# j; G3 ^# P: J$ I+ y: Uflag hang from the wall., ]/ c: b3 u# M' e) c4 J
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 P: s3 ], j5 d6 d# [
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* _( H4 \( y+ P/ l3 F P) a
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 ?+ n7 g9 l; c7 |4 s, N* u
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
' u, f% r* g0 uare already choosing it over Spanish.. P3 { O o8 Q& B
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 t# d7 o' r( N9 }/ {: eat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ `1 r% c. b# p2 i
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 G6 m+ N' T" y4 B$ R0 @
\. H; U( e0 r, f% [; h5 ZWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
5 _2 k @7 A8 G) \2 gschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
# R4 L/ ~% @/ z, \7 hto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention( [: H2 W* h9 ^- o+ R, J: A# {* j
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) D3 a, g! [) \9 h# o
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
$ B8 M( @8 F+ [0 P8 A. A* Mstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
, ~6 Y3 t( w/ ~1 u. PLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
) u3 [# y3 |! L3 F$ N! y% xTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! O) y1 ~- k8 ~6 A, E
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; R" y8 n% K" h' A8 himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement( C2 p. l, R9 t8 A! g
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
: E$ f0 k: m A* [: ^0 estarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
M: M/ u/ C1 ^0 y. sdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
- d* f4 A7 a! _curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. `3 t. r6 j4 j% i, R/ F- Xof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.8 }, k6 i! o! L
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of* Z) @" c( }' n, D& l- ~
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education- t2 K1 G# i+ [* K
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
6 I# H; d2 G! r3 e1 a9 Ycan." 2 @" U' X! q( r6 W( ?8 {- }5 G9 I
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 c# l& W. ~3 Telementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( o$ V- P9 ?# s2 _0 K% \7 X: n) Q
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
+ b* G$ g5 Y% q- W" E& vInstitute in Washington.5 y2 e" l M7 n' N
! ]/ s8 h( V6 y"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages. c L# [8 \6 H9 C0 `7 A* f7 g. Q
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% t4 @' I; ^ d4 \/ {; A7 \McGinnis said., y3 V# ^& E! j: L
5 v6 @+ |# r. i0 ?1 ?! L"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& C, ]2 b9 U: t" [- Q; s
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
/ M, I! r% Y& D# S# c# w6 T" Fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a3 m& ~# y- ?0 M( r" s
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."9 H N; W5 j" M9 o4 `) Z
# k! X+ n% K1 h) O9 a* kUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
$ }2 N; F9 u% ~secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
x, c, p( X% X( d2 Wcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of+ j# ]' o' @* |6 u' d+ ]5 p5 j
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
, v; z9 m3 p! k! won weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
0 ~) g( ?8 d9 v5 Xschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 {' k7 X1 m' u5 ~3 \# y8 zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.- {$ v) _7 v: @9 c
. v* @! J* h; C+ p5 ^1 OMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
# G& k1 k; R1 b# xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 a6 D8 N2 N+ ~7 F( e9 A; Q/ H
competition. ! Y5 e) E$ O- j7 E7 M
4 f/ `$ G- E s3 o"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley8 m3 d* `/ P5 C- E& a: i
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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% k: G/ P7 U+ [7 u' L7 M/ E/ o* CFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ R! ?% ^9 @, Y! L8 b6 y1 N
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
; d x% c G/ V* a K% a% b$ \schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
4 B) {% M9 w7 a% Qkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
4 {, Z" k+ @; o. N4 m; o% Q* zwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to/ u, }+ L7 ]2 Z. `1 C# F
the school system last year.2 T, b: S5 I2 @$ ~. Y6 a
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( e: u+ g. L3 i: R8 D; K) byear 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* G* J. K1 ?+ C6 G+ e% D2 I
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago) }3 m# @+ u/ k0 u6 d [2 t( `: W4 J
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
k% F2 U7 [* _8 ?8 c2 \help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
( u q9 X! M9 q5 Z! Don an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
+ n E; ]0 z+ Eclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign, P- b4 @; d% ~$ U- Q9 K0 ~
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks$ E8 A8 s) z2 ~6 Z V$ C5 u9 n- r
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 Q6 y0 f$ g. p% Z. paverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
* Y8 H! g6 u/ f9 d! T5 l4 GChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
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* N3 p7 e$ C% B: k1 \- XSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
' q# h. a8 v+ o$ qgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 Q0 z' y1 o8 r. c/ F
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she: l& o0 o2 R) p
told her daughter.1 N; ^) e. f Z1 j
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are" u! S' b# k) w
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without% k3 Z% G5 g: r* N5 c5 h9 J
occasional frustration.' A1 e6 K. w& C8 |1 \2 D4 U( |/ {
5 K, b/ B6 a+ o; u"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a- o+ `* V% x" g1 K
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! L* P/ y' B4 Q* w& O7 wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with. J1 H% P2 Y9 d G
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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9 U( R: W4 w/ ?- y+ F, e"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
5 r! {) M* x5 i; O" N; z% csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" `. l- V( f/ ?! I% G7 B5 m: l
as many languages as I can.". H/ H- F: U: p1 J% ?9 Z
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the B' o, t, i; S. O# K8 j/ z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ ? b. d( ~1 F4 ?8 K2 ^: q' b
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; O- ^5 @' m3 h% g* X1 D- l m
that," Ms. Freire said.( P6 L7 c$ @0 c, d/ N4 D$ o ?6 j
+ X/ G% p5 N1 qMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" a% U3 p% Y9 ]/ B- [here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; l% q+ f, s) G# j |+ Y2 K! }
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" C0 E- D3 R, [1 b
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make' a! s3 e; a) h9 E* i
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer/ ~) [4 n% N2 y% I
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- z4 y: `1 B" C& O' W% `9 kcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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# O( K. a, h# I3 T r"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
( j1 E, e9 s2 U9 z9 l7 D6 X; Dbecause of that missing certification," he said.$ }7 @" J# A6 U; J
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* L) v3 U4 q# c3 L
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
. I& g5 r3 v! P9 v0 C, l7 D bSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& @: S" w" _: N9 }0 HChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- O v" t- ~- Q; u' Y# i0 l
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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) _; u7 t/ ?+ U" I. J# }- i4 j"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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! o* d% n) C, J6 tCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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