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October 15, 2005% |* c1 i. y: N) W# |8 E
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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+ s7 N+ Z% R) x* b8 i2 @By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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; z8 q) O$ K, l$ W3 QCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. U4 i& i& m5 z/ K1 I9 G
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
% t6 A6 c$ F0 M) PSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
9 V) e5 ?5 T6 {. j/ ]dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) ]* y& ~8 s. k( ^4 cflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
# ~6 Y: Y3 }; U7 |* Aanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! `$ [. B4 t: y& S+ w- B/ O- k E
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 h: g2 o0 V' wboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ ~" ] \8 _5 X$ Aare already choosing it over Spanish.( g- A; w% h; k# y- ?! p; d+ P
- X% e, g# M8 Z+ h, e& e f+ P' G2 S4 N"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal! s- g# n0 D/ f5 B+ r
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 X W; M+ ]" C9 A z
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 t6 S6 T, m# W" E. z" `4 d% I
+ v+ o0 i. q" s0 J0 @$ kWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. [! T; w3 L$ P) T xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
% o; \# _: S. u" D/ ~to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention! g; W+ T* ]; p2 E* O
one of its most difficult to learn.7 g" {' G8 v1 s8 \
" W7 L& s& t" _- i+ I" ILast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
( \! \9 i4 q [7 E7 k( l# ~+ Zpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students9 K* G$ V, d( ^5 |, w( G6 }
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
x: ~% u! ~( S2 K. Q% G2 [Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
+ r( o1 p; R* ?. dTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
% D5 x) o E" o' lChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ D7 Z1 W. g: p1 q+ Z$ T$ ^( h
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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3 i" d+ r9 u# x( `' GAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 J! }( b' A, U. n# q' D) A
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) h8 p8 S) r" Y
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to. k1 G) F" \* K' Q; ]
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing9 `% t- P6 q a
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
# d4 V# Y) U( P: c: f! Uof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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1 O+ H/ ^9 \, G X"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! R# O9 u8 F# f/ m2 Tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education1 n3 G1 v" d$ e3 Y, W8 m% C$ P3 L5 @
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we3 }% n. l; y% e# c4 V
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from i: o3 t- {! ?5 p
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 N* \; H' t7 X/ p) M7 }
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language( F4 f* m2 q4 i: U- u
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* r3 U) W# v. M/ g: d
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
: G& L7 o3 C* T# L5 t% C( A7 i) rMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ o6 w: c* L0 E' |) ^7 llongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
0 T, Z0 W* L0 n7 R8 A* kready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
/ A M8 i) `# |4 Wchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% W: b' }( e p2 Q* H) J% vsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in- m6 I$ R8 E9 o% Z: R
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
3 r8 C% M8 ^2 l( f: hChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 Y1 R1 u/ l8 C [9 K( D$ |, P
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
, F- m! H' Q" G' m/ @& |schools during the regular school day and primarily serves" d) P! \! S' w
students who are not of Chinese descent.0 H8 l0 w9 J5 G" c* g: l, ]1 `
4 E8 {( ^0 N {2 }& A2 K. yMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said ~0 v$ `" X: W G6 C- u
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the& u/ z1 C* Y" O
competition. $ Y7 S- t* P: K7 Y! s# d
& x; f/ J O) X3 }"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
5 t8 q' { V N) hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."3 ]$ l4 b- W( n/ v$ @
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# o$ u2 _. J- j& V6 `
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 o! U( [, z% a. Lschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
. k8 r. T8 g7 ^5 Z9 v; Pkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students# P$ g" g& c0 W* g
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to5 l. I. f5 m- |& R, F
the school system last year.1 n. E: n, w: n, M# K# I# T5 W
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this" _- z. e( o! F* e
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.) l& T0 S" `& ~
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 m+ c, e8 R- r; D7 }7 Qclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# |. ?, q# A# Q1 _. Y6 A! dChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 z3 j% k0 Y s" F0 `2 B+ x2 U4 Z/ x) Vhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ r8 U$ U5 }) H4 u, m3 Z, W9 a% ]on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. P" u( w/ ^. G+ P1 H
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' Y0 O8 l" ^ C6 V5 j% q- E4 X3 SService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks3 F' B& {7 \. d; G w
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An( `$ f; g8 y, u7 h8 G
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
) U. j1 Z9 b# N5 |2 N: O5 UChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
( M }7 ], ]! S$ |institute says.
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7 G! M+ ]6 B4 F/ D9 qSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! _7 e, G5 f( o. }# @% Qgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 a4 Z" y; B7 U# d6 }+ n
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she* V5 q" c3 z5 @# s+ G1 M
told her daughter.- J' G. s7 b* { q) a5 y: `; d" a
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 l( t" w7 r1 G, }! cclass.8 a" a% x( {! G$ [" d. v
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
- T l9 P" }0 `: {% }( Q( gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without* [ L3 U2 n, B* l$ o+ ?
occasional frustration.
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1 z* {5 L) S9 J. g& \+ c$ ^3 U3 h"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. _, s) b U) ~2 L
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he @' q& M' c* d& Z% W
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with! K+ d5 K2 s! y$ p* M4 {
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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/ ~/ q% J0 ?6 b" [- w"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ E3 [( q! C( X& `
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn6 a. Q: I( l7 I/ u3 P. \& ]$ b
as many languages as I can."* g0 k. y/ [' w; B
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& ?1 c6 @5 W2 M: J z4 U' g8 b
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 {' r- e! E' Hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like! ]$ l' ~, r+ k: d$ U
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 y D) X7 C( z; D$ A! X$ Fhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
: {( f V% E% _1 k3 Y$ Wschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 X! y2 N" e atime from classes like physical education, music and art to make8 o& p \; b" v/ {0 ?3 R7 w
room.0 n' P9 V8 |0 C8 u* j
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer( v; \6 |% J0 E8 W) c4 x
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American3 S5 N9 K$ z6 k- x3 M7 a) J
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 ^+ f3 J y. J; M+ W# p5 o; i
4 w5 V ~; q# Y"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified# `1 }# J* [: g; C# n
because of that missing certification," he said.# ^) q' I1 L% A9 x' h
& u9 G. r" |8 y, X+ O+ s8 IThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,# `+ T b- Q/ ^# B
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
( r3 S' ]8 F& n. f9 l& NSociety in New York.
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" f7 P# |0 u1 b' c2 \8 _. USix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the; Q& i! N3 z& A+ i7 h* s& p
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- f' d f# \" Z" k) p. U1 ^3 J2 ythe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) `0 k$ C k+ [+ I
own."$ Y/ G/ m0 s+ }. T% ]# K4 P
6 T' u: Y; O1 U& `' mCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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