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October 15, 2005
0 g" G6 s f T1 k# ^Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ i( a) Y! _( W( w! s( y5 r. O1 N
6 t7 R# @7 b% o/ C5 m8 HCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the0 V# z! Y( B+ p# O2 L6 A
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary) u: X) t2 O+ A' U! `4 R+ y
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 j- E2 K" {5 T( F6 Z9 wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 \ A5 P" c! L3 {4 q8 j6 S. D9 dflag hang from the wall.! A% b l `" M+ O7 w* {6 ~5 t
3 [6 @5 j& ~1 M, E3 rOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
. x A. y2 @$ z- I. n1 O, I" zanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- b4 `# i( C" ]: Z4 k, s$ Lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ a- e' e% y" A2 X
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 k" Y$ m0 D# \- R5 d. eare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal8 k+ q* y8 v( |0 `) S
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 U. ]* x+ ^/ hoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") D0 h# c0 _8 o! p' o2 |2 r
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,7 R* n2 h- O2 c7 j( [3 c7 {
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings3 C0 g5 j% c* a
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention, o4 y; z) G9 @+ ]- _
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
, {4 F# h8 q8 p. b3 q2 f' zpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
$ M2 B+ b; A6 K- gstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
8 z; g2 ]6 w: Y2 dLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! W6 p( l% h8 B' z% {4 x0 q( CTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
7 F& t9 y& \+ j8 A aChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to, U G- Z2 T7 |$ r+ z
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( z; ^7 Y/ c) M) R
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
; |* B% L* }' |: O: _, L' V+ g5 Z+ aChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country/ d, x5 e5 X8 ~) m
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
8 k% P) ?$ }: _! t i jdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# }/ ]1 `9 E" N9 G. j7 y
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director' G$ w5 m4 y$ E4 N+ |3 {
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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1 _. c& _# A X7 P. u) T"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 P3 i- {& x6 c- B5 p/ x( U
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education A" r* y( B) x$ ?( p W
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we* h# P, H2 s0 X1 R6 l3 s8 b$ c" X# c
can." * Z ^$ E" v0 I; y* R) c
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) n H0 G6 q' M `- A8 F7 |" ?1 C5 `elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" G/ S1 O9 O* f/ V9 \
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 P( l. Y! j, e; i( L. OInstitute in Washington.
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4 O. ~7 C2 S: Q: A+ \) J# X9 x"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
4 n3 i' W5 F# E7 i9 ~6 daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. _8 ?: s" D Y; E' c. u* g8 rMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; \2 ^3 P# a W* E" G+ o; C+ ~
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 G9 {0 \; A, r- Z8 j& b
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
" F9 \- ~' g! Kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 i4 u7 U' t4 e, c) ~/ } R
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 b4 E7 t5 {8 [( Zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; \" Q8 z# w% G+ Y) F+ [ K1 f
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 d: e. B) e1 UChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 m& [. O3 S/ A* f# non weekends.
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2 P) l; N1 w) l7 w: J1 ~/ P- cThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# Z: n2 D( C# P# G$ W) R
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves3 \# ^9 H; f; N9 x& O
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 R8 h2 e0 A/ m/ R$ ^
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said% ~6 V" x. e) z2 R7 }+ K7 q5 O
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ j/ T% A6 J- S" V' bcompetition.
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) p; h+ @- A, u/ z" p"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley8 U8 Q& O n2 x+ `) O8 G6 N1 ^
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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) R) }8 P! y# ? {9 r2 xFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, z0 p8 Y, E a7 m" g* call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse: z8 W7 c8 s7 [7 O8 ^9 O1 B8 F
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; `6 X! c1 i7 F& P
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
9 V4 t4 ]/ L6 h2 l7 }/ xwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 _6 a% Z' N* k% e
the school system last year./ x# n! @$ {# u/ p2 J/ i/ ~
7 d+ v) |/ N7 x" _; [$ KThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' Q6 g5 w% ~8 ~* R, R1 q$ Z7 C
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.0 e( w+ z9 N* `/ r& F4 i
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"They have a great international experience right in their own; L( d# ?( D3 X, m% `0 i) e) I7 Q! x G
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# g1 L, v9 d% W, d3 u. sChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to' f6 ^$ E8 a: I, R+ w
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
5 h; ^- r9 U2 Y: pon an equal playing field."
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7 J' J4 Z4 I. c) H, \, [0 M) DSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% S2 p; [9 K& Rclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
: a) b: K4 u1 v" WService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 n A2 A x& R( {# }' Q# V
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An; e- S. h; T, L0 A! l0 r/ j$ j
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ S" I5 R7 E4 _4 A( H7 J4 a, |
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. E7 K/ S7 ~) k; X! Oinstitute says.: |0 S: L+ g/ F6 T' I& ?
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth k$ w- e' i _5 I5 v
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! A% u- E c, h
deciding whether to take the class.
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: _+ S9 J0 c- @"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she0 C6 P% M# L: j+ X
told her daughter.( _/ a9 G; l- `$ a; p
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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
4 `! B: E! z+ d7 C8 G; pstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without* c! i5 _1 S# W) L
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a" A, _% O# V: k( C
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 g i% V4 H& N- D0 @3 y- w. Z; ataught words to his mother so she could better communicate with! n" w3 X: C3 D/ O/ `& b
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.) l; `4 p. {" P- i7 M5 ~
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
+ u4 @+ U2 p* Z4 E) osaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
; y% G B- h7 Gas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
+ q* T) y/ N, g. eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, Z5 A6 m3 I }) g# ^* u3 j2 Z1 ?. Mmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like7 O0 m; E, P$ F% z/ y
that," Ms. Freire said.! o4 h) r: u( D# V+ L1 I
& c7 t6 p% S" k2 _4 s$ b8 c: ?Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program i( C& \# h) m* L9 I/ g" T# s
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
# c" L8 H# g, {3 vschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking7 w$ w, y$ w, N- m' j5 p4 D9 R
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
- ]& a* w( I# `8 HChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
9 j. V9 g8 C$ E( z& s& dcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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) B; G7 T3 g8 v/ p- f, y, u"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified# K6 R1 S8 o j( L" c
because of that missing certification," he said., O! z# s& i2 A# |8 L) M/ [
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,. D, z$ F; m% o+ A& _
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
6 |9 N: P, T4 x1 nSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# _4 _( G7 M& L
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- l# e7 d' U* E$ D9 v" K: i
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.2 U6 \! j4 V" D9 ?3 c
% e' w* U- |2 i7 u ^! c9 F"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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1 |' l% N4 F5 e: v9 qCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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