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October 15, 2005
* A! }: j$ X, `+ W4 H) S _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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* i' o! v) ]) UBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING' ~* p+ c/ n/ z _' `8 ^8 H( ]
. b* ]' S, V# K( ICHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
4 q- `& H, m2 ^; e8 x3 `6 a3 C6 }United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 G. M, w' j' T7 q* H" @School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas* S5 S- J- b; g) |4 Q% A
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
+ F$ T: n- }. hflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
4 r* [6 x J3 H6 C& zanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders- L6 ?$ L# D7 P* _
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker+ j" Z) _" x8 e3 M- H- k
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
o- O( C) Y) Z6 Y; [& _are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal* n* W1 o5 e4 o% S% M
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
1 f) f8 {) M( }5 x9 i" S D) Woffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."' b- i$ [% v1 M' \/ `0 Q: E
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
, x' f5 j# S' j" w. B& r. x3 d& Lschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) W5 Q9 g3 N7 z" dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: y+ W0 a; [# \. @- x) Sone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% S, t3 H2 s) M8 F Apublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. F4 P5 P6 `/ ~5 a2 ~studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.0 d O6 D( a8 e# y
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ X5 _. T3 W8 P* F1 D
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! Z* }- C9 B; V% f
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 q7 E! j. j* z: K4 m
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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8 s4 t# X7 p9 l6 xAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
8 ]; j4 k- G* h( GChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 p# O; F# J8 mstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# |8 \2 _& d6 {develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
) Z. y/ q+ j/ C" K, D5 l/ Xcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
1 r1 Q. P ~) m) d2 v" P! mof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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5 \ A" Y- F5 z3 ^" v# B"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of; h4 F) A( C% v/ e
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education3 R1 W4 `9 `6 f9 u$ {
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
, B' W% x5 S* T. q8 q8 \can."
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: ]4 G9 C5 F' x9 w; M6 ?7 NThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ E1 l: m9 \6 J1 g3 t3 `$ C
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
O5 |! _, P# ~; ^# Zyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
( g( B7 {. ?$ o; a* IInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
/ f; T& @$ t" _- E# G* h0 laren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
2 P' B- Z/ ~9 D1 Z; UMcGinnis said.7 g) y; B% D, i- x5 m7 a5 l+ N
% ^) }* u. S& N4 K& j- X"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical" @( r2 w: j* j
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 H8 N$ Y# v% M* r( C8 M5 Wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
; X+ Z, {5 n' e6 S( T; ]+ \challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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' f% \0 ?6 f1 v5 ^7 cUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
F1 l: c( n7 H/ \1 `6 A2 Ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in0 A/ e& p! X/ h! n8 g5 A
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ i ?) T, K0 O$ ^3 y3 hChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
+ k9 E ?- Y0 t* [3 uon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
+ j% v6 X/ Z m5 h! J" O# \schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
* G" S8 u$ I8 e" F. D3 istudents who are not of Chinese descent.( {7 I. a4 ? Y2 h4 X8 a" R/ Y
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said+ {# Z8 }4 M. G; E5 E7 |: Z
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
( e) Z2 D/ l% N% M" ucompetition. # X% T0 c- A# P4 D" j
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
+ l( N( N% B& q/ L7 _+ I1 `said. "There will be Chinese and English."/ ` \# A0 m1 r) _/ C
9 \! z5 P. }9 A3 YFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly5 F8 F% B: A# L ]" X+ G
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 ]2 x- o9 V J3 `. _
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 S) m6 {! D* O
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
3 W( E& G7 L/ G* _* F# Cwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
/ Q4 ?, Z E1 l1 `8 H! ^the school system last year.& Z# ] m' C- l6 ]5 j8 k2 P
( ]8 X' X$ q; \$ U5 H, M, UThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
2 }8 ^8 h9 m0 B5 J: ~3 vyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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) o4 O+ F, Y, q, U"They have a great international experience right in their own
5 ^$ y7 [+ J$ j' T, _2 m1 j$ @classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago1 L2 }9 h% a' L* d
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* t3 J5 d- t4 b* f* J' ~+ h. D
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 F( V: _8 T. {6 t$ B
on an equal playing field."
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6 k9 b1 `( w6 r% \Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese) T; v( N: u8 y; x
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
2 e, f7 \6 y) g; W9 kService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
$ s ^" \* u" z# p% ^9 G% WChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 o5 I: f) p% \8 K3 s9 e
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in2 q3 d$ p7 y) [8 a$ B/ d
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
: J: \; m( Y' B. i$ v6 `institute says.8 x3 u7 P; C3 K' J: _
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! \9 U7 U) f$ E% ngrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before1 P7 ?& B* c+ S! n& i6 R
deciding whether to take the class.4 z$ i* Y8 N, G8 {3 v- @6 H
3 ]+ K. g, V" X# B"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 P/ A* n/ {, X7 X7 wtold her daughter.
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w! X' o1 R" X1 HSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 ~9 W6 P0 G# }5 D* x2 Qclass.
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; Q( W5 I8 ^! e% DAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 S5 A" @: ?" b. Z, [, U. n% `
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 Q" h9 I5 ]$ M- M* roccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 m) R& P( ?5 R$ e8 d! C( B
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class., U* e ~# O, m1 q! D1 W6 m
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he( M9 u4 @0 I. L! {
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 y& O; \5 j! aChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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8 O7 E' L4 j+ ?) |: t y' n( W! _"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* y$ E4 d- g% [6 H0 Z3 S Tsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
* Y k- P/ D8 g% s1 Tas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the T. x2 {8 O- {( T& p, w
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
+ M2 p! e9 G. j+ A4 R7 }market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; C* U9 P) u9 ^9 R, e% ], l8 \' y
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program& {. a+ u' ]& z' x: C
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each& P8 F, s5 d" M1 F. X, l( z3 Q8 A1 r
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
+ d' f; B J6 x, Y p+ h/ Ntime from classes like physical education, music and art to make( X$ O( D; }2 p
room.; e& ?) i2 r9 `0 n# }
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
" v X$ _8 Y' J. l8 YChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 I4 J8 ]/ H ?0 ?
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said./ B1 x6 P5 t7 w) W5 R, x# @$ x
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified7 n7 Q7 q# |6 ^4 `
because of that missing certification," he said.. \+ W. x+ C; E R: ]2 A/ t
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
& g) S* y3 |4 C2 _1 ~* usaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ a- g) E7 Z, B @Society in New York.
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! G; O/ k2 x' {Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- o9 P# s8 ?* e) ~5 i
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from8 R# r: m7 {7 ~
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 L! g6 ^ x2 ~5 Q8 N4 G8 o5 B
own."
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' v2 \0 y5 I1 ACopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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