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October 15, 20056 g, z3 ^- y8 S8 p% w G
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING* t) g: k4 ]3 B! s- E$ {
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 o! a$ M- ?2 K9 ?% TUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 S( G) V1 C1 ?4 B1 \School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas+ o7 Z6 ]+ U( G0 E+ b0 } Y* f
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese U: T- p8 ]: n) I
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one' ^$ J, E! \! E( U9 t. U2 T
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders8 I- M$ D+ @4 I3 ]
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 }% a: j- E4 O9 |) E
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 H: U2 \- i( |5 z, t& L* i+ m( n
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- z( r1 R: e/ t0 x* ~' Q
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 ]/ _" x7 z6 @" K4 t. |
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."' v* p+ w+ N# j+ w
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
2 S: d0 I" w3 u. s8 H- o0 o |3 pschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
2 t6 J( t2 H, e2 r4 Q+ y* Gto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: Y j* o2 Z9 l) ^one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# b& Y0 r5 A& D) o
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
8 N; [0 v/ V: b# ^# g9 K, xstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: S$ ]+ U$ i" D% L5 h" vLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 s! i+ @2 s. s8 p1 p
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; q; j* ~; K+ q# I5 U5 u: R* e" a" oChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to* B' V8 c- S3 B/ e2 x1 Y4 e
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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; b( b- H9 ?) E( i$ c8 hAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
. w/ h9 [# p% hChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! S$ D9 q5 X; Astarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to- w$ I% G% n. L2 m
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% y& @2 `5 }2 V3 T \$ K" @curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 _& T0 A( q& t& R7 M/ Fof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 ]. ] E$ g, x. c
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education- A: \1 R$ \# r4 R7 v
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
& p0 }3 t4 V6 o. h. v7 } L" n& d3 l& ncan." 7 L( T) l* A8 Y9 d" W# q% z, K
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
; U1 G9 F `4 r" ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( N" r" d* a# m5 F$ {: n( R/ v" B
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) z; ?( O, k% j) l5 iInstitute in Washington.
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9 j. e3 l4 M# i! T! A# w. H8 {$ Q"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
, i/ K0 t* e) S% c/ P' `2 uaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% k/ \/ s* @! q4 xMcGinnis said.7 e% z2 o; c6 T2 q" r# W+ j
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
( z. [) v9 O& t( s8 o! Alongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# _3 S$ ` z% }% b% D8 w1 V5 |2 X
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a2 O% D+ c% h7 X1 n
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
' p" \3 Q6 t! F4 a+ Ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
0 P6 y3 k b) O! u+ a6 Wcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ p0 m, I5 j& ~8 o6 Q" ]+ eChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
; \+ V( o% J8 q" ~. }; Q; C- u: Oon weekends.0 H- _' T# E1 o! ]3 u7 m( m: O
4 @6 N+ C. a5 D( q0 Y+ zThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
/ N' j9 X3 x3 D: _' Ischools during the regular school day and primarily serves- R$ v! d+ h$ A$ B
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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t2 ?' ~7 i- dMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said4 F2 c# o7 r& c/ d7 x& e
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
u4 S8 O8 c$ o$ X9 z pcompetition.
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6 e, Y9 b* `" x/ |2 g6 _7 T"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# }# H/ c2 L% j7 \said. "There will be Chinese and English.": j& {- y; G4 A) S( D5 g
( ? C) @" e2 TFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly9 U, _1 c4 f$ l3 Y t
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: @! o4 ]' h5 X0 C" yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from ~5 Q k. r' l, J6 D
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
# w# ~" F. K6 X3 z6 S: h, I& \who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% c+ E3 m; W& H0 b8 G3 x) Y
the school system last year.4 h+ }4 r$ H- ^$ J
( Y& Y1 Q- b/ a* \4 x! b1 V8 nThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; ]1 |" }! H E& [$ n) r
year 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
: S- P1 Q) G& rclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 h, `. L6 V+ ?( m7 q0 x+ s
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) O! v0 i7 r) B" y$ ^5 b; T; Shelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet& |) {2 h( H; {* q
on an equal playing field."3 B4 E7 |( G( _ U
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& @9 B; @0 C- ]! W& f8 B H jclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ t4 A! n3 {: B+ G- m- Q) e
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: K1 D( A6 O0 h ~Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 p( u' B& O. _' W! T& eaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
1 U3 w5 q% I* J+ v) tChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the7 w1 {# F% Q i$ f5 X+ D
institute says.
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: Y/ H6 B5 u1 s. _* X& [Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 h- ^' W( z, |, |1 [# ^* sgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
5 ]9 F9 K4 e8 T( Gdeciding whether to take the class. H! p h& i6 D2 j; p* b
8 H( J, J, W0 _) v"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 u- I8 |; A' B. z/ X" q( btold her daughter. |0 B4 S9 P7 U0 h
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite: k' q" U* s+ s' Y8 b; {* c
class.
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, `9 Z1 o& \5 R2 s3 I0 dAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) S- M4 a! B" h4 b4 |* ]4 fstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
7 G% A% O: y& f0 f0 n+ h7 d% t/ coccasional frustration.& b8 s6 s2 K s* C+ U' k V
7 R/ A# @- b3 @' w& u2 ]/ a"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
& P8 i" i4 [( M& wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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8 _8 o: D- |7 [' F0 |Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he. C. X( B2 {- B" S: h
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 ]! D9 d/ O# c4 l ~- S
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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" e. `# ]0 v E" c& y( @) Y"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 y! c. Y3 W$ V* E3 G7 \said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn6 g. |0 E4 b: G x- a
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" `9 f: i+ J1 i9 O) ~3 C! @skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job# ?' i' L; S% m( x& _
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like3 |/ }' [' E$ }: c V% Y
that," Ms. Freire said.
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: T0 _: a/ q' v+ I2 j! ]Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program8 J3 r; t# J' W2 }4 V/ L# ~
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each: V; z; x b* y) g' p
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking% U, P$ O$ ?/ ^# d/ C% a
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
- e6 `; I0 W7 \* |3 u, u. \room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer/ Q' q# ^7 v$ i V# a
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! B. b" g' S* J! D6 qcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
4 ], @5 v2 W& B% T. h" vbecause of that missing certification," he said. Z- B! J1 E ~
3 H0 q3 K1 x3 m3 k. W0 @: O6 R' y6 PThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, E" T2 z$ S# Z/ a$ V7 ^
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
9 G: W" ?+ R+ c7 ?Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 H" b2 Y( U; i! m* I1 y8 C# mChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& y0 P* H5 Q8 W2 Bthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.% d% m: c6 E9 m: k* k
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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/ ?; [# k9 _) s6 A1 J' zCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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