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October 15, 20055 y: B: d+ _$ y+ @0 M" }; w
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity$ E O: K E" z2 N- E) p; G
- ~: [2 I* u8 Z5 t0 }8 {: RBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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$ l! ]/ O. s8 ?- pCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
, Y& i/ G4 S! m# m) z4 m5 ?2 zUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. ]: R$ P0 `3 Q# ?5 g9 x
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas7 A- I0 m+ `% K6 L* A1 P! {' i. j _
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
( ]. i8 k7 o- G) l) Q+ [- n: `: H ?6 kflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
, h" r% X6 T1 qanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders4 O+ q# }% g; _
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& \7 b9 _$ t' v6 A
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 p! k0 i8 @- }- f; R, j$ g
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
# T- e: K& t) M* b; @at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# i3 h* W9 l* Z- d% d2 X5 `1 \offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# w, b; w& M; _1 w
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: x6 V# L3 h5 j* k4 D
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings4 f3 Q+ A' ? Z, S _
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention J* F+ T# l# _3 E
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ c. |, D% W9 ?
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ @; Z9 Y" }/ l# T" `- u
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
; s5 g. G4 y3 D( JLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
( o5 @9 N0 o7 p( c' RTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: [& f9 Z% }3 n4 m% a6 V6 S/ zChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ ?$ ^' V# z7 ?2 i) [
improve 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
2 o$ [ @' O8 i f- }Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, |0 C( N7 ^7 z7 W, G [9 B# Vstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to8 c. ^. S9 P, M1 `* D+ x: v" \! R
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing% A \% j$ k/ V; k1 g
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* D" K" S* F F \# U* H
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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8 X3 a0 H+ c5 j"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: ~ H! g/ {* a1 k' ]7 X. @
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! c# _' g" o& ^4 T7 X; q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we: D0 M& f, B. S0 U* s4 h* Q
can."
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1 w) x0 C, b4 bThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from1 j B$ ?9 X6 B9 U0 s& q: u
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
B6 q5 h5 R: _) Q/ ]/ X' qyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' X' G! S3 w( {6 t' q4 G
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 j A, E9 x! B% k- S9 [
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ e* J! H( s. b$ NMcGinnis said.! M4 Z. x' \% w$ G. J8 R
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' `( J( O5 ?8 _9 U4 ~
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
2 A# s' ?' A3 `6 j, H5 Gready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( A- W; h' K8 s# Q- @1 \challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 ^5 W( a0 @3 T
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
4 G1 G$ `: _# J, fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
; i: ]0 O/ N: t! Zcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of, L' K5 q) R9 G+ q% U- G1 R) B
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
1 Z6 {3 `; A! E) a, I0 d- _on weekends.
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W% i8 H" A8 L! m/ LThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: t1 R1 V. p) _/ p
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves% }* N2 ~5 r4 ^/ o- J$ m, |1 k( ^+ d0 m
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ p& Z7 [* m: X" @4 kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 o4 F) z/ Z2 ]competition.
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g! [) ?" R" q9 J% `8 |' Q! F% Z- M"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! f3 W0 k- a2 Y5 e* |5 U5 y, e# f
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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; R p0 H S" |From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
/ N1 G: {) G! `6 Y$ I8 Z: B1 ball-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse1 X- x5 O2 x. P4 i$ }7 P3 O
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
8 A# Y r8 w% J6 Ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students$ o$ e) O8 S% u/ ?
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ a4 K5 {6 J$ m3 ?7 Q$ {
the school system last year.
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2 h6 ^4 ~; l& m; `" iThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 h% N5 {0 m! m( Z# _- o% cyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.4 Q8 h$ J( o! U& p6 b+ r
1 h- J* l! W: d) R8 `/ j3 T"They have a great international experience right in their own
& W& }8 Z& {* V( o7 p/ F. eclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 u' Q0 w2 A9 C" v6 l
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 P% T/ y: `$ D: t
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
0 ~5 z7 ~( `- K+ Aon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
3 y: {( x' H, Q: `' X- j! n5 Cclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign+ Z' k8 v5 f8 V& K( v/ \
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks( V( |% @! p$ `9 }& U/ k
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An& T7 I/ l. b3 @# T0 K: P3 J
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" B( _3 u4 m7 n! |$ L1 ?Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the' u Q1 L) I6 R; c: i
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 m$ ?$ ^ y8 ?# t, Z* ygrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
0 @+ u( `+ b" s3 `deciding whether to take the class.
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" b3 x: W( \+ f* t. s"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) U5 w7 Q2 w; r/ P5 G) q2 Utold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite" P* }- R* w4 Y& S& {( a
class./ p3 X4 T# L8 \- ^7 g* d! t
' l- [1 l' ]* F$ WAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) |+ }) A* K2 R' z4 Ostudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 s' i, C6 G+ V K2 `; {) `! U/ woccasional frustration.' ~0 c6 C7 H, N8 H5 z
+ u1 N; A8 r3 P2 h"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 n, J: T0 `' [& G3 |/ l
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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/ v2 V* W6 T$ e0 I, v$ h; ]9 pRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 L+ w8 w1 j3 u
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with7 _; ?, `7 l Y! I5 R" \4 V" I
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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' \6 M3 P( o7 d2 r7 t"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul1 h! Q; r! N- J5 e k
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
) `+ }" R4 r# J4 M4 p& s* v2 S! zas many languages as I can."1 M+ }1 ~; V: ?
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 L6 C) W# F) r9 O" _3 E. u$ Oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job$ F( e" a; [% k8 q: l9 ^/ f d
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
% `. ] G q6 d( fthat," Ms. Freire said.( F/ M) t4 Y2 ^$ H/ r" v
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 z( z) u$ `8 m7 @6 qhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
: D% \- {) C- ?# I( t# Fschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking' f4 N* Q/ d2 H, I; y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
% u7 u9 A8 e4 y* Y% W. a. Sroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- s0 ^1 G/ P4 @0 W) Y# O; \- pChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
V0 j/ J, h- L- gcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.! {# m. ]; \7 F$ t/ X [, R
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
0 i' D; X& V3 V$ e0 x- Q4 Ybecause of that missing certification," he said.% o# E& @( k1 C! C" g/ e
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,6 q4 i e& \/ \& y& @, E! S
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* K7 G# E4 e7 o0 \
Society in New York.& G* |& O# Q* F- g; s$ p
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
/ s J! O- g( i* s: `Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) i6 z7 \ f& L& V0 f
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.0 F* p' P) y8 D4 A& F( B5 l
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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. ^+ `" W* a! R, O2 [* a# `Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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