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October 15, 2005
2 G7 Q0 y& F& _$ a2 HClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity! l6 d8 \$ t( \6 z7 n
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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& d7 c5 |3 ?! ICHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
% {1 D) D( Y, ?3 U2 N& pUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
; T6 d8 `" n6 H* _- VSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 K7 }; \- Y( i/ Z2 Q4 X/ p
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese" \7 w" Y2 S/ `& a
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 l3 H: e% q7 y5 F7 y. }1 _: ?
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders. K$ }- l4 I5 G' F) I
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
/ w' K0 h( n9 Mboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 L% k. N" K* m6 h( _% z, Vare already choosing it over Spanish.
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3 G/ e$ j+ H& q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal3 C$ u& A& o- f" U" C# n& F
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# u" a% _; W+ Q3 J9 |9 Ooffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,- _; q9 t8 N, B1 p. B% X: K: O: _
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
@6 L" D4 Y' e! q+ Ato include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention, D8 A" X) G* R/ j
one of its most difficult to learn.# K, r5 m% a0 c3 T% X& \" K
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
: L2 i$ i5 I9 ?4 ?# w- G2 Opublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students6 @8 }; H: [/ [; k% r- ?* s* Z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
! v8 `5 m) J4 OLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" k2 P# ~, d! o4 L$ c) w1 v& c- t9 c/ d
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' g' L5 H8 w- R2 hChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to* }1 M: \! y9 ?* w
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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% r; f' ] E( P# c0 w6 c* B- JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement" U* L0 V/ z0 G% V
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 v8 w* v l7 t9 ^! h
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
' D- K* ?0 F6 y+ xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. r9 J! ]9 `: {* D# R4 i
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director1 U1 U* N- r' q( ?$ C& [/ g
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.1 S2 F: r5 l& a4 N$ W; f. j
3 ]! E" Y3 N& P"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of/ O2 R+ H \* E) i8 Z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education. [. E' J j) Z! x
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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4 g0 S; p* I* M- Z& L$ m: PThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from7 z! S+ U A, O
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ {$ K. r2 r( E7 ]) P
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
% A% U/ b5 W+ v! k9 @Institute in Washington., d h- D4 G$ [& n- O
& s! j3 N* X8 l4 R2 g) j; _9 i"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% |' S, e9 P# q4 {- P4 z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.+ I, P; l1 L4 p) P9 [
McGinnis said.5 P2 H) k% x# R- A8 {
w' U9 O( h6 n, ^"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
: i% x6 I3 |% F! Zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ d$ r1 \" Y0 u# S
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
/ m& K$ G$ ~, \% |$ |* |challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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* J6 Y) T" S( `$ B) U1 c; P0 c& N9 BUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% w% l7 c0 ^/ i8 hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in% @+ S5 ^3 G+ ^
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( _+ r& V( v) ?* I' R% m- j8 EChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
+ X3 b0 Q6 x$ \% Z1 `4 `& con weekends.
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" \* ]' T3 K$ v" p- |+ wThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. w+ S: B) \$ e. k' u
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
; Q6 @) b B% q4 o9 c5 |! `students who are not of Chinese descent.1 s' i+ Q' \( b& @- ^ W" t; u: G
8 w; Q) R9 ^5 v* N. T& GMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! Q ~8 N+ b7 o |; }proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
3 A+ q/ h0 E+ n& r$ L8 A* y) icompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
4 L& v$ }6 W# I* C$ I* K# a0 O/ \said. "There will be Chinese and English."( c; M. m0 D/ e( z0 T
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, D7 s# H: J; I# p8 A1 O+ a( k I3 rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 x* u. i9 F* P! S$ M; R, q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
! F( j% j; t3 s! Ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- Y& ?7 G1 S; [8 B8 p: Mwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" {# [% w* K3 P, @: pthe school system last year.4 L; M; s+ j( n/ |/ m5 G
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this+ x+ X" L4 f# x% p/ ^6 Y+ B
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.) ?7 f& |; H6 T3 W! Q+ t& y
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"They have a great international experience right in their own8 ]1 M5 G) {0 I$ a
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" Z' l$ U4 o2 C9 N' x: b: h$ A
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 j0 t5 T! a4 f+ T- i# Uhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet( R; E. \0 E1 ~+ r; y: z
on an equal playing field."
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# p2 L# n2 }- y' kSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese E% x5 }( f7 t+ ]+ ~
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* n# N) }" p% T9 [ xService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% g" z" ~5 ?% HChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 l+ e+ Z) p5 h( }average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
0 w/ I+ A' w' w4 h( z( _Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 ` o1 s! B% [
institute says.5 Q* y& X/ X0 ?# V/ [
9 U o5 T5 U7 NSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 x. i* U, D7 t8 N0 l- jgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
. ^( |7 ^; R- s- F. Q8 J: y. j' Edeciding whether to take the class.
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) Y; C5 S. P8 C# h"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
2 f& z* o5 A& P2 l" I* I7 ytold her daughter.% u/ e( ~. H7 b; b
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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4 v1 ^3 k. I' Y2 q7 |At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 f e% }$ ?' g h2 T% m
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 d) A$ D4 w$ I( L) F7 R" \
occasional frustration.% ^; ^9 t: P6 l% Q; N7 P$ R
6 S5 d3 F7 _' \, r) n: C"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
: c! L2 J% R- ?+ brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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" C$ P4 x- e+ L4 mRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
" Z' Z, L# A! F& g2 g, _taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
5 r. g$ o/ o. n3 p# i9 u, [, NChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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9 F9 i0 X/ A9 @) b! T"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul: r# @, W; d+ q: ?3 F# }2 u$ u
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ J2 E1 d; Z7 a0 z: I" m0 O ~4 Jas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
9 }" ]. P9 P, n I' b% m5 e) {% iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 b5 r1 ?- Z6 v: Tmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: K( C* I; }. p6 {that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program9 x: v8 K9 r' S& h4 d% ]9 `6 p
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each# K w7 h! R$ C" q6 e9 r' s
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking3 A+ m X' ~0 F4 r0 w
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
' d2 C" L& F! p2 k9 u bChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
8 H9 b+ e$ D9 a3 Icollege, 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; e& \" H0 r( [9 W* R4 i
because of that missing certification," he said. J' R+ _4 ?9 Q& t3 I
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 U1 I& j8 M! ?% a5 e1 ?
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# V+ ?; Q# Y' z- R9 W+ h( D; u
Society in New York. y) y9 e+ m- U0 t0 S
' A9 d# e& ?: y$ y9 D5 [Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
. e& n; P8 A, g5 }6 x4 B" VChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 k' E% f% R# y/ m3 I3 M4 Kthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 J( D' }, W% `. i
own."
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4 m: \* H& [+ a* e4 ~Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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