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October 15, 2005
$ v' m: ^+ g1 N; QClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( D% D( F; ^0 _4 o$ B* @- h" o+ q
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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@( T% a( [# o; q1 V0 @1 ECHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; Q" |+ h6 C& p# G. XUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
0 J$ e6 N+ i) w6 Z9 j& d( Y, KSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas! Z7 J/ Q0 d- ?. u% ^$ B1 f6 s
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) ^( e7 W6 R- A$ k
flag hang from the wall.! `; Z) [9 X5 d4 L6 k
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one+ E$ L7 [0 y6 C& _# K' o
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! z0 n0 \7 r& [9 z& Q( \
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 G( Q, f2 G) H7 G) D7 y! _ Lboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 Y6 |' M- }. B7 O* J
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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: v: Z8 @; ^0 ~- `! x"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal2 o! E, g; }0 G. z$ x* G
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
a2 Q3 f# I loffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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% [1 A. g. q4 v4 U( A* nWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 s2 k5 I0 I! G2 j0 G: b% c
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
: M0 u6 h5 n! y# l% ~$ J- m& g* o" Gto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention% z- j9 S" O9 [+ A) ?5 Q& f/ B
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, I, [: V+ {2 V
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students; i3 \, g+ q/ Q; U" E: e6 ^
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
}$ a: A; `7 y, c4 t- F2 l! @- g) q9 wLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
C" n/ g2 H6 s6 o, [" j/ jTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on8 q2 ^4 \6 b$ Q2 c) Q$ h
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to! Y( _8 ?6 X% ~; V$ m3 a* U
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I! U8 f% T: n. C( F- _
# o1 I/ w0 t/ z N( M) H8 T* e- iAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
% d6 n3 \# {2 C8 K8 e# i" dChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country$ e6 T& c) X1 y' M7 N
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
. U0 g3 B& Q5 q, ^8 ~develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
/ z# \' _6 \ Q5 l: t. @curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 Y8 J+ N' {2 l/ z, y: m+ nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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9 r3 Z7 }: W, z- z"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) E8 w8 C' r0 p0 f* U9 W( J( x
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
5 c! K) D$ D U4 m$ _6 b5 J" KConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# w+ c& b7 r4 \* U
can."
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. p$ o* p6 T2 FThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) t, U1 ^0 b! J4 h/ Z, Kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* I* h- `+ g8 j* e3 r( z- W
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 u; v. g! J: t8 zInstitute in Washington.9 W/ q) Y+ d/ v9 m+ P& i
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
% m# A* }# m$ m0 n1 f8 @3 Raren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
* ~ F: F2 L7 C5 oMcGinnis said." T3 b$ d0 ~! D! G# X
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical9 j2 S) W( b2 d% l, w; t( \8 \$ r' J
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, W4 T) m X$ V. t& b) O9 }ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
9 `' v, x' D; vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") d6 x& g! l/ M2 r6 J, `" c4 _- w8 E
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and8 O5 {! ]8 ]) n) O J, ]
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
7 f. E) B4 M( i5 |; G" B T& Icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
W3 k. J3 @7 E& @Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or8 T; m* [1 K5 j; L
on weekends.$ ^ C) o/ E% T2 o% X
& f6 k3 \. ^9 Q2 p; P' i( fThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public6 x( h. X+ ?) ? L( U) K
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
: d. z0 V$ l( m2 ?7 `# Vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.! J5 q5 C" k3 E' H4 B! ]
1 D' v! r9 \3 W t/ @. D/ b4 tMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
$ F* `& g# ~- _0 W1 lproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
, b% g c. ?; i5 kcompetition. " N' v' ]/ P8 Q
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; F+ |8 _' q. V4 M# ~# N% f8 m2 T7 Lsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."9 b4 a9 h' b/ U9 a1 Z* U
& u* B9 u1 J5 @6 XFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 O( s3 }( D' Q" M: @all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' O B; {. I O& wschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
, M9 k; ?, J' s! n1 E+ I }9 ckindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students3 L& A0 m4 Y4 N
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to8 \ Z$ {. A9 O
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, x1 i7 Y6 Z* _2 M
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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; ~- a" G: s% f% K"They have a great international experience right in their own6 Z) {# l+ z1 k8 F3 L
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago0 z4 ^, Q! f0 s% d. z, U
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 W3 C1 Z( X9 C5 B" ^! M" qhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ y" ]& k. P0 d) l5 s9 j, ^on an equal playing field."
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9 c' S8 F$ B$ _! [+ h- QSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese# I1 j7 u( K# d# b& |2 m
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
; ]: v$ [3 a$ Z; p9 ~8 D' vService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; ]- t9 J; \8 K3 d! ?3 t$ Q- h* ]. P
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
! Y+ }1 ]7 z; h5 R6 O$ c$ Q8 Caverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, C4 L+ ?+ r0 U+ k4 v! B5 }( F
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
9 x0 A8 b! d+ |& ^institute says./ H" p% l$ U; z! H" {
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
$ \- x1 N3 v' }$ Ggrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ \2 g1 v$ s; q8 |- z& N. ideciding whether to take the class.2 v0 `: Y2 e# Z: ]9 k
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 N3 t0 c* a1 |- u3 R
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ C" P" }; t1 K2 M: R. t3 s
class.
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$ p6 { `& J+ u8 V3 |( v7 \+ L. Z* yAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
4 N! z# O1 z9 @: S$ b: gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' c1 K" c/ T0 H7 [# b7 N+ a3 ^
occasional frustration.# W1 f) S8 Y6 d* u
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
# ?0 e+ j0 R6 b5 ^recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 T6 [& n" e7 X/ V r. I& F
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ `# A4 t# C1 F* BChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul! h- r3 n% J5 \% P" P3 H
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn1 g8 v& q& P" S
as many languages as I can."9 z9 x S; a! C: t
" G+ f+ h/ Z* m9 J: T1 CAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the6 V5 H G( d: a" Z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
- c: L @: ~2 {" b/ l5 Gmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like8 V9 ^7 p( ]: }
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program2 C8 S" |- n5 `8 e5 ]6 s9 G4 J
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! b1 M0 v; v9 d9 Y8 d! ^3 I
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 d4 M4 H8 M( y2 o; m
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
( N7 W3 D2 B9 _0 `4 G8 rroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
5 b$ L/ d- _% s" h# j: hChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* H" H. B0 u3 |* M, O5 s
college, 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
2 _& V1 I x8 Z0 N' lbecause of that missing certification," he said." g; q. w( Y& V* }0 b6 U3 |! w
# h3 k q. M6 W3 P$ [The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
) `! @+ v; B8 P e; Z5 x+ Rsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia8 _4 U% Z0 b9 y* I
Society in New York.5 v% |: S E7 ^
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
3 W6 x+ ?$ H: |! v& k* b LChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
: n; _5 N, o0 X; @' Ethe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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6 X( w \+ S" O3 d$ M"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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& M# N* |* T& ^: T3 T+ f- b" }Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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