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October 15, 2005
( D6 P( F! V* J0 jClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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8 p( P/ u, i0 ^2 p2 t) m/ D! b& LBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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7 g5 a0 [' o' N" B! nCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, i- i; I0 B9 E
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
/ x5 `2 {' ^' pSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: ?8 r- {" l: R. b. ndangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese3 e& _& z0 ~) M) B- g
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one( T _' x3 M0 S* m
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
, J8 @; G, j" Epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 r$ Q- D. g! o" Z! A; Bboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 ] A) ~1 Z, E( g% D9 @& ~; _; d
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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" }! t2 ^, y& O) v7 K* C0 m5 h* N1 c"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal* K' m! t9 P0 p d8 S
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ Q& V+ @# G1 h% K) U8 B5 v, koffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
5 }( j7 \* }1 L. o" K3 Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings ^8 p6 u$ W% U3 e9 v+ l/ P" |0 G
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention, ~5 q4 q; H/ u/ h: u
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
/ {2 c) M1 g% ]- C3 r# Y8 T4 }public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& M* t+ a4 {( I# B6 Nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 [$ ~$ V" m4 k) W4 \ WLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of3 [; P y+ e2 O2 v
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on2 h0 j G, r( c6 E- f
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
# B2 u N! y! a1 \% w6 Wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.0 }/ r" i# T9 \( `, F0 @9 M9 A
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) T9 B$ g! G6 I' g1 nChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country# B* |- j! Y! H) U. h/ [5 S
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ q+ G2 ^% H" c' p5 R4 y
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
8 X( ]8 O3 q' p7 j- Acurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 U9 l$ o6 h9 y u! g; T9 ?% n6 h U9 Pof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 w' N! S( f1 K) p, z
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 y) ?& V- A( a0 I1 u! b
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education5 |8 b* F J2 ^; N; U/ Z) W+ y
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
, q" w1 n/ H) Bcan."
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$ |) K/ W7 W* b$ M5 i, |6 J) NThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from' y+ S3 W: P) _- E# X' O
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 K% g2 K8 ^, n( @& h
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ D8 U9 H! o9 w3 KInstitute in Washington.2 t; B: M a! {$ d# ^8 Q, q
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 R& E# P# K% C6 Yaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 e% @2 ^! q1 B+ ~7 AMcGinnis said.- N" U- j" Y; B4 z, { [
6 P- p6 D, F/ V: V; \ Q7 r"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical" Y" Y# u0 V7 |+ x; b+ A/ x
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 M0 |3 c6 F: j+ O: Iready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a v; O' R9 g5 E: \2 X8 v2 V" ?
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& k3 f* N) t- ?6 U
# z6 ]/ N0 f. u9 G' _3 D* cUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and1 t8 s% m: f7 B% B- E$ T. U
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
9 N: t, e9 G Wcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 W( ^$ b$ n% i) e) D* y
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 c$ B6 r% v5 F& ~3 ~on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" v6 `8 e0 |; j5 N& wschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
# k" Y f/ J0 ?- j' Y" o E3 |students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
P8 z* H4 g- c7 ^1 ]& h& T( ^* Tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
; Z. U, O8 o1 ?4 y2 f# M( Zcompetition. : w* _7 }+ y M
Z/ Z- J- S# }' D"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
& K% T% T, M: r& n/ D; esaid. "There will be Chinese and English." f+ [9 P( n, ` }/ F) m: C+ b5 w+ i
9 I+ o3 a+ t f' F! q0 H1 j; o8 eFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly! [9 Y) \; C% c8 m" g
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse7 P g) I: i6 ^' _/ V3 N! Z
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
5 y* G- \' F/ X5 K/ vkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students. T0 @, N" u4 e* Y8 ^
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 U, @# [: H1 w) |! D
the school system last year.7 k# t! W/ D2 p! j6 c; ^7 O; b$ R1 I7 v
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this% y$ Z4 }. g6 h
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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/ S9 d& R. G& P, [. f4 U- W"They have a great international experience right in their own
; y" w, d4 v7 o$ p0 U5 q. wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 n/ b/ v* ?9 N2 ~. j2 ]Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
: m/ z- v- n" P( Qhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
X0 V" D5 e: V+ N h D3 Bon an equal playing field."8 u$ }. l. t# ^6 K' t# ~
8 ~& L7 w$ r nSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
( f c! _% f2 C2 {classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
" R3 \1 g# q) Y. _Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks4 l- W* F( _% J) Q" I3 @- T* D
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
~# U: }: x& c1 t" y; F: naverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in2 N9 s! e4 j5 s. _& h+ S" M% |# C
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the0 Y; `8 }* D5 x+ p0 f
institute says.7 O" r1 @+ G2 n8 R
# h& ]5 Y& C ?+ l+ f/ cSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" Q4 Q: }* U( l. S; `( u
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
' f/ m; ~# {- b" F3 {1 O" ~ Ideciding whether to take the class.! U; h$ B. r6 ]0 ~
, a: Z! M' s# W: s7 z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- E( t3 ^' x' P! ]1 ~
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
. n8 R8 n$ j$ v! A# W- Hclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are4 P( W! \1 `$ ~- D2 g3 B8 ~( Q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
- F2 F% a! b! D9 M9 [5 G6 `occasional frustration.: A% \1 R% o9 e8 f% c
+ D0 d2 I/ Q. L; n% j* b"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a9 k( \% w" M3 Y" {+ l% i9 B
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.: p1 p' }. x" u1 a/ x
9 t7 h% x. b# O" g5 a# fRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 O! z) S2 N7 B5 {4 `7 O0 u6 I, k$ |taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 P/ K G4 C5 Q7 AChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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6 f. k( i$ t: R0 j6 ["Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
; }8 G8 w& V; r9 Z2 ]; Jsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
* X% ` g/ R8 q; e# M" c5 kas many languages as I can."/ ~( f$ e' E% x9 L1 ^( a
2 [7 R3 ~; o) I4 m6 yAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 p: k% ?! U) z- N! i8 k/ e/ a; Dskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 H/ Q, o" |: p
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& ? Z+ Y+ S& S& ~3 a3 h$ ^
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( T' I% M4 n H, n" @
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
5 l$ C* v' w4 q) |1 j kschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 }$ W5 }0 p1 j" v4 \2 @
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 |0 b+ c% ?7 \5 t- Droom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
$ j5 |. r# r8 k# a& r1 A+ TChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American9 z/ ~7 {9 f" `% c/ w: n, I/ d$ Q
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
+ N' P9 ~0 g4 z, I% {because of that missing certification," he said.$ j) L. o, t. E1 z7 ]
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ @% |- p2 l- W# Y* Usaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; S4 {8 T% Q; i
Society in New York.
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- z! [! R) K# X% @6 CSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: P( w: O+ ?% T! ^" V. O$ R! G
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( {6 @& z! y7 S ]& Athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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7 l( P2 @( y. q2 c"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
3 j! }: }& t2 F) Jown."
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$ ~3 o P1 }7 s' S6 \Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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