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October 15, 2005
$ _( f3 R0 x7 q' gClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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* E8 [9 i* O- ]8 A* v4 I3 M1 d! BBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING. y) x8 h! g+ m
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the8 ^3 x, r/ ?: M2 X1 H9 E: _- ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary+ ~# I4 @6 J' i/ j; s% V' j9 l# ~
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
1 {; a! e, B0 ]' [dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) Y( O4 _; H X+ I6 n' ~4 g @
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 o K! [; o* D# {' V3 Y* s: ?another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ c) k. j( A6 [$ D- H3 j4 }! P$ @( ^practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
& `4 g/ J# T( |& _! R+ }boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
/ F K$ ~- ?' A( P8 _are already choosing it over Spanish.
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" ^) F+ l$ ~3 F' R) V' k7 h+ d"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: `5 N6 a# ]) J) D1 h
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city. R$ d' {1 }6 z" o4 m
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.", d3 r( Z6 R. {: d+ p
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 e! B, W: X5 z/ G. Fschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& a. e% h; w' D1 T( n9 Wto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention5 c0 @3 H( s2 m
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- V/ c( b* k( z2 e0 b. k1 a* x
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students1 c8 }' k) \9 ~& E
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: e, U: T0 u8 g/ zLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; |" Z) t! ~ FTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
3 a- }) I& ?/ q: P4 n) G$ q+ lChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to* `( q* P$ `* w* ]
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
& ~6 _# W( E+ l ~Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ q: s+ F9 T+ b/ nstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
. z1 L8 N* v; B, |% K9 L' `6 gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
0 U, ?# h3 X9 ?3 [6 f. H& ~curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) V& A. o+ L) X1 p6 M# U2 D" M0 T+ D
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
: z2 `0 r' ~& n- uspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
* }0 H7 B+ z+ V) |* {9 ?* |Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" v; i8 p# I) R) K+ V6 v! Zcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% R5 K1 S6 T; ^+ K
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; D/ L, g. h& ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, w& F. C7 [/ |# p0 x+ g
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages( u% t- v5 C! K7 l0 |" h# w# K1 `; }
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ @ }/ `& o) X) d" X
McGinnis said.
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* D+ `. j+ C- p; n9 b# W"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ R. ]0 _5 ~ E" t% {! E
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! n0 W$ S& E; j. u: a# F/ G9 Hready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
& F6 P3 `. s, M0 F: {& F0 {" Ichallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do." o5 {/ Z( o: O( O' c) t
* n. _; c% f3 h9 F+ v: \( u h; NUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
& U' t. J7 M7 gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# a. D" R* C J5 q# e s2 k2 r- m; ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) W. f7 ]: m, L2 W. ZChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or) l" h! J* U$ ?* j4 |* `" ]
on weekends.
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% Y# B* k2 { D8 D* {The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# c& `* R- D( G" `" b/ M/ ?schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
$ K% T q& s! F! f# b3 cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.1 r' h# u* @" f3 i( Z! E3 E |' i
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said- Z5 S3 n& u! q
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
, ~! R& R' a5 {! pcompetition. 3 W2 \2 c1 { ~
+ D: ~( \/ h. h2 y7 Y"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 X" h* k3 ]! M0 nsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."5 d, a; K( z$ i1 a8 |
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly i3 x9 S2 ?4 }; Y3 J: ? J- O
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse2 S' X& ~+ a: o/ q- h' T: x
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* a0 f5 u' N4 T+ ]
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
# F5 S d7 M+ k0 a S+ T& ^* g0 fwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' I8 n8 Z- @& O. J0 Y9 a4 Y
the school system last year.5 [2 e3 H) g1 X
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this$ {4 n5 t6 Y& n1 y
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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9 R( u3 m) o" S Q"They have a great international experience right in their own
+ y4 h; N" c0 n7 \4 R* c8 e8 [. a2 zclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
1 W0 \- X$ f! ?+ WChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
+ u3 r6 @4 K" t3 m/ J1 b5 khelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
& C& r, g! j* D) Fon an equal playing field."
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+ `5 _, J; X" j1 y% R: e* DSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese% P4 i; n% N; V0 F9 t P( R
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ \3 s. D5 ~$ L; P5 e: Q
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 C* d% a& E H0 @* _6 q
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An. ^( x6 v3 d4 Z, l4 K' A3 k
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
: s. q7 l/ {9 |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
l1 k0 B: L: V, q7 P& oinstitute says.
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1 ^4 i8 Q) ?7 S8 CSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
_% Y* {0 s* Z! k. }grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before& J' P6 U" w A ^# p* _ s
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 O' V- ?2 ~' R6 N9 Q* U9 \! mtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
& h$ t; C2 C& G, v3 ]* Y$ Hclass.0 y8 ~9 P! N4 R) i
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 y" B# l: L' D/ {* Jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
n: p+ m" d) Ooccasional frustration.
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" w5 `7 e2 j. z" o"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 p, n" ]' T3 u9 e2 Y) q5 S( o
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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0 t) I. r( ^% u6 ZRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 N! k5 D6 p: P8 @3 Q7 Itaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 Z3 [9 A# y: K1 _8 [0 G
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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) w3 _, i$ j) [" U# t) p0 D"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul( F. K) o0 b W$ N/ m H
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn; [, T _( M, Q+ J# M7 U; v
as many languages as I can."6 s3 D+ \$ T& r, I- e
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
p% D7 K1 X0 b) S5 Z; yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" C8 ]7 @- L* v' `- A
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like" C, j6 u& R' m- g
that," Ms. Freire said.# w* ]+ D/ | a
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( L; I' F& v% D2 k9 o. H# [1 H. m
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each! l N G; _( j! T# h) _
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
( X9 U. r) `/ v) Dtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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, t. I9 F* R+ g- lChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) L, @; d% }* j- M% sChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American( z+ C9 I x* R N S9 r
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
+ K9 `; K- T q+ K& Q# A2 L. m" r: @because of that missing certification," he said. Z! O+ x4 Z( R8 j- B1 e- z0 u* l
8 m4 t/ R' y# h& G4 G5 G; W6 _The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,& a9 U: K0 V! ^5 p, z& w$ ?
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 v% I: c q" E, |/ mSociety in New York.
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9 d7 M6 u6 D) SSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
) w7 K( T7 e; g! J1 Z: pChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& P& C9 R* F$ x
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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/ }" s- `. C: z% V' J, }"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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) q! ]; r' C; E6 f- O( oCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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