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October 15, 2005$ U& X# Z' O$ `. q+ Z" n
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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" b0 J4 G7 ] g! d! i/ B4 l. OBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 W+ m& s. z7 w# X$ H* v, h
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the5 @6 c6 o+ S/ x; w. X3 f
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
E! |7 z) l4 uSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
( i' l2 x7 |3 m2 g- o+ |dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ b7 ^5 J. X" w ~) eflag hang from the wall., g' \' m j4 N- T: s
0 n7 |6 F) ^2 G# O6 gOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& p- `% V1 i# K/ c% s
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* J* p* j9 Y2 a& N0 U$ Z7 w; K+ {practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) n, _0 f5 T! h( P* L2 @boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* y6 n- p( p% f5 n. @are already choosing it over Spanish.& _1 I% Z' V8 q
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# Q9 t4 o4 Y/ I3 C2 m1 m+ C! A2 K
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 C2 t: A. o1 m9 ?
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 K3 j q g8 _
2 A# c! x1 f: Y! D+ g% g( WWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
9 q |5 s7 ~, f7 G9 Bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
/ e: f( Q; R' B* Rto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention- d4 R2 V& ]" W, l
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
1 a( w! [- f+ I$ r) `& t0 qpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students S6 P9 [% m0 |9 b4 t+ r' O0 E
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I." q/ |" T4 q" l# |6 a0 Z, g0 v( I
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 ?" B, ^: S% n( A% qTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on) N+ @$ {& P6 G9 ^( r$ E) J
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) R) L8 a/ l" @0 P4 Y5 Z" d4 mimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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9 J/ @& y) v3 A* v9 f& PAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement2 _: n6 m/ ~" \# i' [
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country9 C8 `& }9 {( Y( D
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to2 r7 y6 s* o$ p3 E' Q4 |- P
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
7 u2 Z* i9 i: g. E* ?8 Q; Q2 } e7 `curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 }, [% D, V! N+ S5 R5 ]of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; a. d) m0 a2 y- mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
9 \2 }8 S/ {+ p0 b# q( R$ m7 t! \Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 r0 E6 c- {% n0 T
can."
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! {& r- V& n h6 s1 a. A8 A4 O9 lThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
5 ^- q6 v! k, S1 }elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 107 F5 d2 S$ ~" H" U9 ?2 g
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language# M" c2 L6 {0 l4 q. U. ~
Institute in Washington.
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! I- Q3 v* {1 r"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 x- q! g7 A0 earen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( R2 o0 g' o( [, WMcGinnis said.7 h8 i% p f; [+ d( I7 C
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical1 r' a6 x6 d& u$ e1 W3 R$ g
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! f2 u4 @* q, x% ~* }ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
- }5 Y# c) X, ]2 Rchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."# E# R3 m y# y& e# W. }
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
I2 [. s' Q) M, psecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. \* m8 F/ ]& b% N
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 J# Z* Z6 _1 w! |. w; w
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or. X3 q1 X( x7 K" D, c6 J% S
on weekends.6 H7 J. g1 g& G5 m6 O h
, B: K+ y; G5 ~- L' r9 kThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public t0 Q! Z4 e: n! `2 E
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
; t) P- M& X+ k7 k0 ]students who are not of Chinese descent.
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9 N8 I3 c/ c6 K `$ m# U6 L' F8 p$ sMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& S0 {5 }7 {- X; K* b& E. rproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: U- \$ z0 m" N
competition. 0 [ i) M0 |6 U/ f
- _( @1 ?% Q3 u% [5 ?"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, `& j' R2 m- o8 P- s% K" Ksaid. "There will be Chinese and English."- G' p9 k. M, _' M+ t
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly; B6 G, \6 o6 |: `4 k
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
+ p$ ^' r/ U$ k9 Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from8 c% x, _- @+ P5 _2 d2 z% K
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
) f" U$ y) l9 J% ]who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to Z: W0 _+ p# B* f# D; ^. e- w% F
the school system last year.. M; y6 D M$ y8 G$ ?6 g, k9 W& _
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; }: G7 @3 U) N! [, }) a
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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3 d/ j+ M% ? @5 _"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 u5 P0 {+ P8 u/ ]classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
- v, d" O1 `1 [1 y: JChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to' ~( Z9 @) o% A# k
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* s2 H% _# E) k( b, m
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese" p4 W# {" D6 |7 l% j$ T+ r7 K
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. K Y, ^% L. L# P
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
2 a6 [' ~( o7 _& S. {' s: VChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: K. ]; t, S ^) L
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
1 P9 o1 U+ u4 U: \) [0 ]Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
+ x/ B( l7 T# V( |institute says.+ _1 e e; x0 V* e& s- [/ c" Z
# F4 v) Q1 W9 o* M4 ~Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( [5 S7 `) C+ }+ ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before4 Q( X5 e0 o" {2 h8 j) W0 f7 J
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 r0 S6 ?2 d, F! Z
told her daughter." n8 V0 t" F: o- Q" n4 {/ k+ P8 {
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
! A/ I* m7 e$ Q( W0 v. iclass.& m2 d8 \5 @2 |* G1 G; q, E
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 K; d* E6 s4 x& q4 T- H, [. T
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without# ?" W4 s# u. _9 r: v
occasional frustration.3 d0 I; r" t7 s( E6 _, _1 q# s
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: k3 _6 e, ]; _+ `& J1 O. c S# F
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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; C/ ?9 A) ?% T/ D" a$ @1 VRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 l0 f1 D" k& ?- A0 ~& ?; E, ^
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
, M8 r8 `% j# tChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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) g0 [' W/ J3 k0 n"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 g4 E j, w# \+ C$ R8 A
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 m1 l6 C3 a4 }as many languages as I can."+ f' n$ p) [% ]) a
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ t9 Z: Z5 |( M6 g: S' F" lskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job3 Z% R2 S/ Z. ~' B( Y3 T
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; H/ M+ ?* L' G- P6 O9 f8 d
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, A7 A# a1 h: y6 J7 I# S* Y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each7 v8 z" Q& _4 |/ i
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) C, A9 D3 V9 O) {- Qtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
+ J% l) ?9 f# }3 Uroom.5 ]5 I0 v+ y0 Q1 Z
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
5 U1 I# n ^+ H2 GChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American# ~% Q6 P2 P, ^' G3 t
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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, d, z, a2 m: P2 l"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ w/ p+ E2 K+ U) l2 c. k
because of that missing certification," he said.
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, t4 Y' g0 \1 V' g/ i1 ?# sThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
/ T7 @7 {* _& M# i( ]said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: [1 R( v3 S0 u- q$ bSociety in New York.' e0 t, N) ~# \. o" C1 n
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the8 A9 n. k6 t7 h: M M9 p9 q
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
5 _, l' h" b' ^# Rthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 Q6 V7 o# {, A( t$ N6 S
own."
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% q' U4 q+ G: j& q1 s' rCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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