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October 15, 20055 n- Z, a* e$ P1 C5 f2 f& ]+ d' E
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% C0 ?% ?: Y/ r, w" b
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING4 t; T4 ]' K0 Q
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
( [1 w. k, J) |# H0 ]& EUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 ?' e% E, b; d* H: j9 g, q& I8 r) uSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 o4 `& N- s# w5 C8 @dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. j3 R% @* c6 b& q0 T: [( ~
flag hang from the wall.& u, k. k! P3 @( o1 U
3 W/ f3 c& y2 R. ROne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* n# a7 ]4 ]2 X* e5 Q7 \2 \another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders; g/ I( l6 A# U6 B' U7 L
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( a1 o" q5 G/ |% oboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
/ _4 l# s( \( p6 f/ w* G; |: Ware already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal4 Q" q% f/ p c4 ~( P
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city: z( A7 u/ R4 ^6 {% P# }# d) X
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" Q6 P4 U0 `# l7 E! z- M
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
# q2 ^, ~* g& w' G! bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
# Y6 Y: {/ l1 pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
8 ]8 t* }. N j& p1 l$ |one of its most difficult to learn.# P' b( T1 |$ m- u6 t' q
) M2 ^& z& k/ Z; B. tLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" v" ~) z& a4 p) W5 l, l4 vpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students' G* A# T) E! Y
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 {' l3 ~2 H, V# d/ s
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; t- T. v$ S( ]# A+ y' H* A1 Y
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on6 {; E! F' D. E+ v5 n3 ~
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
2 Q' q+ x C. O4 Vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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( W+ H5 e! F, h2 v2 w5 p% gAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
( x$ C+ T: h. X! q/ V* ?Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& G9 f6 Y9 X$ P. ^# ?
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 [0 u! q5 c0 Y4 k# F- }develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
}/ a% P) F$ r: _curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( R9 `# @( {0 o! A8 A( W' m, pof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# k& X) n3 y( @/ z5 fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
; d# B, k1 J) D+ M. LConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we9 q. L3 {" J& J" A& D1 F
can." 2 ?2 c$ b% p% V5 j5 @8 ]& d& P. k
9 \- @0 ?$ U( HThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
; ?+ {5 B. g4 F8 ]elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 102 R* l$ m" P+ u! `
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; K0 V. X8 v. R% |
Institute in Washington.6 @: C. V! s; z4 O* H1 o8 R* m U; m
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages( c+ V" W, O2 I7 N! m( G
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
, Z% z! j$ _ WMcGinnis said.
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) L7 G; N4 \2 P+ J"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
W4 {3 m: \* F ylongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 b9 S; a' H3 y# u; _8 {2 u
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# `5 c1 b" w; N- M
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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! ^; V! I+ z& O/ AUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
9 b9 _! d& U& L/ W: X# D& _9 l9 Lsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in/ V8 H: ]" J7 ~
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' m6 h/ h- l7 \9 B2 x$ y- MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or7 n) o, M* Y6 P2 y0 \3 I1 u6 v# W
on weekends.5 b% G: ?# H8 x" t! d& R; v
- y" ^, f5 p6 a+ R4 c! B$ `) fThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public- w' y9 `$ R3 ~% M# Y) n
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves- k' z' a/ h4 j8 k( L
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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5 E# W% O7 v2 v7 XMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! C0 j& d( {8 q$ ^; Wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the& Q# f% s ~) S; Q6 t
competition. / l5 w! v5 _9 {8 r; Q1 V* m8 p
! e( ]1 r3 S" i"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley8 f. ^, T5 s9 W/ {. M7 W
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly9 H2 l( W/ W5 n O3 E
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
, u4 x7 [ I. r7 P3 K* rschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
5 ?! O1 I/ R5 s1 i; R3 \7 ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
. V5 l2 `, O' H6 J. E* nwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
. \: U$ K: g. x# N. p1 r8 Vthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; \8 }: U* K- }! B! j1 ryear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own1 i! n6 _8 a2 K
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
1 E7 G* T: H( O; q; \; wChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to9 @4 o& y$ [) p }& V
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet( H; n# c- |4 b" k+ `8 d
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, |7 V( [; `) Y9 Rclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
/ K6 P D5 B% {, i: tService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
j, a U4 |4 m+ r7 h; z! kChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
) Y! C0 R0 l9 Taverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
0 r4 z% b9 h* p# lChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
t/ W: P% @- G4 R8 L. \( K+ minstitute says.9 x ^% V# S n2 M( B- p P, @1 U
6 }8 o( O& _1 d( {2 E" qSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: | `& d; i$ z4 k! Q# U
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ |- @# W1 a* I- N
deciding whether to take the class.7 P- v1 W# O& l
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 M$ N& P5 y6 y& o
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 P |. g7 l& E# t- x) G6 y5 N+ A
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 e2 _9 Z0 q0 I5 k' [" r( W
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
! Z; g, g2 U8 R0 H8 soccasional frustration./ U& P% d& `1 l/ E
: J6 {4 S) Y K"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" c3 y% N/ P( x8 |& Lrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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) O' ~- F: r' E2 U2 M2 _# \" Q( ?& PRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! x5 y: X0 B5 u- k ]4 ktaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with$ u( U2 U% U3 ? ]: N/ Z& t- T* G
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works. `; s4 ]+ d1 K. E- N/ E" T- x
+ v6 e% s) r, A' `/ c: Y"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul, Y9 {% N. g# K w0 }
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" f# N0 |; Q& f' \* g W
as many languages as I can.". \% Q' g- `- V+ c+ I2 p9 O
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ M& \* ]. ^5 P" }skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 \2 |( X& G4 C% W: a
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like$ O! b5 d! E) h) u
that," Ms. Freire said.; \# r, k3 t; g; ?
1 L$ h( h1 ` m8 t' fMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
+ G! `4 Z0 J8 s2 Lhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
& T2 H* i2 p {school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking; D6 @# L* j6 L f- o- u
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
$ B5 v% r7 l5 E |& d! ~room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
5 \/ o; u5 Y) l/ k" wChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
) Q% L1 {- z, b5 Y3 r# f( ?; Hcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.: w9 w6 F) v/ {% V% x8 r+ t
( N% C. R3 `, ["It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 w/ O5 x2 X" h1 x9 T7 Jbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,& T! c1 i) b: f3 A
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia$ S2 {( c, `( R) d- x& w. A
Society in New York.% H. \& A- D0 }' Q0 k& c. \* H& V
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the) N( ?& n& C9 F6 W( W/ i
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 E7 j( j4 O9 ~' Pthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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1 e" Q5 F) X5 e b! i6 I"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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) j& n+ @! I. m2 L4 G6 ]Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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