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October 15, 2005
; y' a3 ]( W8 O. p0 c$ UClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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6 |$ c% @$ e# L& v6 o! ^/ `' ^By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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s. c: v, `8 g+ \* s& s0 DCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; A, {8 y: H# q# {United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
: i. t& {7 b, L8 LSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; x+ B5 q7 V. C1 @dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese' L* V+ U# n/ l; B
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" H* H( p. X1 G" R: h7 J' I
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
. i, E8 n: i5 Q ~! ppracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker$ m9 H0 a# F9 O; S
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students9 v% x/ {$ n [" |
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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' H+ Y9 _0 W7 B% d: g"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: b; H& X/ _2 p B Qat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
1 v8 a/ v. c. n9 `2 Y, uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* V, }5 s- T1 L! [5 [
* d& q& A9 K" R/ ]5 M* |With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 r$ o& M3 t# L; bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 k1 ~, N$ k5 wto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
+ K9 O7 w# \/ rone of its most difficult to learn.
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' Z6 l! F* N% x0 ?) ILast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# e; n0 F$ U, r* y# k) S u- y
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% I3 [* D& b8 {$ |# f8 w0 M' y- Bstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ R$ l4 ~# s2 H ^5 M
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
, O. k; u G/ h1 g0 Y1 q! J3 a0 jTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 [$ M# T- A y$ | p$ Q6 aChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ b% X6 }0 K5 dimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ X5 J2 b5 O- a
/ ?+ _4 ]$ j( O$ D: dAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ V* H2 M" R0 Q3 xChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country3 z( S6 _; i2 r2 o9 `/ D: k% s9 m- V$ t
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
7 B; \; Z9 w8 o ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
9 R4 ]5 u! _8 H- _& X( @curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director8 }3 I( S8 @% V
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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4 c: w+ C! |: L# ~# t"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
% {. } R4 f9 O8 w8 y$ Dspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
# k& w& S; o9 d6 L: f2 ? D! k4 rConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we8 n/ n+ Z: Q. X- S
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 j, L v' g+ R9 x1 Y" Lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' f8 I3 L0 h1 i7 f Cyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language# Z, g, r$ k$ R, f7 i3 \- x
Institute in Washington.
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( ` F+ l" t4 c7 Z& Z# {! A"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; W* B' m3 C ^8 `
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# p3 n6 n: N2 F7 ?) f3 m
McGinnis said.4 k! V! V( D* [! B
' A8 y# P- J% r"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# M( B6 |9 X+ M- Z2 [; i glongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
" b) w4 y9 J- k+ G9 Rready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
- p5 A0 x6 S, K" Z' Wchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and- [& Q2 U# D6 ]- d
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
' D' {8 m+ n3 d, N* ~cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of+ w- x! q, o# P4 M3 {
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or" ~! Q8 L- x9 I
on weekends.) c9 L. Y3 h1 n# e- `4 l9 m( I
! v( B/ Z5 R, Y M# ^3 o8 nThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public6 w2 |( P! `$ X# ]+ e% S; \5 X
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 H1 c9 ~7 \# e4 J' z4 ~$ H2 E
students who are not of Chinese descent.! Y, C& J2 P( u% \3 t% S
. s5 R# e7 P/ W# B, u0 w: g" @Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; ]) Y# D3 L4 l3 i+ p: nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) t) V7 g' d. J' ?competition.
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5 e c) T1 x. r" n3 _- k9 }"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
! [2 C6 q3 M! J7 P/ {said. "There will be Chinese and English.") _% `. S- I4 w' A! C+ S7 Y; C. }0 }
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly! m7 X8 i4 Q' D7 x! S' v
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- e$ G/ ]) S& ]& I# u2 Q3 u# ^schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from- F' J4 X3 u+ A8 c
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 R& B( R9 p i1 q2 E
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to" J+ b: i5 d3 g* ^7 h
the school system last year.; [$ q( X v# M4 L: J/ f0 A+ I9 T
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
$ G* C9 T7 f3 X% Syear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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, T" j$ t) G2 G* K"They have a great international experience right in their own1 E! Y' B( W3 C5 Q; P
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago5 Q; \, |$ }. x4 K0 g. b
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 L% x* G. b' W3 N2 M
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
) i' N3 u8 k; don an equal playing field."
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/ z1 b5 J5 l+ y( `0 VSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 e) ^- {! D( e' g+ k: g, o
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign8 f+ N4 A( X/ p: T% v9 O$ A% [
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
& F: ]8 W9 H S8 z! T+ B4 f/ @Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: e% G. e5 G1 @2 L# ~% s) F
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- x" N% { \/ d) [1 C4 ?# Y" p# U% LChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 \) Y7 W/ H5 e' t# A: E3 ]0 X
institute says. |: e( O3 g. M# k# b
" v q {6 P1 U1 j! |2 CSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth1 d6 E( {: m+ g3 \/ _
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) Q$ S+ Z v4 S4 Ddeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
& I5 {6 x% W! g4 }% d& V" y& Mtold her daughter.
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: T& P' D) R3 {% r& E P x C ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
) c2 m$ i- @2 X# Y1 [9 d. C: l1 x+ Xclass.$ J: K6 [ s' f( u$ d$ ]7 R. M
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
; x( E2 O: ?$ h9 y8 a5 z) a1 O) Hstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without( |1 E' W! v- \) j% d$ N
occasional frustration.* m0 ~5 M2 q! E
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ J0 e$ O1 K+ Brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he( O# B" P" c0 p5 o3 `
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with b8 K* H5 k& U3 h1 y- a
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works. t& i, e3 ^$ Y/ ?* f6 i0 e
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' }9 m- p2 ?: Z( \
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 p2 X/ b# t- z* mas many languages as I can."' L. Y2 }6 @$ y
) K& O% v# a. x7 RAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
8 t# ^. j% R2 q4 ]/ ~; Sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 Y" T3 ?( ^2 v6 z9 I4 P
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
( D1 u4 r- U) ~; H" i2 hthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
% g3 V# m+ U2 o Khere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ Q' t3 s1 J( f3 Q5 R; d+ ^- m S
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ I* m) `, V' Y% d7 [
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make- [% v4 x' d! A8 I
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( c4 W8 l2 R5 p2 l/ v. v. g/ ^Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
3 x, O$ g1 j0 O( y( h/ m/ g& `4 W5 kcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ g+ t9 x; [5 q- K
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
4 _! N% j& ]3 f }' zbecause of that missing certification," he said./ p* }6 k, Y' Q- Q- R1 P, R+ h
3 f/ a/ s5 _( B2 t* wThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,; P$ b; D% [( k4 m t+ Z
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# J- q5 d! |9 ~9 R
Society in New York.
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0 Y# F! u' c& l: N! D- _Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
" Q' Q' V9 t$ y1 d5 h: i1 `Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from5 D e8 P' S0 l4 ?8 C! f# R! x
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& S4 B3 I- k# J6 F0 |! N# S
own."
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) k0 D0 U. i! [6 u( M( D9 VCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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