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October 15, 2005
8 ?$ m, C9 ^9 T- m- ~Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 z0 ], ~3 X2 _) V! X; O
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING; A9 h0 R( {1 U9 D
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
! I; m; d( d( a$ ^8 zUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary! y/ k z7 L' u9 {8 S' M x/ X
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ D$ I* J4 U& {1 B, |dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
3 G! [; }" r4 l& ^" g9 b% `flag hang from the wall.
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" s" s2 Z9 L. ~8 d0 {7 {* C) _* F/ ?One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. ]$ a6 c: V) F Q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, `$ e& I! ]- E$ V9 J1 E
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
7 r8 S5 W+ X0 x4 k, |/ ^+ @boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students; t2 C* O1 ], q8 ]) c. r) }1 t
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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! Q! I% X1 {3 n1 \+ n: l6 o, k"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
" Z2 o% o7 h! W! O* K Y1 U- ]at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
+ f% g. z& B. u7 B8 g- Eoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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. r! t* W8 L& L# Q! RWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& B. n4 i0 W! X& b7 O
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. V6 p9 n' y5 E* `2 I1 Y3 Z5 Bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( A9 C8 A1 }9 k- T; o# E3 T1 done of its most difficult to learn.; n6 i- S5 C( N8 @& c6 H, k" Q7 }
! Y. u/ u; p U! N+ ILast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
4 C: W0 F( ]" a" L dpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
3 i6 i8 I# O6 X8 c) `7 ~studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
1 j( O( I' M9 A% T' [* BLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 l, i y( i0 F0 dTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* N5 Z8 R$ `5 T* y! V
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
' Q- ?. y& m8 T v6 A8 |" Vimprove 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" Q, i* E. Z, |% m: P$ m
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. Y' ^& Q, I4 g0 J' c, z& z: Zstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to0 g& x- c2 g9 W S r+ R2 I9 `8 r
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing% z% S: L2 p' \) K$ @
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 x# {: e" t P, ^0 C$ r2 @
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.! h4 U& ]( x) l# ?/ r. W
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
. D$ F1 G* D: k# B6 ~- Fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 a; R1 M# [/ J# _
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
# f2 c( S7 q. b0 C5 T# Ecan."
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' o2 ?. b2 E) C1 [4 OThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from+ g- Q8 v' b: t+ X' N! p. D
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 }0 N. p& W$ Y8 b' k7 `years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language" E% p2 o: F" H% t, W
Institute in Washington.7 a( Z- k A3 A+ u0 {: Z
, w( S% X! F5 y7 a/ ~$ Z"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 m6 t- P* P3 _2 ^
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; u1 n5 k6 ~. \8 F
McGinnis said.
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6 `* ~9 a4 h7 I"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# U" J7 Z, @% u) k/ j' ^longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ t( E5 j: U( {4 G6 z9 b
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 h6 Q- K5 J; S5 w+ Vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 i( G/ k) T( k$ I
6 P0 T$ N: v% X& K/ yUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 z: o; o7 @1 g# u$ _6 p, q: i* a
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in* I6 e8 u" X2 C1 j5 U2 W ]
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 V+ q$ |7 o( _0 UChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
7 U2 Z6 p( \; ~3 v( i8 Hon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: A% M3 R! u0 s( O1 S2 }0 w1 j' Xschools during the regular school day and primarily serves- y I; }( p- J5 h
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said6 [7 X/ V2 y5 y% c
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ N, b+ k) A' tcompetition. . f8 V0 \' v4 A
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# I* F0 K& u3 N9 b( h! }& I2 Y
said. "There will be Chinese and English."1 J) n; o$ l; D- [1 p; Q
2 m4 |" B3 _( ]* G. G" [; JFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" F/ m0 c7 y$ B+ S' P1 y8 Y
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
7 h1 o# k' P6 ^- oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- Z1 T# ~2 k6 J9 }" tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, g& I( ?# c1 B x" _' n" T: C1 p
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
0 w9 C& z' ~4 nthe school system last year.
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# R, B) K) h1 ~/ @7 a" n: K' LThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 G3 ]# q8 K) ]7 T$ T, w9 \year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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( E, V! @2 z7 k+ h2 C"They have a great international experience right in their own: W: U1 y2 O P2 p+ {
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago0 h0 n6 d0 l' k6 |" d+ y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% p: @- x8 `; O) V- v4 ihelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
, K [. D4 b5 Ron an equal playing field."
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" q% e# H b- r7 OSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, D/ ?0 F6 ?) P& N( O2 @0 [classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, D% {4 w m* L+ u/ }, SService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
5 F! j& t# A8 G# AChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 c f5 e0 K0 F" G7 a, daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 Y" A: l4 H% T3 V4 OChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 Z( e1 Z+ S: k. \! l9 T- Kinstitute says.7 P4 P1 F( C( C3 f/ d* c
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 g0 A9 i/ l( F! agrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: _5 j& \4 Y2 S U9 H! ~
deciding whether to take the class.
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/ T0 w! o7 { V. j7 {# b$ d8 B4 X* G- B"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- y1 B; N m9 K$ ?
told her daughter.
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& ^2 p: a; z* Q& P0 S$ VSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite) f7 f o2 p* q9 K0 \
class.
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2 q5 m9 ~* r& P6 v: c+ VAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ A9 \8 {$ t5 h' B( ^1 gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without+ x* O8 x: ^8 l H) `% ]
occasional frustration.
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3 e/ [3 [' k8 t+ j) P"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 O* T9 P0 M1 Brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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. Z3 j, ~$ D' S7 ?/ }$ d& dRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 |3 Z/ n2 r4 B
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
0 w% `' J" |$ GChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works., m8 Y: }8 c+ v5 b/ \" N
0 d' P9 j6 Q3 q5 a"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul6 t: @' B; o( h
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn, H3 q! i2 k7 ^3 Z- `2 q0 f, |$ p+ [
as many languages as I can."
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' \7 R: Q3 D) {4 {5 m9 ]Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" b& B, k8 h* X/ L; r8 ?skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 F4 H* g" X( J* Z, wmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
/ A3 j- j. s1 r) v4 Lthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 N8 m' w5 b1 S* c
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 a8 r* d2 f+ r: r$ P* a9 Xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking7 P8 u7 t( p( R) G/ o
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 P1 y4 z+ m' ~7 X7 J0 b, c( E2 V
room.
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$ v6 D2 x: s! mChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer$ t( _5 s' M% j' G3 B7 P" }
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) Y; Q5 P7 W. i" [, a5 G2 n3 L( P
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.# v2 a/ B8 q6 [6 R; ~( x7 i
& R4 z- E3 u" u+ K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 Y1 K4 ~/ V- lbecause of that missing certification," he said.1 |& k" F9 ~6 C
- ~7 p7 I% E3 |. cThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
( M1 ^" x; P1 ^+ k, y: d3 csaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 F2 q+ K& S5 X
Society in New York.3 n1 k3 s, a8 Q: w
1 P/ b0 v; l! m R1 j" s0 NSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
1 B7 \: b. O% V% |9 S- b5 [0 _Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from7 V' r2 b% c/ |- y
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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1 v* L7 x* h+ b3 O- F"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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" m# X+ l; f/ w; [$ ?; @* ^Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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