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October 15, 2005
$ H7 K$ L V2 |$ W4 N/ g# R7 |& S1 iClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity2 d0 ~+ j7 e# l, M+ C5 Q( q
( ?- N" u* Z8 z9 o+ EBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the: J( g7 g Z% S5 y, U o/ V
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
8 E! `: ^* I- I' C2 iSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 F% O p3 H c
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: C8 `9 G# A3 }# ^
flag hang from the wall.5 O6 I7 |& Y+ N$ x9 T; c' I. b z
) n- T! h; a) S: b# p) P" [One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ w' l8 w9 W) ^7 A( m0 [
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 S3 x' M& v( q _
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
/ u- v; [& r! e$ F$ ^1 Fboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 S" `! G7 n* p8 o! M2 uare already choosing it over Spanish.
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6 }; b1 _- k+ Y% x"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* `4 @6 }1 m8 Vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ Z4 n( f: O0 ~, z; u7 F- j3 doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,! `7 D) y {- I$ ?
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
5 U2 }% V1 Z$ d6 {, h) ^$ ^to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 X/ a- w- \5 e7 H( h- B% A# a
one of its most difficult to learn.3 w# D" M. [# M" R" P5 U' H2 E
# N3 S9 z! W. ULast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% \0 m$ ]7 A& C! `% y
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students7 o2 W- S5 j3 e. }
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 m- v& C) Z+ Q/ _4 y5 DLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% P+ `$ N% z( p9 cTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" ] ?: l4 L4 u9 R% S' @0 eChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& p( G6 U* t7 U; t0 X0 C8 Kimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.$ Q7 w1 J, b3 A0 a9 g5 [$ x, K
8 C9 }4 |2 H4 n# T. LAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
, M$ ~; j4 ^& R; c! FChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
) Z: t a" |9 p+ j0 O# ?7 v0 Fstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
" D: s, D! x$ I& i S0 g8 X, `0 Mdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 I& r6 S1 H5 U6 I
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director' o! W* W7 N' G4 v! h+ k: Z4 S* G
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board." _3 n# H$ B7 R1 a! ^& I
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of* P4 x. q( _( E. d
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
9 w* U5 _6 z& j6 D! l' M/ {Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we& y$ a, C+ i% ~1 L8 Z
can."
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) O3 b( S% G* u) E3 b- w* y8 XThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 U, I3 u# j( z, a/ ]
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10/ c+ q9 v7 q G
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 t2 e G: b/ bInstitute in Washington." H0 L- c, x# {* E: S# x7 A, A) P
( }) K6 G* q! ^( E" \9 C, f"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages& a6 v8 @* Y, Z3 S4 @
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
# @ V8 j; `, w1 N, M: [ X9 N# EMcGinnis said.
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|/ G( D' O. B. B( v* h. I) T* L' R( d"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! E) j9 Y Y0 Blongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 S; d0 K" T5 }. c w7 v8 b1 i
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a+ x8 G, V( C( y
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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; Y% y' v0 ?, L0 b9 Z$ { C xUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and) _2 B# d! z" [# |+ A- q5 U0 ]
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
! ]8 {( G6 ~; O8 Hcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
/ l% H f, ~- \& X, CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or& M, z/ y7 B6 Y9 F% q/ Y/ s1 o2 _
on weekends.$ i, l. f; g( W& Z
6 z- l x+ C# u* Q( V7 x; _6 Z! ZThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public) [0 F$ \' @4 C8 B& V: i
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves, Y% X# o5 O3 F3 p/ \% ?! P
students who are not of Chinese descent., F% ^ b1 e( D U ^
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 N% v; ~# O1 F2 Uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: u" p6 U' n% @& u, f
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 f3 C8 Q0 t' h+ \6 u7 A# Nsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 }% m* N1 [ d. X, Q1 g& a, tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse; r. r8 z f+ a' K; ?
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# v5 B. P2 R$ T- z3 Ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students! |! Z9 f! u. d
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 P# [) b3 {$ H, r9 Z, Ythe school system last year.9 ]6 p& ~; q: u- R" {4 b
$ C+ q- s3 e9 d2 _" AThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
! m% C7 V% r* E+ B: E" jyear 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 own
, Y2 W% j& z5 {classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
6 G! P& d! t) P1 F* e& uChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 l, x! K+ u8 ihelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 }( S9 ~1 v9 Y5 ion an equal playing field."- V# w! w2 t- Z* m b* R& e( Q
( [% Z1 S" [; n/ zSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese* v& S: V! b+ h, z# x- R( N! S+ c
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
" Y2 } x$ Q* U/ r6 E9 _+ WService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: |! U! H" D( M; w) |Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 P K; [9 X5 a5 S5 vaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
) ?3 f3 z8 o3 NChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the' \! T+ v4 |) D
institute says.) r0 L$ i6 |/ F: D( |, h8 R' r9 u+ X
) X% q& i" s# E4 N9 i ?Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
. [# x2 X- q2 n7 Z# b0 b6 }grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before8 a. G" W/ X# k2 h9 u" {
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
" `% [ W8 l, }/ y9 |. ~told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 w8 `/ f$ e: F, U0 x6 c
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are; c7 Y% Z. @. {9 t
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" g& c5 u" H" T
occasional frustration.
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) r9 J6 d' p" m"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
9 f/ j! t/ E h" V; L$ l( Irecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 [( ~( _( C9 o$ L# W1 G+ [4 M" |+ j$ t
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
) u& B( x0 F. `- ^taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ U# `7 \4 Y& R; _/ p9 _. ?% jChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
) q7 g$ I$ |/ i0 V: Osaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- l9 t# D4 r z! {: D2 Mas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the6 B/ j" l$ A+ h0 f# v+ _- f- D
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: d8 ?% E: Z" H; X8 L
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, q! L3 v- A* k, @5 A9 o }8 W) z
that," Ms. Freire said.$ A" D! t# w% S# H6 I( J
, p( O h+ u v# x# FMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 p( K3 b3 k. a' ~/ g
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
6 u2 \$ A- S6 X2 z+ Xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ Y! p/ U( Q" D& d& `7 `+ u
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make D* Q b! `8 n6 I
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer6 N/ Y; ]! G9 j
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% r& B3 |) B* ^- gcollege, 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
[5 s6 ?3 Q$ u' e2 s; ?because of that missing certification," he said.& r7 E9 h8 t: E3 H$ f9 D
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ S- |/ K! z1 Q: Q- u! {0 i& Zsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
5 ~" l6 B* \- ASociety in New York.& j2 m) k! j- W
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& |/ [' {3 R3 `2 b5 fChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# p1 X! A: I% D! \: 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
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5 r& A, z6 J" Z4 kCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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