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October 15, 2005
0 A$ R( J8 J2 C5 e6 m3 DClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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; |8 T& Y8 L4 X5 JBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING2 {/ ] G P8 u7 l' A
+ y" f3 M" W7 d. }; JCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 v) s5 I, }! H7 E- PUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) q. s' O y3 b4 lSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
& w( D/ a( x9 w+ B. }1 X2 g& _ adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) S: Q! h% F" J+ Nflag hang from the wall.
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9 D h; }- J# G4 dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
4 L" i8 X. L$ [: a. manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders6 s: h; J3 r% R4 T# u1 `
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
: U3 V0 Z* @' w2 T4 i. rboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% Z- F: ]/ a3 d/ r' v2 v& D& I" aare already choosing it over Spanish.- c# u) q: `! t! R& B s
3 L; n5 O' I8 c' Z! T9 k- J"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal% J, F9 K3 m6 p Q* d1 W0 {! ^1 m
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. Q/ h7 Y1 n! k% |offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) k0 F% L/ X$ M5 T9 ^3 g) B/ ~
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings0 D _8 `7 y( U% R$ P
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention P! k5 @9 j% Y+ f& Z* w
one of its most difficult to learn.
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8 A0 ?% }8 y" d6 [, |$ @! _' MLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
# L: g4 H6 f9 Zpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students* K. f( k w; C5 C, q
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
, T4 ?2 [ p! M+ j0 ELieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% Q% y' q( ^) E# C% q2 }Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on5 k( E( V$ D: l% s
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. L3 e6 ^5 N4 U4 m- y
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.9 h1 C$ X% |% J2 D" p/ Q
/ i2 u0 O# k5 Z( U: u1 tAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
7 o8 p! t4 w) o% W# J& _+ H' f& y& PChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country! T$ n( `1 `3 ^6 H' D
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
8 c2 i/ Q) k" f1 K# ^) X, k1 V$ ldevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
* h4 i* d1 J0 v/ g/ d, c3 ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director, D2 S# _% @+ P: U8 e9 X- f
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
1 ^& \, c f" a4 n6 o" nspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
Z* o# C0 x% w0 _! x, F2 \& yConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ k8 f8 i% o: h
can."
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; h4 k% _: P" U' qThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from& P0 D% e+ I+ b2 v
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 ?* j' [! y* [* Qyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' X- l+ w; }0 @" X+ N, Z' v0 d
Institute in Washington.$ W7 b: v2 P. B
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages9 B8 V: w. X5 I: u1 d0 `# M5 }: o3 y
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# {% P" S$ n' f9 k' J' ]& M1 j
McGinnis said.% }/ ^' V( [; g! M0 m" t
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
5 d8 y& F5 r1 N: wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be/ e$ n' ?' j9 M8 o9 y p* X
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
+ d( d1 g2 G5 Achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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, m, V7 L; V3 U8 u1 vUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and# K1 v! D3 ?, F: u9 x3 l- m
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in" _ ?# @, U/ _
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 m; s% u5 i$ ^6 eChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or0 H w9 Q& A# c' X4 K" U
on weekends.' H" D7 I2 K) A* H+ ~
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( z- q; O; v4 k% H
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ n3 Z% K+ } S0 a. h- G" J
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 F# T& U7 b8 ?! [( |4 j% o K3 I
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the6 `5 A/ }- t7 ^1 Z, _0 e5 D3 J
competition. d( V$ n, Y! E+ v1 J% M% {
2 ?4 x, Y7 h( @1 J2 e3 L S, ~"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 e; s- a+ B: o6 ^ u( F
said. "There will be Chinese and English."; H+ ?. M3 |, u: L0 M. L
w7 I0 N8 O# bFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 b5 M8 m( R* C, F/ pall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
! B8 K! g5 u1 R6 j0 l* z: yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from# X B# v [8 {* Z
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, ?9 }+ Q7 S4 w6 {, j
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
# |4 q, v' ?2 [# Q" r4 L' [the school system last year.4 n, X( m# n @" v) Q% n
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this: x8 ~' l0 a' v
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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! Z6 k. t! }3 |! ~$ U5 h z9 i0 I"They have a great international experience right in their own' X( z- z2 k8 x8 S8 B
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 d5 B$ l) n) z% ^- \; ^ N" H: `Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to% }1 T# Y c$ {/ A& m
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 L8 i+ a l4 [/ Y
on an equal playing field."$ f* c! d/ s; }( |9 X# T
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 S( b( Q/ i8 }. ^" m4 w7 Nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
8 B* ~* [" ?1 }( ` S/ X- i) IService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
3 L- I; l5 p$ u6 @, B- G+ EChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An8 a1 p4 u+ H7 V' ^0 f. F' T
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ O- U) C( I" N/ O" C1 m
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the) u7 Z# J0 T* j s* ~/ {
institute says.$ \; N8 p8 Z: \, ~
$ c" R( G5 I: R$ e* X$ ]9 B" @Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
: k4 F* {: a7 R N* ?) }6 x4 K# Agrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 S" p1 y, N/ t/ m5 P! w" Ddeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ U7 n3 m/ \3 ~4 x: |+ x. v
told her daughter., b% Y* g1 t" b' w/ y. u
3 f' b4 Q9 S1 ?0 Q' y6 e6 ISahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite2 A2 x7 R- |8 [6 [, E8 m& s
class.5 N0 O# f+ V; ?. L
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 j8 q" {, b3 ?2 n `: D/ ?studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 c. R2 K2 } J- t% z. |1 F
occasional frustration.
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7 y. w, {9 C& _1 b) L"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
- _* O7 |0 O" Z' b/ @recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.& F- C+ i; D" A4 X
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
9 f$ b4 q1 ]$ j9 U* m9 }: R7 Dtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
9 E; k8 n- f5 O8 eChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- `) K& V, N6 T% h* I
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ \7 R: v: Z) } Asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn! `2 z0 c* t! ~$ _4 X; ?
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the" b' L+ Q# @7 ]# N8 Y3 A9 {
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
! q! H- P+ e( G/ ~7 ~# A mmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, f# e G/ u8 w. U8 {$ qthat," Ms. Freire said.) l$ P7 L; B4 W- i3 J6 d- C! E4 e
+ x, H4 n( B. G$ ~Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program1 c& B2 t a2 ?6 J+ y, g+ _' K
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
& e6 w, b3 \& Q; t% Pschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
6 L" p( a% f- z' V% ^! Atime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
) {7 X4 w0 w u- Iroom.
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/ \$ X7 I1 e- i1 S: j5 M7 IChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer; A8 h0 P# ^( N' }+ k6 s$ N& d
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ t' \8 M9 t# P& n' \: T( s, I" z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.8 q! f" o4 }$ a: H. l
- g' v* a T; c2 y- h2 u% \"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ Z q% f* e" `7 m0 l
because of that missing certification," he said.1 x3 O# h) |$ a
# Q D/ h0 i' o& oThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
7 n/ W) E9 N0 Q& bsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia- z5 o; [, L z! Q
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
: ]1 a) \: E/ D. L- W W/ X! xChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from$ s0 k8 V+ O9 _! H
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 G, k9 M/ |* N8 ~5 H
own.", q5 |# J# t V' A' `+ s9 M
7 X2 {. W3 g. a3 b5 zCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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