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October 15, 2005
" b) ?0 @7 t' S( z/ m& ?Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ h, Z4 O, K \: N. Z3 V. r8 d
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
" D# e/ l: }0 M9 C: C/ TUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
% W+ t/ a3 u# e/ kSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas" K" U c( _# x+ S* C, H$ e7 J9 ]
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
; g" ?. n) i4 c# mflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
$ E: e2 H' q/ Z4 A7 T9 xanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
$ Y6 Z/ M+ A9 e3 [3 p# kpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& b6 f8 D0 K( ~( N4 w4 L: C" g V
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# F& B8 B& o: \5 [
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal8 ~% n: U7 R! M/ v+ f4 _. ]3 E
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# C; v: E/ d+ P) X. q& }offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". n/ F/ I5 b, `1 i# V0 _3 Y+ Y
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
! W( F q+ I% U6 A1 H$ x( vschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 J! v! I" Q1 A2 S. E- ]2 {# D
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
+ E- R' n; D4 { N: @* A- x, Done of its most difficult to learn.
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1 |! A% w( `4 A1 S' E( xLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to8 l; ~/ y/ X0 c0 @
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
! m, L, k. l) b# Dstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 |9 m c7 c7 c1 l1 ?
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ {9 w; ~! }+ S7 y& b0 |6 I& G& |
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
E* w4 O x8 v- u4 dChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" o( B7 K- b* x. L/ V
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ t* h' K! ^4 U" ]4 R6 v; ^
: a: ^, P- @/ [ ]. h2 g3 fAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ N8 ?4 P1 {3 O7 b. t x; f# r+ jChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
1 [. ?! L7 m. Y( k8 z6 `1 _starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& c, g. v$ j J. D6 w. y3 B/ d5 ~develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing0 j9 p5 I4 b5 @/ v( D
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director. @! S0 J% Q0 |. j6 S: v# \
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 y1 |, S5 C4 c
3 a+ V0 {% w/ b2 w0 a T6 w9 V9 y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of* Q; P( k- S8 s7 x) K
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% }; M" ]9 ~3 o% o3 _$ j1 EConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ Z7 r0 e4 Z' E! _4 h6 L6 @can." & _% e3 Y+ }8 l
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
# t( e9 r8 o7 a: l0 `5 nelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
4 V. X& S( A3 Wyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language G( K0 o: E! d9 w" e# f
Institute in Washington.
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4 y' }! @7 i- H" d' ~9 U7 I"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& V0 W6 u4 m3 R3 B/ Laren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.* J( Q% q0 e; H) j: G5 ]! p5 z
McGinnis said.
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, C7 Z! I2 X" k: C"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
" c/ _9 p2 ]) k2 \ f3 G0 _longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be. R$ j% R" H+ h( z: V& _
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# Y# Y6 y! N6 y5 h
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."% U# u3 Y- |3 E7 z0 g% M. R# J
: Q# d$ Z7 D# O8 x9 Y& C; C! M- j: BUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and* Q- _* t/ H/ S' }0 _) r( X- m( f
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% ~$ h2 _; ~6 ]( rcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ F8 i p: l! \1 h7 Z0 m3 e
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or$ s; m' G" `. A3 e/ z& V) W
on weekends.
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/ q1 q4 g' G# J& _, J m8 b& V: _The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
) G2 v( U( x1 I4 T( p; Q2 Oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves* n$ p- {1 j! D; ?; \7 I1 f
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, J9 Q2 e) N4 x6 Xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the9 I* H/ u; M. `$ ]; g
competition. ; C' b, x: V+ }6 X1 M: H: b# r5 _
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
+ l3 t$ Q: Q) _; E4 h- v' Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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5 A- V# L/ T# `6 n1 tFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" J, J$ Z( t9 N! ]% J3 h, {: z
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse! `7 f/ h' k, D1 P2 M& q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 v" b/ K, B* u) A- v1 p
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
; P/ W0 S" m5 ^( rwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
% ]" `* l8 n/ Z' b# Cthe school system last year.
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U+ z, @( H- S& s, J6 yThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
5 f' p, A' U% R2 ], P/ C9 Hyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 m$ o, ~, }# l2 P9 W
. l# W; v% F; r( Z. H"They have a great international experience right in their own
" b8 u) [3 D: d: ^0 l7 b1 C: O" hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 K( b v# m# S/ d1 C
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 w7 w/ d$ {2 _4 y) Q' A% {help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 G" @( Q m* i, b: i! |7 kon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 W. c; {; l+ ~( z0 Mclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, q" r' z, g% d* @0 c9 aService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
) Q2 `/ d# ^* c) E$ C7 I' H. i5 T1 V/ TChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" T* N* U4 i" D5 _; L$ V
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. m/ Q4 }% z) o! u
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the" _9 \8 E$ V( {
institute says.: p7 o" W4 a. K0 h
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 G/ G1 R& e& y; ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) g- E" O! r* |' Z. I9 t" a
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ Y8 H, x; |3 i5 H$ w3 ?5 T! @
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
$ d: H& ^3 k1 n; fclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are" R/ D- a1 P7 b
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without4 }" ]! N7 W! L' B& t9 T+ R
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 ]5 B+ P0 W8 p2 i3 U: Grecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.' d5 m. V+ N2 U- K% G" E) u
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- f" Z- P; ^. ]) M6 ^: N" vtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with" v) k4 t: l. s7 h
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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& I' Y3 c4 U$ m8 P2 D"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul8 O- U% y2 g6 K+ }# s9 T
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, {- p: }0 r* T: H1 Z- ias many languages as I can."* F/ C8 R* I! F O& g* \& t" l
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 ^" x% w; }: t9 g5 k+ ~$ eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job K: ^. q. L& C$ H8 y
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like1 s/ @4 w) x5 c' p( E: F
that," Ms. Freire said.( w7 m" X/ b+ k3 o# X6 k1 J" }
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
+ y: ]7 s: F/ Y8 ]here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
4 J0 D3 _8 c8 v0 B; n9 Bschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 T: k4 H& {! i; y2 vtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
, @% o' N9 {1 R5 j5 qroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 r8 B' I4 [2 c: c: a& o1 n* N5 c' OChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American# s& V& o6 R& u+ O( p( D/ T
college, 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
9 ~1 A8 T; p, ?because of that missing certification," he said.
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7 j% [0 M8 O% Y' ]4 GThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
" b* c0 t- U* ~! l+ D1 ]& r4 _said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
6 a5 ]! |' V. e4 C) E8 w eSociety in New York.& a! Y# v o/ R: F N# X) c; P9 Q
3 S) `" K) T+ ?# ]( h6 X/ aSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# {) X1 h' w& Q9 M
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
+ ]) m4 ]6 `8 w" u$ _& j& X8 ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.% X: s: n: \2 v! ?- h2 f
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 }9 J( o* }# j9 n; g& Q+ _
own."
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$ N( H7 ^, \& e) t5 j5 YCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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