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October 15, 2005
3 T$ H5 q# R& sClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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4 N5 v( ^2 N8 O2 f+ B& j+ pBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the/ T3 Q4 B' ?. j* }
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ s& Z) B0 R0 q6 }! y0 e
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ x6 U% f8 Q" O& `# E: I
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
h6 @. p B: \% }2 i }5 L, `+ |! Cflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 H3 ?$ ~" r4 _6 d
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
5 {0 A! v/ N( k1 e0 L/ Apracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% E2 L3 p4 t- `
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students0 {) `7 R3 F# b& u$ z- j
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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; p; c; E' j0 a6 i4 j"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
3 k% G6 H, t# a; | t2 _& sat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 c* c; W3 ~; Q+ ~
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: R* X2 q# C" b n+ P1 u* }
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings: \; Y4 p, N u4 D2 r) r2 o1 G
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
6 J# h8 C( Q1 r6 ?one of its most difficult to learn.' Q3 ~5 r! x; |4 Q+ t. M
& w; x( D5 p! x3 Z0 A4 ?Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- }" @7 M9 C/ J4 ]" D0 G
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
9 V# F: F/ M) t( @* jstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
8 C4 o1 n$ w* T3 Q1 B0 OLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of J* J4 H9 p9 B0 m- _0 M0 v
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& A/ Y" A( e* N5 Z. R
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
7 l: Y6 L5 y8 ~+ k5 timprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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; n0 h5 C4 w+ c3 V+ PAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ t/ _1 X+ K* S7 \$ F9 d
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! N% E/ `, h6 a9 k8 D3 Fstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
* H9 C0 r5 J( f+ b" f2 v8 T) k$ Udevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing2 u- q9 t- k ~8 ^6 H: |
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director2 B, o6 s `9 t! ?4 Q
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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# b8 p% E$ k2 w4 g; r# B n"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
5 l8 w; A: V5 Xspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! V) J! y, Q4 C" }' ^4 N
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! P- ~- _% P9 y9 S/ u' O) E7 @- P
can." % z5 G: f4 ^& c$ t ~
7 U+ Q! z! \4 |6 v$ f/ aThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 k1 [5 G+ m9 y* N$ [6 I% kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 Q" i5 T" w& M% ]2 P
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language+ s) Y( F6 t+ V8 ]+ \
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
5 Z3 k+ j) {5 V: U* u% Maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: s1 Y' w" u/ P* X6 F5 H
McGinnis said.% E3 R9 d" v2 B8 e O9 H# a$ x/ d: A
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical0 H; B5 f0 h5 e4 ?+ S3 Q6 X; r
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 A5 z, S0 O# t$ `
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: g/ \/ Q* Z$ e5 h8 |6 j' N
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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) ~5 N( x* d; t: E }, H; K. WUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
, y9 [* D! Y! N+ g* gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 d5 h) g k4 u6 T5 h3 W# s
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% ^) x8 v% |( D6 H0 W
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
' G) A/ R# N! ^, x0 K$ W0 ~) w8 ion weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public- x W( m/ e( ]% i0 o
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves, Q- a: _4 f4 m
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said. u+ u; u* f! x& ^ ^' v7 V6 V/ X6 d
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ W5 z3 {7 ?. o8 p& Ccompetition.
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' R5 c4 N0 Q5 P- P"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; _: B Q/ P" p2 ]4 U% l8 o3 @7 u0 Gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."; H+ q( T6 K O. ?7 P8 }
, F3 W# b, C2 C3 \From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly+ H5 F% C& r" f
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
# K8 C0 q$ z& i$ n) R8 i7 o6 Lschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( c0 {: C( f7 o/ Z0 I# L& o
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 Z" m, t* J. X
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 ?0 I# Q/ h8 I" I4 c" N- xthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this. P, ~6 P0 ]9 c+ Y5 i( }9 U
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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* B8 p& q/ b! [0 s0 H/ r"They have a great international experience right in their own0 b# g M- a6 J, g( o
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago& _6 M8 x0 d7 `: Q- K6 d+ a
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
- M! L5 w$ o5 T; w4 f9 `$ Mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 {/ D5 B7 t+ s$ y a& ^
on an equal playing field."( B2 O: f5 P; @+ [/ a- E
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
2 u% s& ]0 V& X6 ^2 qclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign! L# a, g2 y @3 W! x+ G
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
5 p a& D/ B* Q1 ^4 jChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
0 o% O! j3 b& Z5 Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 u& w0 ^$ D S1 c4 T' @6 @2 o0 f: KChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. H$ G i. d( S- H6 A3 D: s2 sinstitute says.3 p. \% m: [& ^: n& `9 {6 D
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% r) ~( w2 w% c+ S I% Z& j$ t
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
+ C" ~6 Q" v* m T2 D! |deciding whether to take the class.
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- M6 O. m9 b+ m K"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
( q. R' W* d- ^: R, Otold her daughter.
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' H4 Y/ b" c, z, s0 Q9 o1 T- `Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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4 S" f% A' h! W9 EAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are/ M+ p* o! l8 q4 d% e
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: ~. j" a- L4 a
occasional frustration.) Z5 x) b D- _0 h$ P
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
3 i# e& x2 \# Q6 s' @6 Srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( K5 Z' E' v3 H, }0 I2 n. ?1 K
; Q; }" ]3 R8 y! l- o9 kRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he0 o" @" O* w; e% I+ H; C/ l
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 q! M! _7 Q3 p2 J. m/ `Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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7 W* g5 m! E9 Q* ]+ d* N6 w"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
, {6 P1 T$ e( Y9 t2 m. Msaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 ^3 H G- \9 H L/ T" ?8 j+ kas many languages as I can."
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6 C( j! ^+ {8 N/ A2 \Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the. L7 G. V; x- u( L5 T# V! [3 e
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
0 u2 J! Z: g. M1 z7 G. ^# X2 e. gmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 a4 L! l5 R0 k# Q4 C2 ithat," Ms. Freire said.8 S) j- B* N+ d }
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program" T2 p7 s3 S$ ]$ @3 m- G2 F$ [# _
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each% N7 C5 P, i9 S1 n4 \! x7 m$ E
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 t$ E; O% @+ ]0 @8 Ntime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
3 `" X# p2 Y8 sroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" j, x; |2 c a$ W0 I# h
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American3 Z3 q& Z; c( J5 h0 m4 X3 L% V
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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' _4 Y" P* \! L( B"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% M c" L% J" ~1 Q. Q& r& y7 u: }1 t5 {
because of that missing certification," he said., l* r, {7 p1 |; N
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* N6 Q: ^! U! q/ R5 n3 j4 e) Psaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia: ? t4 t5 l, m2 q
Society in New York.
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4 B5 B3 |& H$ W* S& _# pSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the8 |5 }, S b7 |5 n
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
6 l; H: G0 b5 _) ethe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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6 _8 X+ j+ H* H5 E) s"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" m/ d0 l1 o3 w3 d
own."6 T4 w* b3 {4 S
& m% B2 z; o; G8 uCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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