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October 15, 2005
: k* i( W3 r, ]: H5 `Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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. h/ p4 o3 t" @& P% ^9 qBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING6 A4 T2 X' s/ U
- q) q" O; q) S. R. s/ T! ~CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, E% D4 d+ x C
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
+ W- F1 {% j C5 `School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 Z5 K. j" u+ T' L
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! u0 o) y8 B3 e2 j' L4 E9 v
flag hang from the wall. S4 W# U0 e& m/ H
1 K0 S( H; G+ X1 c( @8 dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one; k# w" S0 r) Y) p3 ]
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders( G/ f" b" @5 b* m U# j
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; _3 r" u7 ~0 Oboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
# K; [( m( n+ C7 ^( xare already choosing it over Spanish.+ M( z- ~- v5 T) u; b# m0 `$ O
# O2 Q7 J( g& J8 J! H; a l"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" n" q2 \9 h6 p9 q6 ~9 U
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 e3 m4 E0 a; H+ V- Aoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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6 q+ s! m8 ]2 m/ S+ g) v5 K, xWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. Z1 K O% w1 G0 B1 zschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings s( a+ D' p3 u7 m) n
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
! f- [ i. x# _( z6 D: A( qone of its most difficult to learn.
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" u) w9 I' y+ c/ U/ jLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
( Y" j: u# V1 _public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, c8 a! ^& R. {! P6 ^studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I., a( B2 V9 }$ N0 [9 b
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of: F) w# e; Y" ^# F* W
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on4 i; e; G6 r% ]$ ^3 ^
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to+ Z4 `/ p9 ?6 \' F5 Y i2 ^
improve 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 Placement9 n/ u! B$ l1 T4 e' \" l. {. t
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country8 h/ j; ~+ m1 y* [
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to- p/ V, s* e5 W( J* v0 W& i0 y
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing0 F h8 m0 W" Z5 J
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& T8 v4 D! w: q% A1 z: G* dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of/ D. S1 B7 T3 W6 H' V+ ?" K
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
) ~2 C" w g7 F3 Q) v) xConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
7 n& H* }2 ~' U; _2 f! R) `4 B: }can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from8 k5 I; i2 l+ }
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10# r0 A4 K! O) ~& ]" x
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language( \! c) ~1 q5 S) b: e2 ^" \
Institute in Washington.
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0 M$ g( k' P0 g! B. K* \"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 }& p' F% F0 d6 u5 q
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 B! L. {8 n) S
McGinnis said.
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% _3 {9 o' L% ~: t"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical3 R9 X6 i8 W" A3 m5 O" p
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( @# d9 B1 @& d) P
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a8 H0 E, ?$ q3 ?
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."+ U, p. ?: ]& c( o& C3 s) P$ u
8 j- P% Z& G# c) B [0 x9 yUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and1 h4 b+ ?* K2 S, v# h$ E
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
3 ^3 r7 R# r1 y- r* t/ Icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 C4 n$ Q4 Y6 T# `, b$ p
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
P: g8 [; m! Don weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( H/ W* [9 l6 A, l
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
. m# F) Q$ S9 ~0 d9 j+ Q6 `" C- U& Hstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said1 k' |4 A& K# h! C; d0 T& C
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the! R2 o/ w' t o2 @3 i3 Y2 d0 W7 `
competition. ) e. @! s" {! ?( c: {6 r$ L
7 q& m# m, ]7 k8 E"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 Q) V6 p( \$ x' k X% Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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9 T6 ~+ A7 K# ~* b- c# b6 X8 WFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
% `% |1 M! F9 Y6 Kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- W9 J/ p- e' pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from+ W" M# w/ t3 }& @& M3 [1 v5 W
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 @0 { K, E- h/ W, K, h G
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to5 k$ T4 _% A$ \5 H: H
the school system last year.
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: p! [5 N' h4 qThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. X4 W8 g4 N7 g; \7 n2 y, i% }# w$ zyear 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 own4 V: ]8 b {9 ]8 g) {4 ^
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 a- R$ z/ x/ ~9 |, a, b t# g
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 g1 @/ Z( E' h6 n* L( P% B
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
. c- ?: j" B% K9 \on an equal playing field."# b! ]7 Q: z+ D5 V1 E
- i2 r% ?" W# g1 f4 b! X" YSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese9 a$ p& e' V8 q. v! l' _$ Y
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign7 h A4 x7 L7 ?0 O! E: N& h& e+ j" N
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 m/ I. p+ J! C6 ^% F7 c; s& fChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
t% V% q3 `$ ?( M9 aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
0 ?7 Y# f, b5 UChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
% _7 h% d: U/ zinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: I; J- P+ B6 p c
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
g* T! F2 {7 W! k4 p0 Cdeciding whether to take the class.
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1 Y) v. w/ X6 ~! O! p' p"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she9 G, e. [4 _4 f7 J6 C
told her daughter.
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- ?! l8 J6 h- d# C" C9 USahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite3 f1 c( J5 x6 |8 Q/ h
class.2 n% o" U8 g$ Z
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
3 ]# C9 C# f3 T* b6 v: _" c, h1 {* Hstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: A t, g, Z5 f
occasional frustration.& p8 f# B5 c W+ a( y
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a& y T. Z7 d" v3 c, U$ q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 S- t7 _; s8 w
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' N. }# I7 r( ^8 n) A/ j
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& `. H6 |# K. B3 y8 yChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: c; k2 X; O2 h% N0 G8 ?
% W* A$ o, C, u+ J) [& b"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
+ k5 g( r; U6 B X3 X1 Z4 \; Asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
\! g/ x+ F# has many languages as I can."" I5 V9 r& b1 ? B* S2 I4 D
: m( d3 a( T. B! `3 f* t7 n) ?Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the$ Q( J) ]0 k4 O4 K$ y
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& l: I2 w2 Q. P" b+ o8 E
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ B1 r! {' B6 _. M/ R" o$ |
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( T; F! f: H( H1 }here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
5 l" D. h) b5 E: o! U# s; p( oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
$ ?/ Y& Q2 E1 F' atime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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2 i1 R' ~# U- t) f& I. A7 uChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
* u/ O% J* C$ }. B* @: uChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
3 F5 X3 j1 G: Q* |5 Tcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 ]- B' i# }$ g
6 n# e+ I& `( b ?) d: A"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 \- s! ] U! R" T9 G; w, X
because of that missing certification," he said.9 A; }* u p; ?: W6 i( `
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,& K& p0 M# M% u, N: z
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) d, A* N6 n0 @1 V; A2 f3 eSociety in New York.
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+ L0 l; {0 r0 `3 @Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- I% Z0 i4 @" h# U" N9 d7 n
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, O, ], p" Q3 `& h! ?
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.1 }' N/ a" {$ |5 z* M: K. M
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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) F2 N/ M+ a6 m, L5 {8 m& SCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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