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October 15, 2005: f4 {0 u- P3 o4 W- q: |. _7 s0 [& |
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ l, x* G) R8 X- N* L6 L( A, Z
9 O, Y ]) @2 i: _By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
& f9 _; h- ]& G( D! z% ^United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 p2 W! ^- K( ?2 \4 \
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 ]/ ]0 |8 ]7 V5 k) s" X$ k1 p
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
h: u( s. }+ O: R/ J& i% K4 sflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( z* n- }, t8 o. i ~another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' u* I: F/ C1 Q, X
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! P' U& n; l. K# S) p; n
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( y7 d5 \3 t" L) W. r, P, Fare already choosing it over Spanish.7 W5 M" O( f6 `5 b& D( `1 S& H$ m
0 ?/ d" }5 M/ @% ~, ]"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 b( h$ e0 [! {5 w& Gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city' [6 E2 w9 ~0 J* {8 Z% N( Y
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."$ O# {& k, a) d, h: f
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ ~$ R' M- |+ C; c- ^ @- C
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) Y5 T2 C# A9 A& ]; |( Yto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. Z b9 D* H8 B: d
one of its most difficult to learn.
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0 T2 ^5 P; S# v9 l& k; pLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ n `* {( V* U5 ?
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% J3 U2 k* Q# ^+ h' t7 }studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) J" t; v2 y! K$ Z! }9 q; j- H
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ [& D, o Y1 U7 u/ R( I6 E
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" V3 R. G$ r! r- v) m( [9 b: W. }, ~2 zChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to, U' W2 U& v2 X& y/ u, W
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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! s; Y( C2 a& F5 F GAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement c) _& F4 ^7 z- l1 l8 m
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ J r$ F% ~( K4 ?
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
- r8 }* B# \$ Adevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing |$ h& R2 k2 h8 h# n, L2 Q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 h" ^- _* H/ d* p3 }# h+ I# x# `
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, g2 ^5 \6 {+ E$ R( x. K" _- ?9 E8 n
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& c6 y0 w9 E3 r* S2 F; m0 j
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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N1 r' l5 f) `; j3 z! AThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% k4 @4 x3 A) P& J. O1 V; Gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: Z @- ~- A/ z: E8 ^years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language6 {/ Y( C2 `2 _! T3 w! {& l
Institute in Washington.' h' [# _- b. ^6 V% ~( y
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
5 b. k6 P' _8 P+ {aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; e: m. f' p; M$ G& q9 o
McGinnis said.# V- I" h& p; H: E. `
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' e H6 b* ^- i7 Q7 a
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 G$ ^: P. Y8 M- @! r" cready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
4 \( y/ o$ l. u7 _) ^8 D1 Lchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.", P, L/ _, \0 B3 w7 @0 w- ^" J0 M7 T* U
. u4 k) I8 P, v: WUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ @+ g' o1 i/ M: O* n$ l- d
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ |! b0 [$ [" K$ L6 J
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( A" @6 n1 z8 J" P" @% C# Y: h, z1 ~
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 C2 U7 N, H$ O" }on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public z9 A' [$ L8 R5 Q5 j
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves! w5 S3 Y' S# s$ [% s
students who are not of Chinese descent.6 Y: ~' A0 \3 J/ N: R
( F. _' p; k4 T; cMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
. C+ m b2 T3 O: d' _- s7 Xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
/ y9 x$ @; u2 R mcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley) l2 a7 H$ \! |) P5 O
said. "There will be Chinese and English."/ E* M! Y$ E( x
) @( o& h( P+ MFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
+ j5 T r* H0 ~; S, D; wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse/ ]: u# N- d) `! l4 H
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from# K. f# X5 J- B; m
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
8 D, k1 Q5 J: Awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& t+ | t. U5 [+ J
the school system last year.( W: ^( T8 _5 z! H
. A- B. a# b8 {2 b: k1 T+ dThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this$ \, G! c+ X% y- S' y
year 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
, |9 V2 p: B' Q( B! `: G2 b8 x% Hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
; N" N& j) z& [+ S9 G6 e4 xChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) ^/ I5 }# p5 E: yhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet/ [+ Q5 S8 \$ u
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
3 W C+ B: h! O: Yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 E5 j( T3 P. G4 C3 Y/ E# w
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% F0 [! \( k1 RChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( }2 m/ M% Y. n( s8 D8 j1 @average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- C: z! \3 l/ c1 r- p3 n, rChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
3 G, v$ R, }8 z$ y+ Y* b- Iinstitute says.
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, f+ ^- D" U. i& ~4 n2 mSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
0 ?7 a. S1 Q3 y% ?% ~5 lgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, x- ]7 w2 w' b. v
deciding whether to take the class.0 @* M/ B, L/ e2 O7 D
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she0 |5 {7 m F7 o! t
told her daughter.9 _9 N: `% E: i- l! L0 ~; C, R1 ]
' {( {0 F6 A" A9 B( iSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite* R+ D- Z, s" }8 I
class.2 z/ j9 [7 {: m1 a
# [1 V8 p& Y" ` r% ^At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ U8 l0 U3 q% M0 p. z
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 c# w% }* y- P
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 d) m j' O; W3 t6 |# q4 Hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
9 E1 W% K; [. C; x4 Utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with0 l5 K7 W5 u _
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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( ?% f4 {. [& g- F7 J0 c$ g"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 T/ I7 n1 f; `& w4 @7 `& z8 O
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- u+ a; K8 E, q( p/ ?$ P- Gas many languages as I can."
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! Z1 e4 { H9 h1 F! mAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the6 B) c" ?1 W4 _: [3 w
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, o, q6 k- I! H' X0 A) h, W( ymarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ t/ Y8 Z1 E) G# Q7 ?
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program* I; L5 n% B& A: C p+ a& ~
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* c, ^; g& Z& U- b) X$ y
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 D/ _; Q) b6 Q7 y+ H; ktime from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 u/ J7 u" c6 h1 L+ q
room.
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! T% {8 d% y/ J: ^+ J$ jChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 L) o0 Q; ?+ _5 c
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
) e; t) h: p$ v- x I% U6 jcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; p5 V3 M4 S. A; } V
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' Q; p. }2 t* U. O% }9 t; a: ybecause of that missing certification," he said.- e3 j$ a( m$ P
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
1 R6 z8 }! k& W! Jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, S- v' ?4 k% v4 o
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 w4 A3 }4 G6 E7 ^- D6 _Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from$ {5 ?+ u* |$ O' k
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; K1 P/ `7 m F( V) F
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
5 U* v0 q! {" b) G, G! d' H3 [own."
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4 i4 O( O* u5 J3 [7 H7 ICopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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