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October 15, 2005
" f: l1 V: Q' I, L! G) oClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
, h8 z4 I. K' B8 FUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary R {3 [/ `, q1 Q2 g" c4 c
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas2 i; @, A6 h* f/ m
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
, R: D4 w9 B! G2 p0 D# w9 Uflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one0 N4 U2 |* ^5 C! t) v
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders( _% | x3 {8 U8 x9 {0 c
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 E J% W% t: d) j6 `& nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
0 m& `( h w0 V. F2 \are already choosing it over Spanish.
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! {" j( w9 d$ ~# ?) {( s! K"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 k1 X+ v9 x8 R9 b$ Tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city; I+ J5 _5 H. E- @0 ^' C& ]" b1 K
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* F m- i9 v; z; n
0 [4 c; K' W# |" \: J! Z Q( GWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
# ~8 h6 U `: P Q+ _7 Tschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
$ a1 y( B# o9 u" [6 _' E5 ato include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" ?" Z) ]8 O- B" ^% b' S0 W$ w
one of its most difficult to learn.( P. o7 M: g7 O+ Y
( f+ l3 \: Z% O, |8 ?+ O6 bLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 p9 E: Z* U; O% c' w) Z5 y0 u3 g3 o
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
9 }' u$ `$ g# B" N0 D+ a# zstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
' H, N* m8 n& E7 P# wLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of, s9 F! `- X4 G7 L$ c/ k
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& y$ g1 f( C* _; y/ V1 Y
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to: V: K$ g- y$ @
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 Placement
% |, d, y7 D8 ^Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country* g( z+ d$ L+ S6 a7 ?" k+ X
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) \0 f6 u7 Y( l, D* V' Q T8 `
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" c5 N9 t, o0 c2 J W: o3 @' zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 n$ U9 n+ P% ]2 m9 C* ?9 T4 ~0 Zof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.( |1 D; d* w- n, u K/ O+ x7 \
2 ?5 ?3 g5 ^/ Y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' Z' Y1 l$ b& f1 e3 F# J
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! P4 v2 o! b- ]) X' h
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
# _& d: t2 i! A1 m9 r! H; bcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
5 M# K. M: d0 d$ gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
6 h" ^5 T6 N; h. ?6 K# Kyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 }; O* f+ Y# R/ ^& A$ `Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 N* B2 c; C7 N; R
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ o) j2 X# Y1 u! fMcGinnis said.
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+ A2 k) [2 p [4 w% k, A" w"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
1 d, R# n& Q! \/ S+ A+ @longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" e* w- O5 @+ Q
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. \# q% B2 n4 ~+ I# c: u
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( u; j2 O& d5 f. P
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
U7 ?9 t& d) Usecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in9 p8 @$ \. f. B5 J- X- ?) u
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of+ V3 r5 l0 \% G# W3 h) a# J
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or7 I2 i0 S3 P* J! [& m! L
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public3 X3 F6 j2 r; \6 R0 f
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 q$ V& ?; B* n4 o! gstudents who are not of Chinese descent.) P2 W& w) f4 b! R7 n3 P3 ~
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said, r( l y4 h1 h
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
# ~7 i; j0 U2 I: |competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley2 v5 y' `; x/ y
said. "There will be Chinese and English."1 m& u2 c( X ?# b
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
; z4 h4 M* b4 `. R) n3 ^. m( t6 [all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
0 h( m' k6 b5 Bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ U( H4 c! ]" q( g* nkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 q d- C( V1 w, w8 |
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 V9 A5 [6 W! ^* T7 a% n+ C/ h
the school system last year.- X3 \3 V, G, D9 C- t1 ]6 H/ g( W
6 Y6 @: l6 n- B$ ~) g7 PThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this X. g4 w9 A% j- m
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." e8 r, F k/ l8 @
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
$ h3 p& d) q, K4 mclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 P4 C& q: n0 d. O( ZChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 a' o1 h1 R3 Z6 Q: A, u
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet% L1 e- `% E! E3 b a0 c8 U
on an equal playing field."& H7 C* X. |3 b; a- Z$ D. Q
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
3 e( S) x) K- U8 a8 uclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 Q9 e; t$ N# P: T7 m9 t, {
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; I& i3 `) g% }9 a
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 m! N A7 J/ E5 X! r4 K; Kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
. P. A4 j7 q% yChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
$ w9 m# n, M% ?0 S6 \: einstitute says.% K* [$ r* c8 E
! M- l9 D6 u y) ~: T3 p" T/ C* LSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
& R# E3 J: E' g8 s+ |' T0 ~1 E& Zgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, x1 d7 i! X: R9 b6 m6 j7 s
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she6 q* e6 v' J" L. z: R$ z5 r
told her daughter.' d) h# N9 U( j; A3 `
; g& N* H! k: d0 K( l2 LSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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; v: z1 ?% `, c, AAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 u2 R4 j( \- k% g1 @0 U$ F0 gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 }0 O6 K3 {7 O' [& |occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
1 X8 a% \" r9 vrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 i3 u7 g% o# Q9 |4 b
: Z4 J r( N( Q" |Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 j7 q2 U s( ]/ v5 w, J1 J1 ]. s1 M
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( @* ~! b$ O4 f+ `6 ]- S' K. X
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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# Y6 z, b' C- R# P5 m0 Z/ n"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
& X" T7 T7 X1 t2 G [$ Rsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn% N+ u: w, Y9 X6 V! j4 ?' I& I
as many languages as I can."6 }# G- Y. \8 X9 V1 r1 p
0 G3 N# U/ O8 b" N2 c9 \) ? FAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: P2 {" A _0 B( qskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
' S7 y0 @& H+ M8 Xmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 b& L2 _9 X+ Z, w: fthat," Ms. Freire said.
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# e% `6 a$ M0 `# a- AMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 E( g5 _$ u% B9 Qhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each( D1 h/ ?! s4 W5 i9 N0 |9 J; k
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- G8 a. M" u7 ?2 I" C! l
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer d& `* h, E; w7 K) P) S
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* l! @! p2 L7 K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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! S" s0 ~9 w& J( e' Z/ s"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 I7 o( e ?$ C' k r4 H0 ]3 m; f+ vbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ w8 Y) @* U5 V! C0 Y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ U& k2 \6 \$ `# \Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
) `9 V' X+ |& eChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 x0 Q1 W) m/ U( ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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6 e0 ?$ |7 v0 p- n$ V3 n, h6 W"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
7 i" x+ j; d0 J @. @ O6 q( down."
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@6 _" o9 s3 wCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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