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October 15, 2005
' m) I& {! z4 h3 \3 `$ IClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 A5 j8 K3 n9 u! \4 m. }
/ k: o: V8 u; ?9 w z0 aBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
4 Z3 B$ ?% ~8 r) CUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary r5 I3 Y c/ l
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
) ^ o% y0 V# D. g9 Y& jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 p7 y- n6 o: S9 D
flag hang from the wall.; q$ @) @) C) F# M+ g
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 }. ~# h9 g2 a( F5 Fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! }( W. @0 q; d5 O1 j$ N- spracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! c: {. N8 _. a- U# K, N
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 i8 V' p) K" ?7 b
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 D& F1 ]% s% Uat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city1 J7 _& U+ f0 u% U% y' F* N& N9 N2 W X, k
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ s1 `$ }7 `/ x* ~
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
, |+ m* M: B8 z; s4 Dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention' s0 U( o( h" f0 ]. Y
one of its most difficult to learn.( r, N! u% _& S" K: `- s
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to8 a1 t A# m# V. C
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 o& }7 f N( }, V2 [" vstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& K& m) u8 O4 @% |2 K4 MLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
4 O2 V2 |# {+ q& F; G7 ~8 _Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' j1 R5 m8 B4 qChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% c r' h4 C6 }% S3 _) Timprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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3 E* O% F! I t! l) uAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
( @( o, \) k( `' o- ~Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( g) i: L# M- z& x: }starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
$ H- Z! ?7 |$ o5 Xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing, r# F2 ]$ ^. H5 ^* i
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 x" S) K f( r8 k' H" a* Aof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.+ S8 n/ z2 K7 B& y' {5 j: j
" j+ ]! r0 Z, }"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; {: p5 G# a3 y8 Fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education3 M1 G3 @# J( W9 S8 E2 F W; a' ~
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
) |' D' N( O+ M& ^- W- ncan."
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% a5 p% {8 E4 i. @The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
2 i$ F+ C0 l6 K9 R" n& }9 felementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: N* |; K" I, h, Byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
y& N5 V, c8 i. TInstitute in Washington.
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0 F0 w. X) U) ?" ~; K0 B"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 O0 K* n: P& M
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( t, O0 v* _, E/ ^: f$ ^8 g
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 V$ ^( T( J5 T; xlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ r" ^/ }$ w7 n
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: p( \; ~$ [9 \ A' R3 tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 L7 \& U: T3 J! r/ ?9 O" e
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
7 b) `6 O$ R# r) Fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& D3 y. L1 n3 O, }- ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 ?/ y5 l" C+ N! |! B9 eChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or% p1 h% q- j+ ^, U. u
on weekends.
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1 K+ d5 |% s. Z3 F; W4 xThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
+ `5 S5 c) W& c5 Q* T$ a. S- H" {schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
6 F; D6 {' U1 e+ [* j& }students who are not of Chinese descent.6 U5 R; S4 J* `1 T
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; W% C, u& @8 ~! S Bproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
6 Q$ X* a( L) d. n7 E4 \0 B4 T% i. N+ Lcompetition. / L+ x. u6 ~: J: f2 t( T
: g; V( `& Y. }: {6 H"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
7 m% [4 f l2 C" Q6 w8 e9 q, [# Lsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."* j! T! E0 @' M( Y
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. M8 U6 i) H/ G6 a# {all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
# E( x( z' i6 l+ G% ^; q- nschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. f+ E$ N* _0 H# g6 i2 y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students. k% s* E" d F$ Q9 U& P
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, A* s5 o3 @! tthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this4 ?) X8 ~2 b4 \( b2 R
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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2 E, s2 J( P7 H" Y, T n: C"They have a great international experience right in their own! B* u2 x6 {( h5 C* }5 J2 O
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
! V( l% v& A e6 A$ V3 C7 d) rChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! n' t, R/ N8 B0 y$ j3 n/ z
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet$ B/ C. j1 R. h) a
on an equal playing field.") Z1 t/ n% ]6 s2 W+ M: S, k* t
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese6 [' v: w# z8 O; u" W
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
. M5 h; U0 k- IService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- D; S. ]7 Q) h& }+ `
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
: _$ u7 p: Y" yaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ x* n, S, N/ }% zChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
- M2 d" K8 z! u, ? m+ P- Q8 Sinstitute says.
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' b$ ]5 e( O/ uSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
- D# T) X8 B: o: h9 ^grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before+ r! @/ P* F' c2 z! T/ B
deciding whether to take the class.' B4 f4 ~1 q' q
* }* ?# [0 \' t* T"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
Q2 N( x+ p8 ~' f9 _6 mtold her daughter.
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6 @! y9 c( \; q9 BSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ C7 @$ f0 G* q3 p* }1 k5 [4 p* g
class." f8 z' t: A+ O, W% [5 z) V
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 Z6 j% V; }; y5 Jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without& x7 D& v6 h" t0 Y) U% `. y
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
: C6 j; t- ]# E* [recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
' r% P5 w/ h$ o) f% k8 etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with. b( |4 A3 c# x+ @0 z
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
& ]4 d- w1 W N! z6 l/ N5 v" L/ ~said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ d6 {, S% p% N% das many languages as I can."+ t$ \' O2 A+ C* j& [- w7 g, k
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 e0 w2 }% w1 t% E
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* l: l! R% W8 x8 [6 rmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: L4 `/ \* O1 M: A7 M7 a; x
that," Ms. Freire said.4 t. ]* N6 L! }1 \
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program8 K {; Q% k g
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
6 ]1 L2 z- E5 C1 @) N9 S, Yschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking# d6 W0 V# D4 r1 T5 Y e7 `6 E& v
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make P6 f1 b0 t" T" Z
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# [. T) N. o6 A! m! i/ b! tChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& W, m5 t0 t9 Q# n
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- a; u3 n2 B7 g7 O1 u2 w
- c, Q( s5 t" X7 U' u- m"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% h2 X/ h7 I# R5 q h+ H9 y. e1 {. |
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 X" j* i+ m5 l# q) @+ j, D/ k+ ?said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia6 k; w+ U0 ]0 G5 ]8 [% m
Society in New York. y* T7 m: a9 O, {* t( Y7 ]! y
9 y0 f+ `3 d d) kSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
( b9 L. \* h* ?& \. U) k3 ]Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) S7 a( r I4 R Q1 d: r$ P
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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?" c7 }5 M. z8 e: Q"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
, P. S2 B6 k( zown."
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* C2 A; H* z$ |" }( _ pCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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