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October 15, 2005; J: K' R: n' A
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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0 J9 _. T7 h( y5 sBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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. C+ l% u( H1 G; C3 j( JCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
0 R7 o6 M/ {+ p1 E D! C# w! X, EUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
! e! q# ]9 K8 a( Z ]+ ?, O9 D# `+ dSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 a6 i6 b( F' j3 Y/ l' L3 }
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& x3 h3 P4 Z. r, a
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
+ K& H! ]7 y$ A" ~/ ^another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' w. d' X0 N9 z8 `practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- c% ~8 E- T/ G0 ^
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students! g2 \1 _* e1 [1 k `0 Q
are already choosing it over Spanish.4 p& a8 y+ s# D3 O+ e
+ F" D) o v2 x( C' T7 a"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
& [$ @$ ]# w9 A: vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
O! x" B. m& r2 [- z7 V1 ~0 doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( g# \+ A. |5 j+ _8 ?schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
( A5 V' A7 m8 tto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 b. v- O% h8 k G5 m. @one of its most difficult to learn.
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: k3 q- c; P" KLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ s6 ?% F" x8 n
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
~/ f, Z# P& vstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# }: A: L& l, LLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
2 N8 |' n! h$ t" I GTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& m7 U8 T& ]4 h7 g! b# u8 b
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% Q s! o6 M- b' J0 Q1 ~4 bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.0 P: d/ i4 N2 U7 g/ q3 R, j
( q8 a1 T; e7 }& CAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement, i! f# X4 `2 b& `4 h; i, B
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, F, T# N5 n2 l/ o( d( x4 q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
+ _/ x% I1 t: a2 ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing- B& y# g3 Y# g; D
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
) \$ ]& g. D+ Q& B9 X! `# [of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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' R" r a# n! Y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of% n0 P! ]' W9 m: Q( \: m" _
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& p& j: ]0 P: M" z+ r: V' ]
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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4 v) u% ^. B8 I- X! hThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from/ c- B# c) ~6 b, P) O( u& |
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 102 z: E: _8 b+ T) v3 k( Q. `
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language- R4 z: T5 ]% n' H$ W- |
Institute in Washington.
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, s; v, J( K& M+ C- `"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
9 X4 @ M% x5 u. j* U* Aaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 |/ C3 ^* Z8 X8 n9 D; X) J
McGinnis said.
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4 n' s; n% O" i; f1 X2 E8 i" l. H"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# S( b7 u6 l4 \ W3 n2 E9 n+ n
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 S7 N6 q3 z6 H4 M. l% \* W9 b- `ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a3 d9 H5 P/ X7 x5 p& b
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". K$ |5 d5 d/ H& @. c9 `, B- C* }
& q% I# c5 ? QUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 q% t5 l' n1 \7 i( P. c" N
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in2 i5 }% n. N' {$ K" ?
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# C& \0 z, D* ~6 C7 S8 Z# ~6 \Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 {: B# B/ x& h5 H$ Xon weekends.5 W1 r* @, [8 k: j
* U3 @" o# k4 d+ `) `3 m; tThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
, ~; {/ p0 O/ U6 Qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves$ w! F/ r1 A6 j* G7 k4 }2 q
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said% y$ R$ h- Y! J/ |. a7 I
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the9 E3 }% ^% X7 d9 x" o
competition. 9 Z8 H; y; m% Q7 k- X
! P, z8 P7 }/ N* _" W4 k"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ g, W- y+ L8 r! {3 [said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly2 ~$ F) d* l% o9 m. _9 p( c
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
, M+ V% j; a% {/ \schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from8 m" ~9 T6 E4 _1 {
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
1 b1 @, a5 z8 W! T! a- x1 r5 ~who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 ~. L* o! r* w2 d3 }the school system last year.
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( n6 T% F' J( @3 `4 JThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 T, S, O3 t0 K( F5 I/ q8 T
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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+ g G8 N, E) b) m6 N4 m"They have a great international experience right in their own
$ W) q/ R \7 A+ @classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
7 u* a! m( o0 S7 j& Y# W3 h: PChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
B- X; b. ?6 f' y9 s5 Ohelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- S5 q! j- L5 e$ Z2 Y( P0 H
on an equal playing field."
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! E6 H$ U2 N7 }Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
) n$ b, Z* ~# W8 uclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 A w% Q. B- u/ t4 e8 u# b, NService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- S/ O% l1 X0 m- _4 n% a
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& v& L- u) m" I4 w L6 zaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 Q7 M1 k& L& a, ], ^
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
?7 S; m& G. p+ A( {- S0 _# e1 h/ r9 G: Sinstitute says./ h6 D1 w0 m+ m3 ]. d/ Y
3 _0 s1 p; h+ U B' xSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ U3 Q4 I7 `* }- Dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
8 |0 p% p; K; Y7 qdeciding whether to take the class.' _+ a* X( J) v; v# K/ b( i
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. w7 E; n* J5 J8 E1 Q0 ~told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
1 q# d- w' q4 H. cclass.! _% R! k9 K: F+ k9 a F
7 U$ q3 r8 {0 M1 J" zAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 s( L3 a$ t4 X* I1 J! \1 x
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; f( @# ?2 U) Z* Uoccasional frustration.) B' c' {1 K/ }3 D' }( ~
% N9 t5 t" R; r) q ?2 z"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
0 r- d: i3 M9 G6 H2 G7 G5 Srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( A: l& t( g( C& ~
: A8 o; ?% o' T- i# tRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he! H7 Y$ r# x3 M1 Y* `$ L
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with, D% v0 C+ |1 U+ N; @
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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5 C% z: G/ l. l- B0 ? Y3 _"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul7 s- C8 E O5 u' r
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn l! W/ j) a% q8 Z& j
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
9 I$ {- U8 o$ V- I4 r' b( Cskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
2 c/ k4 \8 [0 k% tmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
& U Z7 ]0 J4 X0 n0 \$ y8 x6 Z2 qthat," Ms. Freire said.7 V8 p, O) H) A$ S9 Y! p
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
! p( s* O B$ h% G! j0 nhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 x$ ?2 K K* B: {8 @9 X/ Y
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking% A& w+ y+ T5 s* d4 }7 K$ \2 \
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make* P9 \$ k- f7 h& N$ A( L+ f
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
E# g1 P- \' q( d" p; }- tChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American6 L& T: N! W; X7 K! Z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 q" h# E$ q0 ^
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) N$ f- O! Q% w. n" E% N
because of that missing certification," he said.
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4 A2 I4 R; F5 e6 gThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
/ u& e2 ~) Z) q1 zsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 |0 L1 ]; F, A- ~9 i( F
Society in New York.: ?6 J0 e+ U( Z) U* L, m
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- x& v: \7 @# _6 u6 [5 f% V9 l
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# ~1 o4 r% |/ l* n1 ]" C
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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/ a- I8 S1 s& J) v"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our3 J- ^- i& f* Z8 i3 |3 U( R
own."
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1 O9 X5 n, m/ f1 y5 W QCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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