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October 15, 2005
# T* n) } Q# E5 Y5 GClasses 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
0 p7 U6 J2 I% c& Y, HUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary2 u$ \# D, J+ }" N2 r! z
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% b5 b$ J9 ? n9 u! xdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese `/ ]( J9 p! T
flag hang from the wall.
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' Z( l( B. f3 [9 EOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
! u4 c% j: S! l/ ganother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
: n8 f3 H3 p9 \. i2 @2 [practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 T% k$ d7 p7 m$ n- Xboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
) z& D4 W2 v& {! Oare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 m' [! m* }! c5 b* V2 n! W, `at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 {$ u) y9 W3 d, Woffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 h" r) h% V, y: J4 o/ ~% F; h
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ H+ W9 N# o @2 V7 ]schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& Q$ b/ p# o3 k# @, x3 D( T. Xto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* \. f3 e& l* v" o9 A- Vone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to3 j; z* p; b( e, v% N
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. X8 D' }2 ?& istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& r$ I7 P: c6 e. p$ L2 ILieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
6 ]% P! D. b3 r2 F1 \. uTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
5 z& M I' _3 _" s1 s. wChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
a2 s: m4 R0 E/ n# fimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.5 q& I. X6 S( x. u
8 \; D% I4 D* ]After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
& s+ T: |3 X6 n& J( E# Y9 R4 oChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country! B* K, X4 h. m/ Y# h* f- @
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to5 k0 O/ W; }0 K( l7 j, \( X
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! k! `7 ?. {$ Y' w+ Mcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 B, l5 G7 ~2 R. n. J- A( Fof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
: {# w& i3 k) w: [7 B) n5 @ Espeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 |6 l7 }9 F! c" N" _
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we0 a' ^1 R! j; g4 S9 Q
can." 6 w' I9 J/ _' l1 P+ M4 l1 M
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
2 `# d$ [9 {, A7 {. R: I% }6 x$ A8 d3 felementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 107 i" F, g4 ?6 D5 d6 }
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language& e+ ?7 u( Q* d3 j6 j: C) u: j+ U/ C
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 }+ N1 `9 P# S: Y7 L9 e( garen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.$ Z/ s1 ? v3 }- q
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ k& `+ m, E+ Z9 `/ W
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% L% W6 l2 g2 {7 l- D; M7 wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a9 V% b# {( r: ^. C m# }
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."' G2 S4 R6 U) B: V. ?/ z
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 Y" {% F5 j/ k( q+ B
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in0 d7 f& w6 \$ Q! C
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 H5 v- `6 v* \( p0 j# YChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ ^( w! N& P8 ?# ] Won weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
5 h) e E' _( \7 s' s6 E5 @8 Rschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
+ ~4 t) I) K/ P: P* Jstudents who are not of Chinese descent.; |* O( w1 e% B9 Q" d6 ^+ x
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said) t/ q2 {$ v) U- E* _6 Z' x
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( q6 Z2 ^9 A- H$ S
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; e* N( l. K* |said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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% I) k( y7 G& E9 }+ t1 r1 IFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 h2 {3 E: C: @ p
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse2 n# ]7 o' J2 P! \* ^3 J
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from0 k/ S% t' _- H2 k6 H
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students' x! e5 i4 Y3 C H
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( }! U( H# w2 b0 L! j ?# `
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, _; Q' a7 S. O' n: v
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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) O/ Z7 x) a7 H" ]! s! ~ G# G"They have a great international experience right in their own
, l% Q# c, ^; ]4 Dclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
j$ s+ y2 h% |8 S z! PChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 _& _0 h; x& z4 _# M; Shelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
7 L* Q) I7 X6 P' u D. @: hon an equal playing field."8 i7 Z, X; T" j' G$ c% K; T
; r Y: v7 z, y( q6 X; f3 O/ T8 FSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese4 {5 j$ v, t+ U) R0 w
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 I3 l; F/ r V1 YService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
/ U" _5 `0 M! P# {& S8 h7 hChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An K% ]) [- Z2 J) V. M! H
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
; z+ m' ~; ~2 \0 E" nChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 f. u6 t# ]$ }: ~+ _4 e; x7 V
institute says.
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% v% ~/ ^+ n. f2 I6 T/ z6 h; A6 z1 USevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( O- I% o Q" X) ]" `0 }5 _grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: R/ A b' k7 M
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
f" E \/ G$ [# g8 btold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite$ ?1 X1 \( L6 C) j Q+ Q" P
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
4 z" l) X6 c6 sstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
) o8 z$ V5 E% Y) @. r2 h! S" Aoccasional frustration.3 a0 ~: I( [' A# `9 U3 p% a; R. R
+ _. Q, P8 C q( j6 H8 C; ~- \% d3 v"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ I& n1 p2 R) `9 K" K0 T( M0 f
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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+ s' S! Q8 X, b1 y7 [* S6 C- Q$ R7 wRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
w- a0 Z# x9 V% ~+ ptaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with" o: _; e' `3 G2 }
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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* G' Y* z. Z! S9 t. U: y. L"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul" }' _0 _1 h8 }
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, y p7 [ V# e) p( T* ?3 Was many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the3 Z+ G: {" z% }8 L/ M9 m/ E, J, \7 j
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
' J* X$ ~) L1 x: w1 Rmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; ?# a+ P# g: C8 f
that," Ms. Freire said.
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+ f' s* ?' P3 D# s5 |& JMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: A+ j9 ~6 [! t6 P, y. q3 hhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) ?: a0 t. C9 J
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
. n7 u# C3 a" \" jtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make. ~; g S; v! ~3 Z6 J4 q
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 j9 R: \% f q9 c" G
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 V( T6 I0 k) r+ t# e7 j
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said." x: `8 a0 x1 h2 e9 z& U( f
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified3 }1 c* _8 R8 E: n$ E( }) d' M
because of that missing certification," he said.
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+ U$ ~/ p0 S" `5 HThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,; A# o% G5 |& t3 r
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia8 n! u) N8 v( I; x, }3 e
Society in New York.
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9 ^$ o: g9 L# dSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
: j1 t% y/ g2 R2 j: ?/ qChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from! e5 R8 Z) ?( A6 c& N1 r( }: @
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: V& Q7 t- B! @/ l4 { l
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our' a- Y5 v9 M. n: H: o3 P/ b
own."0 X2 I8 ]+ C$ {* Y$ s- Y9 O
" V4 {' i) ^6 cCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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