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October 15, 2005! ?9 z& W3 N9 O: k
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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& g9 F& y, v% x! }2 Z8 }/ fBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- r4 {# H$ e8 l, E+ xUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary7 s, u& i; F2 y! v( z6 M
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% k6 \, L$ n/ H4 qdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
% J$ Z. s! L% e# H! @1 C Jflag hang from the wall.
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' I- \' j8 h& a1 N( aOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 f% n+ v0 l8 X0 O q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
5 Q* X( F" [) w; x+ f4 L5 Y0 bpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker c6 J2 @" ^" i6 \8 k
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" z1 `, M5 O% r9 B( b) k; s
are already choosing it over Spanish.- I1 Y5 ~0 j# M( O1 k* ~" k# y
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 \5 q% j6 y3 A( Z% p# gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ a( F, d& `6 x5 X- }/ [2 e! C. Z6 @
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 V, `1 v/ K; o* b `schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 u4 [" }- A2 X
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
' f7 B0 Q& q1 g& W4 Zone of its most difficult to learn.( l9 |8 m4 J2 T( i
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
8 `: \2 f2 N& T. x3 n# ?public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students; J3 X3 ~* b" e
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
+ s4 C P( b) H3 ~% z* ALieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
* v' g! w! S* Z) J! p4 U4 k3 YTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on/ ?+ j/ j3 y9 u
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. u1 C; q% @8 L5 s F& g# h- K4 r
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.1 d9 {: Z& {) [ s
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement) o8 B" A1 {+ [9 C6 S) Y: g
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
' v3 t5 U, X: g, fstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to% ^" b9 O' s" J# x( U
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing% Q0 M: p/ L$ m# G! z
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director. i$ W( u, j( y& z/ J8 |6 L& U
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board./ d7 y* q- q Y' K' V" n1 c
2 f4 ?( V2 L8 A+ b. _"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
" s* K% c4 a B& Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education1 e1 S8 b- x1 }1 \' V0 M+ h, [4 C1 s
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
3 W- i2 }5 C# u& N, x9 d$ v2 jcan." & V/ c: `8 Z3 l4 e# I( _5 H
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
X/ U- A1 Q1 ~- j9 p; o$ Gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10- S) P) [6 F, l( y+ r+ G* W. O$ b
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 L& Z' v; g9 h8 u2 Z3 {
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
8 l) p( l; u& Y4 [7 Saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
" G, n- F5 _+ c4 S3 ~$ TMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# W% i/ C z2 G1 A8 wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be, n: X% S* J( l# A! W: [+ {
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: }6 u0 A4 c- gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
' ^; e2 ?1 R$ m2 Ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ t; \5 D$ W& P+ j5 Q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. v+ e; B+ B' @0 @+ v! iChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or) R7 ]% a0 E7 T1 X- q0 I: L5 Y/ u
on weekends." r" s$ H' y* U z' \8 K4 F
" b6 k$ {- s$ L9 n; KThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. i: T ^3 w4 S. H* M6 X
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
6 f6 o5 P( g1 v1 g# k+ |$ qstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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. R4 X" S7 @% hMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said+ F( d; o7 w6 n) j& D; S
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the Z1 m1 _1 [4 E _6 K* q
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; E! V; e. F$ ?, |+ _6 U# isaid. "There will be Chinese and English."2 E/ v7 l# ~6 q9 ]7 u+ ]
" X. e$ _7 l4 C& e: Z7 BFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. ^& B r6 J. k+ _9 Yall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% j; S' b- Z; v, h! ~
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
* v& i; A& z/ d1 Xkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students# k1 a" Z% w" ]4 ?+ Y0 F6 V8 D+ ]
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( s/ M; h6 w& L; Q4 E) o
the school system last year.( w- d7 p$ W' R) h3 _+ Q0 }
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; F! l) a/ ]8 q- t% f7 u
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! B$ N3 Q p$ J$ H4 N# ]8 L
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"They have a great international experience right in their own! i3 a5 K* y/ W' h
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
. J7 T! i6 Q: y: S' F, VChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. \. ~" V* ~( n8 nhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet. x: {# L9 [8 B# C
on an equal playing field."( F& ~' m8 P2 Y4 k& [( w
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 a6 r6 z6 t( j) B4 P& L( tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ ?, v9 e1 g2 EService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 R6 h6 R+ ?3 y q6 U
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* H* `8 U7 E) T- k2 kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" Y( V' P/ k: j! ]/ Z3 v1 D
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. P3 n! @0 D9 Z; ^' K' w6 Vinstitute says.9 H2 ?. Z$ \. V9 Y, h& p1 T$ F, X
) u, P6 E M' {0 N& \1 o. fSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth- A) M# T5 B; M) I
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before4 g2 ]1 H8 T5 J. T
deciding whether to take the class.# ~9 C4 B J0 Z- K( f! t
5 X/ e% G' C* u" S"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
+ v& t3 b2 D% C5 l3 Ytold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 H- N8 y# y1 P; V
class.# H4 e& m7 H" z5 L
& f6 D0 c4 w$ n& p) g7 bAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are( r4 ]. c. M$ N" A4 b1 @- o
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
7 c. U, c' s9 D* J+ ioccasional frustration.
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. [- K; f0 X2 e% B- }"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 _8 X4 b8 w4 Y/ grecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
% v% q" j9 g, H6 V7 Z5 jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with. E/ z/ ?- \( N5 S
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." h6 G, f- N6 T, ^( H* A/ i
- f- G6 b/ L ^. u* L"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ ]/ f3 l/ a1 Z' usaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn6 v, R' m f0 M( G7 R) P
as many languages as I can."
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! n5 A! ]0 p- z; Y! A5 I0 NAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the! C1 D! S2 R: {2 f; R( B( u
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
+ f5 Z8 h' V$ B3 M9 O- Amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 `: X! D* C$ Ithat," Ms. Freire said.
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1 |4 T" k w% Q) q8 {/ kMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: W2 n3 {5 J5 k5 g q; W: Hhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
2 d! }! T9 O' ~2 j# g! o" ^school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking L5 {0 ]" k" ^# x
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
e& |8 d$ ~) S% K( Troom.
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5 g" L6 @4 b9 H& D) u6 v3 wChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
6 t- [) d% \4 `: x2 Y: yChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
; X: u6 {& t; S7 c( T3 |5 e7 }( e; g% Rcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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* @2 s5 `; N5 r. a"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified' L* H4 c' P& C, g4 c
because of that missing certification," he said.
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5 ~4 \% V9 }6 {: l G' vThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,4 U! a: x% F$ N; G$ M* N" `1 K
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, Z/ X \! s8 O3 u$ ]Society in New York., i( I6 r2 j6 ?2 F. l: I" ^% T3 s) Z
& ]& G- o; |8 S4 A+ @Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
$ W3 s/ v- y/ K4 S# t% c$ H {Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from% _& c! L# ^ e1 u6 }- c6 z
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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! K/ y% D) ]/ Q3 c* P"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our; V; X9 n$ [( l6 \# H# O
own.", r+ N5 n1 l1 Z, n6 a' x1 e
4 }5 ]" ~# t# ~' a! p+ n, E3 c" A' c8 pCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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