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October 15, 2005
) Z; X( T5 l& c" T0 [Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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4 `1 o7 B! ]" KBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING) w% t8 {& x. T, m+ L7 F3 C1 U
7 `- n% i4 S, U% vCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 y% }6 Y. a6 `8 VUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
0 V+ _% J: o9 o `$ gSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' W' F; k# u% l5 tdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) B! g: b5 b7 H$ g% S6 ]3 [. g
flag hang from the wall.8 z' N. i- u; K# X# q9 _1 E. ?
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. `7 K3 J [; w0 i0 ~
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 m% U v4 D8 c( ?3 `
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 ]* r, I- U' M5 u: s, F: f5 }
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students( S6 B8 f; @; C* y8 d
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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" P/ y$ c. d4 a* ], x+ b6 K$ V0 T"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 z% E; v3 d( A ~! sat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ w3 f8 s7 k% W0 U% d* qoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" q8 a- D9 u' s; A: C
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 h4 v7 A: x4 }. H. S- W
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings3 z& I4 J! ^/ a: z/ \1 _
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 {" [" n& H* h: kone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% h& M" `+ T8 r8 Y# b* H& o3 i
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
+ \* @ o4 `1 X: }1 ]" X# lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.8 \4 l$ v- D) X) z9 L G
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% t1 n9 l$ F' p: t0 `& _, w
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- @* e. f' |7 u* B& n" rChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to( a/ e3 W" g+ z5 E7 o$ i
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 Placement9 I9 p5 k# y; E$ F- c- I$ Y {: S/ D
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 t9 r/ n; s3 \) a! a: k9 W8 H, A& h n! f
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
$ f1 F1 o7 ]+ D4 wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
7 _% J, ]/ w2 P( |curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 Q$ x* i: V# s0 _& R. Lof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 d5 n( M5 q# u/ S5 L
. q# x; x' H+ F; a/ u, W6 ?"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 ?) M5 c" s& R H) ?4 q/ g" P1 d' y+ v( J
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, D+ E6 N" w3 ?. q5 f# Y6 C
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. n, q' }6 U- {
can." 8 K+ X* A6 e( d" H$ }! |
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from7 W& J6 n) u/ [8 k
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 [8 u1 A3 E9 i9 U* Z4 I. t
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
+ [5 Q6 _# g% {, E! G9 w) i+ x& ]Institute in Washington.
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# v$ m; s6 z: `- k"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages3 j, I0 V8 M( U0 K# z- x) Z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.7 \" k- k+ p2 s
McGinnis said.
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. |* m6 T2 F5 p p" _* n"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
2 V9 {- d( }9 S& b1 klongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! L9 X# X- h F" T# P: Jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) `/ m+ \$ }1 Pchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ x9 m. }6 R1 T- h8 M: l$ D: t2 esecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in4 a9 \6 d4 B, l* a* m+ T: ~8 r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* o7 I) {4 L5 p9 d9 z& N) Z" V: SChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ ~, K- X0 h0 w" |0 R1 Aon weekends.# Y& P' U" Y0 ?1 d( T7 L& C5 j
. V+ k3 Y, i+ M* B4 c' f6 H3 R/ Q+ IThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* Z6 {5 R( O- `6 o8 A6 [5 u) E6 P
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves1 o6 U) W \0 d( ^1 g( l
students who are not of Chinese descent.9 w7 b0 R% G# ^% d9 b% C
4 C7 C0 X& O3 G$ S. ^Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, S- V* k6 C$ R6 ?2 U+ G. ^, J4 ?proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' u, v6 L% Z( m( z
competition.
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" F7 {: B K; J- c"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 O2 q6 b1 S' ~; msaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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0 J/ r9 k# ?$ ^+ s5 L4 l% _( TFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 W8 U$ I7 Z; c T! {" v3 I' C m) ball-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse, D: k' Z: p- G) C' Z4 H& u" s
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 H+ Y% _- X! p! Q
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students M: m) e# n+ U% f, {9 y. x3 Z/ P
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to1 G6 O2 Z3 [% j x8 h2 l
the school system last year.
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& g4 z# A6 B* k7 B cThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. f/ I( _3 e( s Kyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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: ~5 A) [/ F8 j( I3 h% J4 W"They have a great international experience right in their own
% N4 m: G5 U6 ]) P* {: Nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago# J4 _8 Y" u) Q7 V2 {9 \2 x
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) C4 P0 a1 c y; Nhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
J' K* a7 t; \8 I- Z- \on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese% d+ U4 n8 V- P( b' r
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign+ ~- }0 i4 ^+ ?
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks# o! V- z( J5 Q3 \1 o
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 @! N$ D* G7 h5 ~average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- I, ~) k; Q! \* Y! _3 P4 K- ]Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
: k7 ^/ [# b6 e3 q1 t2 _institute says.
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/ X& x& R' c) Y# {8 \$ `Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth6 R, W8 @! V2 T6 z
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before" b; q% O& [: M/ |0 H: q5 l
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% {* ^' L, f6 j [( Y* ~0 @, j# Gtold her daughter.. S5 F* Q0 [) K- @
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
+ C. t3 |- T# Fclass.# V7 Q' M) e# X' X5 X/ W" `. P0 K, U
3 r: n: z( n* @9 l. |At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. D, z7 C& ?, K5 @% ~/ S0 r
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" I1 j- \/ ~: v
occasional frustration.
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; {& O: p( c5 t7 t) ~1 y$ G0 s* C"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 p1 H8 a: K' E: urecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.3 _. X3 O5 U; Y
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
( W5 z$ S ^& S( o2 R! |1 I; Ztaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
R& P4 C0 K& F8 B4 G( iChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.9 R) W1 t. J0 Q. ?/ ^3 A. O
C9 B: ^7 i% z, j- H+ I"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
& \1 S' F @' h# vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 C$ t D2 k# B/ G7 \as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the H- J/ g) w! X- p- l( f
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
! P7 N- q' S1 R9 `market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
! x; X! p r0 Qthat," Ms. Freire said.
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9 A' V/ G5 P& p+ `' q/ RMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
* z Q# `& X# W' Bhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 | t+ `8 i; Q, Nschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking7 `# k" A/ `9 i I
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
% Z2 ^, c6 k' f' F* oChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! ^- l+ v; Z' f9 Ncollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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$ e: g, a7 D" J1 c, p"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
. N: i _/ q0 K/ M, P$ Y: obecause of that missing certification," he said.1 E4 y5 Y7 p2 V; Y, I! R
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, }5 e" D7 `# E7 P2 I' A% L
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: j6 \+ e/ D3 ~# U; t; d4 G! Z; ~Society in New York.! y: H; t! S9 z1 y
8 V( I. I" W `0 j+ ~0 D" Q! |( WSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the1 f) r0 @ d+ p- ?6 O: u5 F+ O
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
}/ ]6 n1 {. s T( o' R4 w" l; _the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our2 V+ y# v) [8 o
own."
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% X( }% f9 B F& z5 SCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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