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October 15, 20059 z- w6 w6 m; Z* n7 p
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% ], t, w# S+ \# \- Q
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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( l; O) L7 u/ d) q/ y1 rCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the; ?. Q* K% E7 C& X r" t- O
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
7 D/ O( \4 w3 v- F& [2 c# {& ASchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ v- Z1 F/ l* Q# Z" J/ N2 X
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) ]0 N0 Z: l1 d" s! y
flag hang from the wall. n! H( A; N& y7 d" {
! r, ]0 s' ~* s6 tOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! S1 ?( Y# |* u) R3 W
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
1 J# A0 c8 W$ N0 n3 bpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker) X# c/ x9 E a
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students% \* l6 I7 k! i- {
are already choosing it over Spanish." h$ O# C4 L2 U
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 w& D) t- U& G. n h: c Cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
* X& c# r5 o) f5 A. }$ Doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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4 x3 G8 y5 l7 O A6 u( }With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
! \) s( `5 W2 V: C: M7 x$ Sschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
4 T. R; }1 _ M+ r' xto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 ?: a' ?( F6 x! C
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# I, r7 H7 q: M) M8 u
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students9 d0 r1 v7 M% J% x% Q J# A/ n5 e8 T
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# g$ V1 Y" h* j. U0 v+ ]1 rLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
" W: _4 L S; u! OTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* d" J2 \, T6 j# q
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. k% G K6 F7 {4 t2 o
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 Placement. {: y9 L! c3 F& ^; R
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
7 e' h! h: Y4 H+ v" Q( f& W* ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: x7 |; P# ^- Y2 I/ {* o
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! C) r1 q. p& q! @curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
# n6 z8 |0 h T/ C* hof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of& N# b# u/ i; B$ N
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
* ]7 T) a q( t0 h/ o% bConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
- @0 @& F$ |3 Ccan."
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$ ?+ v" |: Z2 }7 `3 bThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from# [' Q5 o9 |; t U2 G& s9 m
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
, W. Q' ]! R% o% {' a- oyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
- f2 b8 R7 w, g6 }8 W) LInstitute in Washington.- |1 J! E) d) N" N$ O
# n! Y T3 c N) _"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 d; }6 I: w, d
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
7 _; c4 y' m2 L4 ZMcGinnis said.# e: W. I- O+ l
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 v( K7 v/ B* D( | m
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
- C$ l; q' J: I; K4 q: [; Y3 Qready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# \& R; [0 ~) i
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ n' {6 W/ `" }4 `) I7 c
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- t: t0 s4 K; b2 @cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% Q1 V; _3 x) M& U& B3 [4 P$ B# j
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ }4 o' j/ ]" Q4 h9 U" a9 ?1 A" kon weekends. c, l# f1 g# X; x" C
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public' O6 {% a, A5 J/ C
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
9 P9 t# p, G# e% b+ p; y( Vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 q5 n L" f* s0 K0 d
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
4 b4 |3 Q. ~7 B1 |$ qcompetition.
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% _1 R7 e( j% x. T"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
* @. Y& C: ]( t2 i! o9 vsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
?/ b9 i( H" s5 Dall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
8 |5 B; o0 f3 dschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from4 n% o2 n, A8 h9 J5 `7 e% g0 y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% `5 j A ?# q/ l3 @who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to* V* @$ F" b3 s- l$ t! Y
the school system last year.
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% |6 G H5 u% L. D9 v7 {The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 v7 x" b6 d- Y- {3 u3 G( \
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own9 x6 x( z1 s: K# s- Q
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
- m$ V7 K3 V2 y& C7 Z# fChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
" T" ^5 D; b6 ~# f* Q( |4 _$ hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
8 H0 {* }5 Z A- s" Mon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese& j$ l/ {- V2 r3 p* r% w5 J
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
1 i2 u0 w+ x GService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
U$ N6 J1 d7 X. A; XChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 k8 H: n& {8 O! u- K/ Q/ y
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 n2 K1 Q/ k2 f2 C, \Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- Y/ o6 g8 G- B. L% U; x- M) J$ o( R
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: D, K0 d, N( j1 Q$ A4 c
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before% B1 ]0 _% a0 p7 b* o. {
deciding whether to take the class./ g) F, A0 B- L" K6 [
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 M6 K6 Y" B8 s7 k6 v) r2 Htold her daughter.
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( P9 U4 S7 D+ S8 e0 tSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite% e8 C0 Y" M L2 c2 Q
class.
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, t ?0 M( o a. `# o2 B/ a5 SAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 Q/ Y; @; X( \* [; J# K2 Mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
! Z4 i1 r5 \( {3 K* moccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; N! A/ o* h8 w/ M/ n0 Precent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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6 ~ P) c* R6 Q4 j1 g* @* \, ^Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 E* b8 h; a& V9 y, n Rtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 [& s! C* C5 y1 L5 FChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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: s y" V( \+ Q& y7 w) }) a"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* E% F" F) \$ I1 J7 Qsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& O9 e9 U' F- ]- u& g Zas many languages as I can."9 k2 n- _2 Z- k+ x
3 M: R$ j- q. aAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the4 ?+ R* W# k" f d' u9 F
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job( B7 Z8 k8 W) @' `9 @ h2 l, l
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like% X; @ d6 R: y& k5 K7 Q% U
that," Ms. Freire said.6 Q, A& k9 Z; c0 b
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ T+ \8 g5 y0 V6 @+ y) Y- m
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each" e9 P7 X- j! j0 [
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( L' a- z+ l: w% ^% u3 e$ [8 p) n
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
! R$ g( B) y% C( A) _ F! n% uChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
# j: i+ V, V1 Ycollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( J! j; Q/ S4 l; F3 Q5 W! W
+ E* ]; _: o9 v& X$ m"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ W, L% T( e& q( P) k
because of that missing certification," he said.
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2 G# ], V9 ^/ c$ \ T" z+ t4 TThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,: K4 k3 d6 m5 ?9 `$ }4 x$ K- Z- z
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 y7 o. b7 {1 z4 ]3 t1 CSociety in New York.% n7 B: P: x* X* f3 j; E
8 }% v& b+ ` @$ ?; BSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 A% @1 J- [4 u' `$ m8 l1 o, @% J/ ~8 MChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 _& w3 @ Y' Zthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.2 x0 V+ D8 ~* }& M T. x
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 Z7 v; T. `8 d8 Y9 q2 s# i$ a
own."
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) a7 `, ~# T1 v' A }2 ACopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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