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October 15, 2005
T I( m- W" m- j# Z/ z2 SClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING) c; F" |2 s1 i9 w( \
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the) z" e; r" j3 e9 V
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 q+ y5 E+ C6 [9 j2 m8 S$ d' ?School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 u) m, D: B7 j6 n5 d
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese n; T" }: W4 S1 H
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
; m9 x: Q. k6 W, A& Eanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
: B+ w0 a: G" \$ ?practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( j. Y6 K5 v8 T- a1 o7 u6 X9 l$ _3 ^boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. x0 K8 z3 j+ M& oare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
, W7 W- `6 l0 A. F5 u; Hat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
0 K* ~* n) E& k* J+ @% Uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* `7 }0 V6 q' j2 r1 Dschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" ?: z- c. u4 y1 R6 S
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention/ z- G; e7 f' j" G
one of its most difficult to learn.
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9 s2 @6 k; k+ cLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
' F" D* z: L$ ^9 mpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) \' M' f' Y, i, A' t" x
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. Y# c: Q" X4 ?2 a/ H X Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 O$ U7 [2 c. G9 o( ~; S' w' z
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 w4 g% o8 |& T# b- K- pChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; z, q& W& s7 d* G' U. x: F+ }improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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* v A; V/ U' f% W6 q4 b- H( {After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 b8 V# P3 t' D+ G+ t" E( d
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
# A" W H9 R5 r4 w7 ?3 N1 s+ I1 Pstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
% }7 T: W+ o6 `& z# [+ ^develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
- X2 G# A4 b! h3 ?# e. ^3 wcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
: W$ `! H( j' K1 t. }of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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7 A8 N( V0 S3 o7 ~1 _, X7 W"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
5 `1 Q3 y9 s) J! Z8 d" |speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ q# }5 C4 l0 a! p1 t! v0 e
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
' [( t! j* `; u, q) Z1 t$ G. ocan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
- [3 r% s* p" G' ]2 jelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10& j3 ]; U& F% m# G8 J
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* U2 v0 |, x' b( l9 k7 j+ wInstitute in Washington.7 M) }. G) P8 M k
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ f9 G! |( v l7 A
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.+ g6 C" C# `3 c6 ~+ {. i
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; ^, t9 q, j' [4 A/ Zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ P: L* J0 Z! t3 j
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) O% q- o. V9 @1 R+ achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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' v. W) v: J# E2 S6 P4 J; SUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and8 i1 |8 G) b, c
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 q2 A/ Z2 y- J2 \. _6 }2 s0 |+ p" Ncities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
1 G8 ]% j6 ^% T6 Z* aChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
?7 b& K9 P4 u; e& ^on weekends., o5 ]6 M$ A _
( u, t, J. U3 c HThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! u" q# }: Q" j" k4 M
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
9 p8 J$ E; T9 f+ O, b+ N. \: rstudents who are not of Chinese descent.+ y+ x$ N2 `/ Q; N% S
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 K3 s& f# n+ w+ n W; a S
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
1 b* U; f5 ]( {competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley7 R/ Q1 Z% k# f2 o) s
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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3 U4 ^$ A/ ? }+ G5 s0 F# k) hFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly; Q* T5 K8 q" E- H
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse" x3 G* D) E7 P+ g- n
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# @) ^" y. C* S! Z* s# e: skindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
l! q& h, ^5 e( @. M6 Iwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to" `+ H& A! D, S# l2 V. r
the school system last year.
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: H. @+ T+ n: P4 oThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
: I) S$ f9 S: O$ ~ {year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.+ d* f6 S4 K+ m% X2 H
9 Y0 Y+ x4 [. X: _& @: g"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 l* }( Y8 T' s4 eclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! D0 k# V* {) R0 I
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to r Y9 F" S4 x, Y
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 n( ` K0 A J7 ?: U
on an equal playing field."& ^3 ]- U& ~" B7 j
% X3 K+ m& m5 g6 G, gSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 d ?' j' V7 t& L5 {classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 N A7 Y* B6 l y: q _
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
' c9 j2 h0 s3 A) D% M7 xChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
7 \" H+ q/ l3 m$ n" D0 C) \average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
* z4 n! E* a$ o+ H# g6 ~8 w, FChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the& l# z1 H* u3 o; s/ r
institute says.
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$ K5 g, U1 O4 `3 D0 S* ZSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
e8 A$ Y" ]' Y, Jgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
- |+ V- g: Y8 |# E' C4 sdeciding whether to take the class.0 o/ f6 }& M6 r9 g
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
+ x/ y# U+ F6 P: p# f; T$ V, \2 itold her daughter.
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1 z7 [6 N! x" fSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- v3 j" t+ z7 f6 J; ]4 hclass.6 {8 n% F& u6 [; w/ ~1 j2 e
# ^* ?) q, L. m1 XAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are, i1 e; u) B U$ A2 y+ {
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without4 k' N+ z2 j: Y" V; _
occasional frustration.. C$ f3 C9 p# c6 I! _% x' \, P
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ }8 m9 z+ w$ Arecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
9 W% {% i) y: l3 r' F8 z$ {taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 u0 \* W( g) ^5 Q% Z% |Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.; d, d, u( x3 @4 }
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul. y3 |* M+ M/ [4 Q
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ n! r, S- D- H5 x+ b; A7 Has many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 d2 |7 h. U" ?2 X. `% g; zskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
d9 `7 Q% q- ?9 k% Bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) m6 C% g D _" b$ {: W
that," Ms. Freire said.4 S( t8 ?: {$ K8 A m" N
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
1 q( S4 T2 U9 G' J0 g/ ohere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
! J7 H7 b/ n# Rschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
2 Y% |7 G4 y( ^' W) b! w5 Etime 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
3 J8 z6 z @: k9 y+ Q5 P% w! EChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
' e7 A& v0 L- @( p+ K3 Qcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified8 p7 K( N. }* D$ A7 H" X9 m5 M
because of that missing certification," he said.
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7 H' E# i, g3 J6 L8 @The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
. X+ m# q+ R* w0 v' h6 @4 j5 lsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' ]$ w. @: Q! `: k/ C; L& f
Society in New York.
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( v7 q- w2 X1 |' d7 D8 YSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# n5 q$ H b; J( k
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 L- \' K1 {* g' ^/ ~/ |4 ]
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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2 }3 O; Y: T0 f! _+ O+ l"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) B$ I8 E# c5 V- h2 {% D
own."" d% r0 v( S7 h
/ ]- F; ~0 C4 n+ @Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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