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October 15, 2005
' s. H, X0 F+ E5 `& m5 _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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! g1 F5 ~* a2 {5 E/ @( g! NBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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+ ~" j# H* w; N) b/ Z4 Q1 gCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
! B1 ?4 y+ K' |! a7 j RUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. n$ k- e% W/ f6 m8 m. \
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 {& f, j7 l1 J) h
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 Q- _' S- C. s' J" ?5 S
flag hang from the wall.
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% h) `* a: o/ q" f$ NOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 x& B0 a. l, g" [2 B3 W
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
6 t- ?5 D3 X2 g) m! Apracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker7 `. Z( J4 t& O/ c
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 _+ i- N. D; r! y
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
+ H* [/ I% Y; n9 V0 K0 zat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city( {: v5 W' T& P" u* I" x, b
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: I- U/ Q/ c! S' f7 P% Dschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& d% r$ s2 G9 x' Z
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- p$ x. ?( u$ c, c/ hone of its most difficult to learn.5 T: g) c" d0 |- `1 V7 N
* @8 k+ u) l3 e! f' RLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* r& {* p; b, y1 x) Opublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, P1 t" H$ y- B. j% } B" I! e1 ^; \studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
! A5 q$ j9 w8 [+ _3 ^- b/ z* FLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of# `! X7 i5 _7 C5 L
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 d* B/ ]5 }+ F9 I; x; c$ O! CChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 r4 Q5 E1 N$ [, i2 V8 h# _4 wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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) ?, R; b+ l6 x& d* L$ ~After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement# W9 W# q5 M( n* j0 ^' W
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country1 w/ W) X: l1 }4 W0 \
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; `$ K$ k( J# q. m& _5 i8 rdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ E# c3 g$ j% p, P" `4 w/ t7 v/ ]
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 T% r7 u$ C" `& @/ b& V- }( jof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.; [: @. d$ A% l! o
" a9 e; D! }: A% q) N( O"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 c& F; b- i+ b- r( ?3 A7 {
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
I6 ^5 O: s1 s1 x! Y8 N+ RConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we; v, Q0 W: V9 e( U0 O7 \
can."
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0 m. \1 ]- z u3 KThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
$ [4 F/ s E+ Gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10! z! y* B9 X" D& I j
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, {4 r2 q j# @4 i# _, w1 p9 G" u. w+ TInstitute in Washington.4 @0 g u/ [- F- G& O9 G) c" F
' n, ?8 V8 L j; C: v2 o- \+ |* Y"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
7 O( v0 a, t5 O5 g; Maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
2 L2 _$ J# u7 q0 Y4 N, H* xMcGinnis said.4 I+ s/ q( Z- r) s
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical9 P$ q5 L+ J9 ]% F
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be. Y. H3 B) n- o: P
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
, i# J8 v* B/ [& kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! l* z& z! V3 K- x: z. U
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
4 a9 i. d+ p' G* p4 M% C# L9 T4 Msecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in3 ~1 Y! C4 h6 Z8 V" Z$ c1 [+ k
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 M) P% Z- ?& ]% X9 o8 WChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
) {7 l( W! G8 [- M- Pon weekends.1 t8 n6 o" w6 r' V9 N
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! j' v7 Q7 l3 x, A: D ]. a- y/ b3 v6 B
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
* y8 I) k9 L$ Q$ F C5 R' {students who are not of Chinese descent.: r, I( g* p0 p& I! q
% `* B, `0 _; }6 J4 k5 V) C iMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 y% p: ~6 m8 J3 [$ H6 Uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
" ~8 e5 ] P5 e! I" H' G2 R6 ?competition. # _- }/ y) G& K! K! K
u% D' O# x. h! e' A' I"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
3 s) b+ {9 `* Asaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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' Z. u- B( i" C5 MFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ _# w) ]: q! B! O/ \/ v
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse$ n4 W, q) X) {* u2 x' V
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; \, U! O c5 X5 a
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 y1 P5 j7 V8 j
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
. v3 k$ G: R0 R& ithe school system last year.! z: U0 }! e& `' x" V3 ?
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; B9 E- E+ \: I& P& t3 K' f7 @: vyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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" ^4 C! N; ` B Q"They have a great international experience right in their own
@# a6 Q# Q4 ^2 {4 L, aclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) K; E# F1 _7 {4 ~0 I$ v WChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; }) f: ?) o/ @% | N2 thelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
; Q9 @- C. K3 S( a. w' g: Non an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
; b. U4 g8 T5 K+ f; {! Sclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 R, D( w1 {# B. ?) ]Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 n5 t/ ^, y; v9 o
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
4 _# U( t8 b, x, u9 K; laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; r9 Z, v f7 l* z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 V9 P1 l b! Z( ~1 ]7 ^) r( t
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" l8 Y" G3 f0 F, J' I5 g: c
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
: l9 y0 w4 _4 B! C' rdeciding whether to take the class.
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3 Z) `0 t: h% d; G: y1 Q"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ ]: }+ d0 O6 S5 |
told her daughter.
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6 J: S# ?3 M3 TSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 q/ g0 \4 |- ]7 b
class.
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2 c9 K6 O3 | Z9 k3 r: ~At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 Q& \6 h" [1 E8 ]! b. Y; p C
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 ~7 s4 ?! W4 I8 S o
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' w6 f0 K2 J5 r5 o$ ~' l( Hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.# {; k8 q b7 K2 C
/ \4 K0 `( k( }4 }: `) C2 {& NRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
[5 c# @+ i; s2 gtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 Y! A& f/ P8 P9 T3 h
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.$ Q6 `- ?( L% Q% Z
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
0 S- O }" A$ w2 D1 J) L) V' Z* U( Ksaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 _& n* W) f. [/ d( I) x
as many languages as I can."
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2 L2 }6 `5 @2 wAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
' [' [" M' k$ c' r" k. Z- Yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 ^1 v( M% a/ D9 p( p( A% emarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
+ B7 o2 |' I4 Vthat," Ms. Freire said.' M W, {/ a8 f# w% i0 _, R, b
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 x5 Y* s6 X' A, _$ |- D) yhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
# p! Q. y& O' ?school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
5 u+ M1 z: L: y! y+ ]3 G( itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make- L d4 W+ R8 r( E5 G% j; _: O
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" S+ i* [. Q+ I4 z( Y: \ M( y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
5 Q" v# ^# ^' F+ l+ B8 Ccollege, 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 qualified
( W5 `2 I& x6 I4 `6 _- sbecause of that missing certification," he said.) Z+ Y3 g: t; W, F9 p6 N7 Y4 t
. F U+ h. V0 G' U0 mThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
8 g: E1 |# q) [5 ] k7 P5 }5 ~; qsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia2 {! \9 ]$ p& A8 W) j
Society in New York.
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9 h0 k2 b* S o/ m0 q$ A) d2 mSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the2 H: [4 v+ Y7 G: i1 N
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: {) ?$ X1 g! K3 [: r3 m5 `
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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% {$ C8 o5 C- pCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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