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October 15, 2005+ U* k. O; X1 R: s" M
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity* I4 ]) M9 i1 P
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING% ? P* H$ U, m0 H; i
- ]& [' f) C0 g( I" G& r6 j5 z" WCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) ^ D. S1 _: g- G+ v# n+ p8 Y2 DUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
9 v9 K0 \+ _) b1 {$ ESchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 O" R8 ]1 E& U% @
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: ?, }& O$ l% ?0 x
flag hang from the wall.. b) k5 G2 ]6 t% j$ `2 U9 h' C4 r
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one6 i7 Z. ?+ e( O% i# G' d( o4 W
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* p1 p3 a* J, I; j2 ?practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
! `! Z+ \0 ~/ H W& |boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( t% e4 l; d6 d4 P' j) Qare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
9 N3 e% ~; e" @- _) X5 qat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
2 z. _0 f E( f5 R: Moffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."; [+ a& N6 h! q3 b; `5 }
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,# d$ K, O7 v8 @ q/ U' z5 E# [
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' K S% x; {0 b' Y* {6 }
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. B) d! y% B" z& I7 y
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- d! Q9 W/ j& f9 R% spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students t+ a7 O( {8 O
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. L9 U# D/ D* c) YLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of' W0 H- y, f8 G! ?
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- [; j$ D5 f& o* ^+ `& a
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) ~* c/ v* A' l; \7 \
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.6 {3 W# k2 R3 q# @! E# _3 i
% b0 q' N G$ t- V7 SAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 l0 s/ A" E+ S. E) XChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country- ~" {; V+ E& I/ D# S# L% {' Z- p2 I
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to2 z/ m3 J$ {( p" u
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing0 b4 H# m( s2 G/ z# W% ?3 @
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director7 H1 c4 x: _; g% B
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- Y) u m1 `0 H3 X"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of8 ]* B# N+ G6 D! H
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education$ K, j' y2 Y9 F6 w: k
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
- J* n. {+ L% y! k" ]% A% zcan." 6 q9 Y6 a+ j. m: g9 V
1 V/ i1 z5 H+ g w. M- _The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
0 Q* P: |+ d- U! j" zelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 H4 C/ r! V% q+ S
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 x4 Q9 z3 b8 @( _+ H, RInstitute in Washington.
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: s1 R3 c0 f/ h) @' S- ?/ \7 s"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 W1 Q4 L8 J9 [2 l% W, M' Karen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. U- A' B( Z; Y& u8 V" }1 H* KMcGinnis said. X8 X b" K6 |5 {6 S6 _
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical* G% M; |" t; m9 \
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be- L* l1 a( D) q* V7 U; U
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% K- {8 `( ]* @8 [" A& Mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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& v2 } S1 ^) t* t8 P- \: ]9 u0 LUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and0 Y- s% C2 T" k4 e$ [ J
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in9 ~: w" k4 Z' Y7 @5 t
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
" |2 I8 ]3 S- C4 f/ a+ N4 ^Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 t; j5 c9 y6 ~3 |* O8 q& Y
on weekends.
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' Z6 O- \2 \- Z W9 G+ w7 tThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
. }. I4 X8 _' @schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 Q, ], s- y" U5 Tstudents who are not of Chinese descent.( A" q8 d# P- }
$ _, R4 S* u6 B/ P% cMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ W/ c/ o4 t2 L' g
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
% }) d' z- F% _% wcompetition.
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& t$ H( a6 q6 \/ X' \. n"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
9 P. M- Q2 m2 ^1 l- l7 Q' Ysaid. "There will be Chinese and English."5 Z6 O# ^: \1 K# Y
# f3 Q1 v7 g2 F9 l& B5 X! Z6 ?From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 ~2 q& \, N. o+ gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 k7 P/ S1 \, L( p& ?- w1 G; r
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from4 k o- d% `' r. b" A- _
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
' @; Q6 T# T9 q" N L' {who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- ]+ G/ D# q# l: p( I/ R N% Y
the school system last year.# u0 c8 g ~' s8 d
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
0 h7 E; q% l7 s/ r1 ]) _9 Byear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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5 k9 b0 C" Z% b"They have a great international experience right in their own' j3 a; K8 D, u5 c( c* D0 D- S
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. E z, _' Z* M$ H2 M( M( i
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" F* L/ R" L W1 Q
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet$ h! F8 x$ \8 z- d
on an equal playing field."# R! N+ [- K! e9 J0 I/ l x
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese* [. X' R" v+ S' m& s
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! H& |; W% ]2 G1 b* MService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
/ _$ N# j: }1 G3 [/ V$ L: AChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An6 \7 g, n6 n& ]8 Y; @5 e
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ d) [. ]. r, s' DChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
3 _% g" z0 [: kinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth! X: c2 @) x O* h/ d, C9 \+ f
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. w7 B+ ^& w D! Y, e
deciding whether to take the class.# l' X E& W/ |
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 I" x/ `5 j" b, O! g6 n0 h' g; htold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite$ M: u9 g, j7 b/ C
class.- M" [$ N; x; Q) W$ D- [
3 Z- s0 C. z1 n% VAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 A' Q$ E3 l# L- Cstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" P3 K+ p- o- H5 r' b
occasional frustration.4 H0 Y% M3 q; x Y2 a% P
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
4 l. V |5 q( I# X o. ^recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.+ ?$ n3 @* V6 ~9 w+ {
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ `" M. R* t/ y. f# Y
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with* a, Q8 H ^5 ]
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
; _; G9 Z4 l% k" \; L( Z# Vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
7 _4 X* f0 [0 \; u9 |! Oas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; p' A1 Y9 G& N5 `" X {skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job' L# z9 j: N1 s! F' e% A
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
t8 Z5 `. T1 Dthat," Ms. Freire said.6 U6 M0 \* a5 G& V
1 ?9 x# [9 K3 ~Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, @& Y) I$ ~1 D! A' n' P
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
# ]8 U+ ?, y0 r5 W0 l6 Jschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 e$ _) c$ s* q
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
8 F8 a1 x, ?5 @, r6 ]Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 g: b3 i$ }' n1 b9 u- j
college, 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
" M/ f+ `! }& _. cbecause of that missing certification," he said.% J9 c" l6 q" U8 M
/ |1 k k! O5 t+ BThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,' T9 ]( ^' t2 L$ E" s) G' ?! V0 Z: @, q
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia" J& Q: M- h0 D
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
) B) h2 T3 ?) r# i r; QChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 C. }- T( d7 ]9 B, _% ~the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 W( M, ^$ L) C3 v+ }+ r( X9 @
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
1 _, r/ p' T% k+ vown."
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n( L6 ]0 K! j) nCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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