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October 15, 2005( \' O* s& F8 k* S
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING& z$ I1 w J# L0 Y0 h4 s
- g; { J! a; P- }7 CCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
w8 l0 ]5 Z+ k: P# E7 R' JUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
: I. s. L. f9 r: `, Z- mSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ k2 p: _( [$ Z/ i7 p7 d" p; mdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese8 T- ?* t2 B2 p0 W4 U" P- `$ g. ^
flag hang from the wall.6 s1 q. O% ?& d4 ^* g
. i0 ]1 x$ X4 {. _/ TOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
$ z8 |" l( t4 Nanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ c Y/ W' K) ~0 }0 dpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, X+ J- r, m( x- c( {# D
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students) c7 u* C; e: m" m' t, A
are already choosing it over Spanish.. M; _* Y9 w A, R( d9 m& r
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 A7 _0 s- @+ N; M! n' `at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city v, N8 H/ @. n( ]+ H5 w1 P
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 [0 l" x; V1 y3 Q* G }
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
6 p8 P# X+ F8 @* v7 a! Xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& C2 o% E K6 s% K
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
l; R, v- \. ~) ?, Q$ None of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to2 a& T" J+ V. q# p
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students7 t; b: I! l. V: U) s
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* u3 a: @5 R( V2 k# F4 fLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of# J. h6 ], c* m# u
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 G9 T* ^7 k4 {1 m7 Q2 f( V
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
# p/ X. z% ~% A) I& g" K& Uimprove 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- |. s6 Z4 Y% C* Z- m2 t" }
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 I; o4 ]. Z' g% K5 `starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to- K' E- Y. Y# h8 T( x1 _4 {: z
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
9 U, ?- }2 o6 c! O) j6 Xcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 [& G/ x" e9 o: A" u( Rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* k" l) R' H/ P( mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
5 I4 ]: R: Q8 G' s0 J) b. s4 UConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we& f$ |# a: f& n$ }
can." 5 [) h. {* O6 n: z! p$ D
, t/ R8 c/ o. a/ H k1 m/ j$ b7 j$ lThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from- h* |) Y/ I% [* R U
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 f4 O" e6 j! X" D) U7 K7 @years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
8 |1 x ]9 p' R# {Institute in Washington.& ^: g* J8 Y% u0 s
# t/ |2 P Z" L2 L* E"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& s' o' m7 `5 Y% Zaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: i& b6 ~ F, [' z+ j6 a# i4 F( f/ U
McGinnis said.8 e/ q5 ~: ^# l1 K& ^ \
, E l v9 c3 L- O P. y" d% S"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ r. Y. n1 y( y' b6 V: [
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( O! S2 D; u$ K6 `, V0 W7 _: ^' }; R
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
8 z- }( ~: o+ j9 B3 echallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ P( c' V u0 O* j% D3 c0 ~7 }0 d9 R
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 X" E0 s3 ]( A& C2 j" G. }& z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in3 n! N, B* {8 I# ^
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 ~3 ]3 E8 \2 J9 MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 ^1 F1 x* p( b# D
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
9 |3 ?0 t+ B) @schools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 C7 Q; _$ S& q9 K; | K5 B; f
students who are not of Chinese descent.. j+ @ T( G% _! V. r9 Y) |* O. J
/ L2 ?: T" l! b4 L% D6 FMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said0 D7 s h4 M. P9 @' O
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 `: x3 S# a6 tcompetition.
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! M3 v; _7 y6 }# _( X6 i( \* d _) j5 o"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley W- V: e( n3 X$ |# S/ G
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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$ f0 l4 m, N0 X% ?$ VFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly, C r0 k, S& k1 U% ?
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 W7 E3 j# i [ hschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 E+ k* I; d* V0 g% ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 F. m0 u) d( g; y9 k- u. Bwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 R' E6 q2 l( i* g9 `5 n8 u4 {the school system last year.2 \+ G! T4 Y9 ~" e/ H8 w* p
, M+ F: `* o5 e5 R4 T$ P+ Y% Y i% UThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this% q& i$ z& z/ @/ `. i9 H; l
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.4 t3 f# B4 W2 Z9 @ j
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"They have a great international experience right in their own- v) c+ H8 G, X3 u8 s
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* F" V4 K: ], \; `Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) S+ w% ]7 C7 w7 ihelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet% d% R4 o- @, R- w: M2 E1 Y
on an equal playing field."* K" H1 j, a2 Q0 Q E3 n, {* D
w, R* o$ e. kSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
+ M) b0 l, |% N0 x( fclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign* Z. t4 k% F4 j! s+ G! A
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
3 C9 g5 [3 Q) `! i3 ~6 v2 J6 sChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 y* C, P o8 j/ q& |
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
7 i$ N- O2 z, p4 s' BChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
a4 {* K1 b# Kinstitute says.
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- U- d7 o% _4 w; b2 Y4 F. [2 X* ASevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth! h+ m; w& t) T+ p9 c
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
( n; D0 @: j& Z3 M6 Ydeciding whether to take the class.0 G' r- ?- d4 ?) }0 O
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 Q, N" v! Y2 {0 U. etold her daughter.$ o3 U$ C, z5 r
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite! W; [; u! a4 L3 C, x% }# j
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. l4 A3 X3 X- V% x rstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
3 S4 j( n7 M5 Q X0 ]! Poccasional frustration.
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8 `; q2 d& h& l0 q# Y9 L"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 G% R5 o/ C0 B6 `
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, j, F$ S; [/ U7 b9 p3 J
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
2 J1 a! {. B/ V/ h8 UChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. a2 |, {' E8 T5 S
) n5 s2 X/ ~2 D+ K"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 a! r0 ~9 c# ?9 |# G3 p3 ~
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& g+ T/ B7 g, j0 d) A6 Was many languages as I can."' O& k! U; H' K2 b% r2 ]) a R4 `
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; p$ m5 o, E* F. Fskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job% i8 x" R- N: L3 H1 C; w3 a7 \
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
8 w0 H' O) O' t* f* {. ]that," Ms. Freire said.
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2 S2 _6 F4 J- W; V4 mMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% i, y- a% I1 r. D+ a) O2 b
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
. i! H4 H3 J6 R2 Ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ ?1 X% O* `4 }& Y, e7 d7 O
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make o- `2 C3 X. ~7 B1 K: a
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer) T( x; \. O9 }3 I
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, E7 q; d& b* n# \ pcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.. s8 P& i: E1 `+ u5 s
) ]: C" X, z) d% D0 g7 @2 F"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
) m# \7 k$ b/ mbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,2 R! F; J* ^7 Y, B; _$ G) c
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
. B. \% d1 h# C" X4 x" I: v2 ZSociety in New York.: f% Y" ~6 l. F- D! I% S1 v3 b5 r1 q7 W; U
' U, Q. V6 o& qSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 s0 a& T4 M' WChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
1 }# A4 a' E, e! r# T! qthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 _$ ^5 v% X7 k M( E! M' J
own.", b2 A2 H7 g8 E) t; g- H' F7 Q
! h: t" h* V+ A; TCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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