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October 15, 2005: V. T4 t* k4 I/ P; x3 I! F
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 Y9 @' c( k, j% q
- {9 f+ L! F% NCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the# {- `% Q6 L7 n( p
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
}& R8 W8 R, k- O+ M& ~School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 ^" l R5 B F% }: ?
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
9 S' f' G3 E, C2 @flag hang from the wall.
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6 o7 g6 _- m3 c: @* i4 o- MOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* M- w% K& I. n4 i2 Y, {, r( Ganother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
7 k3 B, R- [! \) ?practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; g( L% f5 S: o+ E7 t
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
" N" U3 {( y! I- b' O$ K) care already choosing it over Spanish.
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& V- G1 `) B. z$ Q# c. t"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- c- N a& C: y' F
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 |& f% Y9 a4 A0 |; h+ J8 _8 L
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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% F; @5 k2 x4 u& Q# O3 x2 QWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
8 l( j! T" V* g7 J7 G! t, pschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
; G' p) r n! V Y; t4 ]to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
, Y! S. p4 X& y" Wone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# b& J/ L3 ~0 }9 V x& K
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 y. Z. ~0 ~4 Kstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# f5 y+ e. \" \4 r: [Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of J) J1 o, d$ ^6 |
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
( H- S4 ]* Y7 `, F) mChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to# P* o5 A+ g& x" w% x4 ?4 K* W- K
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement, W6 U. a1 Y1 [# u0 u. P( |7 e
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
5 ~$ R2 { A/ }* R5 ]" B$ jstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; a5 P. r: m8 K' G6 e% ~develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
- ^1 S/ u4 P9 H) v7 dcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; i. p: h" e" g% K0 Rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& q3 K6 G! C- h: Y' Z) b- V
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
. t3 |( M/ E- A, L; qspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
# u4 ^) ~ v: Z' q% z& LConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. @1 d$ ~; `& G2 p; b
can." : W" X0 `/ g9 }7 @/ t
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
$ U; q2 @; V7 J& g" g- R. A8 {elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
5 N: x; r6 Y2 O+ _+ ]6 Cyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ f4 X4 E0 I5 p4 l7 _Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; X2 H& ^/ @5 f# x d% U; q
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. h; X2 Q, U/ WMcGinnis said.
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' v+ T- _8 X; z& ^"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 \: [4 L/ L( x8 N6 S; Clongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 G* b1 N. e7 ^
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( D: e: [' [: Q( K* _2 G
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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' Y+ A1 J4 m: ^* A0 R$ FUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
5 f% R1 t5 X- G( e7 [secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
+ r7 p1 ~: H; t$ p8 N, o) o# ecities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
1 U9 K1 {0 I0 L C* f; M) k& }Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or h. l& B6 d1 y# M0 i8 Y
on weekends.. u( m. H" k- ?& i e8 C0 A
* T, H7 y" @7 DThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. l' y8 K! R( P
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 N/ s1 e' U9 I% v/ b0 zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.6 N' S8 j) O- n! ?. V" C8 e
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& Z# H; G( b9 G) U/ F; Z8 K3 H, _proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- D; A9 M* `! N" l+ W" T7 e
competition. 1 z( n" s/ b6 c8 w
/ u; x9 N1 @* F/ V"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
/ i5 u- Q$ m2 d& u0 X* Lsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."9 Y6 F( R: M4 Z" o6 ^
; ~# [- z! ?! [& L$ O- L5 `( u/ WFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
b8 M1 l3 T' A1 dall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 L) H @% S% V9 U2 I( j
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
7 q6 W' f3 n" O/ l8 @( Xkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
9 E8 f g, r0 j* F0 e7 awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, N' h5 n8 ]) A+ mthe school system last year.
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' e( q6 b, Q$ p' [1 IThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 {" ~9 c5 ]; ?6 j' ~5 P1 fyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.# M6 F& @ F6 U% Y- [) F. P/ b
3 V5 g: O1 d7 g% _"They have a great international experience right in their own
8 {. k6 p& f6 K$ t# m/ ?# L0 nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
1 e2 L! ^" c1 O* X2 L4 oChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to& M+ N8 Y% y% Z( v1 I* a; E# O
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; v9 Y$ g1 @( H- Y' G7 A
on an equal playing field."4 w: ~7 }. X. c& j+ E
! g6 z. |+ f' E2 I5 j: m2 iSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
. q6 d5 n8 Y" G0 Iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 ?* L4 X7 a# ~$ \( t. d' U
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
$ w* n4 B* q- C& E6 `: y) T8 [Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
$ d9 U6 }! V; e" o- Daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 r, Y: |+ q2 r6 YChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
% x+ K2 S# \0 i {3 ?' Z& v* J0 Yinstitute says.. C' C: T$ q- k- K2 o4 _
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth( r3 b# g! ^1 v6 f
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, U S/ D* z" _* ^0 D& {
deciding whether to take the class.# e1 ]" O7 h) |
; ~! e+ D* R# }& w$ D1 ~' w- [3 i"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
+ `# c2 i+ S: Ctold her daughter.: ]+ L0 A9 ]6 D1 p/ R1 }* f
; s6 x# w0 X( F9 l8 mSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 `! t- C% F# U* d z" ^. Iclass.9 G* ]& V4 z. V0 e
; {( ^* b) u* r; O C& [At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
# K) }9 t5 l5 \4 j: C7 ?9 Vstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
% R: B8 ^- F& h7 t P# z( Z2 Eoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* q: a# i6 P& g
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 G- s1 F: j0 C4 R3 A
0 j5 C$ D: q5 GRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he! Y, z: d; {( |, d! I. F! y
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ h# a' L2 }' a$ D5 e- {6 EChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 @2 k, h" R6 M1 v3 s( Z$ p
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn) @, F7 l$ v4 S' k
as many languages as I can."
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: J8 c- a+ j0 I `6 D. rAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
2 }* [" V! A1 b0 Tskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job' ^2 |7 B( R. A( |1 u
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
% E Y4 _1 x. d/ b# A9 D t# xthat," Ms. Freire said.! w( e3 Q6 p: }* J& q: c# q. E+ `4 _5 e
) X; |9 z$ k: |. g& eMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program+ I2 B! H5 n, k- C1 u
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each' F/ x, `8 h4 ?/ S# N' |
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking9 w8 T5 {) Z" F0 B$ J# \# K5 x2 D1 k
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
+ P- W3 F: @, y9 S" ~# t& `4 Lroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% f( u/ n! a9 T: R1 ^& q9 K/ S
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American6 U" \' Z. J! F+ G) z6 a9 ]$ K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 [2 b& i! b& h; w9 A
% y3 {9 F) N' l3 F+ |"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
" _; x. m3 u/ }1 ybecause of that missing certification," he said.; J# \) U$ d% u3 L
{5 U2 }$ X5 Y, U8 M ^The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,6 ~, A" K* _9 v" y9 `/ M7 u
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# ^& A# B# |$ i4 Y7 }( o
Society in New York.
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' t8 Y* ?0 ]+ `! HSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the2 I9 U) v: ?+ ^
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( I* Q* l) H3 T& o1 athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: N% J, v4 T u9 U; N' p4 t1 u$ B
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" x. K* e& S3 w- A5 k
own."- g% u3 i- C3 F5 |. J3 [
% p ^( b% g( A E% I. l N4 jCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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