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October 15, 2005+ x6 m3 w% P& P2 v
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) {$ W# H0 M* H) _, u, s* s1 g- @
2 k! @$ N x1 NBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING. Z+ |) I- W9 b* E
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
% \6 u; V& q7 F4 `5 gUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( _$ G& z0 A6 K& c6 LSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
. l2 C8 R1 c3 y1 d3 u, m4 O/ ^dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
3 t& ~! A* V+ I' a/ v/ S8 a' gflag hang from the wall.
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" c# k0 {$ d! g. v: lOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 v( \1 L, s9 N. J# `4 I* panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders8 j+ o$ V7 d% i" Z$ c- e. O
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 e+ v2 _4 L9 I0 _) Q; Q
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 v) H% G& u4 B! Gare already choosing it over Spanish.. M. ?1 P+ N& S- R. J
/ A6 }, ] s& |" l"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: Q# `0 K3 j' _: b( ?8 H/ S# i
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- I) Y X, `2 z$ C! L2 toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 J$ Z# W" v2 e8 f) l; V" ?+ qschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" [8 U5 b2 {. g. Z) X9 W2 U% b3 h
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
. `+ _8 v2 u- k+ X+ X/ |$ j/ Q+ f8 }one of its most difficult to learn.. ^6 s4 E1 B7 T, d& U1 s) l
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to q* W' |" x5 h$ X9 f: O" ?+ T% `
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students0 E m4 k b$ @5 S0 q9 c9 L
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.5 x: `# R0 `/ D* }( n3 Y. ~+ k
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
: k; P" S# d" B y2 K9 W5 }# ]Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" x" r* l/ S' h2 j2 CChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
: t2 F9 L4 \" R1 C( oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.! N8 J) [/ ` c5 {" C
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement) Z. w* M$ O# e3 k
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; S9 V7 r0 W" s J; ^
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to4 U; T% j% W* t- H+ c+ g* o
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ X" x" z! i2 W: y2 ~curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. J: j# R2 a5 iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.. W% d$ q- e2 ]+ G! T7 `
- @# I: S# T: W" N2 {# a- Q"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
& Z0 `' M) U5 @# X6 p- Pspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education$ G% s4 L$ g- c# F( b" P5 Y2 k
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
% T* h* g& h7 l) p# l0 I0 n: w9 scan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
& |* K7 C* g3 s3 @( z( ^elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' @, `. j6 w8 g$ y" yyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language9 g/ ~3 x5 U) D+ p% Y' R4 g
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages& w/ S7 R0 c+ o
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! n7 D" F g& w0 o0 e- bMcGinnis said.! b5 N3 k) J! t& O1 ~* C
) h: o$ f% L, B6 m5 v5 u"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# d9 u8 K/ U9 }. K7 r0 llongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 f9 u) }. p3 q
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' U* w( n% U; v6 L6 j3 ychallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.", o' |3 q( |$ ~5 R5 r; M
- j: i b( C( {4 CUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
9 |. f- ]/ B# f5 I, csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in8 o4 F) x. S: l% n
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) M/ ]: M& V* m Y" S# E PChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% [: `% F: P3 ?on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
, j2 T, a; P. ~/ O* |+ o. x4 bschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
Y: N' e2 `. J0 q$ ]2 ]students who are not of Chinese descent.# y; i) ?/ y q% {/ G# T- V
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said+ v. {! b# b5 A! z! B
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
/ K% w) C$ u% o7 tcompetition. , u+ p# _9 W/ g* V, K
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley& t' u( ]/ }0 e& @7 K* @
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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& c( J x+ x' E+ n" yFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly- y5 h. ?0 U8 y6 j$ R# {
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
0 {) k5 q- H! x1 W/ H M2 t& d% fschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
4 m; i' @1 }- Z( ckindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
8 q. g! U" s gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- p8 V" H2 L2 L5 x, P$ s5 x5 \( D; @the school system last year.: A( K- Q& Y- o7 W) w$ n6 R/ F) F; z# {
" X" u% A/ Z, p3 a. xThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; p; E E b( c+ e8 vyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 \2 H# s5 W* t9 {7 ]" dclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) s9 w3 g' t6 a' r9 j3 FChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 I8 L. j9 p9 R9 N$ S3 X. N
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet b3 f6 `1 E8 Q0 u/ W8 j: O" g
on an equal playing field."4 d1 ?- g& O; U; S0 H5 Y# M
9 q: u$ b) N6 q" t0 C* kSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
4 u# W* ~ `$ L$ P& g- Dclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
/ F, I- J! @. gService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
2 E: ^- [+ [ z! IChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
+ ~% U) v: V" iaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, e* J5 X; @- e& M
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! j5 N1 a# U& j
institute says.! e+ ^7 [. S ]9 }* t5 M! V9 Z& [
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth8 N4 a7 j+ Z# P3 D5 V* k5 I' _
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 \: H1 `; j4 \, @4 I) V' odeciding whether to take the class./ b% L! a, E6 N$ }+ J% G
2 K. _. f$ J' H" u' o4 m"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
+ c. c7 F( t* R* utold her daughter.* t3 R6 K: I7 \: z; z
1 A6 v: f. {+ PSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are/ h7 R: P% y2 J0 J% b0 G
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- `+ W. A* [' _* _ k% @/ Q
occasional frustration.
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7 u0 m7 k2 b$ }; _* G- ~ C"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
0 [+ @+ C- _, Nrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.; ]* Q: w" Z' S# J& y- e- G" b
3 q9 r; y9 O( \* J; L$ V1 gRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he* {- j: h3 ~+ [( N) u% h
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with+ \- m. Q: h( @- h
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul6 f0 K5 X4 m) ^: a
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
3 J& f' h1 j/ G0 l2 x4 x& uas many languages as I can."* s3 C) f1 S- R7 Q
" H3 r( _% D0 ~" s$ l! BAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the+ k2 a: D3 Z4 m! Z2 a
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job7 f5 A( l* a9 Q- r5 g
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ P5 X4 F* ?' S) P4 l
that," Ms. Freire said.
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0 f' Y# q8 _! \2 S) ^Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program N4 U$ n, |- H- G( G' \ W
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 g+ A' }9 F0 X" mschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking# x9 f" q7 o/ o D9 C5 }
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make; _6 S1 o, a* s8 ^2 N+ S( k( P
room., F- Q* q+ [' B- O9 M2 B0 }
. g: u/ `+ J# n3 o c1 XChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
" U$ s. T. G( i3 R+ rChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
+ j5 i" V6 T: Z& ]$ }college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.0 q1 j' @" ^& Y$ a8 s
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified, ]; j% V$ _* o$ F/ B: {+ \
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! K( D* J+ ^, h" p2 }6 Ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia& |7 a5 A# r* ~* F" I
Society in New York./ m/ `- [' Q0 B5 T* q) R
7 Y* L/ W- t8 S( @& ^" }9 GSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the. Z+ c$ P B- w6 R3 k
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) `) s7 p. b, e/ v1 T$ b
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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2 [: Y; K1 I! Y! k! x ^3 W( [Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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