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October 15, 20057 Y7 l2 F1 _, x
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 Q4 F. k" E, [5 t* V+ C
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
# Q! N0 q, f- h( {6 s9 F( s( aUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 b$ |7 R( l. [1 X- KSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 ~# b' W. P7 |1 Q0 C" |# _
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese( z. N. K# b$ d% A% n( _
flag hang from the wall.1 k3 M& f+ `+ D
5 G. K6 n2 }# q- Q% c7 yOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
: U, L; H9 }3 R" Aanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 K8 Y* ?( _4 T" t4 O* r" s
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker: Z% ] V% g0 W Q2 E! o j
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students: ~& s2 |+ N- V! ~/ Y1 B+ |5 a3 [
are already choosing it over Spanish.* O% \9 j6 m7 ^' F! _9 s
2 f, P+ V8 m8 T" k"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 O9 m, _" K, j+ \' w/ t* _" V' K6 r$ Y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
: I2 B) r3 M ]/ ^5 z, ^$ |offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 Q: L) D! ~: G, o: `' `
1 O; C+ o, t7 l2 E+ t, WWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* o+ A3 Z% i. I4 zschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings5 l, d3 M5 t8 l& ?; h
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention0 H$ w; u, q$ k9 R* u/ |/ J& q' I7 T
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ Z! F: |" Y C8 X- G
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- @6 }& y x" X0 A- `9 qstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: u" ]! b- G' e, n. d X, `Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; R, n7 b5 z3 L- J) k$ ^; a
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on4 I3 H3 L. m* d4 ~: O {1 r' S
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" s# p' e4 l6 w) Dimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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& {6 |' m; }7 h, u6 {/ sAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 W1 s: K. S% Y4 q6 H# e) vChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( Q. Z- j" `0 J9 s; zstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to* C& y' _: A" y' o; }
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 z0 X5 m; x% K+ A& k9 G
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
/ {7 w+ L9 A Fof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.# m+ s: ]6 A4 ?. r6 T
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of6 O' ^8 @7 y0 C3 S7 O- q+ T& c& H
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 V# @8 @0 _( KConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ R8 Y! x0 m4 A3 H+ p" Lcan." & r' e) H) q2 R' X2 v( j5 y
) \, H7 L* L3 a O& T( c9 X- {The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! [) u8 e8 M( n* Gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( F8 t! q6 o, V- {. g2 R# N
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
% o$ ?- r: r# `9 gInstitute in Washington.
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, ~' r8 A. l5 o8 e: e"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
$ R, \ J( h R6 _ e( p! s, x9 {aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
, `* L9 `# j9 f7 l( m5 M% }McGinnis said.
+ b) a% Y6 j/ G# ]% h
- r- E* v7 Y8 m$ U4 D"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical, P& F E7 l* r& |2 \
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
' @3 z- U/ ?' z1 ]& Y# u/ ~) W+ t4 mready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# D- o' ^1 N4 Z
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.": [( z* X4 ~) G* H2 Y& ?
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and4 f! ~: J$ ^" T
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 Q; S/ g' J0 s( b% ^: s
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of) I4 Z* {/ B, b z
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
e& H; H* i+ y) z0 ]on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public D3 X+ s' j! L+ Y2 @8 U- Q) Y
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves: I" @+ v0 ^2 \
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 ?. O8 e! e; M1 Z* r
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: q# A/ y1 O! ~$ I$ z+ A: G/ {$ x" i
competition.
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" G& x+ W0 {! H* t"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley, |! R/ A& ]! H+ x9 x) L
said. "There will be Chinese and English."8 ]4 p1 V% L6 E( }" S* O
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 I6 z5 }0 n( o# R' E0 D4 E% X
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse7 o8 B& h2 A, B
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" L: @" w- I+ n7 l O: bkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
9 f& ~: d( H# M$ E5 z$ z+ C$ uwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' X% |4 r( @" D
the school system last year.6 Q1 {: J# Q4 z! D! M+ W$ v
0 R1 G- E7 r7 M9 D9 _# r1 q, EThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this8 ^6 R1 e1 }3 S1 y5 W
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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U$ g2 l0 y2 U) a7 ~2 V"They have a great international experience right in their own
: X; z' G# o0 A+ q0 Oclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago0 |( U1 X7 i2 |" b1 j
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 V/ T. ~) M# e) E9 P c( T9 q: T
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
7 m0 u. t$ u6 B+ gon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 g0 T# | L3 C. f" s/ Y, Dclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
/ t p( w, t5 u/ h2 Q& oService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
/ }6 j+ o6 Z- o6 r: w0 k' n4 h% nChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 Y* Q3 ?# V3 i' |/ Zaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ w0 Y; \ W) F4 O: a
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the% E0 z$ M: J- A9 i1 a' |% n3 Z4 [0 l
institute says.0 x& g1 B/ n* e( X4 a8 \
' V2 i1 I& b* w JSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
. [2 j% I. u) O& _grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
7 X1 g+ z% o& m" B8 W" udeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- \% k& j! D1 }
told her daughter.- M* v- e! Y( J0 `6 j1 R
$ Y1 e( M7 A; E P5 gSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% L9 h1 w$ ^7 k/ Uclass.
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W) x7 r* ?8 _/ y. lAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' V( J. r1 i; b4 a
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 j: J5 h) J; o# Y; D1 X
occasional frustration.
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# s3 W# h& Z( {1 T6 S7 l0 c"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' {9 G ^) }1 }' brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.7 w: J6 ~ z# e$ \' a
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 v7 ^- Z* s) |9 ]: j! \
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
2 x, i- a& c$ N4 NChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
/ {7 R7 ~ R1 {- _! T. h5 vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 e4 I# b9 H4 ^# uas many languages as I can."
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# L! s& f4 r1 g5 y+ W; t# W4 N$ ~7 kAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
2 o& g% v- j6 L$ O2 Yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& b1 h1 x# a2 ?' t5 a! t9 d' _3 [
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like" ?; y: M8 a' O8 O
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; f7 {+ \+ ?& ^7 X. Q& H% z, |here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each( Y/ a) A; F! ^' M3 N6 D/ A
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
6 O( E9 w7 Z! g' Xtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make& G! B K! ?% C+ S% N" B) E
room.: e! r, q) G2 h- Z9 |8 G7 @. C/ l
+ S& L" ~0 O9 a& D9 U( {3 A7 Q0 A1 TChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer6 _/ V; C# }+ S! e2 H4 X
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American" e- [, d) _! q9 @( P9 b/ S
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said., q$ q& l9 Y. \& J% |0 u
1 a) I- x+ J @( ^# _"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
! a& K' B( j/ P, tbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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0 s/ U, J) \9 B' d( w1 t% NThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,% v" |: o9 q- p2 C- i
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
0 O. O4 a* p" w8 J" J; `, O( \' [Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* S: X" T! A# Z) E
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
$ u; K. M4 @3 S- ~# hthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 m4 r5 [( u! C, _+ O& P- D0 p
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our7 W- l* w) W1 k
own."
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, H6 k0 [6 [- A" m: }1 wCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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