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October 15, 2005
9 f- S X* Q, v. Q$ DClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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, {6 q2 {6 ?/ nBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 G$ y' \6 t8 A5 ], m
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the9 e# \1 W4 M7 k1 J9 q1 F' S
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
& h; }5 O# a9 A% tSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 F2 d. R7 P& e" G
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
; c$ x0 ^' v4 fflag hang from the wall.
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6 x! k, C5 t+ O$ M! |+ e' ^' rOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
9 o% A3 G6 c, I+ Y* z& vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% n! a- f. W2 x! qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
! r0 ? z/ U- ~4 L D$ Zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students, y+ B; @5 r! q" x/ w8 r
are already choosing it over Spanish.. S5 g" X8 E& d, \( X1 e
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: P ?/ j& w; bat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ ]: S6 }* a" I& S. ^ t8 j* l1 o' [. T
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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" n* V0 x+ l" w7 `) k: m% NWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,. a" }. \2 D) N& ?2 \0 O; h
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
6 q. E) D4 `. P4 H' H& ^to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 Y" H$ r) ?/ O9 y, `6 z
one of its most difficult to learn. {+ I' _" c0 x
8 k7 x9 n) \2 P) B2 mLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 L' Z3 { t: w) c, \% Y
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students6 A6 f7 v. D5 `' x9 c1 Q. w
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 V O: P6 n) J( E5 Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
, y9 g3 D7 Q9 K' oTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on9 w3 ~& k# \- V* W) _* a7 u+ p
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to6 `% ~% e# ~( b8 C; ~' e2 ?
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.: c7 i" L4 T% p
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 X& G6 h3 @% N
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country/ C3 T: f* } \/ }7 t7 y `
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 n8 C! Q; [0 u# v( r5 Gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing; C) f" h8 N% [- |- P
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director% D( [$ p* l# V+ y
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- x, u. r/ J9 L) p' t, t# I% e"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of+ `: E8 j" F4 l5 {% N' e$ H" g4 V
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" D* l( _; R% A2 LConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
; r/ f5 l A! G2 `4 B, A1 e' F* u Y3 lcan." 2 S" o+ ]& j F0 J: A2 Z
$ @! J# J: B$ g. F9 mThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from8 b9 i4 X7 {3 Y* l
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: K; z# a; E, m% o; E- O( x9 Kyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 D2 P( m9 M" e& @( oInstitute in Washington.0 ~! {4 \9 Y8 k7 `0 N
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ U2 A8 _) F3 h, ?
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 s8 A1 p3 @% |- g% F7 gMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical6 P B" [! F0 c
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be1 j. i0 _3 h) }
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% Y* `: n# w0 ?9 i/ d. G, Cchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( N) J* z m- ?) R
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ M! q/ S q4 |+ @1 F# n
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: q) Z* ]1 _( ^/ M: ? v+ L$ ~9 y
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. p+ Y+ f; G4 ~$ rChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ I* C' t5 U$ q, }! y6 J
on weekends.5 i! |8 u" g/ a8 r6 o3 {
! x5 y, z4 Q/ H0 y% aThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& z; D& S8 g+ o
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. e5 x* Q7 F% G7 J- J3 t0 i, @; F# s
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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: I; y1 g: h! X+ Y) _: V( ?Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
0 X. ^7 |8 o' vproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- ~. f9 m" I' e4 W, p' t3 R
competition. `' D2 f ]7 \8 O( l: l* M
8 ]. }. o6 _; l. z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' S* |+ U" S9 Z+ @5 Q: L0 Qsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."8 E- ^0 s: ]5 l U
) F9 R3 e" A/ z# s! v* GFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. P* N9 t9 w# c) E1 M$ Iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse) M* i' s- w4 c
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
]- L+ Z- s$ }, h% ]kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ m# t: m9 w: n& N) t' Cwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to" G: ~8 ^5 e4 m% f$ w
the school system last year.5 f' N ~. m: I/ t. z6 L4 v3 t
! _ Y4 M3 w) R. Q0 n8 c6 I- aThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. E: f3 v: i2 c' ~; f: ?year 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
% S. e! w1 O: W* y" ~& W: [classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago3 C" g4 C+ `; Z+ _, _* \, k. Z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
2 h8 C2 x+ g5 r& r* v) ahelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" V+ h) Q( j) ?
on an equal playing field."
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! y/ C" y& I9 @' V% \ x! SSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
* ^7 g, m; L8 V+ uclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 W, I/ _! [9 s" V
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* g$ f% i0 A/ Y9 h) u
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' P+ S* M7 ]1 F( w) ^$ {average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in3 G! k8 b/ R$ S# ~$ o
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the. ]: z' q! X7 s( A
institute says.
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: W. `) m) F4 `Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 c0 y/ H' E+ k0 u0 |$ s- v% Wgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
% w! j8 ^/ q8 ?deciding whether to take the class.) Z3 {+ h3 o# A3 ]& C( |8 ^
@/ w1 [; _. o$ n- e7 `' y: Z- O"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she: u4 t7 p8 y( A0 ]+ }% q6 o0 C5 I
told her daughter.! b; a$ u8 @& ]4 Q! S; x' A9 [
: S5 ^+ [# \4 q. X7 p1 ^ ESahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite0 o: ?9 S: K6 a
class.8 w% N1 S3 B& C
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 z5 U- N; K+ [
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' t3 C" _9 t$ n e
occasional frustration.
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; T& [1 w+ K' ?4 x( H"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a8 T7 d, i I$ h" B
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.! I, d% a/ _9 @5 j+ S1 R$ J
$ u2 M* N& e, N9 ]6 y6 F' n! qRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 r4 a! W7 i6 j* W( G) z. x& \
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with+ C/ m+ I- p( W% T
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.+ F) R% p" g& h9 b
7 {7 j) C/ h& @8 f$ g9 u"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
! L1 y6 A& U6 J) u0 osaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 U: Z) `3 p9 q' r* C+ n/ C& |- pas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 H$ ]4 \8 X" w E- U Cskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job* f8 S& d9 G* Q/ j _! F
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like Y" G# @5 `% E
that," Ms. Freire said.
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2 S8 Y( K2 z6 a9 A7 nMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
' {( y+ g) j8 l1 ]' ~here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
/ D6 r2 E+ z: s7 {- t( ~school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
% R3 Q/ J$ S2 N7 Mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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5 S0 X) g/ P8 t5 JChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer- c5 n0 }* F) k) U1 F7 z% G& s
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ j& b# Z" y3 K( X4 i
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
7 {: a7 }2 x/ X5 x _7 M8 R0 @because of that missing certification," he said.; S% c% H' m- b0 ]% I. c9 N. {
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
% H+ R% X. A, d- }* [said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 j G- b4 y' Q2 E/ W0 l; ISociety in New York.) H) T3 @' f9 s
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the0 a/ [3 ^% U* p9 U! z: `
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
0 f% u# Q5 o$ E: m6 T! Othe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.1 q# ^8 F# X' v! `, G( g
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) W# P; e0 Y& d) Q' y! R5 g0 _3 N: o
own."4 p& H& L# F% d+ f7 h/ z
; M& c) q6 W# v- i ECopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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