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October 15, 20058 v9 b/ Q; t$ |5 J: H/ l
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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- p! v, O5 ]0 r( c. G4 [3 R$ WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. S. s2 w) |! i7 E- B# |/ A6 X% M4 j
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary f$ c2 [) t: {% j# i& H
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 ?5 O6 _' w5 r+ T& P
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese I( v0 V' P% }% Z
flag hang from the wall.
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" o" H7 K$ Y/ l: _/ ]( P' @) y- JOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& D4 [' g' K6 f' _* `. O! e
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' H. z5 y" k9 J$ N* l1 |practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker9 P/ K4 v6 t4 f) h/ Q* q1 h7 X
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. w/ J3 ^4 e! A4 D& vare already choosing it over Spanish.
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7 [' _$ ]2 M( C; v1 k"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal, h: r9 u) W! J! ]5 ^" a. \
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city: r2 M* q' z! I8 m( x; c
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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+ A: _9 _- M" ZWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( {( _+ u/ R: F- c4 D! Z* p* yschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
+ C- j* z5 E. P. z I3 J- } ]to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 b* b$ j. z% W5 D" mone of its most difficult to learn.
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- H* p3 c, W6 I, vLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
! o z. ~% f, J* o# L2 T. J: kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students" a( O* [. h. f+ t3 i
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ ?) E9 T4 u# k8 x3 w3 q3 u" C" C+ F
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
) r0 t2 ^' I* m0 g. E4 j: F: @Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# Y& a# S- c4 q, H& z) ~# [
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 t( f* q# O* t: O
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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7 O9 L- j/ x3 ?After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
; I0 {" d% F3 [* d3 O: r1 x$ BChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
5 M" t# A Z: [& }4 F$ x$ C5 \% Tstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ b( }( V# I' m5 ]# R m, Y: q
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing' |" G+ q5 c3 l2 m$ I2 T
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# o5 l% b2 k! w, B" p& u
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.9 I- Y x" V7 F! m* m2 p* W
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: F ^( Y; q2 d. K7 u5 y
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 l# @# B; o+ _1 W9 KConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: e9 J: K. x0 z3 B1 nelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* f( u- C6 y( g
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language ]. L% O, W0 a' l. [! A A6 K1 G0 U+ E
Institute in Washington.
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: p( q p; s1 K3 f$ V8 ^9 i% ?# X"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
$ C6 |: m( ^) F) ^+ Varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! ]) |- m# d' ^! x9 P% D; a: K$ VMcGinnis said.( t7 i: k7 O3 L. h9 \# c
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical8 F L* J; e P% N/ Y" A) I
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) J. ^1 Q0 ~+ `, u" ~: m1 O x& L$ |ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: q; j3 p! g( Schallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 p! A! j/ B7 j, D# v( ~6 f
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. t! l+ c& J" O3 B& D/ }
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* p8 M. W5 B( A, MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 w+ D1 |1 G$ c) p2 ]' p# oon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% c5 n% K- V- _+ \1 v" l( Hschools during the regular school day and primarily serves3 s" G2 ~8 X2 q6 e
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 w, O2 f- ?, J9 `5 T
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 y* \' i8 n( f1 ?6 [proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
G! Y; y1 e0 k" ]2 t* E2 [competition. . G9 i6 T0 `8 F) q2 a
- `# `) I, \+ P# D) C"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 H/ q3 D' F, x+ ^; E$ s/ osaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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" ~% o- ~$ ?, O2 F0 a( M- ^From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ V5 ?( q) k0 f7 h
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse( ]! r# b2 g0 i& k
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
. W, P4 w( C; @5 I; Z" C- J- \9 Akindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
) E! b @5 j; Q8 q0 W0 Swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
* i& X q" I6 j- E9 kthe school system last year. `5 q- }7 H8 ?
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this9 p/ }) G1 p- r- c
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.. _* R! F. Y& ^& D; s- ^
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
. L+ x9 v4 C Y2 fclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
, i `; m* L! C. p1 t9 R6 v5 ZChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to; J4 \1 {* n8 J" X/ w
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet% ^& @7 l! ]$ |8 z( e* G. @/ A
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
) D/ V' T2 m9 U" F# Gclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
1 j% W4 M9 J, ^- y( _9 i' fService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
5 _6 o! r2 e1 B9 L. dChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 l1 J; f& P; J8 W/ {# Uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, Y6 d* b/ d' u6 Y+ v7 g+ r( A- G
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 e* V& f0 A: ?grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, y" }3 S6 d0 J5 [
deciding whether to take the class.- B+ o1 ^4 c* o# o, l
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
9 n! l2 C, ?) v, r/ h. rtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are# m* }/ x* m0 U% i9 p% C% b& E7 i
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ i% n' A# j Q$ z! Z5 @% \+ i
occasional frustration.0 m6 e5 ?1 @9 m5 ?1 |/ N4 W+ l
6 R+ A+ {9 b1 |1 D"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
6 f, U. }4 K% W' L4 |# Yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he. h7 z/ G, z" B
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
1 h o: b* J# n$ \. J) WChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. X# d, H9 _! ?7 E
6 N, O# R) k8 \5 d; d/ x"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
" e @$ h, P6 x; a- L6 h) U4 h$ _said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn& `. Y4 q; Z5 Q, E
as many languages as I can."% V+ g4 a4 ]9 e# ?+ E
8 c+ f2 b! F# g$ h9 s, P4 @Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ e+ Y& S& C7 ]
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job$ K& L1 K! ~3 D+ O5 t0 N8 z
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 u9 {8 p0 u3 h9 T( q: @ @& c4 Hthat," Ms. Freire said.
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) F8 H0 n& ^. i( JMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, L, m8 q5 Y: Q. E, B! K- Xhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each1 m* w7 a/ |0 q( V4 r" k
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
3 J+ t5 d Y+ ?7 rtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make( ]* c, M& t; O" H9 L ~! {! i
room.7 h+ ?5 e1 |. b1 Q8 b: f8 ?# h
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 g i/ _2 e+ A" E+ RChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 t* K: ]/ w! O9 T
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.+ n4 E/ m k' E8 i% r
' L9 j* y# M( |5 P0 P+ e( C"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified5 k' z2 K- D8 X) u8 o* @
because of that missing certification," he said.% x. s" {! e* h
6 Q7 ` z6 F% J' G4 P4 sThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* M4 M z1 {3 E2 K- Wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 m3 `! X; A* [# _% z5 iSociety in New York.8 L% a9 ]2 {/ d/ p. e7 o) a! u
8 ~1 h. w9 `6 B5 NSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the9 T& W' ~5 M4 f) ^0 y* d: Q; t9 I
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from [; P; S4 l( c. \/ @& j
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: E k4 L- c) P# @3 q, V3 \% |- l" T
own.". W$ M; X/ T; ~) D b' I
7 L: [3 R4 J1 A, p% GCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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