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October 15, 20058 |0 {+ {0 R: o i1 P
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING' @* d! b2 _( U' D6 Q
8 f& f0 L$ }* M$ ~7 c; n) hCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
! j* h4 s z4 p/ l( U% Z6 t5 LUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary) k' L0 q+ V, _# ~8 I% a
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas2 ?: @8 L% C: Z5 _
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese- Z: _- _6 f5 w c7 c- p
flag hang from the wall.3 \( H& w; b: U) W H
" _1 v9 n s O$ tOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 G1 p2 ^/ ~6 x; Zanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' \9 }; X$ G6 I8 I- Tpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker$ F, S- p1 M$ l
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
- Y1 M0 C8 L" ?8 ?; care already choosing it over Spanish.
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# M6 b$ `" A8 a3 y* y+ _"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ C9 S% S9 `" u; w# |at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 {1 v( w8 i. h Woffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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# \! Y- K( Z: D! o" t% RWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 l/ s) J% ?5 M2 O
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings F& q- ~9 |- z/ g
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
`3 q. p5 D! Q4 n- kone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to6 s' j$ X2 m* D, y9 R- t3 t* g- F
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students: C7 e! Q3 S" U3 X* ]' S6 I
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: V+ w! N2 y. _; {Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
~- d7 Q! M. {Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
1 k' i6 `' y5 {Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ B; n9 r+ s' O( X' { x3 m
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.8 e% Z$ W' t6 ?) s$ x
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ o8 b7 B) V, X: @* n' P
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 g" W; y: Y- q/ r8 X r5 o
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to- F- b3 T5 F+ u$ ~
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 c) G% C. p# L& B3 Z; p
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 Q6 }8 R+ F+ N# Q) e& r, b% U
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
/ Q7 O/ o. c6 U& S5 Bspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& [0 q( \$ J- c; \0 ]) JConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" |2 j, P2 }# B9 b1 }0 a) h- R- ^
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% Y" o0 W- X- k, H2 a2 t- w4 C
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 107 @& ?" d: Q0 S2 Y
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
: D6 |+ a, Y$ G" U% ~% s# _0 WInstitute in Washington.
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1 C, S1 N$ B* U4 \# s2 {3 P"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# L& k) N: f: o; B6 y! oaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
2 C# R) B! Q7 HMcGinnis said.
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2 ]4 B6 S! h% E( L( x; x# r. a9 X"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical q6 r) L" |+ F* _! \- T3 S
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be* D9 j6 j) l2 M( O% Q8 o
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a! N& @# q; i; H: Y
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( d: Q" W( R N |* ?% W' M) C
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and& I! W6 H- P* B( o" T% c
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
" s, c5 Y& d* b" W8 g5 Icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of6 I! ~' Z: J% b8 i
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or( ]% o3 n4 t/ f( t& H
on weekends.# s+ q5 S4 W% k. t3 R4 s
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public, \3 l/ p% G: N7 C) [
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 x9 Q2 ^2 `0 s% [4 F* G7 b6 ostudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said! \: R% [% F6 \6 j, x! y: i) {
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the7 X) i2 @7 O3 i# h) @7 p2 b% n _ r
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
4 j6 P/ M# a/ r' M7 ~said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 Z) C' ]6 o( x/ D& x" k0 @- call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 W8 P) g; x. f4 ]: xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
. u9 a7 g. r4 s9 B/ t, q* o; d; rkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students3 h. Z! O2 U' U! F
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to. W2 n( K' f7 s
the school system last year.
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0 v3 y/ o$ R- {& m) h: b: d, v8 aThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* m" x4 b+ I% h8 o# Syear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year., @9 Q" @9 P& ?& r+ i- Z
5 F9 Y% v9 W/ e$ P$ x"They have a great international experience right in their own$ W1 c5 |7 E; C' E$ i
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago- U% \& g/ m4 F/ n
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 a/ |4 h% S2 |$ w i
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet2 z7 ^! \/ u: V" t$ U! |8 y: Y
on an equal playing field.") i/ { z9 v9 O- }
9 e( b w- f' M; O+ ^Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese, f3 q( X( o% I: k7 v
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
: \+ [$ w7 G x5 `- h0 HService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; D0 }! A8 b- n4 ~Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 X* c! q* |0 H' O0 qaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ J/ d0 s8 O: L0 tChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
3 E: {0 S6 o; C7 T: H& Q. z- ]institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# z; x$ A* h- u8 N5 W4 A1 Rgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: o7 `; p0 \$ v7 A* g6 d, c* F
deciding whether to take the class.& c& @8 J7 N* n# {0 o
5 B& b- K5 X; M* u6 Z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! O. f [3 Q. o B- O$ O$ Mtold her daughter.$ S0 I3 i- r4 x. P
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite1 V }9 ~. L0 T- a. ~# D9 ^# b* m
class.; r$ V+ R7 b) ?3 L: S
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
5 ?9 G' b4 G' m1 g+ v; tstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without; x4 d7 h( `" u+ J" }" X* G9 }3 g5 A
occasional frustration.3 |" \, g% K( f+ s/ S' ?4 Z' |1 \% x4 F
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
: \# T( ^, Q: ?/ Drecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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& j2 g4 @* z1 h6 r3 h9 eRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he8 H1 {2 z% d9 o- d' D" t" U$ q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: J" f5 J, Y% {# N0 [
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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) `/ S c3 f8 l: a9 e. ~/ L"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
1 z0 p V, g3 p( N2 }said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 i+ \ W0 B! x" w7 tas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the( D1 R; u$ H( P7 o$ W/ C
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job7 Z1 C! X2 O& Z# h# `: m
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: m3 d/ b% J$ J4 A4 X) \ T
that," Ms. Freire said.
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1 G I) r3 G0 L- @4 g# ?; y% @2 S# p- l& kMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
% s: d( ~- U: chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
+ v5 V! n& ]* kschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 `9 u2 C* v2 ^5 x$ O. htime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
' v6 c/ M. `% p0 n( D& uroom.
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- P5 A# B% Y8 l- D' s, rChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer; Y1 ^0 v' x: U9 F& y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American9 i0 R: h9 {2 v) @/ g
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.4 Q2 I& D/ X# `: _8 u
2 g) \& K# h+ C5 {9 [) @& E"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' M$ u. h2 T7 V9 J3 U( b5 jbecause of that missing certification," he said.0 @+ p- b9 x9 U# w+ K% D0 n
+ z: M( ]$ P+ H8 I- s; B9 MThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* m) Z4 s7 x& E# i8 }said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia$ C, }' s( I1 S* l) T' C4 c0 C5 A
Society in New York./ Z0 q d% c9 q f7 n: e; m" _
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
6 ]* \0 T! K. X6 j+ [8 C$ B8 o" ?( IChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
5 k" D S0 k5 [. J* x9 wthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.- y6 @. \9 L3 v: Z2 m, V
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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0 R' E2 ^% O2 _4 q$ `/ _3 C' n1 mCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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