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October 15, 2005
" [3 ~4 X& ^$ d& TClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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; b' R9 R$ B; N: sBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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i* B5 P) ^8 v; W5 W1 R, ]CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. ]9 L$ ~* D& E2 ]
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary( u% F) n+ B! L% O' P
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ x d$ k% @( `; p+ ydangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
, [/ }$ P9 S5 F; d% j, Hflag hang from the wall.* U+ Y6 W. U/ P/ ]: S: y% @
, n I7 Z" ~$ q7 H) q' gOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one0 @) k7 @' |4 H4 {
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders. z M: |* W& n% @! v
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker2 ] ?- ?6 N. Q+ s( ?3 Z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
# e+ R. Y, c( j c' a2 B. s3 g- aare already choosing it over Spanish.- O4 x9 b$ s: f1 f/ \ f# `
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ F% k$ ?' l8 @- G& U+ A8 g7 G
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city% Y: b1 R. _, |
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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3 a; A5 [3 S2 W/ ^2 h3 [With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, M/ e* Q) p8 {7 m. W5 O
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) ^- L6 c8 v( e2 m- i9 g
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention' z5 L: A! K+ B; G" J$ v) L6 o
one of its most difficult to learn.
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7 w4 P) D% t1 o, Y; @Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to. F8 M& X0 I$ Y" l* Y$ D+ S
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 i4 }2 M- F+ }3 f0 ^( n/ r( a6 astudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
3 W! d, |8 i/ l1 K# I: B9 bLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- Z* Y% j( D$ `' G( x- QTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
& a& O$ g/ k) FChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to3 G5 b7 n f! C7 E0 F) i
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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4 ? H: ?- b+ D/ H! {After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
0 w$ U3 _4 S. kChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country2 x, |" L) }' r+ r2 }4 {
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
2 d& M) {7 s6 }- J1 M' bdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
1 u- h/ E( [ ~" R, O6 O; o* Icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
1 h* Z$ {. v# F% p8 K- q* I8 I; L5 Cof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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3 f+ s7 l+ Y8 q) D4 w# g"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 Y; R8 k0 K$ h1 @
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ W/ g4 F: a( s" ?' ^7 f% u; }% S' B
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, q* T. p9 Q- w, c4 K" X
can." 7 ?3 Q+ E& r% f" j/ O
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, S/ P# B" E9 B9 \0 L& Z1 E$ `
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( H- S# B, m" M
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 {. p; _3 |; K+ tInstitute in Washington.# Q* I5 s0 L; f; J4 O
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 W, E2 M: ~5 j4 }
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 F; }$ ] j5 t- {5 L5 n6 Y5 eMcGinnis said.+ o0 W6 ], d% T7 n- a' q
& T- v# m# f9 R7 B0 I; j% R"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
" F. N, W9 e* Clongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be, F" k. Z/ ^+ D3 y) l& y
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
1 s( m( W, l, F& G0 N8 `" E. gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.": s4 I1 @. k( }. I c" y. W
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
6 }. p8 Z2 e/ {. y5 j4 r- Vsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in! V, _: p. a! T" _6 o, z I
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of7 f$ h( M' B: F$ w3 t
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
p* c7 n$ D( H1 eon weekends.7 i" C' y. n! o5 i6 a# k
0 y' `' M( W- G0 A* ^The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
6 B( F% l) E$ W! _$ o; j( Xschools during the regular school day and primarily serves) `- `8 g) S% }* `! d8 @" O
students who are not of Chinese descent.9 M0 i, _, }5 E" u
" |3 ]6 \# e8 KMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said/ c9 b* e x! p% w
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
, _" H: p8 Y' v9 N' Ecompetition.
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: b% j7 F* z) B" A' l"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! \0 X- l- i7 g6 `% L! `
said. "There will be Chinese and English."9 Y; a, A- C0 }' G7 s; X4 g/ z
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 e3 C; M, c4 r8 D# ^
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse; ~7 i# e7 q" w9 _% ^7 i
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from, ]; W. Q/ m7 o/ d
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: w; o1 N/ j6 m# n9 E
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# p: `3 u6 h( j _3 r( U/ P( j2 C
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 R4 ^6 p2 n( q9 P
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.4 p1 _# H G" _. U8 C; [
: }$ J% W0 o% K8 s6 X" k"They have a great international experience right in their own# ]2 g3 v. G* K$ \
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! B4 M; R+ H; w
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' P4 |" ^$ b0 R! A) k* Uhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 `& y/ c4 Z4 m. U; {# i
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. x4 t, }- @ w8 J4 J
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
[4 Z" s `+ ^/ B! |6 {/ qService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 w) A8 }1 f3 I9 m3 L% qChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( _' u$ f3 T* k+ E/ Laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
; p4 Z: V* o2 b) LChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
; B& d E2 w$ C. Oinstitute says.7 R6 D: _% K! Q2 M+ Z& l
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 e; m/ g3 P" W7 q# |
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- z; {0 b6 ~ E" F4 j1 w9 b
deciding whether to take the class.; E' Q% e$ q6 w+ M- P0 y
* p' }2 U8 C/ m n9 k" n% `"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she6 F- l9 O1 I4 L L+ B
told her daughter.. w5 ~$ q5 [3 K5 ?4 g5 p
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( s7 ^3 E2 E% z' z! N, y& v9 t& r! T9 G
class.
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- C0 F, I9 A4 R' V3 e5 j! wAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 C+ R0 m& O) a9 w) b
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without8 U4 m: v* \! t i2 M
occasional frustration./ T' W' p z" V* [$ k/ Y
; I7 o0 G6 z6 o" [# L9 R4 v( ~6 d& W) I; S"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a; L( d8 C( ?' [- h) t# H- n
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.- [ v* p, d' z4 n2 E5 v
6 o% ]+ e* w! X e2 ]" C/ Z4 L9 rRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
+ l- Z7 s) A0 _2 B* U; Ctaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& R+ \: d* U8 l7 q/ pChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! S; B7 R+ i9 P" |0 r
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
y. p; y4 Y9 }; V' Usaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ S) j) N4 t- c+ N+ a( nas many languages as I can."+ J0 v& R( Y0 u1 R
) E9 T" g% x+ `: Q6 t ]5 F9 fAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the) ~$ j" S2 `+ w% e
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 n8 i/ W. n- ]$ l* qmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, j' C) t$ J6 l$ G# C+ @
that," Ms. Freire said.9 S5 H) Y8 x# a
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program S" M$ s7 _$ C1 q0 j3 Q
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ R4 M |- i, K
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" v& P* x" }# i( x% z
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make/ D9 P( F' _, z. Z
room.: }& }- t/ W4 x
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
$ y% o; S6 Z- Y1 o2 p! g, e, |Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
8 t/ ~% c0 u, b8 @college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.6 ^5 B+ L4 b3 b! R- O6 O6 e
7 ~+ d7 n* T2 Z"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified# A4 G: K. q9 J2 m% m+ U2 c
because of that missing certification," he said.
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1 t Q" q- X# a& m7 e. dThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
0 a1 h( V1 s8 dsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" ^" V/ M4 @9 T7 M" N- {* Z" iSociety in New York.1 Y2 V; K! _2 H B! t5 l$ B# c& S
" r2 j2 i* x' Z1 ~Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 b" j! C" V( J9 \9 mChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& o- y9 X5 r% x6 Q! \
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' `, h! e/ w3 z0 ~" ^
own."
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5 V' Z# Z0 @* [- n, KCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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