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October 15, 2005
" b: W7 {. j( v7 W& e% aClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) o4 x; m O/ A6 N
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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/ n' x$ F I: L9 CCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the- V8 @0 _: M% A4 f. W4 k1 U
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
* P2 Q# M% k( L+ o: Q! QSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ Q$ K$ V* ]$ p
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# b( z* s" m0 k8 H h# q
flag hang from the wall.2 e4 c/ i2 P! D. [+ N' P
, D: i0 v7 g% B+ Q7 tOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
& H4 F2 h& y) p( E/ Q4 Yanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* c2 S: C; b: b, i) P3 u$ c
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
3 a1 P& z3 f$ I' f+ rboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# S+ I% n0 k- F) B Q
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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+ y- e' Q* j# ]# S4 p" l- G"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal, `) Z7 m; m- I1 Q+ ^
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" v# m. O: j* woffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
" F- L0 J$ k# W' C, d) c2 v! Pschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings0 \- |/ m& y5 }
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
' |# z* n. e F/ r: gone of its most difficult to learn.& _+ E6 O& ~% W5 r1 Z
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to. }- n @5 U2 u. `
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
' T# B+ r% `+ h) b, R8 ]studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
+ @, A$ N5 q0 r5 j* a. r* VLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of {) r, U2 _/ ^! C+ A$ z+ y
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ s) j* x3 |8 N- i' o0 Z6 H7 S0 TChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to, J: |6 y) u2 O! F6 C
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ |1 ]* i7 b$ s
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement7 w m& _( \& `+ K- j
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 Y) W. \5 ?1 O
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
. P, k6 j; n9 a# r; ^8 Bdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
4 X+ l, `1 C. r! f6 J# g0 Zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director' E2 R" m8 o2 m9 R& v3 C/ K6 P& d, G
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.7 K% b: T4 K% @
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" Y3 v6 a& v* x* D V) B
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education. p" m3 q. j. i+ v% ~2 r# A5 T
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we8 L" [- F0 n4 v, F) ?" I
can." % E4 O* w. a. ?: n# w. O G
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from( G# L n/ U0 L5 n# C' j1 D
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, j* L. |& b/ v3 M
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ e/ f3 \/ C/ J& Y9 r) M; sInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
' d- S5 ^3 f" F; c% W! Caren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. Y7 P, p8 v1 f0 E, W% R; h( r0 sMcGinnis said.( ~0 u0 g- x7 S# k% I- y; P
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical! t# ]/ a. R: F% ^4 t. Y
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 m" X4 |9 r& q0 p2 e& r/ k1 H6 B
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) e( D* _! T& Q, }* Dchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and; b. Q0 S M# K+ Z9 z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in6 w( ] t( t3 v
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# m* D! t- k$ P: N) q& E- ?/ s4 b- N
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or5 P5 ^( h& _0 o: H% ^
on weekends.7 d; t" d3 E3 ? r# T7 ?: Y
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public4 o% U) t* q0 r& n* |, h
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves- t5 ]8 X# B% V- ~2 Z$ p
students who are not of Chinese descent.4 t& J/ b& \% S
+ ^5 z& T3 B0 m- D2 k% l7 YMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said4 }+ { k$ s; H! }# }
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* G) V! K0 d( B Z g7 q
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
( ?% ~3 t- ?& V: ysaid. "There will be Chinese and English."0 [7 U" \- ^( j1 v3 y
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly: P8 j. M% |# A$ A
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 ?" I# S6 ~) C- m7 C' Y, X
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* u( @# n8 `3 w$ r
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, w. j( o5 h+ s, J; `0 @
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
! e, R/ ^/ D9 |1 Hthe school system last year. F. `) g* m1 [- f0 r# B% }; @
# |1 z# L {6 R6 R8 B' `" i( ?8 s" B; vThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
) _0 n# h6 r; g- z; J% O6 Pyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! _" y3 t+ x" h, B' n
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
: }/ C3 y0 X7 Vclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! d$ ^1 D6 x, n, x. E, o
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ m" b6 {0 \; y. h0 v" z' f$ b; }help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
- S, m( R$ c' T/ J* n) ]+ _on an equal playing field."1 b4 y% o* ~! h/ v
5 q+ ~; t4 l* s, gSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese, i9 p! e2 v0 n! `! h1 Z
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* g6 \% A1 C, k* QService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. k; W5 u/ K& A# R- D8 f4 h
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 O9 I2 W9 t, Z8 v! Raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 J5 b, \% k, J/ y/ W! R
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
( V4 M+ ~. w% n ]0 d& {/ \% cinstitute says.; Z& y: U& @- w: S) m; y `
" b1 l7 ]+ R9 Y; u5 ySevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 C3 i; |: {3 r2 a9 F. Ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) K# x/ z2 V1 _1 W$ p4 F
deciding whether to take the class.# p, {. H2 o8 M+ M6 w& L4 B( i+ E
; Y+ I5 d: L9 z3 H0 Y# c"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. Q) C% D H' g! j
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
4 M; Q( h; b8 J, i9 o$ l& ~class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
, t& `8 X$ n( ]# ]3 Q% mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
, P9 ]: D. d, L, joccasional frustration.+ o) I9 I5 A! b4 V9 O& W$ B1 W3 m
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
F E G0 i: j( I& t' B8 I$ brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.& K: Q6 M9 Y9 H+ h0 z
' }4 i5 f0 E) b F# P) G5 LRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* \6 l0 I# k b# v& u4 wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 Y |& [1 Q% y. L, K
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ p2 @; G" o/ T$ Q
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
# M- s% _5 v0 L! k7 n. mas many languages as I can."2 j3 t: g6 j+ F
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 i. X5 M6 g: Z+ rskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
& d& x4 s2 R: w& T Imarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
) B& u0 p' N/ @$ Z& X: `( `" N( Fthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program) H8 }. }; k" z# l
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 p& M1 ^7 X/ Cschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 o3 Y0 w$ p4 h/ E1 {/ Z# [" P) Ytime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
( S* r3 w+ R" z0 G& Iroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
. n% Z7 w2 A+ C$ S" sChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
0 }9 Y8 y3 N) s; L/ ucollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.4 m/ g q6 L" T
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified3 P) U8 [9 T% }0 C
because of that missing certification," he said.. y$ [! _+ l1 x1 d) [
# A+ D8 S! s9 ]5 A4 o7 U2 C+ CThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, k; A. ?$ g6 u! F, k0 ?
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
1 n" W7 {8 Y/ p( r4 t( N; jSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& ]6 [* k9 q; y4 b
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from' h$ n' j' Z) I- F* F) B0 V
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 G6 h( ~8 }& _ i6 G0 K# n: X( s
1 @! L" {3 t8 U$ C; X1 T, N4 S"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
9 e- O" D: A: L9 D+ f+ y3 ^own."
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; W9 K1 l8 w) m( T; |/ qCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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