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October 15, 2005' k% g: n& |$ O9 T4 H/ \2 h
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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. m- l9 o4 ]9 o& F6 M4 ABy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 Q0 o. R7 R% \! q1 mUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary+ r: ]" g9 ` U- M0 [+ J8 @
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas+ f% `) J3 X9 u9 t# A4 C; ^' U
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 C6 z! i3 ]: @+ h) Nflag hang from the wall.
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# D5 n& A3 V5 D+ ]8 \One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
) k3 n( s' b! panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders: y5 x% ?: S, u* q5 U( L
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& A! f' L0 n% A7 Q, ^- ]* g
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students; P1 p ^( H. x ]
are already choosing it over Spanish.7 W( x2 _6 @+ |- V0 Q/ C
, B3 q9 T- N- x7 H; a4 T: Q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
9 t) I7 Y" [) s* J# rat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
y5 a# N* Q2 i- |# F! |7 A7 e# T+ ?offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in." A$ j! z" W1 r
0 H4 p% H- \! z4 x7 |: yWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,2 t& o% {2 s& j4 m# a2 s
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings+ }2 A9 Q# e, K1 G" k1 {! _
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% i. ^$ {" P) lone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
8 q( [. N9 Z. D7 t9 F2 mpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 A& e+ S9 ]- F' I* `( A8 pstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: E1 i! O3 c' P
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
4 u$ Y; A7 Y" |' |Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: W! {- S% L$ Y3 z
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to! `, x0 @; J* U( }0 V/ w
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee., Y' B3 L. J0 f1 Y$ l, @
% b' P# x. |1 \! {! r! IAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- D) v4 p( \9 f+ E/ x8 OChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ Q4 t. l) f% t6 @; |
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to* X5 Z& t! X+ G! t
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing, K4 M1 w5 M; s
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director% R) ?. B: X: Y' Q$ x' H
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! z# d' R+ t. u$ r8 x! Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education# ]. k# t! h2 J4 u0 O
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ ?* n) n% B& y8 ucan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
/ P9 E% l( O' d9 `/ @elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ T; c' z% w) C# c' uyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' @: K m( \( I) F* x: i! P
Institute in Washington.7 S5 J7 Z6 q6 e$ T* w5 B( s: z4 [
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 L8 ~! P8 T& A2 H& S
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 M2 n' X. {4 W- _+ W. T6 V
McGinnis said.' M3 y% W ]& E' \9 _9 `
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
. T9 ?9 Q ?# S- t! L/ \longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be. o( y1 q# ~3 z8 H8 X9 I
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* {1 E" f/ S6 ?! N8 x. a, d6 v0 V
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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$ d7 A, n9 m. f( u c7 r3 W$ dUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ H2 Y7 t1 j, T6 b, Wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
" `1 p$ X( O2 {7 g; X1 Hcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# ?1 H; M: ^2 q+ k" c) v9 q0 ^Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ W5 ?( a' Z5 w; E0 n2 R
on weekends.
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: J6 q" w! {5 QThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
B" Q: ^% V: G5 _- q6 }& Y3 dschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 L8 i3 X/ S) @4 [" b( xstudents who are not of Chinese descent.1 ]4 |3 E" O3 q9 u
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! I" M; L; Q& @- _3 Q3 C ^proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' _0 \) O1 m5 V5 |0 F
competition. ) h7 l/ U1 A" o* z
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# u9 h# V3 p% F& ~6 Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."- z" O7 P# _" I; n
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly6 ^1 |+ s4 J0 M+ R7 z) |
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse' ]+ U" e; a# S3 K7 l; d
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
7 e3 f: Q2 r: e& G% i l4 ^8 |" ^' Jkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students- u6 O6 C! J$ b8 Y+ f) P: ~
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to+ d1 R# n$ f- z+ B; v* Q) p, J
the school system last year., p c( l5 @1 h& i6 m1 a8 X
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( X6 m4 B* g; M6 {: \. Syear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.+ u- t+ S3 J/ t: i4 p( }
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
+ C$ J5 p" h* T$ b1 ~" Aclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" ~2 v% I" t- r7 `5 o/ N3 s& gChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* {6 o: n2 n# z/ ?8 x1 e) M
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet1 j. Z( l& J# m: b d; ~( P3 V, B5 w
on an equal playing field."
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$ G5 o6 z! d& D# NSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
\+ @+ S: i' J, _ nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 z9 g# U% @5 L1 w1 B) \
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks2 z' ~: z0 H; I. u" a8 H7 R" c8 S4 U
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
q9 u$ O/ L* p l/ C- i5 p) ~average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in: S. G. X- f/ c* P: Q0 n$ h9 s
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the% ^2 M* b7 `9 b0 n. {
institute says.1 W6 }. T+ R& p; M
3 N3 U9 E3 }- C" ?# E! |: l, W6 [3 }Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
% z, Y2 n% U& r( F) ]# C% mgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before# y! c+ z( m* ~
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
- A( [0 V8 L( ]% Stold her daughter.0 k. H: [# i+ E: @2 v
* X( U3 V% n9 \Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 `2 x: g! m/ G6 N: m- }4 t+ c( Wclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are, l+ H' h& R, k
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 [4 _2 e$ a2 l9 Y* W7 R( d
occasional frustration.
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; b0 ] s: n5 o# w# @. p"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ Y$ f4 l% M @6 e- X6 i I2 `recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.4 b. M- B# ]( X
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
|+ K3 Z* P+ T" x/ @& Utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
% K' r3 C' j& S; cChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.; S5 T% n2 d. C% h5 ^
4 s( [4 l2 m6 S7 r' s8 |/ D"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul% K9 U2 N" C$ F3 h8 \! O
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn) W) E5 f' t5 \/ q7 q7 y
as many languages as I can."7 B' `) S3 Z3 q: ^7 l6 K
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the: g! c+ K' `' r: R2 M9 ^
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job1 U+ U: l/ G' P+ A# O! p* x* P
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
; D1 }( W. Y( |/ A. Gthat," Ms. Freire said.5 r& K0 d" z% W; Y& [
+ [% u, M/ o! J Y: c: t/ }! bMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( X( k5 S4 {: g3 T2 o
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each1 l" g0 e, f* |9 \+ J
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking, {4 S) f7 d0 G' V3 f/ f& h
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
" |4 q( s4 z+ eroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
: }* }3 ?+ j# h+ n' J* mChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
9 W' j( Q" A# S# ?' @college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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' y3 m! o! o: \0 ^3 a"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& E* C+ I* b) b# P
because of that missing certification," he said.9 k" m+ P G% p5 x3 i: `
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,$ K' B5 ?6 V5 I- q0 J, Y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
& [* o8 g( O/ `; T" K/ O lSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the7 g/ ?6 J0 k. K
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- M9 C: U0 f3 n* [/ Y) Athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ ]6 ?% D& a5 s( j7 \' A
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our! P, |- n7 F4 q" D0 l. f& {
own."% J* c, I; ?" \
# f' b% C/ p4 b2 ]. C' z: p9 HCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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