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October 15, 2005$ {- h$ U! ~+ |8 Y: F# q2 J
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: p) j1 O j* k. k
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& i0 R1 m. m* J0 S
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
0 `! P q. r$ `: [4 ESchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas i6 B$ U) C- e! E8 C3 `: i
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese8 B. {8 k4 D( u* m! c
flag hang from the wall. o6 r- U: |5 _9 Q: o" N
( o5 P( S7 Q' h7 L. B1 o8 q5 COne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 K# n+ V; M" Z1 w- ^9 aanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
& E( A, p# ]3 @: B; o2 npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 m0 t- j4 j7 a: h- }boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 ^5 s. k+ E1 n, G) h) Y
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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( \- E; G6 E: `* K/ s; e"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
! b' a& w1 l! E: cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
: A+ N' `4 w% D2 `offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 w+ o# w8 R; D6 r: I' [6 t
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* w! B' g7 i* J' J
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
0 H, z2 Z6 E9 _0 T2 Dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 ^) k2 |* Z' Q% ]( [6 i' A9 ~one of its most difficult to learn." p$ z2 A2 y7 j# g
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ {) d* _) s. S( o- p$ x8 k
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students4 Q$ G# r* t, D
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. U' a; \, R( s$ C( r, t" F7 x
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
. ?0 q, `: Q% U9 V' I0 O0 jTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' C5 q/ @ g/ Q: z( DChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to# }1 r d8 k1 I/ j6 E
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.7 t% Z0 B, a3 R n
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
+ x& E) y- X3 w5 o) d) D- KChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 `/ `0 S0 u) p( i5 ^' Kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ W X+ e( d' a9 q$ v) Y- I6 x( a
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ U, }7 w# i4 v8 Y1 L- _% o* Pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
' f+ ?& F, d2 A/ t$ Iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- V; a5 ^* Y: x9 Q$ ?$ D: o. T
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" D3 v7 D) L. y0 q
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
* v5 j& ]+ p. ~' j1 {Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( o5 o4 e* x2 j5 G% A
can." 6 h# P3 Q v) Z K* \; P
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
/ ?+ c! P8 g5 _2 w& b' |elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; S2 S7 E. x/ J4 a4 C) R2 f
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
% D6 N9 \1 Z% {& N: t% b! c0 ?Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# Y2 t3 d f$ P' Daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
, w/ `- R6 p& W9 F! H- mMcGinnis said.4 l4 R# o0 ?, V8 z8 ?% M+ a( C
3 N8 w5 L- Y/ Z5 |; y/ }1 U9 |"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
1 O' }- m( e8 |$ f3 {- b& ?longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be: s4 z8 o1 `) T! I* m- |! ?' p2 L
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: p8 J8 x4 q$ {, y6 J8 \+ W
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( q) ]' ~2 u3 }& q3 L( F" t0 C
, B; n+ Z, Q+ fUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% ?% }& `7 t1 b3 _1 v
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in3 Y& I% F- G1 c$ ~+ z7 L
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of. s+ h0 f2 h9 g7 s, I+ ]" V
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or# J3 Z- e, o8 X0 ?4 z
on weekends.2 x h1 r+ P$ \
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# r/ t+ J2 @0 g6 o3 r, i
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) d- v3 p& a# ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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! M8 q E0 S3 h2 u8 b/ o l# W' \Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
' w* H, E G, ?& u) L4 {proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
; P: N" }6 }8 ?0 m4 g9 ~4 z- `( icompetition. 0 J) v: c# \# ~& z
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# v; e! K5 K! _" }; @3 Dsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."* J G8 ]0 P! d' E* F2 I
5 } x4 @: g+ CFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
0 T4 n7 P0 W/ | k5 Xall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse( m1 ?: Z2 k9 q( @1 v8 H p
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( R' }& o" F. i/ d' G! x' t M
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 R0 {; |/ x, u$ T! ?
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
% _. A" p) i8 athe school system last year.. _+ _# d4 V0 o8 G4 S7 Y$ P
+ x7 o: k, |- @% |The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ C, F f3 Q: X5 k4 ?+ F# ]year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year., a1 _9 b! [$ W1 S
2 A6 d; j( @8 m2 x1 f6 P- b8 {" i"They have a great international experience right in their own& N. Q1 D r: A
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago( b) b6 z9 b; z' i2 j! F
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" z/ B) z% b. K0 c
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 I" c# H1 I% S
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: B8 T; ]! _9 R9 k4 d3 aclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 e1 b3 | q8 U4 e3 w! D5 f
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 t6 S5 M' S3 H GChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An9 W4 F E5 u/ a6 g1 D
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ J) D) {! v8 r! S) V0 d# B/ d2 XChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the& P, Z* q A p+ c; J2 e: E
institute says.' ]) D( K% e8 a7 Y) Q7 p) H
0 a& l- n* s* G' ^Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
) X! L {+ {9 e3 x" ?grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before# z' `7 Y( T- S q+ d" d ?/ F1 U
deciding whether to take the class.0 X7 v" K$ _) O* x
" j, ?& I& L, U. u* a"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 ^; O2 O8 G* |) Etold her daughter.5 t* O7 F V0 E( B: K
" Z) ?4 c0 |# lSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 q3 w# Z; r j- r$ T* A: xclass.
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1 ^, f, n5 Q# `% Z6 x% m+ @. ZAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 G7 s, U) q% a; p- S
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' c1 x0 s- }+ `. S8 R
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# {1 O% @6 @% y" U2 U) H7 v% e0 G! s8 z
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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( ^" k2 v; Q) V9 v" zRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 ?7 N$ @ k/ h$ S s
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with# A1 } K0 R9 z; h3 g" M, W# p$ Z8 N
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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3 ]9 ]! G+ _5 y"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul6 ]$ P, u6 _+ ]: g
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
) c: T% Q* g. x1 o! Y# ~as many languages as I can.", V- D; k) p6 s; i; U. \" X+ p
$ o% l' B8 `0 c& D/ y" SAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the2 |1 I5 T* b y3 n0 a
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
- {5 f& _" @! t* T2 A0 j$ z. i* nmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like C/ O! p0 i% O
that," Ms. Freire said./ ^6 K4 l1 s# m; U
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 x4 {$ _$ t0 @3 P. H- J5 uhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 l$ J& T3 J% S: S/ Z- k
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking/ |7 B' N. G! E
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
& |' I; l E/ x2 K) D7 e) p, B" |! @room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
0 R, m" c( P K. Z0 B1 ~$ pChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 R# [- w2 m0 F0 b- k
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.1 `7 ^9 d/ H! a- T
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified# o1 w& g0 `2 z
because of that missing certification," he said.
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: H q8 s8 t9 a3 h! b* MThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
7 U0 e0 J4 g, A( C. t0 m# Zsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' Y! V v9 |+ i8 ^3 _3 }& I+ C. X
Society in New York.4 p, N6 q4 _" @1 b I L
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: b# A2 l& S0 S' p. \
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 U; _/ ^+ Q! J: R$ @, M
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.* V4 {3 x+ y* ]5 P [
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( X5 P+ e8 l3 S1 ?" Y. I5 u3 B. j
own."" K6 O3 T. Y, [) u! `, M/ |- G* \+ S0 P
0 u' }2 O7 `6 v2 e* qCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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