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October 15, 2005
# w4 S9 N: Y! d; {Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity Z& x" s( [% Q% Y- ]
% u: ^3 A, |3 f: ]By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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2 G5 B0 m+ E, d! oCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the8 |5 ~8 a) D; K9 j, x$ r1 K
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 n6 R4 A$ k1 b; X( RSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
1 S/ S7 h8 P }# R8 jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ y, U$ C$ _% n/ Z/ Fflag hang from the wall./ l: X9 q- p: d. b, v5 m s7 b3 [
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
$ q. o0 L; U0 @+ `( ]# r# P) u5 janother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' e1 n; N% x4 j% h. Cpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! i0 ^7 G! W- h
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students; {2 t; }: Y. y. ~- I
are already choosing it over Spanish.1 P$ x) a- S2 a' ~
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# w- o, S( _- I8 ?. b
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city% y: i+ p& e$ A. M/ W* P! Q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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0 W3 I! [: n7 x8 e5 b3 I3 LWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 Z0 u5 P$ n4 ~. L V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
( P0 c$ L7 ]( Qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
$ O @5 p. ~8 K: y; B- I, Z: s6 U( bone of its most difficult to learn.# T/ k" O4 ]9 r; e, {
& V1 e6 S; S. P' P; p; @) x0 Z6 dLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) M2 f9 T- x+ s2 ]# M1 E9 s6 @ B" Bpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students @6 u& S' k* \
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
8 v- k e" A% P; M/ |5 M* ~Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
* r: v9 Y. J# UTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ [, O! x( ~+ G5 W! W
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to4 m9 g. V+ s( J9 f, ^9 d( o4 i
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." T& P" \. g7 s1 n7 w" q
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement- g: H( W( s, V
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; ]2 m& e" O6 y4 D4 Ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to3 f- F; Q1 p8 M# O
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% K# |. p/ v) Y( [# B0 Ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
X9 [1 U- m$ q* ^; uof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.. F6 s2 V' V5 [6 n9 a2 X
/ p& @) N2 S, @2 o$ _; l"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, w- O9 X0 w. m5 R: G" i
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education1 l5 w/ ~: Z5 Z) d# ~& C
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
8 R4 X# ~6 ^; ican." ) f+ R* O) ?- x' @# c/ ]
9 D8 ?7 E& n" ~3 ~. P4 X& c$ sThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
~% D, X+ u$ ?! P- H3 Q2 g- melementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 Q0 m( R$ q3 t" P
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) [% k$ j5 Y9 g4 X9 x
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
* l1 \+ B" w2 Y) A* u3 ]aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
5 K! l1 R, w# _# eMcGinnis said.( ]! x+ ~' N. M3 w
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ j( Y U: C7 E E) a/ j- A
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be/ d" Q x' ^' E
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: }' T- b' h. A7 F! H9 ^# Q
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( r' `9 t+ T/ X( F9 Q
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% m/ T2 G$ G" _' E7 U Ssecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in4 E' ?2 J+ [1 m0 T8 X
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of) L$ V7 ^+ {2 B
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or$ q% \0 p4 d1 H* L6 j7 s
on weekends.& C3 f7 P* o3 ~# y/ V" }
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( G- x* q$ w+ `: U6 P* P
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves5 I/ r- r. e* u' {. F
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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) q9 x" J6 }6 K F5 `Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
0 w2 a9 O+ D7 `7 ~1 W& Uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the% J, h0 l [4 s9 d' t& c, W% S
competition. 1 y- ?- ]. W3 w/ O; a" l
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; C d. Z3 q. b5 q u7 b3 S* _& n% }1 gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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' o' h4 u$ z# b. y6 n& XFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ i8 i3 {' T5 }2 W" X, O# `/ yall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
) h$ B, Y+ T" E* X% R# Eschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& o2 B; f8 w0 l* \4 W! m
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
( f. A# T3 B: ]. r7 _5 Uwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' ?) n. d" J5 P. c; W
the school system last year.' h" b: _; g8 J/ E+ t1 ~
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
h- j4 @# J. @9 A3 B) L/ P- yyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own! r3 ^% @9 d# p- ]) I
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# z9 b& U/ E- p# ]# D4 R0 |5 v& iChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to7 @4 H4 J5 O4 j1 B- q9 _$ H
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 X6 @8 e0 H1 x
on an equal playing field."
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% ~0 b) b J% G0 g6 T( ESome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese5 L* @( h, k7 h; S+ x" m
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" _; g+ k3 ]- }& K7 K: f
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 U: _6 @% D2 j D; E7 ]6 `Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
% U1 u) S8 K) n+ Daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in T! [6 _6 J# \8 F0 I1 H) j
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the) J- e4 R* @) q% T; K: ^; P
institute says.2 S7 }: v5 C- d5 O1 u5 D# P
2 N6 ~$ M( e9 r# h& e9 ^" k" bSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth k: c4 ]: M. k2 G
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before' A: P6 Z6 A) s8 v0 f
deciding whether to take the class.
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# m2 Y# B! E2 L9 d"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' _& f- ^9 f4 H A8 M7 a6 f; ~told her daughter.0 ^1 @, z, x8 u& E+ d0 R3 Z- Y
4 o! ?5 o' p) @6 [ m+ l# Z2 dSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite: P/ `& o# ]/ W4 N, }) u8 }
class.
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- m% u2 Z) w0 _# |* |! Z6 G! BAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 w; U m6 ?- }studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without/ {5 Y2 e) @8 }/ d$ m
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 s: t& n6 N% P/ o6 arecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* s8 w0 B4 j* d: C! I- o9 k0 R! r# Ntaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 o$ C# m: n* v2 U8 [& {) I# s
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.4 ], ^/ F; ^4 [. I* |8 C
0 x+ i) ?0 J a4 T"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 N+ H: Y7 q1 h" E6 S! w
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ w( F( ~7 @' N7 g: r
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the, H; q0 X# d$ ^" |/ C( G
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" m$ [; O6 i2 B" Q. e6 h" V) G. R5 |- a
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
1 Q- Q! ?9 x, B9 u# P/ o; bthat," Ms. Freire said.7 w' ] V& G: l& }8 Q
3 _- O9 S! J: j7 R( _' y% [Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program# a' O5 f/ A1 O* B2 t
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
( A0 N8 a6 f0 J3 q) xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking: t8 s# k- z& ]" \8 b
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make& T# t7 z4 r: S
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 j; q+ j- K7 V" c. @" h" n
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
4 {+ p& Q$ z! A3 J- A0 pcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.: `0 m4 \2 U7 V: ^+ u- D: n; y
; n# V5 d- d* H8 ?, j# b6 q" B3 {"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
" {* Q7 p) @! }: [( M3 Pbecause of that missing certification," he said.$ F' d3 d$ z. O3 u( U9 |/ f x
/ j+ p# G/ z ]4 M$ rThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* ~3 { e z+ osaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia0 o1 K$ U1 R$ T+ W! g1 |
Society in New York.' I+ a8 Y8 d* C# Y2 {
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, j# K* \" }) R" w* h
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- l7 d* [% N% J" F7 r4 b
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 ~& ~# u v. l
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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5 |" f" H! p0 s) S+ Z# s( Y2 j8 c8 vCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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