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October 15, 20054 p; l! `1 I, s( q
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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; L/ \* m; S; k5 f4 P; PCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ L9 [) M: U7 b+ M9 r, h% I; p1 V+ E
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
! I& w, U# M/ l1 \+ k9 FSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas6 j' X& m( `( @# ~: V! ~4 u/ L
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
6 r& V" i# L/ ]) N; K! Eflag hang from the wall.
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6 F% u$ p) |, l' u* bOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
+ L+ o2 s9 \/ v3 r4 f3 canother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
5 F/ @3 ]. Y& e- m( l z7 tpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
2 Y$ f. T7 A* I8 a* [boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% v* |: w9 n5 rare already choosing it over Spanish.* y/ b9 L8 s; z
8 `" C' |1 S- w"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- h' _# X6 S% c i3 [/ _
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. K$ P3 l: N( L/ coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."/ C& n( T7 R1 K; {
* {1 @, G1 C& z/ {3 nWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 r9 }' z. S3 j8 g! m
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 X8 |/ J$ z7 a
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ W8 O. k# T6 \$ U2 Oone of its most difficult to learn.
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( ~* Z P2 V+ I* pLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ }# ^6 t4 j$ p5 I* o
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students; |3 @; p: y5 f! U3 I( z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( r2 h" l E- `( p$ Q7 N9 c' u6 c8 F7 O
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 h( C) d# X+ P) G
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on8 k% t a# I" u' O* X
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ T) q6 n6 x: X' p9 S: bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( |; Y/ b- v# m) g; c0 `7 D0 Q
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ i; j/ ^2 s) [3 [9 O& y1 A1 HChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country% A) f$ f8 E2 r8 e7 w3 x2 E# M0 |
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ L& f" E' _) Y4 [( d
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
1 _1 M; u, y2 k* J) xcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director+ {6 u& o3 t" J, [+ \% U, A7 r
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.( j$ E; h1 u. T; p" }
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
% j5 {; h2 E: Espeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
$ Q& ?5 Z9 Q/ A9 B5 hConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 V, @1 A7 D" S$ L# O+ t7 ican." ' T# V; l: V) f2 m3 J# v
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
# V7 o$ s" m& e' g' qelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 109 |- A4 x+ R d/ X! _5 M
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
6 L' ?' T9 \: S2 i9 yInstitute in Washington.3 T/ U4 j1 q6 X' {
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages) n! E) Z& Y0 p. }( a
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.. c8 J3 u4 j5 M
McGinnis said.% w! ^6 M4 D; {
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' K* Q3 Z' u# m2 y7 W0 f! U( Z7 i
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# g) a! g( r g) E( B. u' L! ?
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
! I! \; W: { q S( Kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ O3 }) [4 T4 H) R
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
M: j* d" |% l( Z7 S# i8 rcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 T, O' U' J y+ h9 s! v
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 A% {! H0 O. \" J" H( fon weekends.0 ~6 `4 u$ d K" O4 |3 ~; {
- C) [: U) x! p+ K9 CThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 n0 T d- l1 x( Q
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves: E3 T# C- {$ B1 @$ ~% ~( a' P
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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' N( q$ @4 i( oMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 i2 m/ v) [" t) q& |! ?) Kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' x1 X$ s( `: |5 G; v- E2 }# o
competition.
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3 j7 J$ K+ b3 A {) C"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
. x+ b( m: E" y* C3 hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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Q$ X/ \; h4 F( F' R G2 iFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ L$ Y4 w+ d, n8 q0 h, ^
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse# l- C! W/ V4 Q4 w6 N5 w
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from# \ e$ _7 k) A4 ^% f" M
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 c" \6 ~, H8 a: W& j$ S3 Lwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 V) r) ~2 J* x* n- B: lthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this% D W9 E3 @, w- n" I
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.$ D2 k( ?5 o( O6 f) H: E
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
O2 ?% P) ?6 r$ U! h; ~( Rclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! C9 P# U& ]/ r
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% `, R9 V' a0 d% phelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
( f; |/ ? |4 F7 _on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ \/ Z7 `: z7 F! @ ]classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* y; P' [4 Z. |" n; nService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
. f* i% F0 b5 q" j) Z% FChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 r0 H: D% O7 M% `# w2 {4 ]average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in% { U3 c8 e6 a3 P% }9 B
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) e6 H! f# T9 o. A7 \institute says.) L: }$ u5 V) R/ z
1 o+ H2 b# x2 u7 ]. L, S6 NSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; U( R1 y4 a% F5 M9 b) Y3 M2 t
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 X: _) ~* A( D, Z
deciding whether to take the class.# R: b. s# B# I# q* F! e3 m8 s
8 d0 R2 }- a: A+ n# ^ {"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 G8 H$ b' E L/ D! i
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 x5 ?* i0 j/ R8 @$ N o1 b- Uclass.. f/ `2 g; |4 S" u& w. ] {
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are" d# d$ j& s8 K( f+ i
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
- u. ~/ N) y j& O# F' goccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
0 J+ s }) v% w3 E( xrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) p- b# B+ A( ^3 r) o4 [. h# V
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
0 N- }4 q% n" l6 D2 ltaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ P. R( X# o5 \6 O( s, E2 `Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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/ [) o7 B; j$ ^% w8 g"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' s8 c# I3 y6 i( [) M. U) i) D$ i
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn+ f+ j$ r( f1 O5 H# C$ b" m
as many languages as I can."" L$ g* p( c$ Q. x2 b+ x8 b( C w
* \3 {8 r, c0 G I h7 B1 zAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 ?& ~4 b s! H) F2 t+ b
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& V; t4 t2 O1 L9 B* e
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
; H; q# w: C j) p1 h& @ {that," Ms. Freire said.2 q4 K4 H* }, f: D& B1 q
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program2 ^8 \+ n: `6 A2 C' a$ z
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each6 R. E" ` ~: U) p
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
/ Y/ H. X; A0 Z: w6 vtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 T# U2 ?3 n; {" X7 o- N: N! J( z }room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer# E/ u& \7 X( A9 h; q: Q, |
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- D+ v- E. w. r. L- r/ Mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.6 ~% B; b. } p3 E! C
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
4 N3 I5 @$ i( Z9 w6 D5 Ybecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, D) \: y6 ?: y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia2 |8 S# _; d t* _1 {. I6 R T. _
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the5 ]0 F" g) y1 a. W4 {
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: u* a$ V7 B d; Q0 e
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 c& T$ v0 W& p1 q
own."
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1 |+ i- H* q) ?& i0 dCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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