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October 15, 2005' P, l& X- v' I
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the/ W# A( q+ N& F8 g
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. W8 ?6 U( d4 m: k* ]! ]
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas( X. {6 s( L+ u/ p& K2 C
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
9 N4 j' W$ B! {; Iflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 W% I4 v9 V( Z k3 }$ y
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' }+ r+ l& j. Bpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* b8 X& u* t3 _4 `" i% P
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students) x- f$ Z4 A$ P, q* f, y5 N7 f6 u
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
5 c" F% `% c, ]& f3 I' H1 y Fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
8 R& s6 o5 Z9 ]8 w7 Poffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."5 H# \% w6 i+ @
- e, B5 v9 Z6 R9 SWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* |5 p* B2 U2 f' ^schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
) k) {" l6 j- G( q$ kto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( h" l" [' }. D8 v# Tone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 G& D9 y/ q; t: M$ Cpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 w' c) m- B9 I( b' Y6 j; X8 d) _studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: Z. q9 q; W+ Q8 G8 Z1 V" k3 Q, u8 o* vLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of {* V5 @, m4 R$ i# e) S
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* T: Z7 M+ U" O- G2 G1 k
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to+ l' k& v+ T5 a+ B7 a% l \2 y* J6 C
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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3 F: q* W- R: J( p) R9 t9 HAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; G8 @3 a% n( |5 O4 l" F+ W
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
+ g. [0 R! ~# e9 g, w: Kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
0 Z9 v) a a6 l1 Xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing) a m/ E8 T+ S: {+ Q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 _& P0 F2 a1 X: W1 n/ r1 ^
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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& a# t: f1 O, Z! K6 L"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 N; G8 J' k$ g6 b# w, zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
! k3 `/ ]# N; G- _2 r) C$ m4 mConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we9 F" n! C7 D" z, J6 I% h
can." + Q7 j) p- H @, s
' {" B/ t8 Z( j G1 w( s- N' P+ IThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, q$ ]2 c$ M4 v4 Z0 w; P4 ~2 Relementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ o1 a) ~' j7 i# x- ?% u8 ~2 l
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language* n' |/ w. W4 ]" q9 D4 M, Z3 z
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# s5 ~% q. W9 d7 }% b
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
8 k$ y, `( M" NMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! g$ Y' A5 Z- {! ^5 Qlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
; x: v6 E# ?+ `* F5 yready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a4 r8 Z8 ^8 u1 u# r: t
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' p4 }% M9 H: y: [1 ]
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 J1 c; U3 i9 i. n( Bcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) ^- s# W) H9 a$ rChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
: P5 K+ J# U4 F2 von weekends.
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4 A3 o9 a" }5 A& s, }The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public- i* Y0 [) p9 I' ~( K
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves2 ~1 K! Z6 C( e" u+ u0 ]
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& w6 x o2 z0 K) X! Aproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the1 B$ W) R1 ~5 Z
competition.
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5 C% b7 m5 k& \( N"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 o( K# E9 ]* [" O3 Xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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: l* d$ m9 @) q; e2 X& l4 H R: Y uFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 J' a+ |9 a( Vall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse1 X% w/ C5 C5 S' j
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
( \9 K9 \6 W' P. c Vkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students$ F+ N$ i$ x; B
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
0 F+ ^% J% x1 r1 Zthe school system last year.! A" H+ H" x1 h& ]9 A7 k2 H4 S
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
- y2 G8 ?5 L& P' M V8 Uyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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5 c9 P2 F5 @' t+ ^+ F, x% N"They have a great international experience right in their own8 N6 o! @4 @& f! i, b- v
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) `# D: j& C5 v, U, v- \( qChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
3 H# |& i# M' K! [5 Y. i* T" a% Bhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
' p0 G! [+ \+ W7 h) ~+ Kon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ ^* t7 z4 g6 `& iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 ^- q# r' L8 V# H- U2 tService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
) o) M) `. X6 ?3 D' o5 lChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" W( A m+ H# k% [$ L, d+ W, t2 b
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 Z( y4 a# V& k. S% A* pChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* a/ Q$ c* b0 M, ninstitute says.* [7 i( b- l4 E2 a4 i) x( k$ \% |
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 [4 d( y: a9 |% Vgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ b9 j9 x9 Z4 e; i
deciding whether to take the class.
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4 O7 q' T2 d& N e2 T- W"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) _; J7 b/ J- R; [( Ftold her daughter.
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X) n6 M* e7 C0 N& XSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 d& }' q- B0 @, L
class. [" p9 \* `1 b# k
: I" ?6 s0 H2 |+ @: T- R( OAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( W) w+ f. d2 _0 A5 H; |, Z4 Pstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
, w1 P& b6 U, A" h3 Hoccasional frustration.
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, Q( f- e3 k4 |) _3 X% A"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
1 ?, f, z, W% Z4 M* p8 t" a( h' zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.3 }* i9 h2 w4 ~+ L& |, H
5 }/ k! Q! P& ]0 ORaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he/ L0 x1 _3 h; {; S
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 @; A* q9 ~$ _. ZChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
% E! I8 J" W" o; D/ n% f1 F- I: tsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
( k o }8 A- \, X5 L7 f& bas many languages as I can.") P# J: M1 M7 H3 L% f0 d* _& d
+ W1 N0 f# P: S6 }% w8 Z. E, g) PAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the3 [; S- _" G+ f* a2 i
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, d. v+ ^% F7 |9 vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; L* t- k/ k. z7 r8 y/ V
that," Ms. Freire said.0 M0 C! w/ ^! a9 l. a5 L) r
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program; j& x! ^8 S9 L9 y! e6 Q
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each9 U: V8 l% y4 H6 ^" @* \
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking' p8 [' \: J6 b' y; j
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
; ^6 {7 } t3 @% T: C vroom.
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8 S0 f4 V! x7 ~0 ` G LChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer+ s6 N5 X7 L- E; Q9 r: w8 J0 t8 P# f! j
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; t+ D+ j2 [/ K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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- |/ x$ T6 `6 f2 w) a6 k! B' r"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified9 \+ q( D6 t( v
because of that missing certification," he said.
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0 u% ?" z- V* jThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 |5 E N/ o/ {4 ^/ y4 M2 R! ^said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ ~ A0 r! A, d2 a# e, Y: Q/ _
Society in New York.$ T( n1 B: {0 ?% J; P& m5 Z! v
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
6 e4 s! b! w& _. gChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# K; l/ u. m% O5 L
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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4 M8 H& `: L _2 \0 uCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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