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October 15, 2005
4 U5 g6 y: N K* eClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity6 N$ K. }) F; r! N$ K/ R6 d9 Z. @
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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1 g" q9 K8 @+ \* Y: v$ [) |7 pCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
?9 D1 H2 z- A' }9 f' A9 R3 \United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 Z' C0 ^ `# vSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 I, {' Z; q0 Z( idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" p& `4 W3 o7 y, E" j/ Z" Aflag hang from the wall.+ r' @: @$ L) V2 x* ?5 b4 D
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
! A8 g( @+ a$ X( F0 R; @5 @- vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders( g1 c5 N7 D: B: V" @9 v
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
2 {9 |9 y; J6 `4 p: qboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students( l4 X6 x! J/ P; ^# ~' H. j. _+ J
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal+ f( P! d0 Y/ C
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city8 q5 y! Q) K( K) {
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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; P9 N2 f" `' }7 P1 d; ZWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 r) _; n( R% o7 V2 l$ |9 zschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
' ~+ I Y: ?; e; c0 @to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention) ^% O' Z; H' f
one of its most difficult to learn.
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( ~8 K9 N5 B3 \. {4 uLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
9 \: s. ?4 L+ @) Z, u! B& apublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 {+ f1 e0 @8 P1 o" U
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* Y$ @4 m4 R1 p( ?4 A6 N7 |' {Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! M* D; r" ^* e- l3 m$ g% ~' oTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
* _6 _1 B( X& j# j4 x4 E9 lChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
# h! S# Z0 z( C& t6 eimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.$ V2 e: d6 W) r8 [; `
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement1 E. v5 p) X: Q7 L# c
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, ?: t; @& X. b; H' m5 n# i
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
" U. F/ G# A8 N, M- Qdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ U$ i* |+ P! A' `8 U+ N" N& z
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director! w$ W$ B, E+ ]1 e
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& |! G0 H3 t/ A& i9 Q
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of w6 q7 X9 ?2 |4 s! y1 n' j
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 j5 y! X, h5 |7 MConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
* J2 f4 K o# B3 u. F! b6 Bcan."
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& m, }) ?8 G* {5 c! s1 LThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from6 D: [- v- W( z4 Z4 K/ g! ^
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 109 H6 c6 l; O) k( n% U8 D
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 N. r% [" X ?! V& d0 ~Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( M: L" Z7 b. j' a1 jaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ g7 S' N. H. _% J1 L4 iMcGinnis said.
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' G) {4 L! @1 R+ G ^' _* A( V5 G"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical4 a6 Y7 G2 D4 r# Y- T. f
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
2 _2 l# L0 A3 h# ~ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a- ^) {& v) n. f9 s/ C3 S
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" [9 p: ]! } N0 W" K* ^
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and/ o9 `/ i q1 Q6 c
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; h. \& @) h6 C- j% |& g
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
3 P1 h) G: @& j# i' @. S# j+ mChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ v ~+ B) J6 L0 Z5 Ton weekends.
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3 X6 F7 K+ W; g" h NThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: |4 J( c2 w) V2 I
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves, @ [* C# {$ v, m" X
students who are not of Chinese descent.: P, C) {+ n3 Y7 A" g9 q `& G
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said) x `8 S5 Z4 `5 _
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
, E8 l% G( A9 P0 h: l+ Scompetition.
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, J+ U& }, H7 ]! e) ["I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 T, u) T- c5 c, O( K. I
said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ D( A/ T/ S$ v$ v7 Y& |1 O% M
0 T! ^# q" Q$ B4 `6 @' ^9 w# A6 qFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, N6 e- d- p L: i( v8 rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse v6 q/ Y" d( C6 i5 D/ F( l# k
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- m8 h0 p% ?0 j: ?3 M% dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 z+ f. |- |5 C, b) \$ ]2 C3 hwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& }( j6 g, f+ Q9 q; B' y/ W* Vthe school system last year.
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9 [% h, n0 y" ?: dThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 P9 _6 V) w; {/ V" X) _year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year. D$ Y* k H$ V
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 e4 q$ `% c" b' H/ Wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 n0 ?4 M L& M2 F! F4 ]Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
9 U/ ^* ]4 f9 f0 w; thelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
) d9 p/ n" R- H7 O' Qon an equal playing field."" d* @' y! i0 j: [6 u E. S: [
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 p7 `: r! [' T+ U# a* rclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
. O2 Q9 c2 m, b+ a4 h9 J7 ~Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% j7 N9 B! Z* ^Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 a. U8 H( l- [5 @% Faverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
! F" b) \ A, |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the( M4 Q: d$ z" ]9 e; t% U
institute says.
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3 p4 S3 g' [' _6 v8 nSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth {: `* ?8 \. v5 Y' e* z
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- V- U0 h' t" l
deciding whether to take the class.
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# @' c; E6 d) s; c _# Z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
" t! i* | B$ d `7 a4 htold her daughter." K! `4 R. L5 A3 G K: R
' n8 y! B" M: l7 {, G2 lSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 Z4 C5 D: r7 i, ?
class.% i9 E, S9 i5 T- S/ o3 `2 r: F
5 [- T# X1 g$ r5 x( F: I! OAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( ?9 ^+ Z9 \, K* I# O7 |- ?6 Fstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without6 \& R% v) c9 |& ^) x2 S
occasional frustration.
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7 H6 }' {3 Z- f' X2 u) I% {. O"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
: T. v( n7 C$ @: E: ?9 V( Trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he) }6 L7 M$ r& W, W' R/ ]
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 Z; ^4 g4 m; z% q& f t n
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ z9 J; ]! w: ^" H. \5 \
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn, ]3 O+ x- e+ T" K
as many languages as I can."& K& {; F, {2 F6 ~, z0 Q
7 I$ Q! d+ |0 \( g5 WAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
. m8 c; k& p r/ jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
4 D) L: T% t/ @: F. j& Bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& G' x& E7 N0 b% t
that," Ms. Freire said.
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5 k1 c3 W# V5 b5 W! aMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, {' n( D/ Y% q4 O! n2 j4 K/ j, C
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
% T9 o# L5 C2 y9 d Bschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) I# c! H+ U3 H% Y; z. P! W# p: Ntime from classes like physical education, music and art to make/ M9 R X T# ? e2 c
room.
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. P/ ~1 O# K- p% a% F- }Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* E D. h" }- s6 `
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 |) X7 N- o) n& `7 Zcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.6 b' Q' X6 K n# G! P% r+ j
7 c; L% L) W/ O5 m X x# g"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified9 F) I0 d' r2 N! ^( A* t( w
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,9 v5 J3 c3 a# w8 ^' B4 I
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* }* h X' m) r+ s" t
Society in New York. a# v1 r2 t+ p9 X2 ^
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
) P: d" D5 Z/ e' GChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# q5 K) t, Y) y0 W( a8 A
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
, z" q8 [) Y+ H! c1 u8 qown."
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* {( t. {/ c$ u2 K2 D$ `Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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