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October 15, 2005
4 l& z8 h! N/ ^! v' Y' v- nClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' ^* w4 B& n5 W$ S
0 P3 O: z& ]6 a0 ~6 I3 kBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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1 w$ H/ E v) s) `: f, \2 ?: GCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the: s2 E. e8 Y, R* Z+ N! [, k* U7 ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 H0 z7 `6 ~$ Z3 I5 k4 `
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas% ?, `. Y- G* N2 i N0 H. z @( R! \: C: P
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
% X8 ^: j- I( ^0 Y9 Fflag hang from the wall., ]8 E: L/ \7 r5 A8 L7 v1 \
) d& A( T+ |4 g% G1 {4 C* yOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one+ |# s/ v( |/ p6 o
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders; R- C3 r# C' r' \( F6 `
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
/ V# |8 y: o% B& z* Pboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
" Y. J" o% }. G' |1 Q/ C/ B4 iare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal9 a* S# \. g$ G
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ l$ z7 v6 C/ x, X8 S
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."7 H. q+ g3 c d- D5 y0 V* J
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& L( }- Z3 I G$ h( l
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
% ]* |: N/ }: B" O( `% ^7 Eto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" Z7 |. Y7 D( t3 x+ e
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to: \; Z: V% s9 g$ O2 K
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
~! ?: O6 @8 t% Wstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! p; H. i) V& B5 {0 d
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of& G- a6 s! v' I2 K
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' k& T t/ s* q7 c( d4 _Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& g7 \3 y0 b/ _! j" O) V
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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3 a6 S$ q. M+ X- }; O2 l" KAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement/ h8 [# e9 [( |& w. b! ]
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 ?1 X8 h2 X% u& f( G1 M) J# _% ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to" y, u/ F" ^* ?6 N5 j
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
7 b4 y) b1 K0 c. }( O: @7 \$ tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director- O# I6 i3 e) L+ W1 W! T
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& O9 ]5 @+ o4 @4 Z
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 W, Q* b- |0 f) j6 T& mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education* {. m1 E: Q" x- V q! O9 n
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) a" r9 I( l) p% @9 k' i) t
can." # Y" i& ` m' R) l% m0 ]* Z
* L# L3 K" f7 A' ~The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from" S% T) z8 g( s. N
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
0 |/ R! W2 w* F3 Y1 _ y. `* @4 Lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, t0 A8 W, W; b
Institute in Washington.; D0 s) u& D: q
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" \5 w' j8 s9 u) G3 K* T1 v8 Paren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.: E( k9 Q4 e# H: [2 s" o
McGinnis said.2 q' q2 j, D/ p4 G, ~* i4 D
1 D7 P1 q d% v0 p5 @"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* l' J! p8 p$ k( I/ q) H/ b/ Dlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# N* A1 L+ V8 J
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a- N, t8 A+ l4 }) ~
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 `2 ^" M( Q8 y9 U3 I
% k: S) e( o$ K& S+ }Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
9 U2 s+ T5 L& l2 u3 Ssecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: S# ^3 m/ ^0 Z" W5 @0 x0 _
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
4 b$ S: a4 \; I( ?4 RChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
T4 C) J/ ~4 c+ U1 {: [% i2 Zon weekends.
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4 r) E" ]; ~+ Q6 e7 pThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
1 t( P# [2 B. Z% @! Y7 e: Mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
( B F* }# [( g5 qstudents who are not of Chinese descent.6 S5 A! y: u4 ^8 H1 T# S! o
# T9 X6 d+ M7 j5 hMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
7 ]1 W2 A. |$ j6 y" Q5 N& a" Tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
h( z* @ c+ ^7 M% vcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 T; e( b3 Q0 ^" I( Y0 Q( Fsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly9 \* }. m% M. x* O' I
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
+ b" K# n, ?! L4 }schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 A9 ]) R. E2 H+ Q$ e
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 e* h. M9 ]8 t/ Z5 @' _3 v" i, B+ Q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to8 I, Z0 Y5 m$ M
the school system last year.: F. y' W1 x1 s- a. H
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( y) _* K3 ^8 \* z7 i4 r) B5 l
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.$ W% j5 F, D/ N: z* F5 d
9 `* p0 ^* r/ P"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 `5 s; h8 ]4 ^& B5 L1 ~classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
/ B+ f) d. a) C" [" ]! `1 o% nChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
8 {. j" {9 N- G# z I' e1 phelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
: p7 X% s' Q: Y3 M$ Uon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese6 ~% @! }7 I- E, ~% n$ d; W
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- k$ H! o) Z* B) d9 uService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks7 U$ u# B5 p+ g* V- d
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
% Z- }+ Y" _7 V+ @average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in% Y- _9 X" ^, Y: P$ Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# l, b6 _, E k, l$ n
institute says.. \2 e4 ^3 n; p. C6 u5 F
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth/ U0 t5 A8 r9 |# V+ K" A) ^# Z4 {
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ a3 Z9 w7 q D
deciding whether to take the class.
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$ m. w4 r$ N |. y( y" s8 n2 f"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! N: Z& p: X& X Y- l$ utold her daughter.; Y# k/ W2 ?5 l! O1 Q5 {# @
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite" v- |7 ^! v; O5 I# U
class.; y; G7 V* t8 o" X8 |
! G; l1 a/ L% L0 n h$ cAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
4 M+ ^0 S- y6 ~- C! N5 W5 estudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without& ?$ {! ]% W2 T3 O
occasional frustration.% J. e+ X% l; f/ G1 a8 X8 ]: c+ j
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
% d' K9 `6 K+ l; S1 Krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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6 x {3 a& G, ~( _# sRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 r: \, P7 c, }% N( s. q( @! Dtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
9 Y0 b6 {* H5 ]; H, tChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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4 b; e3 s; q; q3 F/ @! H"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul1 F8 G% E; |& |
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" T) p* h& T- {" A* Z5 [6 Yas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: [* X3 O! I1 f! ~0 K+ L5 Lskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
) f* A- x% J' b8 Z+ l( ~7 y( Jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like$ Y* _. _5 c ^. K& C* y
that," Ms. Freire said.
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5 p; t; n6 R9 h- H6 GMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 g; ? z8 y" T+ mhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 j; f3 k8 K& W9 ]1 O! D: }* E* }school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 o8 k% b/ V0 B* @time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
' f! n; _/ R2 b* h' uroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% |% Q* z6 a3 X( q% [
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
$ k. O6 p* e5 k$ M/ F6 E [college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.# n; `1 g {7 d% R% w8 g! e; G; p
7 A* @! i6 x6 {"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified" v" [6 q9 t: m( Y( e. Y3 L/ a
because of that missing certification," he said.
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; K( E& y4 q8 {9 C! jThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, o+ A2 M4 W9 `0 wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
4 B& a7 `1 f4 _* T4 tSociety in New York.4 w+ `$ f$ }9 @, W2 P; t
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
$ [8 u1 Y( q0 d9 s2 j4 @: q' BChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, \7 ~0 v, t" N3 b- y$ z5 }2 F
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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8 T& n$ n& g) B: l' h2 }7 U"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
$ C. G; f- Y/ T! w* }own."
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$ ?6 ~9 m8 R4 ^' p, SCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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