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October 15, 20055 ^: h: e5 }/ n w B8 C- |
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING* m' s4 h: w& g
8 J4 }" t2 o* ?) M" `. {CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
N% k! ^& j9 j' O5 XUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
" E# O' r4 {4 ~1 z/ a" m) a- d& TSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 b2 C0 s4 {: C, Y5 S- k! r
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese+ u4 d7 \6 ?) R
flag hang from the wall.2 k$ C6 C( T! v" c
: ~, l" a6 a) J, v" O/ ^6 E u$ NOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 ^' z: S: S" J) Q5 Z
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! z% D+ r0 g5 z0 t5 a4 P- V
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
- f8 K$ r: _- d% i% Uboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students5 q2 c `) B6 t+ X' h, s+ `
are already choosing it over Spanish.$ u# g# s& A; N1 ~
/ p% j! ?; r7 t; |6 @( o"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
. @2 u. |3 B8 r, O( P" mat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
0 P. g$ F: J7 k: n- f" soffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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3 |/ h) [- k% P& y& ?$ C6 EWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 s: B$ }* b' |) C5 ?. b% K8 s' jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
4 N0 ^3 `$ `# z+ ]/ N5 D7 \to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention+ H; i8 c7 X! a* U5 G
one of its most difficult to learn.1 O$ z0 z4 ?7 a7 y ^
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) ~* v E3 [9 x b# U1 @( p" u5 rpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! N+ d) v2 K7 Y' o/ w) w f
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* G8 f D4 }1 ?2 T5 f$ }3 J1 }Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of* V F6 d5 ~1 _" c7 a
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on" n$ f: D, h0 ^1 Q9 J1 g& w
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 |- a) a; |" F" V. f, s2 M
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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/ w; o1 |( {+ H3 E( _# kAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ A- O2 s! y) U
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& O$ N/ T4 t0 w7 d/ k( Y
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to+ R$ `- l" O7 j7 k
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing7 r- q- h# x- Z, h
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 O# S, p9 j* Y5 D3 R o- bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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; C& P6 m; F$ |; ^"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
4 G" Z8 G, ]' ispeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education" T- a- r/ I/ ]7 a1 w
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
7 f- Q& A9 t, M$ A! ocan." 4 J5 @' l1 j% j! @! r
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from" V7 A7 ~2 \2 k$ B) \" s
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10+ e% {/ Z# z) g4 m' ]" j' M9 i
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
+ n: A" H1 Z- xInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages9 k! U) V0 M9 R7 s: U/ D
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; f0 n6 z1 z) i) \* qMcGinnis said.
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3 t7 ~9 u3 Z8 k4 G"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& u- J- N; a& @6 H
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 P( ~. q0 k. m+ iready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* g' [2 C! b) k3 B; W* ~8 F( p. J6 I! H
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
w1 q" v3 s, r3 n) Ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in) x4 V% x9 U7 X P, v, b5 y' k
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' y* M8 N" J6 v1 MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
: c: o2 R% s z4 \7 t" |+ qon weekends.
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9 v7 g: ]* U1 J& _0 ~3 d: a" ^ D% P1 sThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
' h" j/ p6 `& c2 w6 \8 g, rschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 W" u1 P+ ?2 W1 u+ ^! O4 S& ]students who are not of Chinese descent. L r7 p7 s6 l. ^) O) e2 H( }
- R ] e9 _+ H3 |3 ^* n& q1 H# DMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 S8 ]; R3 t% K Y9 Y. u# J' zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( U' w1 q" _. v" e8 G- Q
competition. 8 E/ x0 a& V1 K0 a
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
7 u' ]: p0 x! `, dsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."; `4 g+ C) h& N! \, K- `: r* a9 K/ c
3 |0 C7 L/ \8 d9 _4 W2 |From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 J8 o$ C+ e: y1 H" f. B6 @all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ Q% o. Q3 I1 `2 S
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% a) x7 o/ n% d" i; F" N& B
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ L- ]6 c+ C$ Q/ X: V0 iwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( j8 X. `5 R0 ?! X/ h) b2 Q5 G
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this8 F& Q2 z1 q1 `. l, \, Q8 J+ X+ W
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! Q. T( N! F( V0 y" f' _8 `/ d
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
1 W" ]6 l2 w, s& ]! Bclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) J8 R3 q7 I' n( qChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
6 E$ i* X5 s: \, w6 Z" Y! `5 Vhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
% O% m1 b! f& i) H# Won an equal playing field.") p- I, V* ?" r' }
6 n# c% e5 j3 F. aSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# ~2 q& B- K1 w6 A$ bclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. e8 |, t/ ]7 t' x6 Z8 t& Y- }, n0 Z
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks3 ?5 d5 b1 {7 O0 S8 U: @ t0 T
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An+ j+ {( C3 e7 b$ ?" K; y1 w& |
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 H7 L4 b! k$ @$ t) pChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
3 Q, A& x) l& l: K/ i& B5 K7 K2 Dinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth( k; E; o; I7 Y6 X! h* C
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ q# F' m9 O0 x' |! g
deciding whether to take the class.
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* r/ v$ N: p1 i7 E, v"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. M/ O1 g9 s" f# o
told her daughter.
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; H/ l1 Z) N, [' E" L5 y7 f2 RSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% h! M3 i- l7 D ~( a/ Hclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are* t! h. \. c. U- `; `" |8 \6 Q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without) X/ G2 m8 e0 h
occasional frustration./ E5 S/ d4 {4 h/ o1 _0 e: l
* I r. l8 x7 D8 ?"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 F2 D! o( e9 C, f. {
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
% D/ e7 a) d; T" v1 E5 G/ ]# `- rtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
4 o+ M5 Y7 O) @' F$ |Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! l6 Q: a! O0 B. p1 T- x$ n
- r/ J6 h; n r"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
3 G0 B- V! }' u2 y( ^# W- p+ A/ h! \$ ]said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn0 [9 A2 E) f0 E/ V
as many languages as I can.", @) r, L6 Q' V1 R+ _
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the n$ D7 }. k6 u- P
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
/ k9 J7 B2 D: d. T' E8 qmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
2 p9 ]+ ~$ \4 h4 mthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 Z- u( ?0 D6 O: A
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each9 P" b5 F4 F2 f( p
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking K6 ^- ^0 j: H7 e
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer) y0 \ b3 ~6 P+ Y& z4 M9 R
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
0 D% Z, c4 j1 H. zcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ p' S3 |* b' ^& w9 z* ]
l2 z& a; X1 U" c; o' `2 K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified; V7 X# ]% S" \
because of that missing certification," he said.
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6 E+ P( _* s, I9 F5 PThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,) ]& Z1 A1 d) s' |
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia. E [# D% ]3 A/ w; x0 B7 s
Society in New York.
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# w5 E% d1 h& eSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ R/ `. [0 v$ G
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: S4 A, O* J! Z2 [. ]& t
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.2 O6 I9 t( X" \
/ c9 b: g i4 p( a: X"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
6 e" C8 Z: r z7 sown."
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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