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October 15, 2005
% \5 F" m' r1 _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING8 V/ L0 \; W( t; m, b$ D
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ r0 P" h' [6 L# h
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
Q* a3 I( h0 Y/ I+ P: p; f$ A; WSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas& d3 t+ s1 Y( h3 A) v: f
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
4 r2 U# I/ z4 ^1 Kflag hang from the wall.. q9 E/ Q8 {$ r+ T
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 n: r) I! G' T8 _' G. Fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) d& R' d, J# z. W0 a* ~
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
6 U' u& n4 G d7 x: @/ tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 ^0 F. h+ X9 a+ c l7 M) ~" v' z
are already choosing it over Spanish.9 ]$ L" |; h' j: d1 _7 o' P
, B. q7 X/ f0 l9 }"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
9 _# y' M3 Z7 k0 U& |. y" J, Q' rat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 I2 O! P9 n9 }4 U! I! N n2 ~
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."% V% H: F7 V; N
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
]+ U- R9 C9 n7 {1 Ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings/ D3 Y" H" y8 _7 S9 x6 s% M
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ E6 ]. X h6 Done of its most difficult to learn. v5 f; }4 H# B: g5 M) e+ l
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to \9 S7 y7 ]0 ~; @$ f6 j! ]7 {
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students# R3 Z1 Q) C$ w2 S
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 r F/ b0 C/ |7 ?Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of) ?' F) u+ P. `& T- m- T; [3 b+ `
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- r7 @$ k: a# H5 j' ^, I; S
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
/ l. J- r/ S8 L' y" J, t0 X2 ~5 e# Rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.# ~4 n+ w5 r; G! x/ l' i8 [
0 D- k4 H$ N+ b4 X t# R: eAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
. y3 n, m1 V) I' Y. ~ RChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 d/ v' O" u" _
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: }# V& |3 u2 ?9 ^3 W9 d
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% s, G- A, X- k7 l- \2 \( Gcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
: U1 ?* W3 x8 Z2 \- W6 Bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.+ a3 c# S/ n$ K. _; A9 Y8 X8 I& c2 ^
3 Y7 q Y5 {; _2 t9 J"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
4 u/ S7 ?; G8 U& ?1 @speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& q' V) M3 L4 v) I' R9 b9 P; ~7 t& xConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ Q' H E. ]- E0 b! W6 Y# I$ e
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 O1 Q+ [3 t/ [elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, L6 U, F. M& p& Y3 O/ J/ T' o
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
5 T( t& O* X( `0 m) O7 B' vInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages2 {4 A8 y2 i6 n1 r, ^
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.$ o- g5 Q/ h2 q$ e3 ~
McGinnis said.
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3 A2 s/ N9 `/ d# l$ ^/ Q"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
, c# K; w% A- u* j% P' W2 slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: F/ @2 ^% D9 I7 o* N6 i* L) u" E. jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a/ d% u7 l5 w( Z$ ^' G# |
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 W5 X* b! _. b) U. m7 o
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& Y6 e5 O+ f: F( @5 b, y2 k" Lcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. t7 Z' O+ S' L! z, d0 V7 Q, ^Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
! J3 `' n1 R( H won weekends.
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' P, e: q. l5 n, ]! {* F! P; rThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public9 U, O8 N) V d$ T! g I0 ~
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves% u% K8 ]# @ Q4 h; L
students who are not of Chinese descent.0 n {( L. ^& ]
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
* N& z. i" {/ h% b4 j# b4 Tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- L9 v, _2 y! i0 @1 @
competition. 9 }6 G! ~$ }+ F# S/ z$ ?! f/ ^) j
( ~1 J5 @7 Y; l0 ~( O"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley t6 ~ G5 Z; c$ v9 C1 p
said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ j6 o2 X" o, u* w5 r
& m5 r, ^$ u" fFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 A7 d, T/ y$ g4 R: D( A# U0 call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 W1 d5 o+ N5 Rschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ C8 `( x0 c pkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students# P/ k+ m( I. M3 X
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- H7 K7 J$ q7 j8 _4 ]; zthe school system last year.
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) }8 y0 d: O9 D1 u, ?5 v8 E: BThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
f! ]" q: g" C( O7 qyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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4 G6 o3 {1 d- m: T8 I9 P"They have a great international experience right in their own5 a* l2 ]: }- H! N# Y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, D8 t4 F8 |) Z4 D' p8 o
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to3 S7 p p: L8 D" ^( k7 T
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet/ R {* }* r0 @( o# z
on an equal playing field."
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6 C! r6 _$ O: {) m" l: n0 WSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
C* M9 M; u0 z* mclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ ?6 x2 J8 T% E, S1 }Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 e- ?+ }6 u9 J. X% C6 c* |
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
o( d$ }; X1 ~, o* f! `average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in( T! d) k% e+ ?- @! S1 s& V) D
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! O" O [7 u! @$ ^: O2 x2 c1 Cinstitute says.
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) m5 L/ u m: o6 c( z8 {Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
- T/ }- r' Q Z% T. A9 K2 ^: xgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! ~% I, ?. J6 p$ `* m8 l- E
deciding whether to take the class.! b5 Z+ E8 G7 T$ Y
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she _3 e" j( B+ }4 ~* t5 y% }) A
told her daughter.
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1 N2 V; @1 i0 ?# `7 F/ ASahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
. ?2 Z) e$ L, ^6 T7 Aclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
& E* o* W. |$ k1 `studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 c$ \3 _- Y" _3 _* D& Xoccasional frustration.
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' D& \0 s7 h+ u6 `"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a, `. q$ J1 v, w5 e+ Q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he# w& n0 L, p1 e4 Q- W
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with. A- q; v I( h8 e. U+ W6 |4 ~2 S3 L
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.& b$ {1 v0 Y( R8 o1 p
2 S6 M0 G7 ^& ]7 c6 ~0 K"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
5 ?; D6 P2 Z4 G( s1 K$ S1 ]said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
5 Y' T" J6 Z; B6 Gas many languages as I can."' {& a" n& E5 ~" ~
4 i8 I# n1 x( }- k% KAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 t/ R3 ^# m! e( b4 hskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, D% R& p' g+ A4 ~* N! |6 z8 |market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: y* P' C: u( f1 I4 ]8 C/ t
that," Ms. Freire said. O* H* A* ?' @0 b' T
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program/ V, |% G z; c# Y( D) g3 w
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
. k6 F: o3 K( x$ k/ Oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 B+ y' e4 X8 K+ `
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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& L6 U: ?* L' j' |) iChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
, \5 b5 X" e& R S( JChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, j$ p0 z" e0 }- H* L# U" Hcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ D' W- b/ c8 Z) G1 x; E
: R5 } E+ ~+ A' F* H"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 r! s( ?0 f( _, ^+ ^' s& C# Ibecause of that missing certification," he said.* M' m Y% y1 w# o1 u7 \' N
% C% n# u/ x* W9 UThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( r' O$ U `& ]$ ^- Y- s0 p
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
0 l0 a. r0 Z# f2 e! V, @ BSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the) V6 g; o$ h1 d. I
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" r3 @) o6 s! S5 ], X
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( P3 n$ G0 ?5 y L
own."4 o( g$ A4 X0 b; C
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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