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October 15, 2005. }3 M- k8 m0 y) z3 U
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity @0 }" m# X/ P, A9 S
) N$ S5 U: K# [2 ]9 W7 e3 WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the# ~2 D% C$ w) i0 k* s/ t* `
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' _" p1 ^: t6 k+ L+ B
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas* I& e# ~% d7 X5 ?; D+ X' H
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& l$ V' @2 q& j9 p( U( v3 Sflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one Z ~/ D: E. p* }
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders }: S6 Z# T. Y$ z4 j
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- s3 [- e: A) [& U `. y
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students/ X* p& e% U- i" X. B# ]
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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: k. R8 v4 w! V"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal9 d3 Y1 ]" w: H
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
9 v+ H3 l- l, e% w3 Q3 hoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' U1 x% q. a% n5 o: \/ K' eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- u0 d* B, _6 p/ @) [& ato include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention x' i g5 K V" {2 v) X
one of its most difficult to learn.% V' x" G, q: d' e# H9 S
' w n8 k/ [! Z4 G4 GLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
+ n7 o) D5 V2 Fpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
" }3 a/ r0 L3 X6 T4 ]studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 l3 |. n/ P7 CLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! `; k8 ]0 \: Y! a' i# b% ^; kTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* E; F6 r7 @" t L U
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 [2 ^1 o0 y2 D5 T1 A" W, e( |
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 w# W1 t g5 A3 P! E4 N
1 p2 w. I% z! w U3 R7 nAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement0 y i+ |1 Q) K) v3 U
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. I/ ], k( u5 f( ^2 u' B- C
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ i! M, [; J5 r4 h+ k/ L4 L/ z
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing D2 t B6 r& i# i- e
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& |" L% S$ o4 `7 {9 C: r4 Dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. B# _: E; z& i6 a9 S' c4 t7 Q. w
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education" F/ r9 h; {3 b; L! S
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
0 ]3 u$ I4 U. I) ?can."
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) P# E8 A5 j, Y# q' Y3 C8 NThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
1 u6 s" C% m# selementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 M+ v3 Y8 f. ?# q4 f
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 e& S( r7 ]; m6 o4 n9 }
Institute in Washington.
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4 {) _0 h3 P7 d: D5 j"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 }" a! N0 D4 M" q2 W5 O) O- saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
8 A' E/ h; r5 U+ hMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ a8 q7 u( r) ]/ C" y- F9 ~
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 W2 H1 F5 E3 M" Pready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
4 r2 j9 ]1 R% W/ d" f+ Ochallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."1 ~) J v. A9 G X* o
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ [5 ^8 ~$ Z0 Dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
! P& a9 z/ a+ {% ~9 w1 B3 g b5 t# ccities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of7 ?& s7 S% }6 G1 f' \3 ?: {2 g
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 L8 d G3 B+ w: w0 r6 d, G Bon weekends.
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2 I2 D4 r- o- RThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public4 c" L! [( F* ~& E
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
# @3 c8 P' E# u. n4 c, B0 L @students who are not of Chinese descent.
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, \" M# B" ^( }& q: IMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 o5 l3 t! g; Z7 K _5 |proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* u' ? F9 t8 f
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley2 D; k" X" `5 F! u
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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, v1 C5 y3 l) W/ ^! M; kFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ {. w6 q* K" k& k, C5 ^, L3 fall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse; |$ \# @9 s' c& M) R. u" i4 d& x
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- F( R, V/ D9 ~5 ^kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
3 k) M" ?/ X, T1 `: x% [who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& L( Y6 p' ^4 L
the school system last year.
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" Z+ k/ O G7 p) EThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* ~* r# ~2 f- r7 o$ _year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year./ r% u# s1 K# C- p# Q
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
# u1 |- P* ^% j0 D6 Xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' n; M3 W4 W' g. Z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 F+ d, N: q8 h/ D
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
+ C- F) @2 }' u) G! z( F/ P# Won an equal playing field."7 f* d3 v/ [. V$ L' c
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& a3 E( O% A2 a$ I& Aclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign5 A. x& @& {4 V# s
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
6 ?) V. b7 g9 Z7 @ E/ ]" h. ^Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
) w0 i U- p! o- maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 U- s3 V* m. z8 [. LChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the0 J( ?. G" E6 O$ ?& e/ g9 P4 \# k- c
institute says.
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* _' R' N& W$ BSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( q8 c7 E) e1 L& Q" sgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before2 X7 _' L/ v$ ]6 a- a
deciding whether to take the class.1 x! Q: w/ [5 i1 U
: P$ @; x; @9 z% u"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 S6 m& w# u. J6 K/ p- ]told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite% ^ e: h0 t. C \7 R
class.2 Z9 S* S6 D7 e, R* \
# F4 B& a" Z- g6 V0 {( K$ HAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( U! n0 R( P; ?# Jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without8 g2 u! y- H6 x) S1 \
occasional frustration.
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9 \# O! ~' p5 R" U8 q% c' q" @"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 k# d1 R( d. Z2 M# w$ C" ?recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 `' [+ S: ?: _ D4 R
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he+ Z, q% c& B. n
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: d- g+ @% C( n$ n8 H0 S0 D
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.5 D0 N, v* V: x/ g& t
5 _7 }" Z2 n- S# n8 h" L"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul" Y) S) Q& ^: u+ m8 l6 ` s
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 n) ^0 {* {$ z
as many languages as I can."
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6 C4 W% ]- ?: m) H; F9 r- OAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ Z, a X# \. x- f2 h
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; m Z5 a! S5 s- c% cmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
6 z/ H w; @* A& {that," Ms. Freire said.
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% s+ n% p8 G: C1 R- F9 o' [Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program# _+ n( \, M( G" r( N/ S
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 L" D: V* Z" Sschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking3 V& Y: \- f0 j/ R A4 V: L
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make' i7 U* ]; p. i6 m+ Z i
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 Y5 e+ [7 G9 }# z# A" d7 n6 EChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
0 o1 X4 q6 `& c) G0 d3 g( \# m' @college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- R9 S [3 ^) P- Y5 k0 o5 h6 n
% Q/ g3 B. D' `9 v; G w$ b C* a"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
3 l. f7 B6 n) u; _$ J nbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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- l$ T5 R1 ]7 E* l- |The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
4 x G) m% Q4 J0 B& Bsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
4 k9 Y; V Y7 d/ V5 o N; p+ C, dSociety in New York.! S4 T- G& I" T+ w2 \3 T) K
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the" Q% k$ z4 \" U1 R# {; q; @/ x
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from D0 I* j' ~! d
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.# b; P. |1 T& b( l- Z c0 Y
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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5 ?# V' {% H$ E" O, P0 e _+ ECopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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