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October 15, 2005
3 k% y. Y ?4 rClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING5 @4 k; x o, @* R! I* ^/ _& j/ j
! O# T6 m: k6 ~! M3 |CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) P1 P; c2 W( Z1 T4 IUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' V( ]4 O" ?: G( ]- ]: [/ q- w
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; M. v, V7 z) p5 _+ \8 s! j
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
! [ `! Y9 \; C. \# _6 g3 ?' Bflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 a5 U3 P2 q& Y7 R; U: Banother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
# t3 p. ~5 w3 a" n9 q6 Ppracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% I4 m, x0 |( t1 \2 F- b1 g
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 h3 u) A( G* S" W9 Z6 D
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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- N8 O; V6 D+ Y) t7 O' }"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal% W6 X! Q3 ^; n {+ q3 Z4 V
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city( H9 z; z, Y4 s( h1 C
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,9 L( X8 f( W/ P1 p& o
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
9 U3 {& \& Z5 T. nto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 K, ]0 A2 D3 c. S8 y& U& }7 G
one of its most difficult to learn.; ~2 a; V/ y4 {7 K7 ~# \4 j
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" s5 \% @( ~# T/ T' m6 ~& Bpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
! H' R% e C* ]8 R7 i& xstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# s% F/ m1 x K- c5 @* }% {Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of: k/ Z" p: Y8 V# L
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
0 u! G' ] R8 |; V \5 N8 ` R- J8 M7 HChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ x8 x9 h/ u- o" a( Simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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h3 D i1 X* y1 }5 H; D) ^: iAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement0 |8 {. ?9 Z5 Z
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. y8 G0 v; P6 e+ pstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
3 o! q: Y0 l3 k3 G$ \& ~3 Cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
8 O6 l. `9 Y; q, q6 h3 ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
8 O' j+ v4 P; I% H1 d+ g& q$ |of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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9 E* Q' M8 e: G" u% r"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of$ i+ f9 W, M( _1 l3 Q
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 u# V' Z. T: b5 V
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 G8 c# U" Z$ j! D: K9 [, _/ {
can." , W; F, R4 t1 Z5 L
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. s6 Q5 v. H/ L4 z4 Pelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
5 V% F& W+ G! M2 }8 j! E, ?8 X4 _years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, h7 Z+ b! K3 x
Institute in Washington.* c0 H8 w; z- H0 R4 M
3 N8 s1 U% y; T. {7 C) e"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages `7 ~4 P3 N. q# u4 w
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 x2 N0 A3 c( @, h; U- b
McGinnis said.
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3 W S: ]* }2 S2 z4 ^2 _$ m"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# N b4 q5 _" Z% {1 E( flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' Y H' K5 w) r8 }& x- [) N4 U! q
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( u: ` r, _5 `9 Y! Q) N1 {
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and8 m* B7 M. k; |, K' ?! A3 d
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 d% l5 Z* @( l! t4 zcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of1 }3 U% a3 ^7 g/ I2 F- B w
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or. {+ M& b1 u$ u2 f P4 r S
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( K: e9 }% g' X
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
& x5 i0 V! e2 ~- A! m5 Pstudents who are not of Chinese descent.: {$ z4 D3 r9 l( n4 b0 d& g+ t. D
5 p2 s0 w6 \/ gMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ p! L3 }, @! S. e( H4 p
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( q" N; Y! _, w, J
competition. * y' y1 N$ `% e1 n3 ~
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 q' S/ M0 H; l$ G" \1 d) [! }* @said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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( A0 `7 c# M$ k" c) xFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. }9 }4 q, j) s/ g- @
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
" w% ]; U5 c* b s- b0 K4 l4 G. Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" N. ~& v, z D2 L; [2 I$ M9 @4 W: lkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ \1 M3 _' { z+ ^1 zwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% m0 k& P( P( y* _+ |
the school system last year.
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6 q( Q0 N3 H! K6 w. x4 g; EThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this9 a# B. Q& r& @, X( s0 Y
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own) ]* M0 f' Y6 T5 M' C; E4 K
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, }1 X5 q. ]" b' I
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 Q5 X. f& `9 N a5 Z+ Y
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 X6 l2 N. Q& [" U
on an equal playing field."5 q3 T1 [ P ~+ Z4 G$ {
. M* ~) u/ _7 n l& tSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
. ], [3 T9 Q. g$ E2 h9 |) C; Tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
) M+ V4 g6 _, O& M. V' t; A) nService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
' b8 U3 Z% K- E/ i; dChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An- M! C% Z. r, A/ J
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" }3 u O8 T6 l/ SChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the: [* S' [4 n5 j
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth. e# \/ j& k+ k( @$ T
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before2 U( v- {8 }" c! ?
deciding whether to take the class./ a% L$ c; {( }, }' k
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 j) E" F& P# e) [5 f7 B0 ?9 Y8 l6 `2 Ltold her daughter.# @# Q' w/ j3 a. O- U% H9 Y3 Y
: Z4 I- [7 O; i/ dSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- G9 h3 G$ Z4 N3 p- zclass.
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5 i3 ]7 I; L' C$ zAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: o/ D) f8 c7 [) r! B6 _( ?
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without+ o4 K: [7 u0 B4 W
occasional frustration.8 }/ }$ h/ i, L( \1 v4 J( S, t6 e
# T' ~' i+ t, q) o"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, c; S. ^+ l, t, l. ^recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* B0 n Q+ G; Q1 Z% s; T$ z
9 k, l* o C6 @0 [, c6 ^Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' b; I9 ]# G. q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( l$ @! ~* x. Q0 [% y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.0 H$ k9 ~. z5 }8 Z' [& X" l
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 d# b3 T, n$ A* u8 Q0 o2 w
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
6 W7 I' H- q! O3 o9 I6 Cas many languages as I can."7 f( ^! s3 @6 a$ X, [) [, ^$ k
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the4 C0 @ J! {; `, g X- p, g
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
5 _1 K( k& u8 x# A. Vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
6 y$ l/ q3 y, d3 f, [: B. a. Hthat," Ms. Freire said.
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( p2 K/ s6 t P! k% W# U$ l4 D) JMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program" F; T* D9 M/ c' y# p# V w; S% k
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) U- I: c" Z8 f2 S: ]
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking: @! z: |: F |. d# | Z+ J6 W
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make$ T4 }! d7 T3 W' t. P' v
room.
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' W8 E6 Z7 Y$ O: qChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# B3 ^0 g# H: B' vChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American3 R }2 g3 t% b/ o. Z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.+ z) n" g* h1 e
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified; q3 P+ U* H8 O/ p! X( M; p
because of that missing certification," he said." R( K* D% U: h8 B, s
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,# {' q% w, R( Z; Z, ]
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
* p, c* O- d$ d# L+ x( TSociety in New York." @; K% D0 e. ~% x, V, K; W+ r
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
- N# q# V6 b- tChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- Q: V0 P5 G/ J/ xthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.9 L/ s8 Z- _: Z& v
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our$ x" Y8 i" h6 ^
own."
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0 M+ Y: D: _2 BCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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