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October 15, 2005$ ?- E5 N" T* E6 H7 }
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING9 y& | I5 z% A" X l0 W
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the( x+ `4 W5 a1 {9 V u6 v
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary* {' K3 X. d! ^5 ~7 z
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 U6 c( H! O/ Z" G( V, j2 i
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese5 D, K9 e) f0 T+ z) i b; Y6 _; s) {
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one) J8 e* Q3 N7 S" |& l2 l. n" V
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
, p U, _8 t ]6 V# [practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 H- ]+ b W5 H: E, A6 g, b
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students9 f' q8 H, G! K' T
are already choosing it over Spanish.- o7 b! V+ j/ ], J. n& P4 c1 D1 _
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; f+ ]* z# G% u- t. J" Zat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
* [: d) C' E7 v9 f% L, w5 O/ k0 voffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
; f s# S* i I; n$ B: }4 E6 u) ]" oschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! R. B+ X1 D4 n( C! H3 S$ qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention/ E# y+ ~# d0 `6 h7 n
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ Z& Y4 E9 R& y. y1 l( K* \1 q
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& M. G. @% G; B& i
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
) U% U- A& b( C" H# ?6 B. fLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of& }& j0 [1 o$ B9 o8 `
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: E, C. O( j3 F3 p1 CChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" q) @: T7 }. P J f2 I
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ \9 B7 T) m+ W* r* l! B/ c
$ g" c& x. K6 q* v! iAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
8 s7 o+ e. F# K& o" I, _. k1 mChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country9 d' U# O7 \( K7 E9 C2 h, N
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ W% a) k% w. S+ X
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing% r" D. w" q" t9 j5 Q
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
5 y# L7 r6 [6 S( k) J( cof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.6 O2 }; h5 l, q+ ~& b( J
: l3 Z! D- |3 I"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- o1 U6 R: d% w4 O9 Y9 N+ Y
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 R0 O2 D: w% ?6 r k+ E" Z; \! \Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 S+ Z+ v8 q8 z; s$ Acan."
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: n" J- I& n( d# _The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) P' X8 n% @: [# F. uelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( g+ c3 g- ]2 l8 {years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ w7 X/ `; {% g; QInstitute in Washington.
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/ x; |' E: ~* R"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* A5 z" L. ]9 H* x5 x# E
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.* K) w* U3 E3 W l, c! f ^
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ ^" |6 ~$ S p/ Z6 o
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
+ b) r. P1 B* T; D/ o6 eready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a6 j; m$ X, I2 W1 U2 v% K$ K9 O
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."7 C) o% j" Q! B3 v' b9 m
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and, v: k5 O7 i$ J
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in8 f* P8 ~& V& X
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
3 G5 I4 @# k( R, i% h& s$ g# w4 M9 g/ gChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or( Z# x) o O7 c" B
on weekends.) c9 c. D: }' h, z/ I+ W
- {: D2 ?6 _' I( ?7 WThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public9 T, N9 |: Q2 ]5 Z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
8 t3 C2 l; `2 K# X2 Fstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said: l, }( \& e+ @8 A$ g" @# M3 b
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ t" ]+ ]% T- X4 M# @) r; D$ Gcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" }( t/ x1 }/ c/ M4 K. q
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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. h0 y4 S7 q1 x% h' JFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly* }: M' u" {. F
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse" I0 U2 U3 g" I$ \
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from- v' k# ~% w) p; g
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students* K1 n5 n* y1 i4 [: T7 t' [2 W
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 L5 [! @. K3 x. B
the school system last year.
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, }* w. F( E8 Q2 W/ oThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ q8 {. x$ y0 I1 ^4 P% J8 Pyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.4 U1 D' L8 \6 E% X
5 k$ h$ \2 A3 M8 W"They have a great international experience right in their own
/ u% f0 ~+ ~# [; ^5 z' n% rclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" r& x8 p& y+ M3 i
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 w7 b. D/ l; E2 q
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
! p- A2 O3 \8 I' U/ Q8 l; non an equal playing field."* n/ p$ S1 r% B/ L8 y: h
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% L8 F/ N" f" _1 Lclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ h! h/ X4 H" F6 F: ^
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
- Z7 O( C* m# q* zChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 E8 m- i q1 iaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 Y, Y: W+ H$ r* Q6 A% ~0 |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
' J' q( }' ^0 A# X ^8 J- K- oinstitute says.3 m; S; p1 i- }& p2 s; H
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
?+ Z6 m& o; |" m- `6 f. igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) ? G2 F5 C9 ?0 \ e1 G
deciding whether to take the class.! @8 m4 R4 ~$ B) t
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 g$ q5 r: `; E3 P a. }
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
( A' e: f% v+ Qclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are% I0 ]1 I; L3 Q. L1 k0 q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 h- m5 Q8 u n1 p% koccasional frustration.' d) _) e9 N3 Y+ L0 @6 U7 Q
% S( r- d1 F5 }2 e6 O& h5 d9 |; ^- E"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a% p0 r0 A) _, @2 m& l, I) N
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.; p) C" }! z7 Q! G% K
8 K# Y* E# m1 _$ Z/ D6 e# o. URaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 S3 U: K& T$ \9 u+ Xtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with, G5 e( {& i% t
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.* f9 l/ V; w7 w- b7 `
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
_( z! X Q% L) Bsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% r3 q" D/ W( |! H9 `as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the k9 O0 z; _8 V0 t* L
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- q6 E s2 B( O) G$ R3 W4 F: T( C* q% ~. M
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like* ~+ a' C& e" F' N' W; ?5 A6 @
that," Ms. Freire said.; X( ?7 j2 L, O
% B2 p1 |' @' p4 s8 nMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program) A) h+ j* B/ R0 R2 p' p c
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
) \7 a8 a. B; m0 }8 P$ jschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
. L4 d, U1 l5 d7 q4 y) m; H; r5 Atime from classes like physical education, music and art to make5 {2 x l) K4 F) Z+ ?4 Z
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer. u! W2 n$ _' C0 h* q6 x
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
* a3 |: F' d) Scollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified1 W! \1 ~* S/ R# j* X& K" ?& A Y( O
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* B% m% n" H/ J2 ]
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# t. k! }$ L$ h8 k5 n4 h" oSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ R/ B; z' Y- M6 M0 [: m6 ]
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
% s# r" `& F2 o; E" k; ?( ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.& E# A" S/ _' X
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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! F4 a: M# n& F8 ~' c9 vCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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