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October 15, 2005' g; G+ x+ E) K+ V" n5 w
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING# _& u0 v( a* `/ _5 Y
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the" [/ D5 g5 @1 T* B
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary& H3 V0 p& _4 ~$ M* @. r2 D1 ]
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* m& e" I8 r7 h# a. g! xdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese* L2 P I# C# F* @9 p
flag hang from the wall.3 M6 w7 [5 f+ O0 j N
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one9 W. T. S! h4 B+ d* i2 e
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) J2 j3 ?6 I9 y! A. b
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
3 P [% c: e& `0 s) }7 S1 Jboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students+ S* o5 @" d# W
are already choosing it over Spanish.1 [5 [* w) x# I! D8 B. V
- \9 q4 ?5 W/ ~0 o) r! \3 E1 K9 I"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 H: b! f0 w; x2 ~$ aat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ }/ u. l0 }! c3 S, F3 M# |offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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$ v1 H* S) D9 HWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& U, l9 d( x# Z$ E8 _
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings- H1 G' ^( D/ G) [
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention; x' Q& n" X* L N6 B2 T
one of its most difficult to learn.7 u3 B8 X# Q6 x u
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 `* d' _0 u+ ?/ F( T. b0 Mpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
( ?2 r% Y: }, j8 R R0 h5 istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
, z3 @' k o6 r- d5 E9 CLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
9 F" q* \1 S7 }' ?6 r' {Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
3 H: i' U5 Q( t: |# v, {8 G1 G) e! QChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 J6 u; D) M7 s$ zimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ d9 J1 c6 o9 _* C; j4 P
) ~6 m1 e8 C; z. fAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
2 O9 j7 P/ Y f' M$ m( jChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 a8 i4 B, c, u! g! ], A# E7 Ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) R8 }% K. l; ^1 [) e- R; G+ u1 N
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing% c- ]# v: P8 ?" ?$ v
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 I" h! R! u; N+ R, m: p+ C
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
" x* k0 Z F( |* A, A+ F% Zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ l2 k. Z. ^' UConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, ] Q% E7 a$ O" j% A
can." - T# X" A5 d: J4 E; Z8 s! Y
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from# e9 J! i1 H' l2 J
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10. i' s2 n2 e1 x" |3 E) Y; u9 P7 n
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
8 F0 N! p: i7 B' E/ ]$ @Institute in Washington.
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1 Y9 ~7 O/ V( a* }5 |+ @"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" p4 F% g* i+ M( ^; y" q/ B% q @aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! K6 f; f- |" ]& f6 u4 @
McGinnis said.
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) o; D8 X/ _# @+ U* P"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* G5 `5 _$ O4 ]1 X' F' H6 [longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
d4 }* n$ o; ?( L1 w8 n" j9 Xready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: S5 Y5 Y7 g2 r- p- S7 Q2 r
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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( T. L6 }$ O s4 Y, t, ]; g7 y- qUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and) ?: q8 f# ?% Q$ G2 w' \6 k, {
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ R: s h& n4 b& O
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
" C6 `+ L7 B7 d, ]4 y: @! EChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or, _. ~: i; y# ]6 I
on weekends.; ~& Q- ]* u5 g0 I# v& \
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& d w7 r' f+ v9 s" v3 d( `9 Mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 j( o) u" O s) S& s% Fstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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! j/ `- g* A1 b2 IMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said' {3 w( [0 o; B3 P
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the" i9 Z& k" j3 j, ]
competition.
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/ _5 q; m2 ^( a- ]& Z9 v4 j I5 @"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley4 H6 i7 y- h* Z1 w7 ~* X. ]1 Q( z
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
- W! @! Z6 i2 O2 G1 R$ J/ {all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
( J1 g# \; m$ C. B+ w3 kschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
2 M( N1 v* s9 _8 R7 ]& {kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- b* F) O$ L) X9 q3 I, @who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" ?9 @- ?; E+ {/ d8 Zthe school system last year.6 r% T6 s# F8 ] y7 w7 I2 I
1 |' m& [* g" e% Y4 a( N8 }The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this8 X; {1 q; E! K4 y0 r
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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3 h2 A8 B& j4 }) t- d"They have a great international experience right in their own
( r4 a+ e4 z0 \classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago( i5 ~8 o7 P- H- C$ \
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to: k, W# q! A0 i! d" l$ K
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
) ?5 P- `6 H2 M6 @0 A- {, g1 m# Lon an equal playing field."6 ?4 S9 L" _" N* C. X( N l2 }, R
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese0 b" \ P4 n! q7 _! ~, f+ ?
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
1 Q5 y5 `1 V% K5 M( h9 ~$ _7 mService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! Z0 ~* F/ q4 Q/ f. v" K7 q, VChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An6 r* `! g/ q" X/ s: |' l. U3 V
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
9 W" P5 a* H, ?* P) oChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the/ Y) C6 c& \# B$ e# U1 d. P' ?
institute says.- [$ j$ a9 n R" |+ I7 I0 c2 c
8 f' q* w; j' w; fSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 Q( G) c V/ ^4 a5 lgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: E) d' z7 a7 z' [# G8 O& s
deciding whether to take the class./ m, ^, q" R9 ^
9 h% x+ _8 j, ?9 i: j2 t"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 u1 i: k# a, g! r. C0 Btold her daughter.
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! S1 Y4 U: ~) }- D) Y& i1 aSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# B0 A% x& `" b) Q* ] Wclass.
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+ E; X8 T% U+ t) |- d2 dAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are6 R. R2 w: U' [% O% c
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 M# m9 ?; o5 }! H# S+ i1 Roccasional frustration.7 }. H% @3 p5 s3 Z
9 i) Y/ B7 A4 J. L2 p"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. p0 f. n' d* H; U, B
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.+ L& y* Z( ~% W5 Z
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
) S" q7 p2 D( M1 o. U2 ptaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: ^) s. b0 V7 f
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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8 Q5 ^8 Y6 A. _1 {$ j, S"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 G% f, V. Z" `# esaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn9 ^' V' w5 f( O7 g0 D* Z# g) q
as many languages as I can."
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4 k+ X/ g& \% b& u! xAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
1 ?; o. `6 {) j$ Q. Nskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 k: D5 L5 o4 T; I, x6 fmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like- j8 Y/ ]( A S `1 K- Q" ?6 G
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ D$ v# N+ x+ K) U8 v
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 D( `+ ~ K+ `9 e# [& o, N6 }
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking. r E5 o$ B ^, R& V5 m
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make1 O6 l- `1 Y+ T' x- t) U
room.
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U7 G- F$ d- `4 nChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
3 ]8 Z& @$ r( nChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American8 q/ V) Q5 W2 W- ^0 m8 j% K9 A
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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_7 r% r1 Y- S8 x+ M. G+ |5 b"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
& y: ~0 K; A# Rbecause of that missing certification," he said.& U$ G0 [7 G- M. V! z& W8 ~+ u( \
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
$ q) D% x" m T4 A! N# usaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; g! t- L# Z& u K9 I5 L
Society in New York.
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( n; i5 b" ?7 y$ ESix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
* e9 D$ d8 B Z3 [' BChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& i0 e2 }+ e+ U" p2 Y' I
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 T3 {& {' i! B, @. ?' e( t
own."
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1 R3 n! |$ |& ], w" nCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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