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October 15, 2005
! u. G6 q3 B dClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING) m% h* ^/ l# X! f1 e
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the% Z0 p& V; |7 U7 q! ], Q* ?9 s
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 z% }1 Z/ C" r0 k: g5 P4 fSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas4 q0 n# p2 {" u d0 k5 o
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; f; y X. R6 V: z h+ R- J, |
flag hang from the wall.8 k8 @' m- A/ X6 e5 k
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one0 x3 ]; C4 P1 h4 t8 {; r9 t1 V1 A
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders6 s. z! C! l: N$ I3 l2 L
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker9 P) Z( m" q6 S
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students% H T" F, ?' p! C+ t! N
are already choosing it over Spanish.3 ^) R( t/ o- k
- x' ~8 Z! k* \/ @7 `3 `+ Z"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal9 Q% h, p8 G' A8 f3 h6 W
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ d" r# Z5 f% g5 W' X/ Roffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."; j: R9 [! q$ z3 g( Y
/ s/ d) I! D: ?7 e4 s% gWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
! _4 y% u: t- O( A7 S0 Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. c% k# b- K+ Ato include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* E/ F6 N$ T+ k4 e
one of its most difficult to learn.
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: X$ _' o3 j9 \Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 B2 s) H2 m9 }- Q9 [; U! D- \; Kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% B+ L$ B \! Q+ D. I
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
2 F9 A7 h G% b3 S' }Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 e0 }; ^. t9 f/ U9 @Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on' l! K# q* {- a; ^ b8 |& L* }
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ S- U# T; F* K' oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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7 h% O/ O7 Q( qAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement" J. J' u+ ?: v; ]- }' v
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 r% c9 f# j* estarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 B9 l0 G/ L: m4 l8 Ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing: z* L" e1 `4 `, G% j% ~
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
* z+ ~3 P/ h: L/ Jof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of( k/ _! `+ p$ z- r
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, N) @6 i2 C9 v7 Q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
8 M; D: \, ^5 i, d: S/ kcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
2 V) N. R2 X3 W7 W! B6 U: y5 h6 p% O. \elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10+ P {4 e7 z. I& J; \
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language L1 d: O( ?; z8 L" l, E" O
Institute in Washington.
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2 G: F5 u+ ?! M. ]5 K& t' p"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- O( _/ C6 Q1 l2 m( G* \
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 y; z7 R9 G' F. I& D( UMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& e+ d7 H3 ^" ~9 o2 }# t. S
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 F, }' W" |. x1 c
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. U. a) t' |1 Nchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."6 e$ W ~" ^+ x- l- \4 i' |
5 c" a6 U8 f9 K: s( l* K" KUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( _- h1 {$ h3 qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
, ]- T! z5 t X" Gcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 h3 D. O6 |: v" |Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ i' n$ E2 i* H' fon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* w. E) Z/ [$ X& m' D9 o3 q
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
; E2 X, c( e' E' Z' n) Zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 V1 }8 {, W- D* lproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
! V6 A7 {, V8 _9 Hcompetition.
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- b0 T C; ]2 U7 Y"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' z4 I$ u- m9 w8 P! [said. "There will be Chinese and English."! h7 s0 j4 \& E5 X" S
5 y( T' f- q6 LFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 c& g1 t! ~8 L1 i9 |all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
* F! C9 [0 _; `, Fschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
8 \0 L y3 Y& a4 `kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students. ^2 x1 f; X) Y" E: g. ?8 m1 l
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
+ H5 U- c( z8 p6 u3 X, N4 ?& Dthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# @2 B* h7 x v7 p2 A* ~$ B
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! s# {* K" D5 ]& N: N; T
7 W& m. J2 B9 P+ v"They have a great international experience right in their own- P5 R% a; g$ \5 K* b
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
/ I( A& z0 j+ k3 v' ?- j- cChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 k: x$ @6 y; }" I
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet$ m8 B6 C. V8 x" ?! l- A# \
on an equal playing field."
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^# O2 U# R E% Y: sSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese9 H4 s' \- p8 @! D: Z
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ s! }( h' S. M$ z4 Y% `4 y
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks, z$ Z4 K8 S# }9 v8 L
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An$ W* Z1 k+ w5 _' f4 c/ }0 k: @% {
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
0 ]7 z) X; P( w* Q3 t2 XChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 c2 l- ~( @" l" H) B+ z U. Y
institute says.
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! J* ?' }( ^0 @7 l' h/ \/ Y( JSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth3 I2 ~! n# Y6 E5 _* d
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# q) p, r, G4 t1 @deciding whether to take the class., m1 H/ d3 U9 x; z* P9 W$ {
3 | w( m$ t0 c"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
; j" C% c7 |- s+ j* K* @1 I3 q" ctold her daughter./ Y% R: c8 p& I% b- I" t3 T7 F
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite) }- T O: }9 h( R3 S
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 u# Y" @( ~* e8 s$ ^- P- i* K1 Fstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
/ v' F8 l+ A9 F# y2 Z. `occasional frustration. p$ g9 ~4 A; p, m \7 A/ U
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a) v- S H* N1 H1 v# O
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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- p' k, Z: l9 s L# o* ]: K6 nRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 Z" T' [6 s+ h0 B
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
+ T+ X0 _6 P0 t$ x& r! ]Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.+ y& F* o* U2 `9 O( ~3 F7 K/ c+ l; d
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
% C/ i! w3 P1 K* J! w, ]3 n6 Gsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- a; X9 j) \( @/ j4 Y# O
as many languages as I can."/ i" V; ~/ h" s4 C/ ^
- p- b' z z, s7 l: uAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 k' o8 s0 V8 j1 @% {4 e4 C
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 v4 d$ F# }7 q( ^6 j
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& O( G5 O, t% e1 i, N( G3 n& ]( N
that," Ms. Freire said.) H, c# ~1 Q& x, e/ @9 R& w9 r E
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, R+ r! F# ^% @here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
) {/ w; |2 ?+ C0 T4 R: c* Ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 i- m" }8 _- a1 W! p3 d4 G$ ktime from classes like physical education, music and art to make+ C" W* d/ j1 J/ Q" f
room., q6 n# t: n) B( b
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
% E5 S+ y$ x2 M2 P1 sChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American# [/ K; }$ g8 W' u0 R' n d
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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1 o. Y7 r8 h+ M, G"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified, i% n( f7 O- ^# A6 ~! a8 t) P7 D
because of that missing certification," he said.
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. o4 B- p$ Z; y8 KThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,! y+ q& D! j% g, F/ ~* S6 c
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
( C' A g. G: VSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* ]& F( x W6 ~( t6 R5 H
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- M- t; b4 _7 k- m$ N/ P, ^% b
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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0 x. L1 D4 z* X+ v" n/ t2 [/ x"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
6 D# X# w( I3 h5 V. ^7 G, rown."
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0 u+ h2 O% Z7 b, f, y! K# e' ]Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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