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October 15, 2005
, D( i: z C) _9 s+ Q6 f: h1 `Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity- D1 x7 v+ U2 r
g9 ?* r1 |& U9 A8 DBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING# P# a0 z0 x B, b
2 G. s6 M/ C! d6 U( N& @& b. B% vCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
4 T3 q: a4 ^" i) u2 CUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
' i! p0 {' f; O: jSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 W% o" f4 X) kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: Z9 O1 H; x2 p" K/ o5 _& x3 I6 P
flag hang from the wall.
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$ M1 [. N; m. w3 `% ~5 ^9 _One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* l9 H' [1 ^6 [, Z: ranother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
9 J) Y# `4 ~6 z( n5 Epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker5 R' J; @7 F% k) }5 s" Z4 T
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
& e, {$ J" y. y9 Uare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( K9 `! J5 }' Y0 C9 P5 o- Fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
+ |, n6 B' f) }) Zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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3 h; i1 }& W4 M4 T3 ?; g6 y t- C' pWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: @. p, h2 q! M m0 z9 ^( G; Gschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) X0 x6 d6 c- t( P
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
# ]( e) C- M; m2 uone of its most difficult to learn." w: H6 Y! ~; S; p# Q0 r, q
* ]8 N: R8 u0 x2 F) O5 W6 D X& JLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ G2 ^$ f" H8 W* e/ L, C' O
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
( ?# ~+ C1 m) W# Vstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.5 ]) p6 h" u% V9 q
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 v- I2 M% _0 X8 @% |
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on' B' G: n( j A) u% ]) U% F
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to* O) y; W0 g+ U$ e
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* q7 r V% J& J$ F9 t, f
- E/ j1 l/ O0 O: jAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
& C( l4 b* t U( o5 TChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
) @- C/ g- P& w0 U* Wstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& p% @4 c3 r) e8 A+ j3 r: ^develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing ^. h( j E. o. S R, M/ d- x
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 c( m. ~3 l: P2 O5 F8 wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.# Q9 ` l. _) [ Y
* [% U/ f, \) l+ E9 _1 e# t"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of+ I- ]9 F. o- l+ b) ]1 [
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
+ b) q1 z* g- s+ B' H$ [ U! aConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 k4 V6 _7 r! y4 w. C+ I$ S1 F
can."
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2 A4 Y5 l8 }8 A& C- s7 WThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from- F6 M. D0 T) u& `% E5 ^
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* ]/ E0 F1 n, I$ ~
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language% w' f6 O; c; Q( y! z3 j
Institute in Washington.! P8 M$ N( F$ ?( ? C
- a) e, F: K, F2 _* i5 k"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
4 p% G+ W; Q! R2 varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr." K( {; g! c I) `0 ?
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; g. C& D4 w' m% S7 M3 H" b
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
/ |, W' n% d6 Cready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' x7 W2 ~ m* m l5 ~$ h+ Echallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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0 _6 ^& W7 V- H4 ~$ _Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# t& ^# l0 e& ?secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. I& [" X' X- Y
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of- X$ u' P+ Z4 M# T0 v5 m& Y0 g8 K
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
* ]* G1 |. j% `, z8 f, L) `7 F& lon weekends.
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; d; G" b; }! i( gThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public3 T0 I6 k+ D, B( e
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
1 E4 i( u; D6 W+ Jstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
) h3 N3 ~: Y) nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' h/ j0 i& A5 N. o
competition. h8 h( {8 U( i4 [& Z! d2 r
7 W( l" e1 j6 ^' ? [' ^( e7 I"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
+ I1 ]% F8 v: k+ |" Fsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."% y3 W5 Y: R( B6 H5 c- \5 @8 B
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
& L4 I1 o7 c3 C# F, ] uall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse# @" W4 p# P& I- S% i: d
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. Q% c! l0 H) B( o* E) f: \
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ v% I" g# K! y2 G- Z
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to i& s3 `9 i# q9 Z/ j' ^2 I
the school system last year.) A3 U( U+ A5 d: [& N2 }! p
+ ~- [! i/ ] Q) U9 u! {4 m8 K5 oThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
7 Y: j) q) E$ xyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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5 H1 p3 j) g0 J7 P9 C"They have a great international experience right in their own
& F) |7 d9 U( r1 nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' {/ ?1 C) v. M& H+ UChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 z1 ], j% F" ?/ `
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
7 x; |' X4 V4 [3 ?on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese# x- Q7 G# @+ w' l# b6 q+ D
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
7 @1 }, U8 p, ?- k. MService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
V5 k: \6 `% z: a$ MChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
% I. @2 ?( Z4 p9 C+ M5 d Laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 }6 v. f% i1 _. i) Y. x5 n. G
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 \5 f+ ]( Y& W; J% b7 D
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; G4 h6 I# s( J. }grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before8 n. G3 Q; J" h* x0 o
deciding whether to take the class.) x' n0 Q+ r' S* c
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
0 g" V, z& g, {& t+ xtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite! D8 d7 P& L% b
class.
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: ~2 I' F/ F$ W2 }1 A1 g, CAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
8 U/ m* N8 s/ j$ `( l- A2 X. {studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 ~% O7 L+ I; D+ }+ ]; qoccasional frustration.
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$ z( b) c/ c! b8 T) a4 E"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: g. a6 d# P) Y
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* ^5 f5 [2 R$ M- j
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he- A1 g" u5 ~* l) S- \
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ Z# _. z0 ^3 e* r7 N; dChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul" [) v" W2 t5 w% ~: G) J! s$ @
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ @: v3 T s5 J# g, qas many languages as I can."
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8 x+ H; W! O4 E+ vAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 b+ \. }5 G, i Mskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
% `7 @- b5 h5 cmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
# D% D, F& O7 I, _5 L2 T! Othat," Ms. Freire said.0 O# e3 w/ h# u$ P8 ^" D. {3 l
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
* x& w9 z5 U! Q, o! Chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
# S: ^5 Y( P# r1 \school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking, c7 w$ g4 o6 U. \) t* I3 H
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make6 U) D6 o2 |& b$ l1 x7 s. @( v7 }
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 j; C6 u- S- g0 U. v l" CChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& M7 K# Z" L3 k3 b* H
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 U) F u+ F, M# j3 U/ \3 T
8 z& Y2 E* q( Q, ?/ i% d1 E"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified- i {$ D# X; {( T5 N
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
; G8 X- U* { i/ E ?+ s! \said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
. d4 p6 {6 K* Y/ rSociety in New York.
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9 O+ _* C" @. Q& BSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
, D) X" B4 c6 N2 C% wChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 {$ r4 t, i$ O' P" F9 J9 O
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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) q! I$ v! I2 h"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 I$ }/ Q2 e% i' L
own."- a: R( K+ p4 k. f' [
4 p, W I* K6 _3 p% bCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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