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October 15, 2005, W W. ~8 d; M( `3 B
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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6 R2 k: M1 d/ w& S* GBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING; ^( w {2 H( |1 q R+ L
- P- R6 x9 a) K& G, H! c- l! jCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- ?! D' k: @# z& [1 N" bUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, d$ S. h8 `- y3 L6 h0 N) A
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# G" k0 E5 }! n! i4 `
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! ?, V( @1 u' L; ~5 ^1 ^
flag hang from the wall.9 k- [0 H) |2 A" v
1 w+ O/ V6 x7 e+ rOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one9 d& A8 e4 x" b; t) n. x
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( K8 G% z& t6 hpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 H$ a: F" U1 o& v4 `8 Dboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 r+ D) p" E% G
are already choosing it over Spanish.) i5 l. D U8 D/ @: ]3 G. C, @
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 `- O9 C( M) Hat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city; _( ~3 P2 z* y. @1 \
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 d% O. M8 Q: d B* A2 B9 M
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
- D; r8 c' f# n3 M, V+ ?( tschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; E# m) O' r: U% ]# ]
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. ~- z, q# C/ z* ]4 j% p
one of its most difficult to learn.
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4 X+ }; i0 w* T. y4 D5 s# R DLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) |5 U e0 O* _+ y- e9 B' N5 {- Opublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students0 a. X# ]2 W% z: F/ I4 U% j: a
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.6 \, ^ u8 h9 B4 \9 v* {
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
3 ?0 d5 m9 e4 d% g; E* B5 M7 _Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 s0 X+ F$ ?: l& J$ `- LChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
. M: \9 U6 o4 U. L3 }) ^improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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# H* w5 q1 N; dAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement# P' f! }! |3 E* y# @( g3 Z& _
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) B6 W8 ?6 c5 t) n
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to" R) ] ]9 E8 m" ~5 ~) f
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
: }2 w; |& l. Pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director+ o" e" }- P5 n+ M0 j! S8 [9 ^! E
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of$ d1 }* @( }9 Z2 D; X& ~/ V2 d% r
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
' T7 j3 S3 b7 J- c" n3 @Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ M" Z3 ~4 J1 I% X% [3 w! r1 pcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
# v. F7 }- u5 y! i6 J3 Qelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10- V) K6 B# @/ s {% U) @
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ j/ d$ ]- w0 g3 IInstitute in Washington.
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# H: p, ~ e! D# F* U"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages, z# T Z B x+ R! o- X
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr., `2 p5 n9 J" Y* u2 h) |1 I1 G
McGinnis said.
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7 s% W- P2 z) ?: w2 V$ ["Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ k% w% s3 i3 P% @1 r! U
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, @8 d+ x7 ^" v& [% A5 Iready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ u1 U7 K" K, qchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 v8 k, \& A+ X; {0 D
w7 q: o; V9 E7 X" c/ t: lUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and z, @" k9 z6 D1 k S7 W4 {
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in, D5 n$ c& N4 f. Z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 ?" q- W' o- p/ A* }) X' Q1 J- dChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
& G- k- S4 s' e" zon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public' T( S4 c( c$ U- p. X: f: T8 b
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
9 a5 E, ]# H( E: x9 K5 V8 dstudents who are not of Chinese descent./ u3 e, h0 H9 o" t
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said' ?- I# F% {% N& M2 J, B" |. V
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the, I, c2 {5 @6 E+ X
competition.
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! U- f( R4 @& J% C/ f"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley' M5 r$ T* F y
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly [6 F9 N; e+ H( u( H
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
. N' \ }; I3 |% x7 ^schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from! R/ p8 V$ ^" C( |0 v( I
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students; a* W/ C" O, S7 C
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to; _, V2 [! c5 E$ c4 g
the school system last year.
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! W$ a$ k; v3 z* G/ Y/ l' r4 \The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this! {& f8 t! V- D4 s/ X; M9 m& L1 I
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.* H i1 b6 C$ ?/ U# r& j2 d
t3 U; l1 p6 b) w"They have a great international experience right in their own6 q( u9 o4 [- d: D' Y8 U$ n
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. Q- o: Z, K+ B; E" z! k" D0 D" m
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 B1 s( W v% U) ?3 G( F7 Q" Ohelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet. F0 h. K( k, J
on an equal playing field."; f! L) _2 O8 }% O# D. S
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese5 ], k% A( x) p7 X$ U* J) ~+ e& o
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 \3 l% A! u' p* t9 j+ [) j. U. L4 VService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks' h6 e* e" r& P' z7 O
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
# x$ A" w* ^6 g5 uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in) k8 o$ `; o& b1 O' V
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! p9 @6 i9 V# u$ U* r3 w# V: Zinstitute says.2 `; W! }# S8 T+ ~* d) L0 l
9 g8 S `% k) @+ [Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth$ w3 f8 B% Q( O( \* D# Y$ ]
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ \1 ?( b2 P, J3 ~: V' W8 n: sdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! ?4 v) `, T8 G2 G2 Ztold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( v( J( j3 d. e9 G$ c2 E7 m; t# q7 {
class.6 s5 }; q6 t, E3 q) k9 t8 J; I0 ?
7 ^, e; C0 }. w+ F& `/ ~8 ~At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
3 w# y9 u0 t% W9 C4 c0 {; Sstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
2 n7 } K5 c1 koccasional frustration.+ D% w3 k9 _4 P1 R) Z
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ J. x' r# k9 G# [recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) K& C: z5 V1 D
% p; |' k/ [; `+ h; B7 K6 `Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
2 Y X/ H1 V2 u$ L: Ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% \$ z( i5 p: w1 s0 N. K: _1 b5 f6 A
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.& u, h7 ]$ F; p4 ]
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul) t* V2 l: t0 }7 r. j' |
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn1 l" n8 M1 J+ J9 F* l. L
as many languages as I can."
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9 i0 }' A) d1 B$ ^. u) f& ~- SAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
0 R+ q, z: y! \2 j. u5 Y0 p. i8 hskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 V* ?; o P# P. A" P/ d T0 M
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like3 `/ T/ c+ T2 y5 }9 n- k
that," Ms. Freire said.& v" L, i0 i9 `
" q2 e9 @( k3 I6 j* D! DMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program1 p, E; r0 H; Y) T
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
; y* p; l! m/ X2 z' |. jschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking4 o) g( V7 B. {# [0 i' _, } A
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: b* x1 W( M- V2 ]* U
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer/ O8 k7 z' v+ ~/ D* ^6 C- w
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ s7 w. q Q* D) E, N; d
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.. @3 F6 h/ I, M4 o4 X. @
7 k8 `8 |4 @; s* |"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
9 y% W& Q0 m$ U2 Bbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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, `( H/ Q4 i4 L8 qThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( t& `) a) P8 K" y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' o+ f6 }! s) W! n) p$ x9 _8 G
Society in New York.! P5 }( Y$ M* B) M# n
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: r/ B9 `4 e& V! X) W0 b4 U
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, o/ ^- F0 ^& H, l( S& X) q/ v: W1 I0 \the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.3 _. U6 b0 A' u3 {2 [6 a+ W
9 X6 Y& Z4 @7 Z"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our x# C' x! }5 [, w0 w' a. f
own.", c& |7 }- O* z3 h
/ M0 f6 @5 J; E0 Q: PCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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