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October 15, 2005
+ M0 A- t: ?2 D0 {' MClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity6 a8 x! [3 W2 Q
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING# b5 D' c, G, Q7 Z/ m' Q
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) |% D2 V3 j4 [! ^United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
" u* o. z. n$ D; ]" ASchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 Y0 \! w" |9 \9 @dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ [- r# f4 e$ y0 T* S& l7 Uflag hang from the wall.3 x: M4 F& B0 [! t, I) n7 b
3 w& Y" l* _: _One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( c. g8 u* G1 uanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' G' N J/ `, K
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 X( g3 n" }* y. x8 O. m# C
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 X b5 b1 |! p/ N3 E
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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' i8 M v3 U, S8 H; e6 I1 d) M"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 ]9 Q* D9 u3 t0 zat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
+ D h Z: N2 Q9 Coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."$ _/ J" l" p% S( S+ |: F
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
; M+ }% A: K2 fschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 r/ P4 U* G5 Y5 Yto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention1 C( J+ a& c$ G! o$ F
one of its most difficult to learn.) b4 y3 B$ Z, [# {0 U
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, f& \1 H1 {: y6 _8 J ]
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students7 [+ \0 P7 a5 r5 r
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: a! g" {$ f8 ^! I" j
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 T) ^( P) K" ~) }Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" }) y+ E. _' n! E7 m6 _ K/ N) `! NChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 A k; [, Y- I* k5 d
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! {; N, b) g- i. \: LChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country: B) W3 P4 Q; `# K* a/ ]0 d% h
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& @' p2 O& ]/ {8 W, U- C5 fdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing/ e" v0 M& _' b& c
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 Q/ u" R. d# ] S
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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: e7 n# u' P6 L" k; \. J, `"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# N# _$ c; ]+ A1 C# A* b, P
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& b6 F* z3 E& P& G& n2 V
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 n: n. w/ U* \* Ycan."
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9 N0 E/ _, G. mThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 ]$ J( E! V7 l/ Z
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 Q( Y5 U0 X: o# y, E8 I8 o$ Y
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language& w% \' R8 f7 X# L
Institute in Washington.9 \0 L/ f( \1 x: Y- P N' A
# C+ x* p) U- v: J7 N( c"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
2 }8 i( E q0 D9 r8 t* o; L. Qaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
# x5 h f& U& M# F4 L. ~McGinnis said.' _9 ]* m: x7 P X
, U( l+ P/ Q% |1 _"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
" X J1 z# e7 v. w$ i# plongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be% | D/ ?9 |( |! X0 E& g @* {
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' _9 D3 X' a$ c& @: ~4 ]9 lchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."4 P' ]6 x! L2 R0 |
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 I) w8 E* _, x5 X0 E! l
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 ?7 E! l J/ k S# h9 f2 E
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of$ W9 Z. p2 Q* k/ ^, m% K( H
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
" v9 b8 A7 X# S+ g6 v8 o' f* j9 oon weekends.
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+ X5 I% \) J) A9 XThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 C e& m$ `! L [! G& Lschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
/ E) A( l; v$ u$ z5 t, Xstudents who are not of Chinese descent.$ V4 s4 b/ G; Z* s* ~
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said0 X, Q% j' n6 f. ^: q4 X
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
S$ T2 y7 L3 C5 N) o J) fcompetition.
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8 P$ f, z; e1 K, @/ w"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 M2 b$ k- P* I) T# I. q6 d( M* p
said. "There will be Chinese and English."" {. f) O+ w z1 a: N# o
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 ~) V$ C8 ?6 x; D: h" Qall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
}. Z$ ? {' Bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
. ?- ?7 {4 O6 I& ^) O: G: fkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students% Y& T- ~. k8 @3 F& z6 b
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
( W$ U& |. e& [8 s# x& ^# g- Dthe school system last year.
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& C0 s! U0 B8 @: G# oThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 B- k: x# a- _ [( A3 Zyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.1 |5 b0 e" w9 m) p6 u- ~
+ J& @2 y6 w9 U"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 L9 [' N/ p: l7 V' D0 _classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago# P6 a; K( p' {) z4 A2 K" X
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to. m# D" r! y* E/ o
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" t3 L: E& ]+ B) y1 t: C
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
. q% u& J& F6 e" ~1 p, q8 i! O' k) Yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign1 U3 v: y9 A R" i
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks: ?8 s9 i! L. m! D. v
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
. y' u! N0 i4 |, W, Saverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
3 m6 d# U; \7 _2 _Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* q. F" ?1 b( E# S9 d, z( u
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
1 W* o- }* @9 @0 pgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
0 k8 V b8 }8 v7 z& Z- D: }deciding whether to take the class.2 {7 H. w' {# H( k" B' o( e+ d
! K/ C' N, ~8 ]1 t( o; r4 Y"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she0 d0 Q: |; M0 Q3 _, a
told her daughter.
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- p2 D: q6 T. X& q9 XSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite2 R: u0 }7 e) ~( C w- E$ L6 J$ Z
class.
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6 ~, B0 q5 i1 W8 ?- V8 X9 fAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 }2 h5 y& m. O# b8 ~' rstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without3 }) n+ J: x- q a' {6 y5 s' U
occasional frustration.
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2 S! ^- `- ]7 ], G# y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
: b- G+ _- r$ W1 B; Mrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.+ s0 b. Z) u2 F; Z' g. A! r
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
( d5 h+ g$ f5 B/ E9 H7 E" j+ F7 H) s) Etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% x& e S7 v1 W3 Z
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.' S5 @& k, U) E
$ u) U1 ?( r7 w. k$ S"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul B- i1 Z# e& r& e
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn: A7 ?/ y2 S0 u
as many languages as I can."6 F3 c7 w) X- N- T5 H
: H- c8 W! U7 U# c9 {* IAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 A2 k9 W% D! @5 Q8 @+ ]) Y4 ?' Bskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
# _+ D: K; k2 L5 k( n% a% Cmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ V- G1 y% v" d+ \9 D
that," Ms. Freire said.
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) }/ c. q( `& a7 k+ gMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
+ n c2 g7 ]% ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 v5 r: S a. J6 X) K
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
9 L; r2 {" w" h" f3 ^; z' z6 |time from classes like physical education, music and art to make4 {" v# c2 s1 G ]0 e3 |
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer3 g- t- U; F* ?- `) f4 X
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
2 B0 x* _' s( q7 G( V# o% lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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6 l _3 K ~9 v* M( X& v"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
# K0 {! c8 J! e% X# a1 R6 jbecause of that missing certification," he said.0 |9 W! g. ]/ x1 x! m
! _( r v- A W6 B- ^" ?0 RThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, s. g7 e1 _: {' v" L# j
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ J- T- {' \5 F0 N: JSociety in New York.6 D9 ?% v Y# |* v
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ m! h' Y8 S1 S2 e9 m/ e: q
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 P& d5 i* |4 e( B
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ D$ A& |7 F3 ]1 i9 G. ^
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 r8 r" z* U' Y9 W5 U1 Y h
own."
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* k9 W L3 x$ q/ A. kCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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