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October 15, 2005$ j$ x+ }2 f5 d. N' _
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% w5 V. j3 w5 f
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING2 T1 l4 m! S2 J
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 c$ B1 w; d, ~# Q5 iUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary! q' S" k- P9 Y) G
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ r9 O9 X$ O/ zdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" \: ]5 d+ e* H) J% z+ a; F# g3 Gflag hang from the wall.
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9 o7 }6 {$ G6 h2 G/ WOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one( U4 O# ~/ K3 }7 z+ W; w9 O' \
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
7 n/ J: d" `' r; e2 ] w1 Lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 q% N& T. ~% W9 J7 c: `; _% e
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students! T9 F, d4 Z7 X
are already choosing it over Spanish.) i& i4 n4 _" n
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 |. V; T- J X& ?& |at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, D8 Y) j& _8 i) E4 f2 J
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,; p7 \' R1 w4 t9 d
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings+ n- z% D- {- h, g( U) G; c
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
h% @0 f) a; D% }one of its most difficult to learn.: n3 J: c7 }# E3 R6 I$ p+ T
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" M2 N+ m) i T" epublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ E( C3 g+ |) L
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ d( V2 `% j# ~" F
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% z! P6 r* d* u" ]( BTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on/ t; c0 H; O$ e; C1 p! n% P: D
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 Q4 F" _- l+ u2 l8 i, n7 {
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.2 e0 `6 Y! }+ F9 g$ x) V
5 _; p8 A8 T# lAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
3 k8 r5 F' y7 }- p, j5 KChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 n5 X6 ?% Y- E; O- W
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 {* X g6 `* y8 Q* I9 i, d. U3 I8 Ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
1 K9 s: C! i7 o# Q0 v# Z4 s @curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director$ z, z8 o/ P8 D' I3 ?$ s, n
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; d5 z9 w2 X9 e+ I; r; O, j! n5 Tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
2 Q- P0 A9 ?' `: ]8 MConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
& D* m* y) [- C" b; B/ T2 E D0 bcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from- M; s- `" r# R) L2 ]5 k" ~ G
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10 G/ V; q0 U; T. P4 v7 l5 D
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 k# l' |6 C# h3 a0 S1 r7 q c. a. X: UInstitute in Washington.$ S8 J0 \: Z: |% k, i
- p8 Y9 T0 B- G; v0 P+ ?! x, U"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages0 C7 ~4 r0 I7 a" z5 }6 ~0 B' S
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! c0 v. U6 `. i: u2 \4 V
McGinnis said.
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8 U/ V3 `8 r0 |"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical9 x; r% ]4 R! ?6 ^# [7 ~3 S
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
$ `, }) [; q' G7 z4 R( \ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( B% ~! r9 ?! xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! T) r3 M2 y) s% x* k) `
+ x; |7 \/ ?4 q( z; M) k4 UUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and! N5 ~ O A# w3 w
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in2 ]8 K {" C, ~7 |3 h, G4 v( N6 D
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of0 |7 V a+ U2 Y+ c
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or& J( q5 y* e+ Y. ?" B8 J
on weekends./ b q' E+ ]5 @7 G, H
8 L# L' d$ p7 U- N! g6 [The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& ?% Y/ y7 t( y$ G% Hschools during the regular school day and primarily serves6 R6 l9 E3 F: }# Z4 Q; t$ f! n
students who are not of Chinese descent.$ g8 Y% M7 ^3 k
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ [' n6 W5 Z5 `' Z$ p" Q; H$ D$ m1 Oproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: Z$ V1 C# p( Q4 s ?. u$ \/ H
competition.
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0 \. F3 ~$ `/ Y/ z0 h, l"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley( l/ Z, M. y$ l7 d# Y! t9 L
said. "There will be Chinese and English."4 @. C, m7 w+ V+ S
& K, h8 Y! N5 H0 zFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( d- ~: h7 G, v% l$ R( _/ K. U* xall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse7 ~9 `$ O9 P$ C5 u- ]1 S
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
! c7 [) m' N* Ykindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students& v3 j* V- \1 F" E4 D, Z; E
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& @8 |( l I* i! g3 y2 e( O
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# T' d$ K6 a1 `( {' M
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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- O/ E' Y3 h+ C% E$ f+ A"They have a great international experience right in their own: B% j# m2 u2 |8 R1 @0 I
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" i: |* x# O- _5 G' dChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
- v+ s. O0 }1 ]% D/ ^help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 a8 I- U3 b1 t0 }, ~; v, M9 F, `- d
on an equal playing field."
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( P( y, l1 T$ n/ Z- ISome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
1 Z2 P+ \7 K) u0 @, D! Tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
# K4 Y+ U$ ^) |+ z! MService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks+ e2 k& n+ [0 C( D) @
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An2 k0 L$ P9 _5 B' t" p) q
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
! U: Q: `/ p" n4 EChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# { N) c8 Y% C# Y5 @# Oinstitute says./ e& H* _; I) n+ n: F9 W; C
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
) \9 k3 ~" i. O, t5 ^grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before% b4 N; @4 k; g Q2 [- M" A+ @
deciding whether to take the class.' A2 R. o0 @" f% p$ X* ^
! t! d0 p6 R* q0 m6 I"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 v4 M. u8 r7 ]: y/ r$ X, D( n3 F9 a
told her daughter.4 U5 a( e7 |% m R2 g6 q- o
, J# R' g- S1 N# z4 K, W. }* ~Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ I/ t, U3 K! [1 z
class.- h3 U2 L9 _" p( r
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
, R( [& F0 g8 H5 hstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
- s) m5 E2 v/ Z4 ^: [occasional frustration.1 b4 A+ D% z* i
, ~( G" m& p9 S% r"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a1 A; _5 j& `% d! q4 V5 c9 E
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ a% Y+ |+ @# }: K6 k- D
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
9 @% W( e. E. H& ~1 e" I! fChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.; Z% f( E6 j S4 _
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
- e+ Z! [: M3 | I" R6 ysaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
# K/ l4 r! p' z% G2 @* \7 jas many languages as I can."& l n, b) v. K! n
3 V% d$ r) i' m. q: X# R3 X! F1 jAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the; y1 A( V% W1 `5 } J
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job# f: }# l/ E9 N9 q( S3 L# k) ]" r
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
' n6 j$ i* y' f" k9 zthat," Ms. Freire said.6 J' |( Z8 P5 K1 V
$ h& x$ ], B% y) q) B# U" u% HMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
1 T8 ]+ |) o- i% |3 G2 ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 e+ ]7 I: M: m k; u
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 t5 c' \- m. d$ O' {4 x1 wtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make: I- U0 V- J0 b" Z8 j w2 J
room.
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# }: M/ L U2 C1 e# e2 k8 A2 {Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
3 }) [4 e& p o# ]) q0 g7 [Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
8 i5 K. n8 r4 p' h0 W9 Rcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.5 B D3 H- u& G; ~! R. v2 `
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) ]2 F% J P- O! q8 t* Y
because of that missing certification," he said.2 T" U# C- T/ u: O+ s8 B
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 b: B# _# K; M2 r7 ]
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia. m3 X& ]. T/ v3 G# W
Society in New York.
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8 ]. d0 H: x9 `! r$ zSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' v+ |! ]# h& m! g; t
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 C# t+ D- T9 Q# | o# `) q) X
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: h2 P4 c* t/ U
. r- N$ \& i5 v- k"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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& ^. ?& D8 L& A! P$ NCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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