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October 15, 2005
" E8 c( G0 v+ ?! b. XClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity* [3 [/ i: C; k7 o5 | J
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 Z. A ~7 f7 A3 I" `: v5 T; v
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 @& t; B7 s9 i: \United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, O2 r! ], h: [1 m7 X
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
0 n. K+ j# E% k% P/ O* T' ~dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; e2 ?- S, |+ I* d/ i
flag hang from the wall.2 z& S* h) w3 y6 |( [7 \( A% F
2 I; F' r/ J7 T1 J/ K9 bOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
" J. L3 Z' r0 s' Y" H. qanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders$ G5 Q3 G; X8 ]0 P- L. P
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
3 X8 p; ]7 q1 r6 U& o8 Z$ E% r9 |boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# A( b% L* ^9 i5 a* t
are already choosing it over Spanish.1 L; L& q5 k$ z5 p& w! @! Y% Q
2 q& m3 n" b- l$ ~"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
6 h. G2 u: \# H: J5 ^' Iat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ f8 }1 I8 o" I1 F0 k6 N: X, boffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" _5 D; ^5 _; K% e! M; T. X
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
# I& a6 s9 q+ W$ w/ eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
' y; S2 ~. L" Q2 j* Z. \2 Cto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention5 S; }3 ?5 J! c6 x/ ~9 }
one of its most difficult to learn.; i: k2 t; d9 D3 s0 _
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
5 F0 K* J/ L/ M% h1 P2 ppublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% ^* E' m+ j2 _ P* A
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
( B. |, u5 C4 y3 b4 k$ n0 b2 hLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
3 Q, O# z) |6 R( w& ?) YTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 P( [5 [. v2 E! W. T
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ c" A& o! p# a
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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% E) O9 a% C; ~5 Z% |* Q1 k; XAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 t5 T8 `. i+ R" EChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
1 X# b- W) V) q# D9 `: r, J% c) Lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to. ~1 w1 g/ c# y' q, x
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 A" Y! f9 x2 K8 }+ c
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 Y/ b$ ?: e) B" p% @. T. Dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 B8 i/ n! s1 U9 Z. A, _
+ r& G7 {# `* b# a"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
- \+ D' h( t5 mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ m% F4 \( ~3 E5 A# Q( K8 ]* M& hConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 S* [/ H& Y: ?: J
can." ( e V1 y: N- ^: F+ V5 f; _# E& {3 T
$ Y8 _1 K( Y! i" w" eThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, m2 e+ E7 Y9 M& Gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 f1 |3 c# o8 u% { J
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ F" K2 q% L6 gInstitute in Washington.: Z0 S. ^ y) e+ I
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages u7 f. }( z: n) R S$ @8 ]
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; s4 O. @7 K' N8 k2 }. QMcGinnis said.
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: n% M2 {+ {6 Q0 W3 G' G, v6 h+ m"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical: E4 x( ]( B1 n0 l! z( Z; u$ U
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ |4 _8 p( C7 _4 U/ l
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a0 G) v% N, a* f2 X- m |
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."1 I$ g( D! D. D/ {% g/ q+ B# }6 K" a
* c3 P7 i% |' Z: V$ h8 yUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
M0 ~+ ~9 E" V. Wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 A, R. ~& [4 ?9 c3 W& m& H. i7 Hcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 l/ @. K( G- U& n% p- k; VChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
" A* O! Y* {, r2 f: D# n9 f- {$ won weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public K& o* T1 @1 n" z7 p0 B
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. g" ]/ S* d/ P& g
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
0 a& ?. \( Y5 @* G4 r& _; @, ^& Rproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
6 X& Z ]9 T! U8 o# Scompetition. % {. R0 B+ D. e( h h* a$ }
/ Z) {4 `& O6 X"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
. C J2 P& }3 [9 @said. "There will be Chinese and English."8 g" j! ]( w% ^. W1 {
$ k) Q. `; ?) xFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 G" c8 ?6 y+ M7 L. n
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 N2 ^& Y' Y6 ?: }3 A2 rschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 v, Z b3 n h
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students( d9 U A- G; }; b
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- q9 S0 ^$ m/ S1 g4 S
the school system last year.
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* L6 X4 o# r, d, KThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this6 e. t: u! ~, C+ _- y1 e
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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( t: x9 q" E" p2 z0 o5 f% Z* I"They have a great international experience right in their own* a) u& Q! Q: V; h9 o9 L
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 j% V1 i$ b% R' p
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
8 J( o) W0 ]* g2 z- ^5 r' Hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 I% z. `9 f5 z4 e
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 \$ u1 K; z4 Z% qclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
7 v O( Z: Z3 `1 N; I# HService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! }4 O3 f4 d; e7 XChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: O; ^+ v4 D/ I
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 a M" G8 W, d" U2 M8 Y* fChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* T, a& l* Q* t g& _" ` s& ainstitute says.4 N- F; D- R9 _7 j# l" G9 t0 |
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 ?* f/ ^8 l, A. U; N* k& `: Hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- O: @! r' ^- c/ ` b
deciding whether to take the class.
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/ {2 g4 L- u* ^- v"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
0 y1 j" @! y& F% `5 Ztold her daughter.* w: [1 _& ]/ ~3 v+ y, ]5 V
* T- |, a0 q- @0 WSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 T. r/ W! F: a8 s+ l; d; Fclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 R7 g4 R( {5 m9 k$ _studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without9 H6 z! Z; C! ^# j0 l% E( l! @4 a
occasional frustration.! E8 J1 I0 V$ x5 L
1 n* C7 G) L9 ]* O' I! ~/ C"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a6 J* P4 h$ _6 O& S! Q: p
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) N I: y! F. S1 \5 v
: ^: B I9 z3 i/ q! BRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' V8 i9 k# i, |% A. F- `6 h- z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with" M. @9 ?: B7 c/ M( Y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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0 ]; j- u o4 H- o7 Q"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ C! N; z/ o5 w% |, S/ R8 D
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn, B( p: h* s! f" R8 p
as many languages as I can." I9 A, N; d" ^$ E; v$ w
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 c3 s1 G$ P2 ]skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* R1 E; ?( u* O+ S9 Umarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 ^/ h2 u" \7 ]* d3 j/ q9 M9 p
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 c6 D3 j- Z! _0 G3 U) E% |
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
/ M# v4 V" y" U/ jschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking$ a# P* u0 q2 K4 x3 f- z% r
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 ^+ Y1 F/ q/ W& P8 kroom." D! c# n5 R8 C" ?0 s# i4 |, f' K
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
! f& h9 X5 c# C0 T9 ~* r% }) hChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
& Y6 }% e/ @( u- `6 z4 {. m/ [/ _college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.. k* F. s3 e, b, F. h2 X: g/ E
4 Q0 C% E1 s& p"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
r0 A( b3 a+ i3 ubecause of that missing certification," he said.1 E3 c9 m5 ^& X `$ H! G. W9 t7 q
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* H; }9 E O# P, I( s$ N7 h
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* C2 v, w2 c. E4 N8 O
Society in New York.& i- p/ o! g* P4 K5 B; Z! a+ p
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the7 N) g1 ?0 b3 a# Y/ L6 C/ j0 q
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
) u! h, ]5 N+ Q: B9 jthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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2 f) h) q1 C$ W }"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, o& s+ p N0 t
own."
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2 v2 D4 i3 R1 }$ M' MCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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