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October 15, 2005! `0 X# z4 M: H" `2 B1 S
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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- W8 k% h* ~: k, G4 TBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- G/ C$ ]7 x, } UUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 Q1 h6 l( K5 C9 ?, q& tSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 S/ d- w+ N" g" w. `5 |1 \! ndangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
4 F, d' ~ j# Z6 A$ [6 G% v9 m. \flag hang from the wall.1 v" s. i" Y' G& v9 ~8 g" Z7 P
: I1 N9 ~& I: r# ?! w5 g$ \0 ~One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ F+ C. ~& L+ z
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders" ~# W5 J1 P o1 C
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker. B! i- |8 J6 h
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" i" x6 u D" l! n6 b
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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! F" R! O# T9 Y/ B, B% h"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ p/ o( k" w: h1 |% k1 Zat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 ]. Q9 L2 d: f$ W' Y3 g5 @
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."$ h$ s) L) q* R# P+ c/ t! {% b
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments, b: F( ?2 k8 X; l# }' M
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, h, e, _8 y/ w0 M6 A" a: g
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention, I, ?( a7 Q/ I* T
one of its most difficult to learn.% q, z2 K$ l; y- \
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- u2 o) r0 u; s- |public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 `: n2 m4 Y* ~
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 o* R5 P) l" K
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of0 |& m+ O% A6 q" H2 G
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on. X7 y9 z2 d( S' u6 _7 d" ]3 S5 N
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ p/ U3 t! y8 g5 h& H& ]' W1 f
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, F! |. Z" w% v8 e+ i7 i
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) J8 o: r1 E1 e* T
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
t) X3 S; G: F% A1 Wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* h8 W# G+ o `% L1 W7 F/ W# b6 U
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director2 I* L2 {6 }, \9 K. Q% h4 P! n
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: v+ R6 X: u! v/ g) V$ M& S F
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education D. k: T8 }3 A* Y* h' @; Z
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we- A, r* q6 h1 R5 z
can." 2 X- ^" f- ?* i* y
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
& ?0 A% x+ Z- v, R9 Q% T* delementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
6 a* J0 h. o: a7 _" ~years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) C( ^% }. h4 u& K; R
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" t) m1 q6 r- V! I* {
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.' f2 d2 k1 G+ I/ y: `7 m0 o
McGinnis said.
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' P5 F F+ w9 F1 a"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 [3 ^& ]# F, _+ Q9 r- u" v6 klongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
. I# H1 Y3 c. U4 S7 l/ R; {; H2 d& Oready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
4 d6 f( c% W/ }% \- jchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and, Q" M6 k# O9 O
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# d/ M' o% S' h1 ncities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of8 f6 m( ~; p0 r$ K6 G+ _# }6 T3 v
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* D2 D/ b' n2 b$ X
on weekends.- q) m* [8 f2 }( e
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
! U, P/ h3 P+ V0 f$ c7 aschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, _5 ~; z5 @- j1 J8 ]/ Dstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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- \0 S7 t) y. w! \Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 Z) `5 y/ O' G5 \: w: R. Qproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
4 u& I- u {4 E0 M& q6 Mcompetition. $ r1 L* l( [: C
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley2 ?& p7 D+ Q2 g! V; X" ?: V! d
said. "There will be Chinese and English."2 E: ?) W1 D3 C+ t* B ~. X
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ `5 ?' c: c b3 ?all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
a, ]0 [+ Z5 T; m5 ~schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
7 V8 E. N1 V. M# l8 f( }kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
! k2 M' @1 m8 q0 q/ {who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to, C( w# N f* g4 V! r
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 X% s8 }+ Z% Z" T' ~5 H/ Dyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 Y6 G o, K0 B3 y* ~& O( V
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"They have a great international experience right in their own8 c8 V# D. Y. K& y! F$ Z
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
! H# @$ ^. V, YChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 K% K6 |# v! E# Hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 k. ?' B) {" e0 _: eon an equal playing field."
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9 j# q3 P" q* L, ?Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
+ ? o0 v6 Y+ iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
" V2 a- @7 N. o$ C* [4 TService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks/ i3 D' o8 P6 [% M# u! T
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* F }" n8 @8 c, `" {average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in6 n. m, a$ b' D
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
+ }& d. I& k8 w7 sinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
3 N1 S& G3 U( |1 `9 Y' ^4 ~; Y! T7 igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
3 R e2 A( P; v( ` V+ u1 odeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# I5 W! z! n; H9 ], Gtold her daughter.
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# a/ t* i2 N! p7 x4 P9 ~' XSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 O! Z1 t6 `* F) Y% j
class.
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, e3 u/ d3 h( S ~At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
m# r/ S+ X! O% h5 ^! e U% w; wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
& v' ~" r( M: ]1 E7 moccasional frustration.
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: h& X( S4 [5 D' H3 J# e! n"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* ~- H) M2 t) `9 I8 z8 m
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 x0 j( v0 R7 V7 @; Q' E
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- d4 H9 \2 T5 Q; F6 Y/ qtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 r0 L/ f5 b* e9 H/ T! R
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.9 O* W9 L$ K3 t7 M; g' ]2 |
) Z' C* ~2 g& b0 l! U8 D8 x) g"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 I. Y# k+ G: d9 h4 @2 }8 Vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn0 w, u; ^# j. W* X O
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) Y3 q& |1 ]! ^& x. C6 @; Nskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job6 G/ c$ O. `4 [# `
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 \" W0 I& S9 F5 Cthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% |* h# _3 a5 R6 {* \7 w9 I7 p
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 n( p# @2 N$ N; M
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 E* ]" o$ {! O
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make* a/ C* _ I' U/ v
room.5 [4 D. r) P# y1 z9 ^3 c( e
1 V; T2 I' d& f$ |Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer# w0 t$ r" c" y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American. M* T0 E2 Z- u1 B" |8 m) {7 }
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- k7 H7 J6 `1 N7 h9 O* _
) G- w U" j% ^* m( a: R' Q"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
# D- X/ W5 E8 K) x2 l: W7 kbecause of that missing certification," he said.' `* ~! t9 @5 S3 \
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
: g4 Q# Z6 K3 D5 q0 U" msaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia$ L5 H+ g: G! T
Society in New York.2 R9 l6 n. s, S
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
3 U) z0 }9 I) F$ j3 PChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
+ ~+ V- K; f7 Athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 k! Z2 i9 h' t% ^' L0 R, |
* N% r) F0 s5 d9 H1 V"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: B$ f0 `4 i& i$ J# p
own."3 D; z$ q5 X* |5 D$ Z2 o% I
7 c- o; s n* X5 W: HCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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