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October 15, 2005
- M; k0 G% N3 k" s% GClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity! G2 e- C3 y% Z, V; g
9 V! P2 X6 H9 M x3 X4 MBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
" I7 g$ }" h7 WUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ k u& n2 V* M6 x
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
! Q* s4 V5 m5 V" J. |dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: C5 T2 s' o2 t: c" `
flag hang from the wall.- t8 L9 ^0 h% _8 }+ j& T2 n1 l0 c
$ ]8 ?, y0 S" J& L- ^' GOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 E: ]9 n& I. @+ d* y/ c" Janother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
9 Z+ O" H2 [0 ?$ i6 vpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
% k4 {7 A2 E( W. n4 x. T" Z7 Fboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
5 p! b4 g/ o. `: nare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. @. T; T0 Z! V' e4 R
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 a6 B9 B4 h% t/ s6 C$ }; u voffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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3 j8 j. U8 H" r7 dWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ E6 Z% B5 K$ z" eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. e& ` W. P9 ~& |5 ?. I3 ?to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
' s8 G+ u* q9 j% w5 H6 none of its most difficult to learn.
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5 }/ J6 \! ~7 c. _, XLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# M1 c! H$ F& ^* e$ Y
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students U! x. X' Z1 }
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
; v' f9 Q! A; H' PLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
# E/ z3 A3 b! V8 a' mTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" N2 \2 S9 J `( R" uChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& ~2 Q" Q' Q9 x0 f4 j, f' L2 dimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ }9 h( L3 B& r3 o( r: Q/ s- Q
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement: [3 ~9 C, ]9 E2 u% q8 q& n
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country* z4 r$ K% a/ d/ M4 @7 t% U1 N
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; Q% l" w1 @5 G) w, gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
8 q5 x% D: K5 G" ocurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 T c9 Y6 ]* R- z; Q$ ^of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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4 h" Q# Z, H7 [ ?4 t* m"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 d' ?. ~3 P8 ^ X8 W% h' Q c. T
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" z9 }0 |/ F; U. D+ D+ UConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
! U) B3 e& Y1 r+ y4 ]can." 0 X- W- k M3 z' B7 K8 Z
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: ~4 G1 C7 A$ Q) ^elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10- v+ @: m7 h9 o
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language2 K* u4 a# Y7 o& b. t
Institute in Washington.0 s6 E3 i/ a5 x+ k
7 T3 g( ?+ y; ^% j& X6 u"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 o# H o: l, u* _8 r9 d
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
G2 @+ T% ~5 k8 j& q0 wMcGinnis said.2 s3 I Q; u% J, d5 s/ h
& S3 R1 ~- m6 w; G( u% T/ g# _, Q6 t. _"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# O6 l+ s7 e: R, Mlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be/ c* h* @2 G0 ?3 x
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( k8 M, r9 `1 t9 Q8 {1 v7 J1 Mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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+ P. N6 F) R, e h3 JUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 L2 O* ?( v1 i% m9 T5 m
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
$ C, N5 ?& {; m" |cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
/ R7 ~* Z# K8 X' \/ ]5 H! v$ T8 f& \Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 d5 I, ? T1 T$ y0 Y! von weekends.
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3 w L: \. P* K5 @4 c# TThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* W! q+ S# V( v1 b+ W4 X
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 y8 E* p0 i$ v5 Z. ?* c! a, m2 `students who are not of Chinese descent.9 v9 h& v, x: \* b3 o
; J N# x1 a2 T5 vMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said! h3 ~1 I* \7 m) y# K' s
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* p, Z0 S: p; S
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley) K9 [8 p9 r9 i. v. `& S
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( ^- N0 |: n) D" gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ t0 R' c' @2 f/ s; }schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& L; i3 W4 t% V; Q' \8 v4 q1 fkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
" U' b( i& x' Gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% x; k) j: Q4 @0 |- ^% B ^
the school system last year.3 i. C) K; B c, x2 N
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# H4 [. H, t! n7 A4 t; {4 z# c1 V0 a
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.1 k N: J; D5 ]
. o( a; x8 ?8 Z( i! T7 t0 {"They have a great international experience right in their own, J$ k' ~9 i* O0 g4 l; M. ~0 h" ~0 P
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, ^6 ?2 L, o7 }9 j/ k. ^
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 y- N0 _ c. \9 ^2 n, V9 O6 ~help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" G% s8 ~3 j4 f1 \& |# R* t& J
on an equal playing field."& l( L0 [ h# ]2 f0 O+ q2 m" g
# K* S& Z' G+ WSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. u" L6 T' Y4 X: k
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. B9 N, s* ~; d0 O: ?
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 j' c' }0 o6 o6 r# ~Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
; N' C* _ k Y H4 waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; U/ \; [- A7 {0 Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 _5 L# O" s' I; w, o
institute says.: d% z1 |- e: Q" j
' o% O# M, m0 M5 LSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! G1 p: G) W2 X8 egrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* P$ j6 M- ~+ q! ^2 x% X. o1 I
deciding whether to take the class.+ m- B' y3 _: r7 G! e/ o& e7 m/ J
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she7 G3 U- m8 k0 y; U6 a1 F' L
told her daughter.
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' N% K/ {; ^1 T5 P! I& ]+ c0 x; VSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 W" n& f( p- V* y
class.
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" J4 D; N0 c$ GAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are% L' g" {( d W; |
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: q2 Z1 X0 z; j- g, f* x1 q
occasional frustration.8 r% [$ w: h+ t2 C- T: m: r) X E
6 ^" k" ~) P' F. C# j0 X5 }"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a' m1 c) I" ^% W2 S
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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, K, P8 A+ C) A! _( X9 ?Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 n5 z! s: G, m7 X- X
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( G4 p5 I% m% X# {4 Y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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( u% e/ x) l$ K4 l"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 g& ?9 P" o7 `% C- H% R
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn3 O2 _5 \. h, t( J
as many languages as I can."
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$ L- H0 Y, o, I; mAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
8 ?" ?1 m- w- p& y! t+ G* _" @skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. m' \# q" m# b' kmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
7 i& O( J8 W8 v/ Z6 V9 y0 Zthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, E' \( A8 R# s1 c
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 {, [: c* @1 `8 I9 [
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
5 p8 D T2 }1 _8 {time from classes like physical education, music and art to make6 |& Y2 T/ l& s; ]5 o1 f
room.1 W& z* U7 j) M2 E* c
: p3 H' o1 g/ O% P) j; JChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
, X6 D% r& [. s; p6 B% P: C# AChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* j- E% N5 M8 r2 \: A- F2 z
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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7 _& {; X% K1 `; R7 G+ p. b8 v"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified5 n3 }8 `' [3 }3 v* f# h! `# ]
because of that missing certification," he said.
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: x% ]( T3 Y, ]2 {6 I- V' L+ G9 PThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, B: O* W- o2 g( z0 o2 w# N% ?
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( F% @4 h& R7 ?* z3 @+ I0 `
Society in New York.' b* I. o+ e9 j
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 c9 z: ?; R% |/ [, w0 c& M. O' BChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ n' _; d" ^' W4 p2 k4 Wthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.3 m" h/ h8 |4 a9 _/ h
* z) O- }" o e. Y2 w5 m+ l"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) ~* ?+ ~: b+ H
own."$ [" O- A; x7 i& U' z( Q6 k
X- e/ P# {" ]# q0 A$ q! h' H! G4 _; d! HCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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