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October 15, 2005
& J. L. V3 t! b: fClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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1 \8 |8 y7 S+ z% g1 pBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING) ~0 u6 Q/ n+ W/ |; L
% @$ ~. S. @0 b% I3 e3 m. R" H" y kCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& L" h( m" q: V! Z0 K8 y, {
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
# W& a2 H% s! i+ v! GSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 l& a% E) t9 Udangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 K' l+ f5 s( H; g" {
flag hang from the wall.
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1 @+ U' F5 }/ q XOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, o! G" t, Q7 Z/ Z
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
# S1 ^8 _; ^: T7 R0 z& Q! c% d' Fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker4 Z! }( c7 N4 \3 g+ S
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
- N3 R7 T. t( S5 \7 Z( ]5 Mare already choosing it over Spanish.
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; }+ Y) e5 n0 W( N"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal/ z( \( Y, L7 C( c0 V8 f! {, k
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city( N8 m/ h# V1 c, G* D' ~& f0 {' j9 Q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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P: h; k; K0 K6 Z# X( a( @With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ t4 ]1 G# g$ U; d% y2 O
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# Z; R1 [0 {) z* W% I+ r* h2 `
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 Y& R4 \, T! R$ Q& {one of its most difficult to learn.3 C) J6 t5 l q8 L8 D3 X
: z4 H1 r7 D, GLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
7 }* c& m/ V' z9 o) @; |5 [3 N+ kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
0 }+ ^0 u$ L2 g5 r$ Fstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) T/ Y `2 d5 l8 {0 H* H) D
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of( A3 ?6 S( @$ J
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
, b1 i# _/ r4 z, f ~ g# [Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
3 n9 V# ~: d, Q* jimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ ?6 m; h7 Y; N, w: Q
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 F4 F. ?: V( O4 z, |
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
+ T8 z& o8 U- _! H: i+ @develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing5 } b0 G+ k1 |4 P
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 U; r/ n- v7 R( ]
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
$ ^% ?4 w Z+ {6 Z1 @: zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education) U* p2 R& B x2 d. y
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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8 y# R5 P+ M8 ]- n5 {The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 G$ l9 P+ F6 V- [) ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
6 B- l3 Q; F V4 {( B+ lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, G* ~: |1 O y" o
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages _# l' k# @0 w3 @6 ?; a
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.7 e0 F+ S8 N3 z2 h: G
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
5 H5 O. T9 C6 C3 l) W* G3 ^longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
. ~) D' T4 d! I% y' mready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
, O o, b% @9 P. N6 }! Q' S( G" [3 ichallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."# G* H& w- C- k8 I
# q0 M/ M, w+ l' e/ k3 ?Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 u4 ]% f( Y7 G! Z/ o9 ` e( g
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
3 U1 H3 [+ S) M! u Q3 d Vcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 i4 D% i' m+ r! RChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 T* Q+ M, U4 u1 K" m7 p8 W& r$ ?
on weekends.0 o% ?9 f4 c; O( r2 _" ^# i) Q2 M& w
/ C; q# [; k# {( Y1 t# w, P! ?The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" U6 V, G% D, o" dschools during the regular school day and primarily serves5 w8 u+ k( ] B) y' k8 T, h: y; X
students who are not of Chinese descent.3 @# L# H( ~, K/ c. f
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said6 f2 g4 ]5 o: F1 F
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the) Z, d* x: I* a4 H9 [
competition. }4 w+ ^% u- O$ \' L/ z0 d6 p
% j: k8 }0 H1 }) T5 i+ b. g; K"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
+ P q9 U, ^7 d! D% _said. "There will be Chinese and English."4 j; R# S: M* x4 s# E( y
7 }! g) h$ w. B+ MFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly1 T3 l x3 @* A, [' h
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse1 H5 D3 [% I5 r& U$ W; d7 {
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from) Y7 G, h J2 D+ T& \9 ^
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students( p, N# i& N: s* g
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 @0 P% C" {% K# H8 R
the school system last year.
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8 s" `- {* q. F9 i i% b$ oThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this* W) A( L2 Q9 u
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 z# L& Y5 w5 l" i; N5 H T
( _4 V3 j; u" d"They have a great international experience right in their own: u! O/ `) w! b, }3 I
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 B0 H- ~+ q7 A0 NChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to/ d, d G7 B: Q& `
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
2 m3 r8 o7 }0 V* j& I7 lon an equal playing field."; ~9 m9 ?5 S8 F' ^( U6 T# R
, @: P: b9 R4 i5 c/ s" f4 lSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese) b# W f+ C$ _8 r9 j
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign* t& n3 V! m1 J
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks& A0 f0 ]7 |/ U& X* k$ h) p4 S
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An5 x9 a' Y. L% a* L& x& F. S% [
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
B2 O4 d7 m5 f' D" ]/ DChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# d! a8 _. P: F6 i ?7 M) U0 ginstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% z8 F2 [9 B9 z9 M3 y C
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 {9 G$ I+ X; hdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
, b1 Q3 @+ G" [( A8 @) \told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite0 R: n Y3 [1 ^8 g" e* ]" x7 O
class.; \( ]3 E m; V
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 A4 T( X* }6 F; h0 G( J, u
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without+ Y* e, J- W, y/ B# c1 @
occasional frustration.6 F7 L! O5 ^* R1 _1 j2 Z* D
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a8 R6 z: p$ {4 Z: R h0 L( a
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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8 M4 R# D2 F7 M; ARaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 a/ J K+ a O- U5 @' A" Y
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ N1 q6 `# ?8 g+ @; |4 L/ n4 V! YChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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: X5 j8 @5 u' N! B9 k"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 z# H1 J9 d- ?
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
5 P3 Y" [: b/ W+ P. X& V+ `: [as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) E i6 s) s. _skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job! r/ s- D6 \& C( a6 m3 _
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
% T$ g. h d) c8 Lthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program) V4 q( s1 c1 A5 E# M6 z% N
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
! ]: `( c! N5 e6 y& yschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking: Q* Y0 {0 j8 y- V- c
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make- `# K" N( l3 p* I! }- }5 ~, a( D
room.# S8 I* z/ h0 c$ J
6 I4 @/ \7 a* f/ S" q3 H* jChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# X, L& | [6 P S( @Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 c$ m3 i2 \5 @' }# o# a T/ zcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ T! p+ `3 T5 b: A
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified; y/ s& |- z. ] M& K4 u
because of that missing certification," he said.
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" b$ V8 i g' n. j4 ~The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
# M$ S1 K$ ]9 i* r& Lsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% E: R8 u! o( b/ e5 P7 q* |Society in New York.; S+ m5 t8 g" ^+ t* l8 K* R- n
8 r7 s- U) u5 X& L4 O. D3 t$ a( JSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the. ~ G2 t" h X0 j0 c' Y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from8 R+ {5 x: `, K" B
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.! t# h+ N6 N# j+ \7 Q& l
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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3 U; @8 w! B% b' E, iCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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