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October 15, 2005, ^1 C, Q$ b0 e7 U S6 q
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 b& f, v3 M$ C% Q% ^United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
: ^" U/ [4 m; ^) J- p5 _3 M: iSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas( [8 M+ f+ O1 f. `. c O h
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ U, s% o: v& O1 g! q- lflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! O6 ]. z' ^. Y$ ^8 D
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders D& [( G; T4 ?8 e
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker' D5 _/ z7 ~! b+ W) x& f1 i
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 K# p' Z; v: q0 {+ ~are already choosing it over Spanish.
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2 i5 k6 Q9 @- |8 j"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
" Q4 N% s3 K) G; ~6 E& g* ^# Wat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
Q: d6 y8 z4 Coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( e4 A! Y. V. v3 q5 |" V; X- i
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
6 X, K! U7 }4 `, L& Oto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention' K4 ?5 T- A4 v5 I
one of its most difficult to learn.; N" y+ B$ @9 Z( f: |
9 d! J7 O& `( H) J" o% V1 MLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to A" K! L% I7 ], g( A- x3 @+ P' b# O
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 p7 z' B! ~# w, ]
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.; n8 p* r' D0 @* S7 O! Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! Y1 j* h+ F0 ~4 m+ a* P3 ~Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
5 z; C0 v" c3 t, j) YChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 ?6 g7 f6 g+ ~# i" y' Z- B: a( s5 F F
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 h L. ^# v$ k+ u8 X
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement) i" B. Q9 B# {0 B& j! C7 l6 Z1 M
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ g. y; g m0 v' }7 w9 Kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
9 q# d( v/ r1 v9 ]9 x6 Tdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
9 N. a3 G0 }3 e: d; u) C+ u4 bcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director; z1 S. c3 s* r
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
& ~! `! K9 O2 d' o4 ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 _4 M8 ]$ e# J$ g1 lConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
9 l7 O, D- ?8 {1 x5 j' n* e+ Ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10- @: g1 j$ o& q8 f3 _( F1 W
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language$ k1 f9 L! T# n+ b
Institute in Washington.
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. m. `- x5 t5 D- Z"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
2 Z! T7 T- n/ p9 x4 D iaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( W( F7 H$ s& Q+ H) _) O! H5 }+ l& Q
McGinnis said.
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# g. M; K( T% `) y) F9 ]. m"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
' S& M, \7 {$ I+ Plongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be4 B4 {0 t- d" y7 v1 d" u2 A
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) m- d) |1 ~% d- l6 X4 E5 z6 p' \challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% ?. P; P9 `* ~- T: _) X
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( t: z1 X9 g3 P
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 c% `( F; r2 s4 }1 d& V( a2 G' W
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
7 }# e/ d$ X" W" t; s/ d. U- xon weekends.
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1 h; k% F- u( f" \0 S( ZThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public9 Q( S' q. ~' c9 a2 J( q6 _, s& S
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves, `) S1 t, t! L' W2 I
students who are not of Chinese descent.0 |7 R- X- F8 r% p5 G' }
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
. b5 V2 N2 }& Y) L' eproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
/ Q) |$ f$ ~- ~" S: W T& Ucompetition. . h& C$ K0 r& ]0 x2 x2 q
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 C2 b# B& y/ E$ C, e( `( Q" Bsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."' v3 k5 B/ `* x o8 w
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 [9 `4 y' y; \+ }6 S; S. n5 }all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
. V P' n! h0 K- k2 }5 wschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% k5 y0 i- W X, g% w3 Y- @
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 }; |' z4 G, H) }+ @0 b1 K! O- |who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
( ?) f. b) M9 O- u- Xthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' p; ^4 g `* b# \7 [1 ?year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 a6 @ R a' V. Wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 F( S# u' \; n2 Y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ r( L8 S. Y0 v% lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
$ W8 Y8 [9 l6 I/ A0 Y0 C- oon an equal playing field."
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6 S, K5 ^: S( }Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese$ ?- Y( f$ d, C/ W0 u4 b
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 {2 i1 u0 h, Z: {: R( DService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 q0 j3 T" n1 t- b. M
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An3 b, k" s! M- ~
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; n% [% I: A2 I) ^1 i& E8 j, @
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
' e5 G1 p8 U5 k5 Y, }, Q" e) jinstitute says.
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- J8 i" u% q7 n5 E7 f9 {$ [! c; ZSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 n4 X* R, b0 O! O" e) Egrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# B* h% Y+ j9 W U) S# I) l% N: Udeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* l7 b; P5 J, e0 D% O8 n btold her daughter.# b: b: z, D2 m' t; H3 e& u* Z
* u$ I1 X& u! T3 XSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite* x/ M: P- L% d p! F1 C
class.7 P" G( \, w# U0 i1 J
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ I$ B" K; y5 G- [/ m8 sstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# @$ a f% Q s; h$ qoccasional frustration.+ a5 I/ T9 K$ H8 @! I
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a7 f+ d" y [' x8 O
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 S) m: W Z& s; i$ J
- a5 D3 T2 g6 v* ARaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he+ ]- Q) D* l$ |) b) J+ u" y/ L
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- A( j) g v! A% qChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
?6 _* V [, a z( ssaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn ]! u0 h* C! K: G7 h7 Z
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the9 l q( p0 @! v7 H! t$ A) ?) @& w
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 z% u p( s; e: r9 imarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: [+ w3 ? \$ U$ f$ Z0 nthat," Ms. Freire said.5 z% v' U1 D5 I# ~# L* \( F6 l
# J7 f! `$ `3 f _4 UMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 v0 C' K' @. n/ T4 _here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 {5 Y5 s2 d* P7 \2 wschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking8 S6 C; }* U. Q: U0 i
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make) C+ N2 r" B$ ?8 U) f$ K
room.7 e6 u2 k# s) s4 S% j
) Z6 H# d/ O- s) D+ q RChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer3 x' s% r; P) D$ |. s
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
s: W/ S1 D' R6 ]' a$ W% v& `# |college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.! c. \+ ~4 T; F% z* N! h8 o1 G0 [
, H7 |3 b3 u) X! ~1 a"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified8 V% T2 s# F, [7 g+ ^" w
because of that missing certification," he said.: z! I7 R# Q1 t# H+ m* `( s
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, x5 _, |) n+ Z) Q2 R3 H
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) ?( F6 ~8 x2 o1 l: n" N' e
Society in New York.. t, S/ v5 W; p1 j: g" z" e5 x
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% A+ c2 r- _+ ?8 {! e$ E$ c
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 p, ?: r# A- i9 y# d+ a' j E
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.2 [5 i: S, l- j1 e8 w( a
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our2 a& ], s+ L' q) B3 U3 v: b6 ]
own."
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# G0 R( S- J6 x+ o; ^Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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