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October 15, 2005
' P5 f$ [9 b" _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& b2 K6 n) l/ D; F% G: j7 o
' j! r! j& [- ^& w P1 I; |By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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^% p0 c! M" N# a @CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 Q0 E7 v" o9 x- V- oUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary1 I* m( O0 w( U
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ k# y+ i, q6 C _; R: C& S
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
; D m& D+ ?% R. F- ], \flag hang from the wall.
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5 I; L0 E/ a, c3 y" _One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 H1 O& C% Z' g# `; A8 d* h& V8 banother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
6 h+ f9 O$ }; |+ c* npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
& o) n) V; c5 J6 yboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
5 A) S t; { O- N0 aare already choosing it over Spanish.# y$ P! I# i9 @* h
" o8 \" }5 v0 \) a3 V; L8 O"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# I- [3 p7 C5 Y+ U
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city. z* P( i" T k5 B( S# ?( T
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."+ w6 ?6 ^ S' u! B0 N7 E6 g
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ N9 p4 { {7 x) K3 j# rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' o9 @* G9 r1 I" v- N& ~' h
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 y! W0 c$ Q7 ?! W, Ione of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to" ]$ K- U. Z# q- I- d& V
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 c. O- \8 s5 ]studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
- K d: ?1 g8 U/ `7 JLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% J) R( S: |* Q* @# F
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on8 W6 o- l$ y. p% ~: Z6 t
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
- t r2 [4 U& I4 v/ k/ R, `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$ f0 P$ ] d: W7 j# T6 f; w
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country/ r' f* A; [1 m$ u+ g( [, \
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# O+ I! ?' y6 y7 I1 k! M2 `4 qdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing, F% i$ {3 F$ M, T! H
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; S$ M. F: S7 E. A# Y+ O( g3 @of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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3 y0 g9 Y' x' I; \9 t- Q0 ["Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" J& M0 @6 h( Z# G- l
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education' i3 B, U0 K" ~. y$ {: {
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
% w9 d1 b0 B( y" zcan."
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0 ]( L/ _( ~9 NThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from" E& p' E5 I! ]
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 e3 d: u0 `( d+ l
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language& d, a6 _- @/ {4 S, E5 q* N
Institute in Washington.
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! c3 _) H0 c+ v( P/ o9 r& _"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
6 D+ {' [; ^$ p% ?4 J5 g5 y5 Varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 r1 i$ z! P6 X' q# d$ o- r% n
McGinnis said.
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; K. b! C% l; o8 h5 l2 a. E. k"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
7 Y2 n: e, x1 qlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 `0 F4 H# Y ?/ f! T4 J+ V
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 `3 `5 \( s; X# S4 z4 v1 gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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0 k+ ~+ N4 j. P7 b) jUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
' e( D% H0 h2 v Dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
, a" M. b0 ~, @) c0 C& Qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* o$ ^5 l+ A% c$ c6 B" YChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 x' y& X. n$ U6 b# w) {9 I G' b7 ron weekends.% ?3 C/ O, |5 I ]6 n
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public2 V$ T4 }4 E5 ?% `$ ^" x1 y
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 W: P2 t s! N, i; y* t4 ~students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 h+ e! o0 G' P! o9 j+ [proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
" S6 a) X& L" f- ccompetition. 7 U& m' G: M7 w. K' n
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
( m6 C* d* Z& Y4 d. L3 U0 u( ^said. "There will be Chinese and English."- j( Q! @% ]; \1 k4 d
' g8 e1 P$ \/ x$ M( Z6 A) AFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, b9 [' r( I( b! j3 D+ @all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse( A3 Q8 }! c8 q# r
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
$ V, K; b6 N1 Dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
5 | W4 x7 O; f. F+ Zwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to5 `, s8 m$ T5 Z, w
the school system last year.' `2 l e& a6 b/ M7 I
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this b X v4 w( Q) E
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.* j" A U! m. X( F8 U- C+ a7 e9 N
) B( b0 ]8 `& Q; k* Z1 u, F"They have a great international experience right in their own, P E$ _) o) S
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago4 F) w; s5 S$ n/ V3 K! s" r
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. ~$ `& E8 F4 T. E( ~9 E1 j: ^help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
$ p% L; |6 N( D4 O& oon an equal playing field."* @. V* i, U& b( T
" o8 p" m- z' a/ {7 {9 tSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: [7 K; a F' Z- F1 b5 c0 Jclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 H1 |$ R4 e+ o& F# uService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
5 }7 ~7 }$ O* }0 B7 u; RChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An- q$ |. s% O4 a! m) P' o
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" A; t8 W7 j* {, [7 n8 N6 R
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the/ E$ |$ q7 Q( r
institute says./ F5 Z3 c$ k0 @/ h! _1 }) R
d1 t! C; h5 L3 U, I7 nSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
7 [) _# z& t) c. zgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before A- i2 k. |6 q
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# G9 Y) R3 i- D( D0 [; ~# C M6 n6 Etold her daughter.
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+ |; c1 f: t9 ]5 n3 p1 @' QSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 W6 n% Z6 `9 o
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. U# Q+ F9 E$ @" i$ p0 O- Ustudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
$ m* D) D8 N0 E+ P* N2 p0 n( qoccasional frustration.
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2 e! Y& |, [& `. B. h+ ?9 t: F& B5 L"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' \' R( I8 v. P. W" v" orecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.$ l. F z, \5 s: r* i+ p S' S' K; l. w; H
+ l2 Y3 Q! n: M: f$ G2 S% U) YRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 C0 C6 O; @) l1 @- ~* X5 @0 N
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 L/ m; U x6 w { Z+ KChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
/ a* r6 g: T/ F5 Q. {. l K: wsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
; U0 ~$ P9 ?2 d9 e8 d _& Pas many languages as I can."
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/ B! P) B2 G( {0 I+ _2 i. ZAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" r# x1 p4 M% m3 V, |, rskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 I' p; v+ B, L8 ^# u {market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like3 T# Y+ B! D' G0 Q: C
that," Ms. Freire said.
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" e* V; }( `6 `7 E# nMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
# K- p5 C4 ^" X7 fhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 P R2 H* s- a9 C }7 R4 D, rschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- A0 Z- I. Q5 o9 d; M; r9 |& S u. s
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
$ b2 Z& b3 d( h Aroom.
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2 Q! e1 c3 A" @3 T5 GChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 c% N, E4 n4 D2 K I1 v8 X
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! w) b$ S1 x$ Y9 t/ Q Ucollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified+ g7 b& E' I- I9 \) @% a6 ^
because of that missing certification," he said.6 R8 r: K: G v* }- _ |
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,- m) i0 ~& _5 ?5 e( R
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ ?4 |4 d2 q/ M- \Society in New York.
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( }& J7 b, g" _# c* y3 S, W' E% t2 tSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the9 N5 {3 i2 b. Q8 g2 F
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) C! f" b( |) K# w+ _
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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( p$ H& z- R+ e2 {$ P- T0 ICopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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