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October 15, 2005" U! Y$ ?' W% W1 s0 M
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& h/ F6 P5 n, u7 W( w+ R! P) ^' h) r
* W6 l* U! p& H4 RBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING# @4 t+ a5 O) c/ I; n% O
0 p C6 G9 J$ \( qCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the6 Q' v5 r( B4 s- j0 i
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary) C4 _1 M' c g5 ~
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ N' Q$ G0 C# `. Z
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ M: b% y6 D$ h+ Lflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one1 |# ^$ o2 D; t, J
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* ~% _! B! Q3 w: J- w4 ?9 }practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 Y; p) ], @5 a( p! |) K
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students- P9 T9 ~; Y' W5 {5 p
are already choosing it over Spanish./ W! O; p, c0 o( F
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal3 X+ e# W2 ~7 t
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
+ N3 V% r4 u1 j# s4 ], Hoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* A2 x& X: s% `' B% D1 _. Y4 M
0 i6 _% N% ]6 H) X' s* C; lWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% R5 f$ t7 A# z$ Q) ?
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings. W, g8 `: n5 B& ~8 `
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention5 G6 ?( D: {; ~ y- r/ \7 d, G
one of its most difficult to learn.% c/ T5 m/ j2 C, l9 l& P4 K% X
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 P Z0 w/ s) ?public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 [8 }1 E6 r7 ^studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
1 q6 D2 m% U; ALieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 Z' X& `# e" b+ j( s+ ^
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ j1 n% I6 G/ ?% z7 zChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
+ j a, b4 D. b, J [- u: W8 Oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
; o6 h9 R: s- O7 WChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 M. {! e0 X: x1 N2 `$ }starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: Y1 ~2 G3 \$ V9 Y; sdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing- { n7 j9 A" R" v% C9 E1 \
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& w; A t0 q4 E- [$ Sof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. s0 A. g( N% w; N
8 M% L6 _2 M$ A1 p"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
: B$ T, L" D3 a7 {5 a4 Zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
, x; e6 \4 A2 ]* @' ^0 EConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" A# T/ t: e+ M h' N) w- w
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
* }4 h7 K9 Z8 {8 b) g; _; telementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ {: v$ T4 @! x# Q, a
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
( S2 D4 G9 s- o9 [* [* v4 M+ JInstitute in Washington.4 V2 t, b& O( ?( y
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages/ m7 r8 Y' e- f. x! `
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ Q3 _% O0 o7 n+ @, H- G6 p& L
McGinnis said.( \2 r) h( U7 n! e# K: m1 k) u
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
7 N$ Q; R( D9 d7 l8 [longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 U9 q% \" P+ n. w! j! }4 y- }ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a+ O& R* U0 n z9 e! K
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" D: ~+ v& \2 i7 W+ h9 l* z
' o7 ~+ a9 J) ^! n9 B, aUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
. f! u5 W( g2 W, Y1 ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ R8 R* m. q5 D& D% v' M- x
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of+ w. [% \3 K; h
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% p3 B6 M% z5 `0 T Eon weekends.. ^# s! J8 z/ U' i
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
, y# a7 I0 x! q: [: F1 I# lschools during the regular school day and primarily serves+ F3 @( {+ d- Z
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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: E, E2 p \! l' M* LMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said. E' ^% S8 }( I. {' m6 _$ \, ]
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) ^6 j# r; t- }# j+ o7 ^. x4 hcompetition.
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& S* h5 _- [+ p" U- r"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley* c+ h2 J+ v- `* q7 j
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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0 u/ M1 H6 c' j1 n* {+ U/ }4 JFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 k' ~$ R$ }! ]2 kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse6 l& t& @9 j4 k& i2 I H5 v! q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from" f+ b7 J" [; l$ H
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 }1 a; X! E; R0 ~& s
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& }$ v- j- Q8 `2 f, M2 `+ u( d) e
the school system last year.2 Z0 } o6 l2 A& M' ]9 Y
# d; e& r% J( ]; a, c1 Q0 }; a; kThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this% Z! `' X% ^, F) B; p7 I: W8 }# K) Q
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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( ~/ B, Z2 r6 s" {" g"They have a great international experience right in their own& U2 Y+ H f6 g+ E4 Z
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
+ ~: u: [* a& `# V% ~0 P3 \Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' E/ V& P. F/ C6 e% ?, Ehelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
! V* _- X6 m& L- lon an equal playing field."4 |* f6 o" } c
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
* R$ K6 t4 r: P1 t7 ]- e, |classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign5 b" z0 |6 f% N3 Q( T/ s
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; J1 T2 P1 t [9 R# kChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 x0 K, ^: E" s) K; [
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
* O) z! b/ w4 `. H4 }- MChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
$ D& N6 `( o7 K7 l1 C; _2 sinstitute says.7 |2 |0 }. j7 O5 c
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth/ M+ m, W9 W) ~3 ^3 y6 h. Q
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
% f/ m; h/ X$ Z( l) edeciding whether to take the class.
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* I4 \, P7 v( X4 Y l"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 L: n4 M" I6 A4 E e5 A: f1 x
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite1 K3 n! t: k- V% c$ E/ `
class.
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! \+ R' `4 N7 S# ~At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are0 i6 ?8 u# P8 p% A7 }% f2 t1 c
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
- c) E' ~: w) y5 u; y' Qoccasional frustration.% L# @. Z6 ^7 B9 y( @) E4 m
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a1 @+ g1 |. s u1 T
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.5 ?2 `. }$ H) H( y/ g7 ?' O
/ F4 c4 s: @9 PRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 b) }# K ~) v2 N
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
, {4 a) p e5 f! N) i8 r7 DChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.9 q9 l/ }% O X
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 R7 L3 J3 V- ?2 ^0 R
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" z+ Z2 A* ], M+ y# eas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 `6 P6 v1 f7 a5 C
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 O8 O& C( H7 h: _market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" e$ s; A! \( l/ a8 A5 {8 C4 Vthat," Ms. Freire said.2 E; b& ?3 z j" B+ Y
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ ^) J* L0 o" E/ R# t
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 j4 v' G$ \$ M6 w0 R6 Yschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking; a- Z0 R# N, C
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: y) r5 @+ A6 E: J7 R
room.
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" l2 r W W; M# RChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
, _, A; x0 F( S1 e1 f' YChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American% ?+ i+ K! F% [
college, 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
; M1 `0 v3 p/ y# g. {4 z& B* obecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,3 f$ M- f+ c% N; |5 t3 C( f- o" \0 s
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 }+ R& K$ r9 g' a7 M
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the; \6 y6 e5 R. t' ?
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
5 e3 B: v* ?! M& l- G) v8 X3 ~" bthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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4 `6 a4 D+ `' z8 O# Q& t9 z"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
8 e: y- P8 q+ W/ J# w4 Nown."
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- C1 h* G' J; k; zCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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