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October 15, 2005
0 p d& A# ]! z C$ i/ Q/ x, ?Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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" O- r7 U& V4 k, [, D5 o5 v- B: {9 LBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 z1 \2 h+ @4 E' `2 \. d
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the* a, i7 ^, p6 J2 ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 {, u: K( k7 [8 HSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas8 V& o( f. B+ k* w0 m$ o
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 p; r5 k2 e/ qflag hang from the wall.+ _4 }/ ^3 R8 t+ [6 T' |. A
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 M, S3 D* G" p$ G( \3 s8 Eanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( b2 n( b4 ]9 r: ipracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker' F( e; A5 e, P5 B1 g! I
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 H% {1 n% n) {3 W; I
are already choosing it over Spanish.! K: D# c* a& W
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal5 ?) @2 J! } c N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
+ c8 d8 o1 I3 C$ L! [; V- J# Eoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."$ t+ t( L8 k9 Z) F u \
% `; s5 j' a( q( e- IWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ X7 o4 l) F$ d! s9 t" x+ Lschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' @- o0 R4 v+ ] k m. F2 `
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
8 p! F% o/ C* Y2 qone of its most difficult to learn.- N2 l3 R" @* i& [
! |) v: W$ J) L7 T; t" Z2 ?Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, `2 b9 Y9 {9 j- r+ i/ j
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 _! K7 G% k# h) z# k* hstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: ]) }8 ^! [* Y; T% x8 Z. ALieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
. I x6 I) A7 Y+ Q* g' l) {/ HTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
+ @9 h, ]3 F5 f: o/ kChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
* M3 f" `4 c! @# |7 W6 oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.; h1 q, E6 l9 t" s
3 @* q; o0 J7 D! yAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
+ l" ^: Z: o+ O# s9 M& XChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 @5 Q& @& ~9 H# G3 } Pstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
) M2 A: x$ G# p: ^) T$ s; T! K$ Xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ G# a+ I( o0 R8 V% o& Wcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 l; `& F: e+ ^" q4 Q4 w4 B7 ^( }
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
2 t3 [. e; ]5 C. r8 \speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
3 ^9 S! W! }- J/ BConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ |( I2 o8 R0 i1 J3 m. t9 z1 g0 w
can."
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- H* B; ^" m; S* p) [5 mThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from9 @2 s: p4 K7 ~( s3 e
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10! N8 q2 e1 e% ~& s8 N
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language( l* ?4 ^; k! ^
Institute in Washington./ t6 g" N$ n1 R W" {2 e; D
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages) h5 n) H+ Z) R0 a: Y$ n6 }
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.7 k5 U8 p- s, X
McGinnis said.) L, W) _ Y# D5 i _- M* T
7 j# c [# Y) y- b"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- ~% [2 @* Z1 `3 U; Olongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 ?/ C) r' t4 c+ s4 \4 Eready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a7 R# Z/ i" }+ ~' W
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."' P+ b6 h1 d# G `% y
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 d% N# }6 g) P0 Tsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* B/ x0 E" Q3 a) `+ K6 z. {cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
X+ s3 k0 E( Y7 l) W& ZChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. t7 U6 F: f- i7 x3 Pon weekends.
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2 e8 }' A1 }' y0 x2 P1 M4 _The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
6 C+ C: w2 s) t' o b3 o# U" dschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 P2 Q( ?' R- R1 R/ x2 J& Z* ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.8 d) g8 b3 } n1 I5 q
" Y; S6 X7 f4 t$ S9 GMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said S1 V! G5 h' v
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
8 N7 ?& Q1 h2 x9 K% d7 qcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
8 D8 D6 ]# r3 A# X& C$ |5 k' M! qsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."5 r1 U: B% k, K' J8 @2 S
, J3 v1 t. @' e/ o; ^" k" Q3 p7 nFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly* {$ h. D0 q t( h( i
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse9 Q# i; ^0 v4 q% Y5 z% |
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% o4 l# C% Q2 T3 z9 w+ m
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students \1 J3 A& O- I. A# i: u; h& ?
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
) J' q: j: c# p; \8 L- ethe school system last year.2 u' r( j. q2 `
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% V9 s! R6 o6 T6 ~2 \year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.8 v- ]5 ]) C' x% N' T; b
1 p/ C8 [# K* {/ c4 c7 h1 J ?- \"They have a great international experience right in their own
# m& J: @( D$ h1 y' Fclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
. u* {5 g3 ]/ n$ y R- UChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to: E- S$ a* C/ \# c) G4 t; p# ]
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
+ t8 q6 l4 Q& _3 Oon an equal playing field."1 l' H3 W- h% b
( `. [2 o0 u# ]( G: _1 c* oSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 r6 Z; i6 B+ rclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 x) _. m+ S) c. ^+ ?* d; \
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks" ^; e3 _+ I- S% H
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 {7 {3 ~3 r8 x" G. paverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 w- t! w+ Q& H, t+ [
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
9 m0 @+ ~' G1 h9 `( a& k: B4 u6 cinstitute says.
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3 F$ M y' y) ISevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& \* v6 P/ S; h B$ d* I, I x' g: m
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before9 H7 f# y5 |, o* x! t/ M9 |6 s _
deciding whether to take the class.7 I1 H/ N3 F, G8 A+ f) {3 t
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
( O7 `) [4 w$ Y/ H: Htold her daughter.
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, [' T# B6 t% T+ B W4 N! g+ Z' L6 CSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 ?- E# j* w+ y* T. ]class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& C3 k: e8 T' X% f
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 w; l i8 {+ j2 \) F& s3 f+ u2 K7 ooccasional frustration.7 I5 G. g- p% K$ f, k- O4 m
# d" y6 Z! O5 p# v' O5 O$ e"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' e" ~+ M! m0 K% r wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class./ K( H4 d! G8 o3 h
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, h$ h( C4 Z2 c( e* Y
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 A# l( l) E/ v+ A( }( ]
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.% [: G8 }1 p; [7 f" q9 m$ O! y# x
, b: K1 y! ]+ Z: F" G1 B4 Y. j"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
) A* e+ B$ U4 D$ H( Y+ i, ]8 Gsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ V) c7 D! N% H# ~( c; M
as many languages as I can."
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6 Y8 X$ a) ^* q0 B4 X8 _Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 |4 Z6 H& J2 u; q4 dskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 x4 G1 z' d7 smarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like8 ~1 Y3 E: w. q2 F- q( Z3 D
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 ~) K6 o' v4 _) ? Q. S5 J7 z% ohere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* @ ^8 X/ h+ T% ~( _
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) @+ e- b( T) G% j( vtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make6 Z' b% @# q. Z' q Z. C' N- k j g5 V
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer; k) M" i9 c/ T" y/ S
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 J1 C% `: h0 R+ m1 G% | J# m$ Kcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 v* k( M$ V4 x, V
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
) [& W1 h2 {2 Y7 k9 Z1 Ibecause of that missing certification," he said.( x' R$ b$ b6 X0 }* s1 g7 G
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,2 Y3 P( p6 m# B; e. [
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia2 D+ X" e' ~* t% z$ E0 w& }& w
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' B0 L- h% N6 X5 gChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
$ g7 y* f q% S+ g4 Zthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.0 n: W. G8 x6 l5 z3 @* o. I. z9 @
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our$ e+ K3 `" K+ A
own."
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" k6 f2 Q+ J0 LCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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