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October 15, 2005 ]% g/ u2 j4 g5 s
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( |& ]. L' O/ h G
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING: S3 w) h6 U* g* h& A
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) i- S4 j r2 |; m" B. RUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 i6 |% q- j- F
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
9 z. L5 x# j( Ydangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 m' C) y5 J9 W3 e+ _2 ?
flag hang from the wall.
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- c$ Y9 p( k- V. BOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one* z& ~+ Y* ?. M1 @& ]$ a5 R" y/ O5 D5 j
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
& f1 y$ g- M, R- |5 Npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker) Y# Y3 A9 M2 d" {* s2 N' P
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students& S" u: T! K3 p1 i
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* q& e5 g/ h) s$ b5 d: uat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! } p7 e6 O$ ioffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,7 W4 f2 k% b" ?
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
: w2 Q% T: q y7 ^& Uto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- b: h \3 L% R/ x3 a- G3 Sone of its most difficult to learn. L3 h9 O* u2 D0 h. W( h6 b" C; x
. v3 c+ X) N* R2 K0 \Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" |" v; y' ]( k0 l! {! qpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% A( @$ I% f5 z/ }' p# u6 j
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
1 [, \1 u" x) O7 @" LLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% Z. L# k' ]( P, C5 a! S$ c3 t
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
% r% e) p C$ r$ nChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
# u$ ?% L5 E- r0 k, e2 u- Pimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. i! X6 O; n( }. C- k7 {
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
0 ]9 q6 a3 p& GChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country H( C& q% d' g8 D/ S2 ?
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
9 O- l- i) I! Ldevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# R7 }4 h$ Y2 m6 |4 h0 j& B
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director8 u9 \4 J% A+ @$ D
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board./ f3 q% N$ P- N% u% m5 a/ t
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
9 _; V# Y) n J7 G1 ~speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education q) |8 ?- E8 |: \: x+ X
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we* M1 R0 ~; s( L" Q4 {% O; Q' i. G
can." / b( P/ a% H' V& g% D
4 k: X; L/ Y/ S( b8 o" `8 o2 r& zThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) i0 z0 y+ O9 M
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" I; i& V2 P) A. s. T" Z/ u
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language4 |. Z8 m7 u) c( J5 N% L
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& o. Y8 N' J7 \# z& daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
7 W4 j: O& G1 l2 c MMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
( @6 [. I+ O, x- S7 Y+ j2 llongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be3 c/ w/ b; B& E1 ~
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 j5 G& e7 ~: ?1 k% H! F; Tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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+ S: Y4 o# Z. ~, V' l/ e/ }$ cUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
! ^# B( _5 S4 c. l+ ]( y |secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& S) {) B: e4 H& vcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. A7 a3 p" m) v' D9 I1 s: ^Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 S' ^- o0 j9 z% ^# lon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
+ b! G4 l6 \5 u& W3 g2 Y {schools during the regular school day and primarily serves' Z. g4 r+ Y/ _
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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/ d4 m$ ]* y; eMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
7 \( `5 I, P0 wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: ~) Y5 W' ?3 R5 z- y
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
: c- ]4 ^! f% O. O! i" Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
2 C* \3 z: d( t+ _all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 m1 S8 s9 Z2 H9 a& E0 I$ K; B4 D
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
: g% j/ c; U, ?& xkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 f5 G$ m& {! _, D5 n
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 r e- u3 e4 N I% m# V6 b% |7 F4 qthe school system last year.# J) c5 h2 `" s: F% O/ ^1 F: G
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; {! R' r6 o3 F& ayear 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; n1 c- S7 q6 a# k5 y8 n- L* h
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 _" V. V3 M) G# `) uChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to- N5 o7 O! V3 J+ p6 h
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
$ Q y/ B7 n4 A3 [9 t/ Zon an equal playing field."
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# H1 {' Q$ S C. G( h+ Q ^$ R6 mSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 q. U& n2 z/ ]8 q; K( e6 ]classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 W6 }5 [4 }: ^Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks) d# J. K" F. h. i1 i9 r( o5 I
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 Y8 R- y9 v( @* P) e( [# Uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in) p' r! _' t8 |" k i# \
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the, j7 Q; g0 H" J; p- @0 l
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth1 Q% ?- [7 [$ B, t3 Q
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* w3 R/ _: n& i& d# M
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she! Y1 ]4 u" F9 Q+ L
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite/ l! g# N1 z. [# ^8 a, V& Y% I
class.
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2 m( J3 E/ H: `! bAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 n7 N, i- o; s* U0 Q% c+ p* G' @* [5 I
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. n! O/ |" \) `( {: Koccasional frustration.
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% H0 x4 j" R" H/ k: @1 m"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ T/ P1 J+ l9 e6 n
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 i& t- s1 ]/ |. B8 ~$ I- w1 ~
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
9 Z) x; Y' m9 M) X @Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.# O; V% e& \' {5 l' ]
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul: Q6 K- r7 b5 _
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn# R$ {4 w( p; `3 D2 p
as many languages as I can."% @1 T' d- I6 j/ ^! \
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the- @: P& T t& O9 \, \3 s1 U' ?
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job1 [3 P! V8 c% Y
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) X' K" W x8 h s# @4 C Y
that," Ms. Freire said.& v( u$ P9 h; x0 g. F% t0 b; O+ o5 e
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 e1 V3 V# k" V0 F* @here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
1 u* |% q1 m5 k( y' L1 j* oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
5 E0 G' P6 x2 U9 j( ]# Ltime from classes like physical education, music and art to make2 E* Q, B' V4 A. p6 `4 [
room.- M; }4 w9 e' \. n0 S) m' t9 r
. y& a; V1 s; CChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
! M& y; R. \& O6 w2 k9 v3 b* HChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
& N6 K$ b2 j& @3 X- L8 v' Ycollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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/ f3 E9 ?9 q& s/ S; A# t; U"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
! ~6 f/ d; s; |7 Mbecause of that missing certification," he said.) z' g0 {0 N3 J# Z& C8 \
* _$ n. a5 R6 G3 n+ \6 r" x4 [The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,+ u8 V" i: F0 j" ~7 s1 |0 y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
9 }0 i. L: L4 V7 D% G( g( MSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 Q. M. x$ D/ C+ w: ~0 U- u! h3 ~Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( @% }9 ?; t6 _! ~6 tthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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( g/ y, R. t( b" _- A"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our! d' C* P! a/ O P% h
own."( K* L7 v' q6 u9 z# i! b
9 s+ g* p' m i$ Y8 L2 Y' Y3 V1 RCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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