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October 15, 2005
: k! n) ` b) Y$ v0 C2 q1 R- b' rClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity- {4 M' K& |$ z
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING3 F; d8 u2 l. S$ ~$ A
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, Y! @2 y# N" I6 p0 L
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) @2 F' e) s( `1 K7 ]/ D) kSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 r; s; ^3 h1 Z
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese' M9 k) e3 N8 p- P- A5 ~; T8 [
flag hang from the wall.+ f+ T& w, u9 I }, I% V' |
" i7 H. O# u' c# f8 ]One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! f- B- P' b! O
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders$ S+ p) {( h: }+ C% H# ]
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- i* Q3 R3 ^7 m! X$ L9 n
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 U% t5 C% W M1 lare already choosing it over Spanish.% w/ v9 T4 S4 \8 J" X- I( ^
& ~/ }( r% Y9 _6 i- t5 H( D"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 \* e9 U. f" [, K9 T9 N( G4 @# R: [at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city' y) s) D( h: y; E* t
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."7 s/ L' n( z. K
) m. c+ p0 \" T1 N: fWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,5 g, B9 [+ D5 [, t) e) o
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
% ?$ | ^- |9 m: f: tto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. E8 s3 l3 f; U8 T4 Q4 u
one of its most difficult to learn., v7 f3 ^1 |, e: j9 t. W- b
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
! q8 a) n+ e2 n- N9 ]: ?5 f( fpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students* f# D% K# B1 [2 h0 P) u4 @
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 N: `1 l: s9 F1 ]& n* [
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of3 u5 N+ j; q- t
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* v- `) R1 t0 v/ h2 B; o- z
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& }1 Q, S6 W0 l% @# V7 ]improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( ]* L! j- h3 x
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
* N. _" I* A: eChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country3 a& U/ L6 Q( Q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
3 H, B" w: W' t: E- b, Bdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* ?# m* ~% W5 l* }! ]0 M/ u
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
8 w7 ^6 B1 |$ d' e; N3 a; }2 ]of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.( R8 y8 v6 Y) O* [, o2 c
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of/ L$ L4 v& r( V5 K; \
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! P% H! T6 I7 z$ C1 ~8 g# o6 n0 _
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) _; d" b: y3 M$ F: c5 M5 V
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ o4 Z. K% N% ~) y: g; B- F- X
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 109 L D- d' g* v) O
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 N$ E5 S2 v! [9 S$ BInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" ~* t: v3 [- c+ u$ t
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.) c) N D+ J/ u4 e
McGinnis said.
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1 A) f" m7 K9 [. K7 e8 {0 D"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
6 }* S; W2 F8 C$ K) y9 zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be b: u9 j! S9 g2 M. O
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a$ x+ O1 c% Z5 g
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
* {+ E, |, P- F5 Xsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
! O+ |0 P) ]& {" F( y: ncities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of6 j* F b2 i$ q) D8 g
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
9 l, v! X+ |1 _9 R5 p! [9 v( gon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
2 I _5 ]% y+ R# r' S3 Mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves! @5 [, M) b! v9 S* ~1 v" d
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said, f. e) H; N6 H, V) c2 j3 x, X
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the! _$ x% U1 F! A: f4 T( D
competition. & Y! x; `5 [' {5 {" B- J% u
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley8 g" X8 Y, B$ C2 I; Q
said. "There will be Chinese and English."! {3 P6 Z4 \0 \. g% U! v# L
1 ]0 s1 v+ S) U& wFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly+ T" E4 @- g( }+ R
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 C R7 m; ^6 J0 |2 }
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 P v8 u" b2 T: @
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
) C' H6 |- B9 [7 U. [8 ywho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to5 [2 {9 Z; ~" E: h4 v
the school system last year.' z3 L0 C( K P7 U. i7 d0 e( g1 t
9 U6 H* K- ] K0 a) o" @4 tThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# m1 d; F- G1 m. o/ ]+ Fyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.+ G" @& d, S; `7 ~% o
! F: T$ W6 B) r$ T @2 I"They have a great international experience right in their own2 e. Q" ^* N- n+ N
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago/ }4 u" L4 ?: @: n E8 \+ O
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
& p2 S1 `3 q2 |6 Ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 f) N* _7 U/ d+ v9 o6 b1 ~+ \
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ s5 q$ v3 K, h4 f8 y' Eclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign: f0 [: b$ f; I
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
' s \2 L( X- vChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 F5 P7 t0 @* y1 ?" [average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in& U; u) A9 }+ V8 f6 ?1 B
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! ]% x3 e' r U$ H7 k! ~' y) n
institute says.
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* N- i3 e2 D+ o8 h3 }Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth) w) Y8 N: B" i3 d+ x
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 P7 n3 C+ x% `6 P z
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. z1 R+ ~/ h s1 H/ ]* I. L& ytold her daughter.
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. _; ~: H# d! s D' f9 A/ ^( ASahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite/ n. J# a/ |$ \+ T. e4 S& j
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ z; Y0 o$ A, x7 y: cstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" _6 r0 ?0 v( k L; ^$ C* A# qoccasional frustration.) Q! D* y+ b* A3 N* W
( c; o3 {+ v* I( ?"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ N/ }- J; u; w& n9 D& Y# d Krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.* s* J/ e+ @% m4 P' y- _
+ }8 g: N6 m9 Z3 PRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he! e) R2 n$ }4 w4 }8 G4 L' ^
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with+ M! ?) K$ E2 u3 ]8 D; {5 ], I; I7 `
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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9 M5 M. `3 e# }8 w' r- L; }"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 b( \1 {7 L9 _/ _
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 s+ T4 ^1 Y% V" H2 l; j z- A. ~
as many languages as I can."
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: h0 A! Q$ E; H$ U- ZAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the7 Z. v; G8 P, d1 g' K& P" }$ r1 N
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 @6 {& U8 h7 T, s7 d, i' n' ymarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
/ X1 d' n' T" mthat," Ms. Freire said. F# t7 l# t' H8 y6 b
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
- @# C7 l, O2 }7 G7 B5 z' ?$ Dhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
1 ]" R# ]5 V! `7 M' ]school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking: b- U( q9 c3 }0 j1 t
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 A Y6 b5 s! lChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 U% I4 Y' I, n7 r% U
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' }. {* K3 [% C& \. |" y4 m6 G
because of that missing certification," he said.
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) F! C7 X& m8 K: b# T& A. |2 EThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! y" u$ U( y3 Vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# K3 G g" w& b! |& K0 ~( ySociety in New York.$ G. w; {7 {3 m; I+ v
; F1 Q7 F; h5 c; S2 bSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ m1 U; U+ ^2 E' `
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
# h6 J$ _! N% A# o) j( dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., O$ H% T( x$ O4 T+ j8 Z3 H/ }
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our+ f) {5 V1 o' T# @* Y5 G/ M
own."5 U* q0 @0 h" t3 G. @0 o+ r
( a2 t+ f" C9 Q6 iCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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