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October 15, 2005
( |. G+ d0 T4 j) B" B: n; mClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# Q" ]" f9 U, }
( W( Z" P: D" M, _9 C( {By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
# J6 W# T# @) V7 {United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' |, V( b* v0 R( l8 ^7 d
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 H4 E( s! @) ~dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese( b0 j2 B) v1 _2 G! Z$ i2 I# @3 r
flag hang from the wall.& u- w8 r8 h( o; I! s
T, z$ G; Q0 VOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
. E- Y. b A5 C% W0 Uanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders/ }0 G1 D2 `& w
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker" y" g* b6 R0 w0 c& U! M
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. k' |; R! q& ]! `are already choosing it over Spanish.
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, k) y6 _8 ~' H" m( A. d) c"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ g! w- `; v# h6 Z% \- x* dat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city7 I- D, E& u) u1 n8 I8 u/ ^* |: v
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ ~( ^1 V2 V; k
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings$ w: U: x* ?; ~7 J1 t! R
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: a+ T- k& o x1 I6 O% X& L
one of its most difficult to learn.
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* s# X% { d" I$ g8 P) |Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- c: l) ^2 K* u2 S3 t0 mpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; |8 Z2 v) x1 o8 E7 q. @studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I., m# C5 l; ]2 ~% @( v; N3 d
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
. J( [' O9 i, n# {7 qTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) W8 Q" f) R& R! o# a1 tChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
7 W @5 g5 x: K: Y* J% @improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.$ Y8 Z- s( ^$ K
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement) R) Z8 H: c' [) K
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country% _% G1 b$ f) `& i$ b1 ?3 o% a! l
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ l x n% e! h8 H8 c% D+ N9 ]
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 X- d5 _! m. O+ n) B: V
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
- F# g$ t% S; Xof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- [$ t f6 T3 g"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
w6 Y# ]4 w ^3 Ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
2 H/ }' a g5 w; O: u2 YConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ n4 ~3 O+ `' y2 pcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. N3 ^* o" g, r# eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 107 m! k7 ]( [0 E7 H: E l
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language+ L3 k0 k3 t& J1 j3 f8 U. @$ y
Institute in Washington.% ^ q+ o* T7 D& p7 L) t
. ~" Z$ h" P0 s7 W! u" Q"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
% A$ L/ b+ e8 t& varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.- x. l3 @ W' O @, u! U
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 \' w( Q7 |' q! I$ ?
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 H7 z* O9 N2 g* [; @2 P; T
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 ^9 E3 F' e7 ?8 Nchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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! p+ m0 \. N- k# T1 X4 yUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# H1 B3 n7 [" L6 P* Hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 b# G2 H! o6 @3 c" @! pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 \; q% B0 u9 }1 ]$ g! ~% y3 y" c( JChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or$ y, c8 n4 u% Z2 a2 a" _1 o( O
on weekends.
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+ Z: J0 F$ u5 D( ]" jThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: \& Y* W) R/ r: O7 I7 Z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- _- a& {, F! r( v/ ]2 U |; U1 q# a+ Qstudents who are not of Chinese descent.' u' q; m0 Z S# _
% B$ u2 A& p1 Q) Y SMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said. Z- G; F$ B% R0 _+ a
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the0 L" o* ^/ z# X
competition.
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1 D: J( ?& _+ z+ w& F# p8 }"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 A' Z) ` k7 zsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
1 ^" a! Z7 G9 s D, ?8 i# gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 t" n. J6 W+ A/ h: O! }. Bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
$ ^2 X3 [; d0 y* }- _- \kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 K8 W' p5 z* k2 o0 S* ^# h3 h% M9 f
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to! W2 Z# [1 o. T: C' G6 l" z' X
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
: I1 W" K+ }% Y* _, uyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.& R u* \6 X8 S4 u
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"They have a great international experience right in their own: ?/ n5 v0 } K. p) H3 f, N
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago) a( x B9 C6 k! e7 W8 D1 w
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
- @$ Y5 i; m" ^1 X4 E Dhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" R$ X' p7 F! o% e3 e
on an equal playing field."
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& a/ M* b, Y! t f0 E( u/ nSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese( o" n+ o# _# i9 @: m& x! f
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign r$ y4 j9 e8 s1 g
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks/ D/ Z$ s1 ?* z; u0 K
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
0 R6 z/ x9 G3 ^average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in7 n% B* y( c. o) E
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the' Y. s7 s" w! @* ]/ R. `/ {
institute says.3 {% [ v* [! k
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 z7 J0 P) ?, R5 A; `0 @4 @9 wgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
$ r! ]' L) G" N i! u3 f* j. Kdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she* Y: n! M$ B- X4 g. Z' J7 E+ f* {
told her daughter.
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0 X/ j1 w5 `% U2 g) f" X$ K$ A oSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
. l3 B) r/ P/ M" [" ?" n' rclass.1 p8 A. ?* T: }
7 n; d) `4 y) { |At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
# U7 V- j: z( gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
f1 U2 R! A2 [" \occasional frustration.$ q4 C1 A) J+ R5 x' W5 N
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a) `( R6 d2 ]& x$ v5 Y8 j
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.- T$ n L3 X j
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 c& c, x9 v8 D
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with) p. C7 Q8 {. X! v( B
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.$ h5 ?# `: O, b5 ]4 U& X
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 F2 r' u9 p: {& t7 C
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn9 x' @7 T2 z6 b
as many languages as I can."
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; k$ E0 R+ E6 O s0 Y/ PAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the! o6 |8 Y2 v: E: y! h
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job( W/ } S- ^3 g& o, w7 n7 ]
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like Y3 W* B' \* D( m
that," Ms. Freire said.
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- }6 c5 [6 o5 O9 J0 h/ E2 oMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 f. b4 O# w. u- R. ?9 d4 N& chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 a' i4 {( W6 V+ Z3 w: Q) Oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
% [) E& I$ m# D( |# Utime from classes like physical education, music and art to make8 \0 y0 \: Y) i' T( `% D
room.
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6 J# s( ^9 t$ m IChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer$ m v6 ?# {% D1 B) J
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American( p+ ~( w0 A8 r
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 v% w4 K$ ?& h) K m5 t) M
0 ?0 B% ]8 M5 `9 X: @2 C+ y( n: f"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& H) X; S+ L- Q8 W6 G3 J
because of that missing certification," he said.; p+ h! F2 W, Z$ k
- ?3 a: ]( |5 |# A) o) ]6 YThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
: y! U# I! k: ^! F9 isaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 H3 v8 }, K' i, zSociety in New York.# g5 K8 b W; s" W$ q
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: U& n9 ^2 I: |/ p
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
! S; E3 f; l5 l3 p: M$ nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.9 g0 x/ M m8 R1 o4 C
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our. D( h! @0 C* M5 Q
own."3 S( H# z* E8 V! m" f& m; W" R
6 i4 f9 o9 Y) f8 b7 CCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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