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October 15, 2005
% Z; e! O m6 [9 x1 qClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING% M; \3 R$ X9 \- d
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the) b* g% M- s' w+ i( t+ ?
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
H$ L- u2 U% }2 QSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas( ]/ J O& x+ V1 p# t/ U% y
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! V7 S, N8 B3 k
flag hang from the wall.4 H. _, P! S1 l) Z
) p" o3 w+ X5 aOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one6 C* K9 k5 }) f8 e9 B
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders6 c& @5 Q3 m" t) Z
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, _" m- ], M/ i, C# b
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
1 W3 w6 M: v _1 ]3 fare already choosing it over Spanish.
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6 j6 c& [! g a1 z% X" @"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
0 O; H6 ~% X8 Z' j3 ^at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
0 \+ ^! v2 ?4 G( N+ O# h5 z" Yoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
2 D( h" \8 o* N9 A: l' Xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings! o' E, Q6 t; ]' T2 f7 F
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention C. s% Y" ?8 K1 F7 e( C; {. E
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
: h- W3 S+ q4 F" Epublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
9 D1 n3 x/ _7 g* ?studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
( s! r$ `/ }; Y m( yLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
# j# c9 n8 [* r7 M$ ETennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) U! G: i7 K, z, S2 PChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
2 G3 \$ b3 u. `. H8 n9 K* c, bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement4 }* g: L- \$ i _
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country( o$ @# |( Q; M' e+ U* W
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to8 F9 `1 [, Q; w8 U( v/ U/ Z
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
8 N: Z* Z- G1 ]' u' X+ u2 tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 F/ [- n% Y8 \& P
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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0 D7 e% N- b. t- ~2 b7 @) T"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" ?( L, s1 d; [5 M4 G. d" R
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- D6 w8 D0 d2 E6 F8 S. V( dConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 M2 |, h. f! n& W1 m) Q
can." ! P. _: H, z! J! f' f9 R
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, a3 ?7 e8 x! P) n# @: l
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ Z) @- Y; e& ]( B* B, h4 Oyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) q V+ k( I* ^3 d6 h3 cInstitute in Washington.
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B2 @6 p$ O b- u( j"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% X9 B, f. X: m+ X: \
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
7 k- O }0 |0 gMcGinnis said.1 Z4 h2 S4 U9 E& r( `* R
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; i) \" n- c: }+ H2 |9 G% Y
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) ?0 w1 S( F7 h: z b
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
5 d% ]+ ]7 B3 Y( o' |. y0 Xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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. `4 B) r( S8 Y* d9 l- L2 ^Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and8 z A8 ]& N2 p: T' @) \! t3 {
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
6 ~( i, A" G! @: C- k2 z; icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of3 d& @4 G# }' k; z4 f) F
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* H+ ?5 E i1 {
on weekends.$ r) @' e# v, V
7 u! L8 J5 i2 v0 G& Z, _( FThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
' W) l" f4 z( _0 hschools during the regular school day and primarily serves# [8 p1 m) x5 O& l/ c
students who are not of Chinese descent.9 A/ R7 h. i7 ^2 t, K0 ?) Y
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said& w/ Z& E, \( ~) f
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the/ X4 D- Z1 C: D) B+ k6 [
competition. 5 y, N N1 P* G6 ?! b! `$ c
5 R- E" F( [5 M, g: j4 b"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" E2 M# ^2 W g2 A9 N
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. \' k: R) U& r2 r) U6 `/ f
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 h5 y, U& A1 `/ @% \1 I( i$ A$ |
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
' M6 \4 h# t& p1 L2 z; O6 ckindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
0 e& q: c @ k" _/ @8 swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" N2 m& v9 F- b: _* ?$ e; @3 n% x X# I8 othe school system last year." }, x0 `9 P9 h3 { B
. R& B' j# f) F M5 fThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
5 M7 b' X5 _/ r( 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
9 \9 b9 l3 [1 [classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# y* B; L- r( Q P6 GChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" M3 T9 P/ g2 x- U. {* H d: e i
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet) M& T, p! ~$ p/ g& k6 e$ ^# \0 S5 p
on an equal playing field."- M- U- m8 Y9 G, d# E9 h" C$ b
1 p) m* M; E$ A f) mSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese/ {* r& y# s- a r& }( s; [7 N
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ ~' n4 j' z9 i( W. d# a8 d
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks F% g( Z% _ v0 I4 D3 d2 @/ ?$ @
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" v1 T& }: Y" Javerage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
: H- n+ W; t! \2 z% ~' QChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the8 W- ^/ ]8 S9 [
institute says.8 w$ ?: I W6 S3 Z# l1 p
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth4 P2 w- x. s: D. M9 W1 L+ F
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
% F4 }' f% a( G/ Pdeciding whether to take the class.
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4 }9 K2 P: t. _+ G) e8 n"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! U# { w* k _3 z% y. F. y9 q4 ]told her daughter.
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7 @+ V# I. b3 y/ E' j4 dSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite% H" n; X* d' L3 M9 R4 B) ~
class.
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' l6 U! }" A2 u& x! p6 y7 f0 zAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: P' C$ x0 O3 Y4 f. w, W" P- o: \
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without) ]3 S b1 w9 a) {
occasional frustration.+ J/ V4 D& w. p6 b4 A" A/ r7 d
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 s) V8 d9 w. O1 Y( Q5 yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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! c8 K. ?/ x% b, JRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
& e. r! u) p, a$ e8 P' Staught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
, P( @2 ~0 V) ?4 t8 g1 v$ vChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works./ A$ X& P2 C3 m
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 A5 S$ r& X! H5 i0 k8 L
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& s4 s; B k2 I% N3 w7 ras many languages as I can."
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o. w+ p* Q. g" R1 a1 _, U- X8 X) gAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the6 @1 P3 `/ H8 V
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; q" ]& c& d$ s# Z2 j: ?
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
! p* |' f0 u! `% V7 Dthat," Ms. Freire said.
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. _4 V8 B+ E* E: GMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
# ^. v5 C4 g2 ~. h# J3 l$ Lhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each1 ]! K5 ~, G. S+ m' ?
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& [' [; p* q9 i% `time from classes like physical education, music and art to make' [& ?9 P G4 w
room.
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. |% u' J: @$ d' L3 n; A- F$ ZChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
/ ~. C7 j. A$ uChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. Y d0 I- i& \9 Lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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$ c0 F" W9 h3 `: ]) H0 }$ ["It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
; I& X. j. `+ e ^0 ybecause of that missing certification," he said.
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( A+ `% S- {+ H6 p3 PThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,) f* B9 P% I( b/ h- D l( y( |9 X
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
5 D0 z v) I( A& o9 SSociety in New York.
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( Q+ n$ ` f9 B4 C0 Q' mSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' m& ^( V# h! t9 b- G
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
) E5 o" [4 y+ h* W6 Qthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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# J$ U, S8 g' K* w"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
2 Z# c- e( m) k) H5 ?0 j& ~own."
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: P1 \8 x; s H, c3 JCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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