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October 15, 2005- N' E8 i& \; ]1 G' s- b2 ?
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' S4 H1 y" k0 p6 z" X
* ^0 s% L6 I0 R$ X. o$ D+ j2 U" RBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 @ H( I- F: h0 u% h# g
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
: M/ u8 k& Z/ E4 A( lUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
8 G' X+ f# u* A2 ?School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas! B+ X# i% W! M7 O* D
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ [0 _, E4 |& j7 n% Sflag hang from the wall.9 K) A" V0 q3 k( K# z
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one+ y# x2 Q' z. z: l' e
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' i# @# ~' g+ D! w6 k
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker( c5 y; Z: v$ U. S& F
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students+ u/ I0 c) ^# W# i* J6 ~& P
are already choosing it over Spanish., \7 _ h. z9 e C. k! x
0 P; D$ m; {0 Z6 B; T"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal; \: D' l- m# ~5 d, ]3 l1 E
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 u1 T& M2 I* W/ j# q) {offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 D8 C. I4 o1 x8 b! |! kschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) g3 g4 r, e5 Q5 C6 X0 S2 J
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 J# {6 N6 t) G) Y& i# Q8 Zone of its most difficult to learn.8 ^+ v* A4 |3 T9 g
& G2 ~5 p$ v. M$ I7 y( A: L- v; X1 _Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% G. _, t8 v F2 z( z% C
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
6 z4 N6 t: W6 k1 Nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. w: D6 D% z! O$ v, _5 F( `3 h
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of# u/ O* X: l% { z9 p4 K
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on8 ]) ?. P k0 W, [' B# b: P
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to# |' @4 q1 t2 R0 }4 f4 `+ s3 c
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement: v/ l# R# ?" i$ O
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! ?" l& H; _. s, j3 J- h/ O6 ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
8 k- C/ Z% Q3 G" ?* hdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 U1 s9 c) ^+ c$ l5 F
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
" J% {8 X0 `: sof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.2 z0 S3 _7 w7 N |' Z9 ?) R9 w* H+ g
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
$ a; u0 c/ x' E8 Mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
0 h! @& n0 y& t5 u& L4 C5 iConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( ^ t8 N6 u9 F& Y
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from9 K6 E" V3 N9 l. J2 P- ]3 B
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
- d0 b: K% Y. G9 b2 \: M, Lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' C% S1 ?( Z3 G7 t
Institute in Washington. U+ t' K+ x3 A/ o" }! y& d* S
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
7 D9 A, ]" r7 \( v! }$ U! garen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
1 n3 L1 M/ O0 [% @; D- I+ yMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical! t& X U; T+ @0 [ L3 i+ u
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be1 ^! J* N4 X7 D2 L0 o
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. w' Y- B2 [% c( @
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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' I8 [+ z5 H. S yUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
& Y8 {* W6 j) E" S/ Wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& K, R$ L4 E8 f: T" p) Ccities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# {- O7 v% d2 xChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
- L# p, @5 G# P6 a& q' Ton weekends.4 B9 N& Y5 ?' F0 i" M; R! T
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
[6 @9 e; L _schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
1 R4 L/ v( o+ _( ~; N) U2 Wstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& I+ J2 l+ D$ u3 @, G2 S Pproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
4 h, L: O1 w icompetition. ! h& Y. C* B1 {! ?: z/ [6 S$ a% E
9 U& C9 a# E0 Q) q' x" H, `, j% ]: B" m, ^"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# |$ t, h8 F9 \4 e
said. "There will be Chinese and English."1 X" P3 i: g; g G8 H8 Q% j
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" G1 b9 ^! Y( ?4 q8 Z1 [2 E! Z/ I
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 g6 f2 ?+ L4 L, w( B, M. mschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 D+ A# @, a* H+ W2 u. }( q; E
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 q3 }7 l( H: Y
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& l% W% C6 [3 o& D5 s1 ?9 X+ l
the school system last year.5 E3 C+ H- u8 w+ z7 s6 r2 d. P: m* N
; p. I' `) \; T) \9 ^: cThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this) [# ]% O+ X) N$ Z. l' D% v7 k
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( N- r4 l$ |6 P
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 h+ b$ e7 q) Y4 R7 P! s1 d) K$ hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
$ h' x1 S; R& g- oChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
" E) b5 f3 D# L/ y Mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
6 O w- D% s. M+ ^2 q0 hon an equal playing field."- L! I" g# i0 }& ?6 ?
- Z( J7 ^# S. ~; }+ sSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 |& @. ~8 Y, l# v8 V. \
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 T5 O" k/ U+ }' ~. t! Z
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
- a4 K0 |1 J6 B; u$ xChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
; _. ]$ o% d4 q) M# qaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
( ~& R) X" R% Z) aChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# j" k* U1 `% I- u
institute says.
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: o( s' O2 u) D; {6 NSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth5 B: ^) f) C6 d. K
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
* ~/ \, U) H( I3 d, I) ndeciding whether to take the class.9 ]8 f9 W/ u3 H1 }2 c$ N( a0 Z% p
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( X- r4 v1 }) B" w: d% V
told her daughter.% A$ x$ O8 z% J( j; e* I0 T% |
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' x( j7 `; y a- h, ~
class.7 V9 r$ J# @% l5 ^/ u! u
% r7 M9 m( @1 ^At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are# L9 H% } L Q) @
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
! f4 p! s1 j: F6 `) joccasional frustration.3 v2 ]8 L. g+ G/ W
! A+ u$ k; v( k"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
: v/ q) ]4 m& q- lrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.8 x: L2 w; p r2 z4 q7 _
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
+ S. }' r N3 d! G% {2 G& @2 X6 ]# M( ftaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with' y, J9 V2 V9 J! W O% z' N
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." G2 e8 O# _/ J4 g8 K- A9 h/ d) U
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
: b: V3 s- X1 q" r8 Isaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn! R/ e0 m# ?3 F! |
as many languages as I can."
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" F+ k0 _7 r) lAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
, i, A' j4 R3 s& q1 d0 ?4 d9 _- o+ xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 ?( m; S- i; }$ t; ^) i6 i4 o
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: h7 W: }! o8 ]2 j
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" ^0 f6 Q& ~% F9 Q" Z% `here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' e( b! Y% p4 d, ~/ Tschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
# m! \6 b+ p- U: @) x( `! b Ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
& n, ?1 [8 o8 b% Q) broom.
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& X/ o. G. P+ BChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 _, k( T# j+ \: a8 ]- O8 k0 `* T" E
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* b- M- v9 _. R9 ]0 q
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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3 a: _/ b2 Z7 y3 l"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
. S* ]2 ^* o) [& ^; O7 Ibecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,% a% _8 N3 N3 @/ L" u
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- U5 I5 T1 V1 z) U+ sSociety in New York.
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- _9 W- i, y( \ g, hSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* ~" U) x |. P+ S) H$ w
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 P0 b% G9 c5 @6 ?
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
) Q+ r- T& d7 k! f4 \1 Y5 Jown."
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/ A% S. A' s' r5 ^4 ?Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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