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October 15, 2005
' g, K# p, n/ ^/ VClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity$ a) C0 {, V5 X7 X3 E2 h
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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1 V: X' N# ^" ]; Z( tCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; c$ u7 j( X" l" c& \: a# @6 OUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
; T6 y) _( U- w' h1 Q6 A5 F; `School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas1 W! |1 l, a l# L6 G; E
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
# Q4 \ }7 q8 ?8 {/ y- l: n, ~/ nflag hang from the wall.; q! o/ o- \/ w; |* @# B/ q2 ~
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one/ L; F' I+ I, |# ]
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders# N9 y& l! O" r$ C! |6 L' k
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
% ?* l* I# q" J7 t# H ?boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
; N% f( p- R4 O# f6 q9 R/ U# `are already choosing it over Spanish.
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7 \: D5 x! P& `% w% O9 l) G"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal+ _4 h6 P) c' E9 [- n \
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city) b2 h/ N l* I; O) z4 F
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."& L* E0 s/ K+ f! J) U
& J4 o, l) @ N+ ]$ q6 ^$ ?With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 [6 f8 @# _) E" w8 [1 j
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
; J7 E; p3 c) ]4 B1 s' Xto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- f: v: W; y" q8 }) |one of its most difficult to learn.2 W& C- f p" @1 G: ~
" ?# o8 v9 y+ n+ yLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
5 h% a' c% O) Y1 G, Ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 ~. F6 L5 r& t' s+ |) S; Bstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. ~6 ~! v8 T+ S) U% j% MLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" ?5 @% H$ e9 x5 h
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
, B g k5 m6 H6 X" ]( h% RChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 o: Z) Y) |" `5 \9 `+ F
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.% K+ u8 P& \% g8 r6 a1 s! `, Y
- r" y, _1 \1 k; c/ n' [ L+ _: \! I# XAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement. S+ J. ]7 v8 N/ _& m; s# E
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( S* t; k/ h0 d5 j* p- s! o$ Cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# a1 N0 C& n( u9 ]develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing7 z) B% ?% B& ], n4 J
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director- D+ R5 `# r6 Z
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- t8 T' p( U9 Q3 S' ?; I" ?6 e
( n3 a4 \$ j: O n"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of0 J/ a+ K+ l, x3 j2 c; ]# ]; a
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& Q% L& o5 `, W3 z' l. N9 D
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ V( P: U6 {5 G1 mcan."
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0 v# ~) G/ p6 xThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from( } C6 c: s" k' t' [5 X5 }
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 R& h+ I( ~5 V+ N3 ryears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
+ P* i( [- X$ S6 [% }: kInstitute in Washington.
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5 [2 `2 d B0 J' n"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages+ ^0 o6 K" ]5 @7 A0 p
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
) e7 U& n1 g& nMcGinnis said." T! j9 ~9 Q6 l; b
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical) `% @ N" b: x1 U2 e
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" L1 _9 N2 T) T4 o! D' ?4 V: w
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a2 U" @9 Z+ [9 A! Q- ?/ X- r u5 @
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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' g& V; O; x9 C4 |: D, qUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and* u3 Z3 O8 h; c# z0 G; }* g- e
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
J6 `0 \* y& i* n; P, l* ecities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
& S( |1 H/ A5 U' S% lChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% m/ t' K3 U: ~$ D' M6 t2 [on weekends.9 }' i2 E. P/ D2 k# K; ?
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public/ x) z. u) }2 V/ M+ p. M7 r
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves3 w7 C, y+ X4 P# U( l
students who are not of Chinese descent. k2 t# [/ `# Y. T
: ]' F) Y" M JMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said- N6 W, ~6 e9 H! ]3 M7 C- M, M' e
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' V7 m. U. p7 G( O2 wcompetition. # k& F/ `# h8 M. l: N6 h; L X
; g8 q! F; {% I( p) d5 |! v"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 e5 w, C0 P; ~/ k3 X% A2 \. Psaid. "There will be Chinese and English."/ S4 k2 I5 M0 u% P6 H. V/ \
: Q3 l( z5 {4 f# zFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 O! x6 e9 m. `+ D$ i6 [all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse, B, @4 }8 g4 x- o; p+ ^9 l9 v& ^
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( T+ D h4 G6 \# ~* n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 y! I W: @6 O; [' R. o5 |who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ s3 t; E5 z8 ^# m- X7 w$ C$ K
the school system last year.
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- Y2 t- Y' H' r4 G2 M# X; d5 U5 @The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( v& J$ A9 H j& ]& k: gyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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% O. ~( g. w/ s$ m, ]( Y"They have a great international experience right in their own. g! H& v, s! u/ B# H1 S
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' Q5 H" t/ ]! J4 U* S1 ^& ~/ u
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 N: }0 ?" d1 v( _( x3 W+ F
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
0 R! ]3 g5 ]- r" L: b4 e2 d( {on an equal playing field."2 m( g/ ?1 |/ @) }- {& X
) n) `8 h" y! kSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
( d" }. d6 F1 h, c- |3 B, zclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ {, g' w3 c# M& z X6 v2 z
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: n, {+ C1 i7 Z/ z/ xChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 h, V2 P; e6 Z0 T# laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 K/ N5 |9 |9 a+ ]2 x/ a$ ~& V
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. P b0 L" B" }. G- o7 I% Qinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth$ ^0 ]' I7 c. \6 F5 ^ ~
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before3 s0 o0 z8 i$ W
deciding whether to take the class.- N0 I& L& }+ C- ^( r6 O4 k+ `
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. a) _3 c: I1 X/ |
told her daughter.
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: l) _+ [# g6 s4 ?Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite0 b' @7 b4 R- a1 N0 B+ r
class.5 P7 ]! {, t5 N" B
& O8 c" H4 ~$ o1 qAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are7 w) t# T6 t. k9 T
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
/ {$ }* F2 U S) Boccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 a* f0 {# a1 F) ~) K
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.& {+ f8 H2 J; [ \% i# f2 Q
4 }3 X3 Y! b7 D/ i1 ]! jRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he# P9 i Q& E. b- k7 J( L! j2 F' D
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
, v0 `' F% t0 ], XChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works./ [ M5 h# Q4 `9 z. g9 P9 e
+ y2 v$ C; L$ ?. q) _( x"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
3 B0 S- u/ Y& B+ z* V1 M! ysaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- y# o6 u+ X# S3 a( n" _9 P* _$ M1 \
as many languages as I can."
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; G0 T8 K; `3 P) N& p3 WAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( B! _8 E: D% p4 s2 L; Tskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: }# W" Y4 U' X7 D: S9 u8 q. [
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
7 h2 S* [4 O+ gthat," Ms. Freire said.' K; E& H, G, W
3 N! w9 S$ h& p6 V9 l' Z% rMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( V. q! }: P0 h2 y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
7 {( @# h: I" h- w& n- E! ~; wschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
" t. [, o( j6 S" E) ntime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
$ i* O2 I" m# N9 groom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
" N& V7 w1 B$ eChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American- v! s4 [& b( z8 X' T/ G' W
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.& c! X6 }! F4 N. L2 {
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 P% G- Z% f2 q+ C* r1 P6 G
because of that missing certification," he said.- U. ?% u9 s# b( ~; R4 t" I
" H9 Y& f# i4 s0 C* hThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! G( Y4 n- n4 Z( Dsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
/ p/ ^6 l% J1 Z4 b% }/ cSociety in New York.
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8 }8 M& f @5 \" s0 \% _Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the; L4 E: g( Y0 ^, x% ]' _# [" P: ~# W
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, b \! u5 x. Y; F2 ?, T1 H: e' E" Zthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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- Q8 k9 F' G1 F ~2 dCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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