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October 15, 20056 A) M3 j) `2 L+ F/ m" S5 s' ?
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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( M7 @/ _7 ^7 {) `1 cBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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$ X1 D% {/ n; z- w. C; rCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
+ X; r7 P c2 X1 F P- K8 P/ W$ ^United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
9 M2 L7 \+ i* u- R" w0 YSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
) g0 l" }/ z' D# t3 zdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
% A, O# Z9 r) U) o& V' L' U; _flag hang from the wall.
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( n/ U" G* z1 m- `, W+ W, NOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 h7 e: x. Z5 uanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
" J& z/ x4 v7 p: C% Qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
$ i4 n3 P' V) r4 C) lboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
7 O# [) _6 Y( {are already choosing it over Spanish.
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8 z$ U" {2 t- m& q2 }; y% W& x"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; A- g& Y( W3 m& p4 I: E6 Yat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city1 z! I' R: C1 z u+ ^* m, f- I& }
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 B* v* b, n2 H# ^
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: }: G8 y5 t+ i$ E/ [
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 t' o1 ^1 L! C [$ |to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: R) s9 ^- T* ~1 \& A# _) p
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to( s2 |; I$ d7 F1 G0 p, Z! o
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 [* E4 k4 b" ^( q* u/ y* k( wstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.5 u" r- L" E3 v$ F
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% c8 f+ v. o }9 WTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
! f3 ] b" p! u0 IChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
# S) l$ C$ K; s8 Q6 {1 rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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9 a$ p2 K$ `# v9 q# V' JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 ]% _4 S D" c& [0 a8 J3 I: ]
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" u) B. k+ r- y- u+ l
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to* m' i$ f/ \( v9 W$ c
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. ~0 ^$ W6 _2 O9 k4 w& h
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
+ B$ ] G' \7 C$ [- zof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.( v# _, u( h" ^! X+ {. Q! c% y
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
9 [5 x) i' ^8 a }8 U9 Fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
( h" Y" r/ A1 B& w8 h! Z5 GConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 n& s& Y+ j9 q9 A6 ]can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) i! N! B1 E" _elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10: S# ^% Y3 j; i( V e+ k% X5 |+ N$ L
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language. k( _! }. d6 W- Y
Institute in Washington.: w$ l9 `( \( j$ Y# O* C! e
5 H: \! O+ f0 d% w' T. O"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
% b5 {" `' A9 p {5 Raren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.$ d$ ]3 R. x: m5 r. D
McGinnis said.4 G; U" h5 c, U1 c, T0 q
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ x \& F1 P& ~* c" d
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 k3 r. ~0 Y: q G
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a1 p' P# o2 _* V0 w7 N% d2 ]0 t
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."+ v/ U( a! d" g. X0 r( ~" W
0 t/ M9 p; _6 B; O; UUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and( }9 k8 Z% w8 I) q4 i r
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 H8 }# a# K* c5 ~+ {2 z$ Ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of. I) s' g6 Y. ^
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or7 X& @* C! j% m9 ]% t5 I
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public- @8 E# {' _. y1 [# B7 I. S- M! E
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
W( x2 k0 g& |students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 w3 n' k7 i, _: Q, w
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the9 ?3 A2 m" A% W) q: W9 r) P/ G. ]
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' E' Y+ O; F3 f4 ~6 N: T# j5 _said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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3 `# e+ ]0 G/ ~3 p0 C# kFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 d! {, q) j1 C9 E! E8 v L8 B
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
+ K8 ~; ~8 A6 T. B$ _0 R! xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from9 D/ M0 a4 A, {
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
p* J! S. ]% i0 t5 I% D" qwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 |) [; q7 E9 p" ?' H" hthe school system last year.& Z- g. f3 P) L
5 X4 o" s4 A& m7 B$ A E3 YThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 W' G: C, R' Y5 a6 Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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5 ^; L; m& k, L"They have a great international experience right in their own
! K5 F% i* [, @classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago3 K! A' u- m, X2 Z7 w
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
9 l* M" _& P" [help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet$ p- d6 g1 C7 Z5 D2 ?2 E- d1 g0 @ Y
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 [6 \' Q6 S5 y, U* @( Qclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 t# f- O$ g' K+ A6 A8 N8 aService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; {3 Y3 P2 S& c8 ]% Q. C3 W+ D2 W* _Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An& @7 J: F0 m1 u1 p2 L
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
! F/ z+ t$ w( w" W8 zChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the0 A$ c# l K6 d! [& Y) O$ C' A% ]: Y
institute says.
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3 c$ K1 V7 L! _ G0 wSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth2 |" D4 V5 }: x5 Z8 G
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before# X8 @$ ^" Q1 i
deciding whether to take the class.) m+ h% H* p! |7 P9 {# t% C Q: [
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
8 n0 K& H, O( V# Htold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite0 d$ W, ]. ^, A9 g6 q
class.- J6 A o3 q$ U* _+ [
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are; y6 |8 w3 |, q3 j" O2 w2 A H7 N
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without Y, j8 z0 D7 P1 b3 a
occasional frustration.& M0 U* ~3 k& ?& {; E% v
1 W% x8 K5 R9 m# _- |7 r"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
6 s8 R4 [4 |: c( J6 ?+ z7 B+ zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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' E( Z7 j* F: \Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' U1 ~8 `/ y6 |+ D5 _
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ P# _( g8 z* R' o. s( m
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
" \; U3 Z+ x2 O0 |, V2 ^! i" Dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn% o& [1 h8 [) {: v, v" y- t
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 r5 B, E J0 o, L0 }
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
B! y& w& \& \ l, Emarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like9 ]% f q% j# V, C l# _
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ k4 t0 e9 H' P; C3 y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 x: s' S! y5 B1 w# }, ^- F7 W
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking; ?) C. n A3 L% s" h1 ?# Q
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
; n9 ~; S: r& T* eChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) h9 k+ \6 h6 e$ o6 [$ C: N9 I/ {3 l$ K
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
1 B. P. P+ O: @$ nbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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; M0 G. T S# B) w9 ]- B. V# v8 YThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,3 e- Z, i7 F2 F, g2 i
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia8 o- ?5 a% p: t- k5 ~
Society in New York." O3 Y/ r& L' y8 i
. @1 a; ^' Q5 s6 Q4 D ^4 ~Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& }. L" g; [8 v) \ Z' {( _6 r5 U
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from+ h( e) ~) y* j) E. ^" G0 G
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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7 p" O, C) `- P"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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3 q, v- G% X6 P0 b+ m) }Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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