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October 15, 2005 g8 h8 g' f/ R3 C
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity. U( V& S! j- I1 r3 Q! u6 n
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING/ b% u- L1 N2 T( N9 k7 T9 N
9 R4 z: G' R8 {! v* tCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the o5 d4 H- _; v K, ~( K
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' ]" V3 R5 z6 ?$ H2 k9 d' q
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas& d* C9 ~& s3 T4 q' Q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
i9 e: Z9 C" q* m: s& ]6 i, }) Cflag hang from the wall.
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7 K S. k# P" \ {One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
# A( g4 f, m# g" }, D8 I" r; R3 Yanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
$ m- V) C0 t6 |3 w* E. j+ o; zpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, [2 K9 }. H6 Nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 {9 e/ q; q; \8 f
are already choosing it over Spanish.9 E: j' ]5 @" ~; Q+ d8 ~3 a- _
( q9 l" z1 }8 X3 S y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
W2 |- D9 e# W7 {, F- n0 Tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
+ o# a7 N$ f/ D- coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# ?3 ?5 _# t3 D8 f9 b; q6 |
. V6 A& I4 y% E4 {! R# EWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' Y* o" T9 r' a0 b# u2 a1 aschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 D+ q9 I, u/ z1 Q1 j1 d. ]
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: N' ` E, F8 f* Sone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
4 z8 \" i/ m0 a$ D& `% h8 _: N4 _3 Jpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% h: F) L4 |6 Z9 k, K8 c6 o. Z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
% K; [3 m8 q3 CLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of9 B/ L0 M$ f5 _* j# m
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
& } C3 u) O; E0 {1 SChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
* z0 g" o/ X$ }/ E' `8 uimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.9 l2 m7 g4 h) k1 b+ Z' t
/ I1 b$ H. }! i6 BAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
3 o! r$ i. W0 B: q3 b2 pChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 e J3 K5 D9 V2 t! p+ @6 kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# t3 `3 v# }+ P, b# o) x/ l0 H* m, t: Cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# F) y8 z/ T3 P- M |6 \$ i
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( z3 ^. { s. Lof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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5 u. J! D& Z8 `0 E: r"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of% c1 ?: x! R5 q5 T1 C( L5 Y1 R) F
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education V0 h: M% O* b& U2 r" U
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we7 N. z* v. O$ W
can." 4 b3 F" @; c1 W+ S/ d6 X4 t
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
/ b- J. ]! i; M$ q% i+ ^& v2 B9 m: {, k; w" Qelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
0 T1 C) u, H b _/ {& d. iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
S/ y8 d. e& ^0 k! N* A3 bInstitute in Washington.
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. ?% q% w, a8 t"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
! W, r' E. B6 a; Q' R' j R" Daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 w2 d. I9 ^. R
McGinnis said.% X& C. ~" K" Y8 x2 t0 R
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ `9 n+ k6 k' u3 k
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
. d8 n8 p; \4 Vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a- {8 p2 e% M' p3 z: S
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.", _1 q4 T! i2 c) l& @
" t8 z+ ~. h- C. X& C5 lUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
, i8 E* p3 C. v1 r4 S8 \secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 ^: W+ r1 i* Qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 x) d h; S3 V# U. U! r" J8 _Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 H6 ` ^, |9 {1 Z. D
on weekends.
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" ]: J. @( @) _The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: G9 ~, V8 Q! X& {! q6 ?+ `, G( ^3 G
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 h" l1 a8 o0 _1 M1 h1 V# ostudents who are not of Chinese descent. B5 _' e) X: @1 ?+ D0 O7 H& T2 X3 _. C
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( B- s* }5 T2 m9 b* f7 d
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* C1 L' y1 a0 a# l- j
competition. # v" S, `' p4 c
! r( j% t$ S- V% h$ Q' @"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; ]5 Z+ W( D3 M, w8 C+ Lsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# V9 T" h6 ]/ ?& `/ Jall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
" l: A9 c: u! q* N2 f7 Bschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
9 c( g& o, K% O1 u5 y; Dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 X6 V7 X2 _9 |- D) r* }' O% r/ A+ uwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to; F. u% o& K/ L( d
the school system last year.& N- m$ K! z$ G' j4 i. k4 K
- p1 P9 z8 `* p$ gThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 U- S! I4 y# `+ B) {' M' ~4 ~
year 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
* T0 g% H* w4 Cclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
7 J( ^2 b. ~6 A2 m7 o- F: @5 k uChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
2 x" j) r& t1 L+ \1 H7 c, f% Rhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 p3 q0 D3 x6 N& o; R9 P
on an equal playing field.", E- k2 C& f( ?' I* g& J' S
o/ {/ q/ s, p: N6 I: e+ k: Y/ T$ ?Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese" v; ]& u: |' U- H7 N% G; \/ V9 j% p/ E
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign% ]: t' e6 s1 b; E1 F: A
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( K) B2 W; _9 e4 y3 ~4 k8 w" WChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
7 v& V) g3 d$ Laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" t6 j, E" C+ _% N
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the' C9 c' f9 L* Y; v
institute says.
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* X7 d9 L. w5 O, F% \Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' T3 t- f( g7 ]- L9 i7 ?
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" |4 D7 T( J9 b1 F& ldeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she, t( r4 `: a3 G' h2 r( }
told her daughter.2 D4 _8 H* Q3 m/ {- V
% ]0 B) d6 t) mSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 ~7 {8 y. V! Dclass.
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1 b. y. d p6 O- k6 I) ]At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
- j0 ~7 m. j+ |) s% Y1 \studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" s$ A& \/ j f% S5 ~" V; C5 d6 t% a, H
occasional frustration.+ J- L+ v' {7 j0 c7 D
j3 L$ i' u f2 t4 k"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 D2 @; ?) @9 q* m
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 u$ n5 T/ s+ s: w7 O
) l: u+ _ i# LRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 L0 `1 L, b2 [& P2 f$ q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ |$ E, M) c% f
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 `! t- D f+ i4 a3 b) C
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn& D4 |5 o& E% `2 ^/ \! X, b
as many languages as I can."
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" S' o+ ] h+ { y) v/ j7 a( ~* gAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* ~3 a6 T4 v+ F4 u; u! Z0 qskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ e9 O8 ~9 t2 X! M$ _1 t
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: b0 K, _7 _+ q/ i- ythat," Ms. Freire said.
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' @$ c1 w8 @ ~: ~, y6 r5 W, sMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
* c% C) K& B7 h. \! D7 x" ~) T |here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 J/ g' p7 w: O" {school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
]$ n( t# u9 v& a0 ]+ ctime from classes like physical education, music and art to make0 r7 T& a8 ^" J" R0 Q; w( Y" S1 E
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 H" \; ^6 L w, b1 q- b
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' T: e9 x+ Y2 L' {8 m' a
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- B: ~( V3 n# m( o$ _* s
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
9 U1 U, e( `! h+ r+ {6 W6 b" Cbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,! ~) O' t" Y% L) ~/ n/ W: {0 N" e( ~
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia: R0 m" r; s+ ^: r0 Z
Society in New York.
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! |! A* ^0 d& I0 w e3 BSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the1 R* }, c6 ^5 x8 e5 F% ^
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from. z7 ]& R1 e( H7 t$ t
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., l/ n7 ^7 u% t) d) J7 Q
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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* i6 @4 s4 D0 p0 G; x" i- qCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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