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October 15, 2005# F$ K8 l- r2 X% ^ K
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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/ e$ W5 s, [* G9 i' } fCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the$ e* r4 l' Z/ }" s
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
& b. ]8 d) v7 H. k/ bSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
F6 V( b0 w0 w* \; R! ]dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) Z; f3 `" W/ H U5 r! R( A, Jflag hang from the wall.. p/ g, z! V. O6 ]4 R7 }* \( A( W
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
3 f- X3 i4 b2 ~0 x2 E. j4 ]another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* e+ h! l* g* @' r
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
% `1 W" u$ v8 C: t" V w9 Aboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students! @! @5 P$ O2 o. H8 z
are already choosing it over Spanish.$ E; f* v, M1 l& b( B% n6 N
- X: |# q! S2 {( y9 D4 v; f3 J"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 s6 d; Y. m" b6 s2 o. D/ Kat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 L) e4 l" G. u3 ioffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."$ m: R! \3 U$ B" k& m1 x
, u; ?7 @4 e$ \With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,$ B- F2 w/ R! Z( `
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings3 W8 u6 R0 [# d2 `9 f: ~* Q( k
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: Q8 i! i/ O* d- ]one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 {- o% R+ ?% p" u2 `' ^- F4 I
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
+ L6 r! n+ _( w- {3 j+ U1 O5 Z# Ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
! z( w. [2 z& p3 H: KLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
e3 _( C; R: `, k! ZTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on. t. m7 |9 e- h+ z3 X; S
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
6 {2 f& f, I- Kimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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6 x& O) |$ g' i. u }# HAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ I& W6 P9 I9 aChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
" S' y9 k6 ]2 P8 g @) C7 p4 Wstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to. K% ]5 q* C2 Q: D g" A
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing w& p4 b9 P8 U) r. ]2 ~
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 l- `2 B: W# d& i4 }of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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6 Q5 s" ]+ f, P; A( y. d* M/ k4 |"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, ^6 u) _( c q) \" Z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 s2 E# ^5 \7 [& k' h1 S! GConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
7 p; O9 @& U F- U) M1 ~* x, e+ Fcan." ! v$ V; z6 [2 ?; \$ z" ?
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
7 `' n% x* F: f7 ~9 c+ y/ f2 ~elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10: a0 _" D0 q: b7 r: {! i2 V
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language5 P, I" B4 K8 M6 m
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# w; L8 m7 E1 ~: Saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
8 q' O, i( m6 Y% Y% ?McGinnis said.
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8 s5 y2 _* n6 K0 t: q/ W. W2 I"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& `+ k7 S7 M& K6 |7 z+ L
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
3 C, K8 O, ?7 i0 n0 q6 |ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 ^6 z) v! V% G( a/ K) |challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."% v0 O& q$ E$ @0 Y/ x
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ z/ F1 L- ] p4 M- z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: w( ?6 K6 Q( c$ O' T
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 Q9 O, @3 U6 q, Z& J# P1 p8 wChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
`0 b: m- l& W* W) ] aon weekends.2 }* V1 y3 C7 ~0 p% ^3 ^
8 W( B) a+ a. Z, C$ mThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
2 b" r* g9 n: i( ?' c; l. N2 Tschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
% c6 X$ f4 I' M( U' x# w4 Ostudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
3 m* _3 h. g, k' O) vproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) _# r: W- U0 E0 a3 Lcompetition. $ W( g6 _: g5 [, p) V' z
$ c( t% ^7 u4 E5 }"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley' @8 p9 o Y& }8 @8 {8 C
said. "There will be Chinese and English."1 K+ W+ L" C: {0 c" V; G2 w
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
' D/ c$ ?6 _/ s4 P" w' u4 B) @5 @all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse. L9 n0 M: A* r
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 U& N0 ^% P. o2 g" A; m9 Y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students; N% ]& s# d2 s" V. \/ K0 v7 Q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- }# F8 h" i W5 [the school system last year.% V! |8 V1 |+ G8 P! \
m$ f! x( C' s$ T% a2 f8 pThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
- L7 i# J+ ?0 R4 }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: m* e; |% v1 S$ A" l
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 V6 {1 U, U: P% ]8 c9 z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 G6 _9 t q4 B* W4 {4 Phelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 U5 o8 {9 \) Y; t1 x0 j
on an equal playing field."8 g( R6 D& y; t9 Y7 v1 ]4 l4 ]5 n
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
w( a6 g0 A9 S/ F0 v" G% x2 Q! @! kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
1 i, S. e! Z* kService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 m. j. z) ?8 Z9 }Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 Z7 N1 g. v5 {$ laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
`4 h9 G5 k! GChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
" Q! ]5 w: ~9 C" tinstitute says.
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: d& H; Z* E J6 LSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* p$ _8 C. n0 J0 c5 sgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before" F( Z5 K; ?3 [, c9 C
deciding whether to take the class.
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7 D3 {' K" Q, n& S. ]! @"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 ]: b% O9 z6 a, Q1 Rtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
k2 A$ K3 z6 I- D& d Yclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' f) w( l4 l2 h; U
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* f, x6 `5 S- q* c) I; ioccasional frustration. U! Q. N0 K/ N0 _
( Q& Z6 b0 u4 ]* t8 ^/ ["Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
% }$ g( v# _3 X% ^6 C m2 Wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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) l7 D5 k' o9 }% ARaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he) t" q3 Z/ g7 W7 t! R
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with# C2 I: n& ~! ~) t+ S: o* V
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- G2 o+ O! B6 ]" M% a
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul( V( ^' f" V7 g S% _# n. R
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn6 a4 ]# t3 s& C2 } X8 \+ n
as many languages as I can.") [) u! F0 B- A) B G
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
% z$ N9 S; a1 i% A# M3 S. Jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" S7 @+ N/ j0 u- t
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
) |+ N$ J6 W4 A3 J" }that," Ms. Freire said.$ _ l9 H( L) F% n3 G+ C, J
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 Y. ?+ R4 B/ _- M/ A/ Vhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
: t/ t5 `- Y7 x$ [% u8 gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking/ ?* G% C. g6 @' S4 ~, i
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
1 N7 `! u7 G! z8 Q8 k) B' Z* \room.% S+ `# c7 v: |$ K, g2 x% r- e
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer, q0 j0 H6 O W! w2 L0 e
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 x( a {' P! L u% K/ c3 P2 T' Jcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- ?& r! B. @# J7 T
3 O& s, ?/ ^6 z"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 M# p1 k3 w+ ?9 @) n. U6 Obecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
- I1 f: ~ q' L2 `3 X" j; ~! usaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
0 {+ l6 P7 K/ [, |5 e. f$ F" ESociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' s9 X: ^! Z+ b. J+ B& h- D4 v/ D2 }Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 a; D4 c3 J" g+ K9 j' y$ \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- w' U. A. b. `
own."
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/ i" c- r3 o# l" ~; l' D7 ]Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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