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October 15, 2005
. E7 r8 X8 C' L/ B8 L R1 oClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity2 {. K. i; ^: r- z3 j6 U9 x" I
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the( H W* @$ R3 ^8 [6 C
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( |( K6 D; E6 I# lSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% ~, }, e' |1 F, f$ v9 G; idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese6 X6 `) r/ p/ H
flag hang from the wall.1 x9 O9 K J8 `+ m- z8 ?( C
5 L1 a- _" f. z" [1 V0 x3 QOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one J/ J# I+ ~# R; F- d0 |
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! g) b' u, S7 s9 b
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* H, H2 q2 d1 G; j" K7 s
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* D- R9 h+ ] ^5 h" i0 j, U! `# J) ^' x! Sare already choosing it over Spanish.0 T! O$ _: ^9 C1 c E3 `
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
) X. S3 c8 E8 b9 `/ a$ }at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ p( E4 S e% M9 ^$ [) M) roffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."4 U6 u1 V: n1 \ Q V# t" ]
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
9 R- u! z, M6 Hschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- o/ E g* h+ M5 i0 \: n# E" ^to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
, Y2 U# n" O4 l/ `+ S' _! `# Tone of its most difficult to learn.7 W7 a( ]( R- W2 O8 U4 y
; H3 r3 c2 c& Q$ e3 vLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 I2 _! d$ M' \) m: Hpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
( g. r% }0 D7 x0 }+ Sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.5 U9 s; ^7 q3 R
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
$ W( k, p$ Y: H7 g" d3 W% HTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' E! T0 ] ]5 {1 h$ y& P' \6 {0 m PChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! O8 U1 q4 b' @( x6 Kimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee., [ B& N; n# ~; g+ r [
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement: ]9 b5 x' k4 b1 G& A# b5 O) P/ C
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country# J, i, W5 F: R0 \6 V8 G% }7 Y
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to# j. |& Y' M* N
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
. a5 Z" F' |5 ]$ M$ Ycurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 r5 |7 ?9 n5 H- ^ n( e$ qof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.! \" i% K4 h8 f7 m
4 a' v- l# Y# {* V5 b+ A, k4 J p"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 }: J& C- S: U% {" b/ b
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. G" b1 ]( l' oConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, ?2 V# ?) R4 p0 r$ r, g+ `' S' u
can."
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0 v( @; c7 s2 p6 n1 iThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
; ?/ M! o3 U5 o- G% `4 R& helementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ {+ I4 b- r+ G) e. P0 u# q! L9 Iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
4 o8 B1 v9 T* U: n6 v! O2 [4 ?Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
. y! \. z5 t, S) ?aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.0 x5 D) A, e8 j5 a$ I: r
McGinnis said.
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2 Y& L6 U! r5 H4 ~4 i, P! P"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical5 Q9 [ t) ]5 i
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be, s+ \! ^* I% K% B' M8 f8 p; c5 ?
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a$ i! N+ `* d* ?1 i5 h# \
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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' i- i( r4 n! ^- K. j) c# _3 RUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
/ s$ B7 G! {" h) wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in5 n) |) J+ _: ^2 n4 r8 o- D8 z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of7 f. r1 v9 N& i0 A! ]
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
7 g. e2 Q0 Y7 `# s8 `2 t' t( U' bon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public; ?3 u3 s/ [9 j3 \
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. c* ?) a# B K0 w; N7 S; i
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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1 s* V, \+ ~7 ~& K$ N( ?Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 W- H! G1 E# g5 A' S' E3 \$ M/ ], vproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
6 q8 _' R$ X9 u+ {" wcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley5 \* Q9 k4 x% f) z% j% O4 w; Q
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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; D8 K7 } {3 [* @( n( U8 z' EFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly5 M/ f* v3 O; U5 s/ A+ @. z+ x
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse( }1 H2 K. G7 ]8 T
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
, T# u0 U( {; h6 ~kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
' q8 L1 E) ]+ W5 V' _4 @who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ z* l$ L3 A- r9 { z! {5 j* ~! ?
the school system last year.: g7 v8 o7 \' O0 d
* s; z& ]3 I5 \- u8 iThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this: z' |. i: D: S7 N; d- `+ u4 u: n
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
( k% H2 h w# m1 S: @, J" f# Q; S) cclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' ^8 A; A$ D7 ]
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; B2 H; h4 v. l! d7 \help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 o9 Y5 J9 O5 \5 J- R; D
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
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Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks! N8 `% T3 j) W8 C* |) }
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 ]- V$ l; q% B! Z) E$ `# n$ |average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in( v1 p+ w+ a; J4 d. i/ A# V* O' p
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# H9 r4 c) r9 w' H9 u- T
institute says." Z0 W L# `& }' L
% |/ y( N) e3 ?6 J' |1 aSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth0 `' Z/ ~0 P9 T
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
9 O* X9 [0 G' d- z# G8 Kdeciding whether to take the class.
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& U/ u; v5 V; v1 M) O/ J/ \"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 a5 g; A- x- i8 o
told her daughter.' f7 ~, `' f( o c% O0 N
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
9 }9 l- V9 x& N3 h/ A8 Nclass.
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2 \, R/ n- r2 Q8 pAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' w: _/ b- P4 o |8 v9 b+ L
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# Y7 s, ~; Q- T* d* M9 }occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
- A5 Y* c# t, T* m( B+ j; [; zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! w" U8 I' J6 k q2 _taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 o; l# e T4 k2 g/ V5 p# n
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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& t" l- D6 S: B$ r6 C2 R, i4 L( i8 U"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul* K2 \/ H" ?9 Z
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( f' D' ^* F8 w+ s& }# S; W
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the7 K/ R! X y6 D, h
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, q) i* q O& y. @market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" [: ~* _. r; I3 [that," Ms. Freire said." `& p- I3 r; M2 q
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program+ f8 v5 ]& u, Z3 d
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
7 b- B7 Y* C7 N) t: n- vschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) {& q* a, g- |; A0 u* g% |2 Z- F) stime from classes like physical education, music and art to make+ U0 r0 E% O& l; G
room.9 C& A. b8 G, E( [5 \8 K; F+ A
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 O- z* S1 S: d7 ?/ ~8 w
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; t9 `, }7 k3 ?3 {1 g f4 y
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.) @4 I; b& U. x( ]2 G2 u, T
" f* }$ O5 H0 _$ b"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified! ~: j7 W( N4 M
because of that missing certification," he said.4 l/ G9 s% Q& \+ q- i
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! Q& a; z, _( ]. qsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia$ y9 U: R( S7 q. W% l- _4 i
Society in New York.- C$ X& M% q7 l# r2 ^+ T& P, ^
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: H3 K( L& V1 }6 ]8 _+ @' R/ j
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
. a+ Z! `5 A, v, a' q( G# hthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( d8 A2 M4 y4 N8 M4 c% D0 T6 `
own."* C! k: e* J' r
+ z! e8 ?4 W, b- X: vCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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