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October 15, 2005
" J. G' X/ _0 k: y2 }# @. kClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 N% @3 u" B7 T2 z- m2 j( a- n# l
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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, ^8 w' ~& p, h2 w( e& M1 L0 wCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 u6 ^2 h: G/ P
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
" V' v. ]7 ^; u- @+ KSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas1 |7 z7 W6 V8 e' k y5 R; y
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 Y! a7 c/ u O& D$ I
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one) k3 ?9 {- c% \. A+ G' T3 r) P7 o' [
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
1 @0 e2 [' R! T2 C9 b. Lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
+ k# E' c/ t6 g1 Qboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 ]: i1 g( o( O! g% j
are already choosing it over Spanish.0 i% X/ V3 {* U
3 q0 Q6 C: b ]"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 K* [: @: G) _5 g/ yat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 ~/ i7 v5 J* L. @) |. c& i+ yoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 h0 z, d: x; Z5 }. w. j
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 J6 k' @- d9 s" \# \# B4 T
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
: | t5 ` M) j t. bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
. }, F: v& l! J, Z5 p5 `' R5 None of its most difficult to learn.) Y* ~+ ]) `* H5 S+ ]2 Y
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
# ^4 Z' o9 C3 {9 O4 x' C: E8 u% ~public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 w, A" O3 Y% J( a& Wstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.- a4 k1 R' W7 Q2 U+ k2 p M% |
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
( L" `. ]. U' |& QTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
3 M# T8 K5 {) V _: J5 UChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
. q5 T( |4 N$ x) J( Y9 L5 {' Mimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.7 L7 V' ^% J+ p0 y7 ]
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! H& Q2 m3 \ U( w1 C5 ~Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 C9 I8 j, F- ~: v" Astarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
1 F1 ]; ]' i4 C, Odevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
: [( D1 k2 Z" N Lcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director- W: d; \' z( v# f1 j
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.! L3 u- ?2 h2 Y
# Y5 c! r4 m$ q"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. |3 G9 \9 X2 n- d
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ W9 O* ]) S( n7 Z: [. Q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
: g6 k! k+ K+ j3 C. s3 B4 u% w0 Z, L& G9 Ncan."
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3 a, q6 Y$ T ]. |The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! [0 S' X7 T# l: F6 kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( u4 O* ^5 q9 } A* Z+ Yyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; h; O: C m/ C* \8 L# ^
Institute in Washington.
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# ]) R: H* U h) O, H"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
: o' L$ C6 Q- h* O5 s" naren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 N7 L) Z5 H3 k
McGinnis said.
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7 W) E8 }7 o) L# X: v"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ G& j/ D. j3 X" q# r4 c+ p H& q% D! Q
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be7 ?$ N# ~) g0 L* b
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
# E2 |4 j2 T- d A( Y: Uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."; J. W3 C% m9 n( F
2 i/ d% z% B: g% e+ LUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' k. s: a. r) p" y' r( f
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
4 V& d" P( {+ w4 ^cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 _5 G* i* g5 [8 p0 mChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 U3 m. e4 w3 `4 ?7 `on weekends. y4 Y* k5 |4 d" o
5 w1 p# K; ?* d$ V+ \% w, X' ~The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# A6 K$ }5 R9 R% ^2 ^& q3 ~# Sschools during the regular school day and primarily serves8 f# k& }) _" s) k2 M2 [9 I
students who are not of Chinese descent.8 ]' L6 H2 u& a; |0 H
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 M E7 ~9 Q w7 o
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- i7 M" L6 _5 l
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
! z) i7 B$ a! jsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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+ e. A6 g) m. WFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly9 z& e8 l0 ~: `
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse" H+ o3 [* [0 i2 `9 t8 u
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
9 d* B! \; N+ W, T$ B( G6 q1 Hkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
1 w3 N( O5 m# r* ?" C* Hwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
6 C' ~- ?( j: Y0 \; f1 @. wthe school system last year." j$ L+ y2 x. L) X! C
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% |" I( q" ?5 qyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; {3 ^( v! s6 ~* z: x
$ j ]% i5 B" F' V; ], _5 }"They have a great international experience right in their own: s1 C5 E' t% ]$ ?. ` F. }. j8 i
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago; @/ b+ `" X J2 N6 M+ r' D5 H3 b
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
, L2 r4 s2 R! R5 n4 _- @ chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
{- g5 q% V' zon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, R0 o! u+ v+ f' W1 rclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign l* B5 h; v/ y
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 L5 i/ Q3 K* F0 p- V# W
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
# J" _' w3 \. ^7 V/ ]; ]( Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in J, w8 C3 _5 e1 A
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
3 ?! T I6 V1 N/ F+ G$ U% X+ O3 W7 ]institute says./ a, p" l, J# ^
8 i( v( v/ ~4 \1 \2 r+ U9 iSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ O4 A( p& _3 ~, C. f# j U$ Z
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before Q1 h. e8 h$ p6 S. K4 ~
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ W( K$ i9 Q& Y- j
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 i, L) m+ k: P" M( ~, e3 r
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& A8 l3 H0 n6 M" k- ~ K+ ?' G5 u
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ A3 M' R+ h4 Y; \: J# c
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a/ n0 G0 R; s7 N, N& a
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- g" X) Z) z$ M7 j) z! ?; Wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& W3 O- A- p3 BChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.5 [$ }& c H' a# u# X. o8 ~' i
6 j- K1 _3 g0 F( z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
/ \$ |% K) g" p& F! s+ m3 Csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn. d4 C+ h( m d9 p: D% G' q
as many languages as I can."4 z5 o; Z# @, p2 P M) e* ^$ D
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 }3 O+ A3 _; Z1 i! K. F; o0 g
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 k4 @; \. V' _7 m: Cmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
! Q) D# R+ l& P1 y2 `6 W- Athat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program2 v3 q! d) v- {0 \6 J) w
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each: N+ z0 \" ~% Y/ P9 v
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
2 c: C% m3 ^6 v+ g+ ^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
% N* y2 |2 o' _8 \3 ]6 oChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
( R* H& Z1 `8 @0 P7 acollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said., i/ D% \) j4 A& k5 Y7 v2 s" A4 x9 m
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
- j* F) Z2 Z2 D' r5 B! Ubecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
; S+ K* ], z" T' q2 f! C$ [$ e4 psaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) M1 B4 n* f" Q5 q6 W0 \* v' S9 G
Society in New York.9 q2 R6 q' _8 j; V0 x2 z, y
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
- |0 O5 ?6 I: X" A3 g9 d: ?Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
! q* u5 N% Z- h4 ~ J- Qthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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# g* u0 D" c! D; F0 g: D: }4 h+ }0 ?: C"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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: m. O2 e( s1 T9 [$ A0 d& h7 A* eCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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