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October 15, 2005
% F; p+ ^# ^4 \, t4 w$ v' ZClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
+ {$ q; U6 [0 H& H: \& O5 j; S4 `! F
& l; B1 L4 c7 ~: d$ I/ }By GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 w( M9 s0 K7 y4 ^4 L
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the- [; t6 J& L: Y( |
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( X8 Z# q/ `9 u( H& Z* kSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 `' s+ y/ b5 @7 idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ ]2 m; ]- D) l$ x1 bflag hang from the wall.
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! e9 B0 U! A5 y$ o0 ?* A! E# tOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
# B" X6 Y2 s; B5 X0 d8 k, nanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders2 {* g) a- I5 Q' ~& p
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker( N8 W: n0 i; s( g
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# f- _; a& u" |8 {4 |, P
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 \; M/ Y5 T) Q$ U4 u/ ]. t$ lat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" s% p \! y4 r8 z3 W+ Y" Yoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."! i& Z/ v' ^" g. }) i! ?: S
9 r; D( \+ y! ` ^With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' M( `& W: T. X1 n1 g* Aschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings/ i6 V, k( ]1 S/ H3 d
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" [0 A# [0 U, G
one of its most difficult to learn.& m$ G% ~! c6 U! o' U% o6 @
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
! W+ [& u' p7 D' Wpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) }0 s/ d; k- J$ f, g' Bstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. H `8 l: b3 x: p( s4 a
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of& a6 i" I3 d' f+ V( |( v7 ?% a
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ ?; H) t. g) c" A. `* c6 W4 L5 fChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 T& ^4 U1 t" N. P
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement \1 m) q: U( G1 `4 Y" C
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country1 z$ [$ o) ^% N* t0 q0 Y
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to, W% h4 w( y$ T* ?2 l a, Q( y, O3 _
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing/ ~: G0 E0 X& K$ k+ F6 `; F2 m0 i
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 d8 }# ]- ]7 g' Iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.: l8 o- a8 a, C. z: S# b
$ ^6 V% j0 o* i- |# U0 D. ?. _( X"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: D& T4 }6 s+ Y& F4 j) Z+ R7 a$ ~
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
) F* V. b6 @8 q8 d* U+ I& xConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
4 O! S0 A& m( ?4 K4 d& o9 D0 dcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 C. B' S+ Y* |
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 m5 R% O1 r* |0 j0 X
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) s8 g8 n' K9 T1 |( u$ j
Institute in Washington.
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. z) z2 j7 C% L# ?: ~"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& y. E" \. b6 ~: G# Maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.+ w' ~" V9 `! l' j; d8 g
McGinnis said. ?( Q, e+ L# O2 c( T
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical9 d! e0 r8 B1 O+ `) k- {* S1 y
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, l) {/ Y0 ~* M* ^- ?! ]ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( R9 n7 D( D. H) c schallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 ? g$ w' J6 q) t. v
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 N" g* w& W$ z$ C# \! s
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
" J; b% C$ a1 H+ e# b# z: k$ qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 n1 u) u3 B0 }' Y- n$ m3 XChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
: c7 B) X% A6 K, {on weekends.. _% K$ {5 s% z! V# K
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public$ C. Y: K% X0 N; R% @- _" S U
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, F# g3 U7 `9 Z% Y0 Q$ Hstudents who are not of Chinese descent." h5 }$ P' y" J$ q- X! O
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 {' ^* p! Z7 v
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
( W0 M9 Z3 C, Scompetition. + G0 P1 r6 |. g% v7 G1 u+ D
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
! q5 O$ M# W* F( \* J/ N( ^$ Csaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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2 U! S1 U8 C# gFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly1 T$ v# R# _5 K% n$ w6 t( [
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 x' Z8 D/ W; i" h! vschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from) R! i$ C2 y7 x4 Z ?
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students; s' q% b a# x7 j% F! d$ @$ j. L
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# B- X5 A) N4 ^8 i: ~! D4 ]+ _
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 `% P' C& Y; f3 G1 M
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, A. b5 x D7 r( {6 V0 G: O# y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* f0 k3 j$ {: t+ Q8 z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) c: q5 x; q& x& q
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
& _0 K0 v" N# m: s" A3 P+ xon an equal playing field."
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$ |' k8 s& A2 [1 r. F- s& b7 @Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese( G& e1 r( [1 y3 e/ n
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, Y, L3 y I2 [' b; X/ pService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks# V. {. c0 n( E+ Q& e6 v: u
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" i# Z! H4 t0 u! [. V
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
1 w- d( z( ~* r2 E$ ?% O1 ]; KChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the/ E2 }- N3 y' d7 {+ f1 b# G9 v1 C- d. x
institute says.; v& P E7 S7 p, C2 i% k# M, e# o. N% X
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth. q# d O5 }& o
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
. L- [, u2 _2 S( p3 cdeciding whether to take the class.
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2 H. r6 ?/ Z, W"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she6 s3 `. T! ?) i+ R K' a
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite4 G0 U. D8 v ~0 j, U! P' f
class.) C' s; s. O/ J
e$ z# z) j. P+ B0 l3 }( IAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 q9 O: X5 b0 K2 \$ k
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: r% {- }0 z# c5 w) N7 z
occasional frustration.
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5 [7 R0 H+ E; m+ c9 I' E! D: P"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ ^) V' `" H C5 erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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! I3 r. u- O6 y# ~: _% g% ]' l# zRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he/ V8 M+ P. y, o! o) E! k. d
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- U9 [/ |" O Q( I+ RChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.9 o) R/ Q0 L0 u- S4 ^1 N
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
. H6 T b! |: J6 n4 _said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
7 y4 F8 y; \: }, o" } e: fas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ F; J1 ~1 c6 @. Iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: ?. @3 V) I9 C, H" z
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like- W# ?' E, ]5 m. H3 `) G
that," Ms. Freire said.& @3 o2 k1 r) u7 L2 t
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program3 K' ^/ T* W0 w( t
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 c4 ]5 J( d1 t) Xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 r' \' W. p6 F- p. v. Ltime from classes like physical education, music and art to make- j* z- b+ z8 W+ d, n' [
room. V) `( U& B5 S, n; Z
4 [5 I2 Y3 h% q% d2 f7 A/ S1 nChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 N9 Q8 q' |/ U
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 [; G1 y1 C2 M; w, Fcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said./ p- F9 u6 T* I9 y" ^! h" k' x& P, T
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified- x) v! N* b$ v9 u+ A+ ~0 O6 g
because of that missing certification," he said.) s. R5 O: @) U/ b8 U% h) j/ p
: C! p$ Y! v: RThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 f/ t% Y5 }: q P8 Q- _said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia4 n0 L5 W5 U* Q- c- Y1 {* p
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, n( n6 d: D& Y' O4 u* p6 C/ K* u
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& ~0 u/ `, X% m0 ]
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; z( Y0 r9 U6 Y# B5 N
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" D; A' o( y5 U# }% w/ N, G
own."' k+ b; r% f# s; e" d4 `
8 o3 K G& M0 t, ~( H7 U% R( ]Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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