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October 15, 2005 [5 M* p+ y$ z1 s9 Z& w
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity* i) {) S. I# c" `) h% Y3 z
/ V' J6 r; I6 o1 f# V, s, mBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 C# `$ S& k0 E$ o
( x2 g: k5 S+ ]0 n0 k) d$ q! sCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
4 ]( D& Z0 Y% G1 R' h( s$ ?2 IUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary; |3 h# F- `* J# }
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 @5 d, E5 T$ B' Idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
! Q. U j- u- |9 q8 ^! K' zflag hang from the wall.0 Y; U) E; z, x. L' a+ h
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
" @9 M2 ]% L( q0 V# z' i" t; T0 |another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* v$ W8 s$ @8 i; \7 mpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker+ b5 X* D6 _, g+ o
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 S' r9 P O3 S2 h _: c
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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3 K* \1 d) y# q& R* N. s! ?+ R$ {" f% W"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. B m B+ d; ~1 N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city" e- n& B( @( H/ h- H A
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ ? R2 H+ t" m! C! P5 G9 m, i- C# Vschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* z. q% Y" P- Q! Z: m; X& r+ h: {
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention+ q7 Q% C+ l3 h* y K( T
one of its most difficult to learn.
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1 H- O% C3 `) D) V2 ~7 ~) U, pLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
; f g9 Q# A C! w2 U% u8 V5 jpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! v5 L/ K- @! l) V9 X, v! w
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.% _$ s" [/ O4 e2 N2 T
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
1 c# V; I! N+ X8 ^8 t) {4 u' STennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. q) W3 A. {3 {+ Y6 q5 o5 R+ JChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
# a% `. k3 H9 f6 v8 `* ~3 a8 Rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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0 D! K4 F8 e4 I8 V3 oAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement7 e! ? Z1 o e: V
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country2 t" N( A! f. G, _
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
) d0 |) A9 D. L' sdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing5 y* g- i) z6 R, ?) K
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director1 M* V+ F: K7 T \9 Q8 _9 o
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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# c4 ~7 {2 P$ C& @"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; \1 |- A1 f' H2 C' V0 Lspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 M) X: d: [! T8 xConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we& f; l" A; I' E4 F/ w* [+ p: }
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% z9 D2 n8 O* _6 h
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
" E! E- D S a3 Z2 pyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; w( |. i2 v8 M* K. b o; S- }Institute in Washington.& T+ ?1 ]0 Y8 ?/ m
- J0 z! ^. Q! ["Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( f4 }5 `$ O9 v6 o7 v8 {aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
& {+ {0 e3 ?$ b S( ~% U* _McGinnis said.1 X1 }/ m @7 A: ~
0 y: `' a0 H3 L( H M: G"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical! J" ~: \* p& J) |8 l3 O/ e
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' @; }- R# s+ u" [9 U* G1 V
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
* }0 K1 _+ n1 K( P- u; vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
9 l0 M) V) ?2 gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 {5 G9 ~3 V: D( r2 q! d& p4 D
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of& M5 L& S1 X& m4 p
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or9 ]4 x7 w7 U! H& x1 c9 L% i$ T
on weekends.
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+ I1 U& N7 _* ^8 @) s: D5 SThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public% t; Q0 B. i9 T
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
' M* s. W/ w+ Y8 ~( Astudents who are not of Chinese descent." P4 q0 g/ r/ n, e1 z/ X
2 o& Y0 G% @' n5 k* Y. }8 f% tMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
+ {: y- C/ t; M- zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the& I; w$ R( | ?1 Z P% j# w
competition. " h* x# h" ~# [) p2 K
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 K [; B/ W. j s
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly% W8 u2 ]. Z0 {
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse: C( C5 Z5 k' v9 h; M
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ L4 \: m: T( m+ z; ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
* d( \& J, z: vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 s# ^4 i5 m( i5 T
the school system last year.3 l$ S. W- k7 I1 x4 L9 a
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this7 I8 d* o2 H+ m; E! R9 j
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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: T8 H7 @, s* z9 t7 h7 T( S7 _"They have a great international experience right in their own
7 V# i) p+ U/ e4 Sclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago4 u, }8 Q2 m+ s& H
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; s* N; @2 V/ g- N4 l) O) @help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
: S7 Z' A. e# X9 i) b0 Qon an equal playing field."
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; B8 [# e, p @Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
; B# { o4 u3 U& _classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign: I3 W/ ?9 l- U4 f5 h
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 g2 }( k% ~& I. h2 U9 xChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
s. K. P- X8 ^4 f* raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in3 D* a0 P. E6 p6 R$ h9 k
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the) Z4 b7 `& j" Q/ M( `% R, {
institute says., N) G0 V& q! F# m3 s
. k) x: A" n7 nSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ Q6 F0 g: }9 u/ g+ R# p1 E% Ograder at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# z) {& Q0 p. }* K1 {" |( ^- S( Qdeciding whether to take the class.
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, q( s1 i+ A4 `! ?9 Q5 o"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
4 w$ ?( \0 y2 C- x8 P. D' rtold her daughter.+ H- L' k E' x, B- Z
7 o* B8 X) u. m5 W- s! eSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# y3 I: p' }% B+ @
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ b" ]( ]# V) _0 m
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: g' C1 i9 T2 @- C! M
occasional frustration.2 V' ~( T2 F c Z6 ]# K
% V0 L3 }: Y& F" y+ `) C( G, @" N"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a8 v( L" ^, e! N2 F: e) {1 p
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% u* l: { W( F* r7 D
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 w, c, N+ N/ a( Dtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: k0 ^- C& l( Z* \2 {3 ?3 q& l
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( ^1 W$ e0 J$ I) u0 o ?+ j
1 p# Q; O7 d4 L; t( y+ v! {"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* Y7 m& d) V& v( l' c: Ysaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
6 ]! ^+ X6 o; das many languages as I can."5 V$ D' r$ V& b0 V0 T& M, B
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the% A4 \: s- Y' R1 n( N
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 D2 @; X+ ]- F( H F5 g9 L) i* {
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like2 q& N ^ p, z8 r1 y, T
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program' M1 J- x( j. R) o
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
o& T& }9 W- J3 @9 S% X$ ~& `3 Sschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& J7 n7 r+ |, Utime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
9 e7 o6 m! @' S: R7 v( M; i; z f0 p+ |room.
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; W8 E4 G5 h0 y# WChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer' H% Y0 _6 _" f. T+ K9 `( P; U
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American8 P) N" z. r1 q9 y5 Z5 U, h/ [
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 h/ K9 `0 i8 h8 `# D: o
# e( P# A1 B6 i# z" O' f! `/ t6 w"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ `* r+ l: x9 { v4 @
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
" K( q7 g" Y1 R7 c8 Z$ Dsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia% n) U% Q3 k+ o8 K0 I
Society in New York.4 C* u7 i0 ~! J! y9 |/ `
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the6 W# ^! A$ ]3 T2 j
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
; c! g7 o9 u! ?3 w+ ^ Othe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.! @6 ^1 \: j% y! s6 N0 e ]
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( f+ o. @, \3 h9 {# n
own."- E* c8 y2 f( h* c& w
% @8 j {, ]4 g/ j: z) gCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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