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October 15, 2005
! j; s4 |, D: h* L+ qClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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$ k. K( Q7 V" d7 U+ B. b9 x7 H" c, xBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING, y" }( x! ^9 \2 w& d; @, @& j1 n
( ]/ `& C1 E! E* qCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
0 `$ @) L0 C4 V8 DUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary% @. R3 E" Y' Y( V7 q
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 v7 y! A9 `5 d5 N3 W. I4 X
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& z% Z$ S3 _7 d! \! v
flag hang from the wall.+ e1 _2 o3 r+ o. G. Y( z
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 v6 f9 f6 g2 `! S9 x% Eanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
9 t' s( r! C) ^: ^* ]* d0 Spracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker" ^7 i9 H) B3 D4 x5 R/ a b
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* P) T/ _% D6 @ _/ fare already choosing it over Spanish.8 V2 j5 K) [; D4 h+ r& |
2 k0 ]% ]1 I0 ^3 j" }3 B4 S! ?. u"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. I: I4 |/ Z7 W7 `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 a* V# ]& T7 t7 Q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments, r- n6 ^' |+ }' V/ ]4 X
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
" C" D" Y& f5 R7 p/ Z6 @, Bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- Y& i8 F+ ~1 i: ?7 O2 A% Tone of its most difficult to learn.! G& u, G! m: c1 [2 Y. [
" W/ t+ _- {: ^, p, }: X: eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
' W$ i2 v/ p C* {public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 M3 ~" O/ l9 r5 m7 D- [studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# c& W; u# e, Y2 bLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 z r2 y: b; a! _7 e0 CTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
! C3 P# `5 y3 D+ z! xChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 ?$ R; A4 `; w( d$ G. x
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, R! i0 W2 U6 n3 v+ [* h$ S
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country$ r( e; {. x3 U( a+ V: p2 P0 q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 U$ n& |0 j1 j* ~develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. R, Q( `3 R5 l+ L
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director0 b4 [* Y# r. t4 W! c! v& {" _
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- `. @; Q5 x" J, _4 F8 M+ L# D, y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
. x( {; U9 R( q( U) e1 D) \) `speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 N9 [9 c( f; e8 n& P7 FConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
, @$ [4 @; ]! x/ N# Kcan." ' }: k3 a$ \2 w
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 H6 `$ g8 C- c: h8 p5 f% f$ zelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
9 n/ m) |7 g; s7 |! ~: \. kyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
5 ^- M9 y3 f4 q5 `Institute in Washington.' K. s. u: m1 z u
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
. I0 F9 t) O# c/ ~aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
) |' y1 J6 P4 D9 `, A/ kMcGinnis said." p. e5 ^8 t# g: v
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
5 Q7 o, {( C' s9 ?1 glongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
6 A1 u; T6 u8 s. [$ G: I- Mready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
/ y( x4 J, J4 X0 U5 Cchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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- \. G7 X# e% k4 |2 ~- OUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# K0 [+ W9 f9 }- t' h. asecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in9 b% \' I* }3 J7 Y! n6 ]2 r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ }9 t& }$ o7 q) f1 \% @& f$ r! o" N+ KChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ ^6 @" n" K, T- ~6 K3 ?
on weekends.' K* k8 h/ M. H3 }, Z
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% I3 D0 M- v' w* ] Oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves, x( }% I4 G5 [
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 f$ {$ \% p: N- y; V: {
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
% N) A0 D& G+ u* R$ K2 Vproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
3 P$ T3 I2 }; y+ icompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 I8 c! m5 G0 w8 [4 V [" psaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 S; y5 F' L5 E3 gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
% p- s" f7 R {8 `schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from" V& x# J: g0 P4 k! d) I
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students& l& ^6 r0 p- ?( \" J( X9 o
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to/ L2 d( ^1 W6 e
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this [1 w* [0 M% [; H* k$ ^
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 ], v! r( T* U5 T0 S' n" B3 m
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' _$ L2 [3 w' ~! e7 i
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
" J1 c' i( h* L& K0 ^% x' ?, Vhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
8 r e8 I# Y+ J% @8 _& `1 ~on an equal playing field."
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4 {- M; b) c" T( GSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
" t+ i4 g; b$ q9 u6 w( h" u5 Z# oclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
8 v* g( _7 c8 Y2 lService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 z6 A" l" U9 z4 ~! P
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" s* L, K V( Kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
0 i. g( s5 A V& N/ F; ?9 M7 @7 fChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the0 H: {5 x8 \4 X# I& s" q" u! {# G
institute says.
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7 |8 D- ]( |' n8 [: E# ]; pSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; ?& U9 H/ X* H% O+ N7 j
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) X; l. I1 G4 e. L# X& L
deciding whether to take the class.# d% X9 X. J5 Y1 h
# t0 L& q% {6 q$ L+ w"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she" F8 ^2 L# A$ A B3 ]! p- R& {
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 R: n2 H7 s+ q0 k/ Hclass.
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6 R7 v- D% o, {7 @! n+ _At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
3 @9 ^# J. O' R! Y, h$ D/ a8 Dstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without6 A9 J4 a- N8 M/ N! n5 x9 D1 g% v* Z
occasional frustration./ e* F& z% \( L6 i
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! `, S8 N3 O) Vrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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) |* T+ `! j. M# f* BRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
% h9 Q! S; a* Z3 {+ v8 ntaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 [* w% m2 `7 E% E8 S9 Z
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
9 _" z2 ]6 h6 }, n5 a8 ]said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" i _( E1 B) M& b4 `# j0 [* P% K
as many languages as I can."
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6 O, a1 W) n- f" P" XAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& A% L$ Q4 _# W( \" z4 k5 i; y( T
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 |# }9 \* T4 T f2 _4 Y
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like3 Q' t2 ~9 \+ ?5 T) K; _6 O
that," Ms. Freire said.: g9 C/ x2 A- N% z* i& l$ g" ]
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program# F) P/ A2 H+ _, d6 h8 g
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- K+ n2 D: w C" aschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking$ b# [$ U8 ^! }0 [5 e
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make1 g& v- n1 p3 n! ?/ D6 ]
room.0 s4 w/ X: p, O8 D
! a! Z% A# J6 oChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' W7 p! n/ [& p% m. n* @# }, oChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
' U% i. X* F# Hcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.1 J* L; l2 i9 b. e
# u3 U. s/ ^7 i8 b4 L"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified7 [' @( k& ^/ a0 e
because of that missing certification," he said.
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) \3 a" x7 D% Y. H: W8 k$ N1 L& w4 H" TThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! M. t8 a- h& V$ u. nsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- {' v" Z' I9 c: i3 mSociety in New York.* O, s! d' S1 z( I+ m7 F
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
* j" P& \ F. _* W0 EChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' V- G2 l0 \* K9 Ethe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.( ?- h& c4 r8 g0 s: V: A! x
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our9 @1 b I- z! Y8 l; ?7 c0 `3 h
own."
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' B* |) z4 s" @9 P5 a$ zCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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