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October 15, 2005
( T+ g3 k' Q) h' p. A a0 c2 @6 \Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity* N6 g' L( N) u7 S
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ {1 S. u$ X" N( C' H: L& N; x
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
$ n- X$ C% h) X8 x/ Y9 _School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% u4 _, W9 l( g' y7 R$ t% T" Xdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 ?7 I5 w; D: |/ Q. \6 Oflag hang from the wall.3 E1 p- j& G: |! ^; @$ d
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
) |; m; ]4 i% C' l$ q% `another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders& D n/ F" |( ^+ k
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( A0 Z$ @5 }% m6 r( t. ~# V o/ x# Y0 xboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students' m" }: ^. g6 [0 Z
are already choosing it over Spanish., Q: @0 o$ H$ L1 x9 V0 P9 i6 Q+ s
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal, b J' g- f: G
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- h9 ?# s8 [0 ]4 h/ O6 q' y% @offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."! w }5 ?( u7 J) v
1 v0 E2 }& ~5 x% _2 SWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,8 U( r) {! M! y) z# V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
9 Y. t' E1 K. u. N+ S) Q \to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* L% p9 W I( \+ @ e* C) C5 X
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
7 y% n+ Z$ c5 w$ x: n1 x; _public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- L$ a; R+ N- o, @" ?studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. l. J0 V% ?: Z% x1 @* l
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ m8 w) J- N2 w) P, _
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: U" B' B$ b9 e$ I" E0 @$ j9 D
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" d$ K6 a [" V/ e: U# L" _
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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& n1 e: E" ?! e- K, |After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement% r d( E) A' i
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country* a1 }6 J/ L- x, e: t
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ z' N* u% `) }1 _1 {
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing; T" E$ W/ F5 M( w
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" |' t/ f- l7 r# `, }/ l- v
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- Y3 }, S3 E+ O( w
4 {0 A& ]9 o" m& W* g9 {- S"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
" ~) [6 F& O8 N) h( ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
7 m/ Q+ N( I2 H9 x) }+ YConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" H4 @( \2 M9 E3 V3 }
can." 9 ^1 [: J; T7 g9 b
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from5 Z! t0 ~) C# ~4 A* e' L8 c
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# u6 J$ f3 r8 f2 n: R# eyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) d! I0 ~8 }; LInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 Q/ \# [# L. x% L* @aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; L& `: V# h4 R+ z* t: H, V1 L% x
McGinnis said.+ m* w8 r* p! m, n
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
5 c6 G/ F) |6 h' L( r: P- llongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 o, w0 p: N% n$ {8 \; kready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
/ C. p3 x/ {, Y, a* Cchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" ~3 a- n6 I+ R5 y7 G
% }. D& Q, N, U' \$ C, s) HUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
! ]6 Z/ J+ W4 ^! n6 X. E# G# N: _secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- @% J9 |2 X. N9 M, B( n1 kcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 c7 |0 P% R- Z5 l/ t- K
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 _. c% ]. Q& d5 {
on weekends.1 K V' @% x \' V1 ~
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
0 a( Z2 T6 h/ ?2 Hschools during the regular school day and primarily serves# K" [6 X/ i1 ~ k N6 d
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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% b4 l( ?. v" R. w% T! yMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
`' k- I% {$ W7 a! u' Q7 zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
: J6 `) u1 }8 v8 mcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley. ~3 i/ a) B! W! W$ G% _
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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* N: B1 ~ w1 r D) s2 u! A; d, {7 QFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ @ e9 L& D. r# a
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse' w. {$ k+ f5 U) q% u8 W) _
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
8 q6 B: o; o9 q3 Mkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, I% J7 H$ ?3 E* e7 z5 Q) K" P
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
) _! B ~3 _; e3 V/ z @the school system last year.' O Y- m1 w. k( F5 [' L0 Z" K/ X
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
`. h2 Q. J+ _# Y" s @# R" byear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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! r3 _& n+ {/ w"They have a great international experience right in their own7 a& G0 V {. y _ N9 \
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, c; o% O( ?& l
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to' n" Z1 E6 w" @
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, y5 b1 b2 Y; N; N4 o8 Y
on an equal playing field."* P1 L+ p: J/ N5 b( ]
/ u5 c' x$ B0 h$ P2 R- ESome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. ~( e4 p1 \2 x7 v( B
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign2 H4 B$ q8 z% Q4 \, q+ e3 o- L
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks: r% V$ ?7 J1 Z) y: I
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 S# |) |7 ^1 r& Oaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in T, t# D- E" G% i/ Q3 \
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 H, f* h8 b; ]9 e; f
institute says.
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" r2 F) }5 r8 y/ t( aSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth0 U0 U: w! u0 i+ }
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 Q+ k* p# o+ ^) _ k) {& ndeciding whether to take the class.0 V1 }! [. {( d+ N' V
/ t% t( e* A. w9 ` u, `% R/ |"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) x6 d$ `& D1 @0 N" h" ftold her daughter.
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, i" U2 p) m6 @! d( CSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 V7 ]& T8 J; G- J& [8 j9 q
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 E! C/ n. Y! s7 E0 d Y; t y4 p7 t
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 {" q* Q2 h! N% |( r
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ b+ A- W8 `( p% P$ l* d; Erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 y9 Y% z+ Y4 D9 Ytaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with$ ^! |% E% w [, ~4 v
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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# R8 Z7 n- M9 P"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
N3 n! k4 |& T" b7 B% rsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 a2 x% b+ y3 H% T6 L# E. Aas many languages as I can.": ^3 o7 m8 |4 s4 a* C
% r7 U: @9 K1 G1 ^6 A4 kAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- y) \1 a% O; R% g- eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. U% L; Y* D. v* N2 ]4 |) W& Kmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
& A: O7 B2 N3 R$ Tthat," Ms. Freire said.( L ]4 B* D* `3 j# e( u, r h+ Q
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% ^. T! j, _5 g+ F5 e
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
. f8 c' Y8 s9 O l Pschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
2 p" u! U3 r0 L$ l+ s# X) ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make) e; f9 z9 b H! P" Y" h& R
room.
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2 D9 L, x, a" X7 iChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* B4 N$ k" @. y; H$ R) N' M
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
/ E! u$ `7 ], g/ M8 r! Z$ Y/ kcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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. I# j! |5 {; v9 {) d Y: w"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified. o2 e7 s- p' m( m/ ] n$ {" ~
because of that missing certification," he said.! @( M' ]% _4 N3 o( p
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, u4 x7 y- t p/ l
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
3 F1 H( [) E+ y9 b* MSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ o9 s9 s0 H; o5 q& Q. U) aChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from8 Y. i- f9 R( K9 g: o
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: \* D- P6 e# @- x/ Y8 G" f, Z' A
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, x9 e+ ~( d& Y% J
own."
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" j- ^* Y% Z/ ^2 CCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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