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October 15, 20055 U( t% M8 e- u6 T: _# Y
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING3 R5 h( K( K! Q
h( g# F# c) c/ o& v2 yCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 q$ }, F7 A/ p& r- Y8 L- @0 ~United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, T8 E' U; W5 k Y
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; Y0 L' }0 D" z. i, C- l$ Hdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 h! ~2 e9 {) ~9 K, B
flag hang from the wall.
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/ d5 {5 _8 d' H+ y) d3 A% hOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 b6 z9 s+ C1 c' ianother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders4 U, _2 d- ~: M8 X* G7 z( A
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) e2 i4 R/ S% X* H6 [boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 b, ?) e: R6 Tare already choosing it over Spanish., Q% A/ x C8 a `$ r! h+ T: I
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ W& G1 V4 p: v+ U% {at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. R2 G: P3 Q7 K2 I+ Xoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
& O4 B+ r, I4 S8 U5 m8 Z4 yschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings: H q3 ~. v$ d7 N3 V
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention/ u3 F9 L; u. O$ B; ^) c- m& \
one of its most difficult to learn.6 _/ [' X0 F# v6 h1 p! K) u) n% j
. R" I/ r' r8 ?" E- V& W. A$ M1 ^Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" v% V. U* B& D7 A1 Jpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
8 s" Z& d, G% v' f. \studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& t, q& E% u; @Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of0 [6 g1 j1 w2 ^5 U5 I& S
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on/ z+ |. O( [. Q/ a& T" m
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to; c0 A: L# H' R6 d6 v. v) J
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( o6 ?0 h' B, y) n* x) s" m
- r0 r7 W1 B% J7 r$ CAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
3 m& f5 c4 K% {1 X4 s' F( o2 Y0 [' OChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, d1 q; Q4 e( \. |
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to9 f7 N* I( c7 H/ t: t. a
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing& b/ E( r' }5 d: y8 I f+ s4 ?
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director, Y7 C# E8 f t y* u
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.5 {2 I7 \( u3 L( X5 u+ R- M: n# {
. H7 Y! B4 H, Y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
1 D8 v: N8 b4 k4 {* n0 }2 p3 q0 lspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ L7 ?$ K$ E) }) YConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we0 k2 i" }, k! o- i: j: D! z+ H
can." 2 @9 ]+ M+ n' B8 @$ P1 I7 \
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 n- d; Y& P: |7 felementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
Q6 k3 |3 W* syears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
% K( B2 ]; m4 T. ?% OInstitute in Washington.# k) z2 b, B! R b# i h
6 h4 v; s, y4 D% S"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* Q* i6 m2 n' v3 q* ^' ^/ R" r
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 K9 V7 @8 b' MMcGinnis said.+ D5 r* i* M* E. V3 k0 D& F
8 O/ ~+ I; F6 l' H: f2 u"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical0 I6 ^: w0 `- s+ ?/ x0 U
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) f# |2 m2 S* l4 ?. Tready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ @6 f" Y, l& v' n4 }) Z! H& pchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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* y& m: R3 X) I& uUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 L# i: Z2 ]% o/ Vsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in) q& X! p" u" m( @( F
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% ~- S3 Q+ ^3 z$ T! j
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 F" L% R. G( } q6 T8 ^5 y2 y7 h
on weekends.& P/ {$ e C' x3 q& S( W
6 l% D4 s, \& }0 U* M& @The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 P& F6 @+ D( R
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves; {" I4 p% @/ }5 k& y$ p
students who are not of Chinese descent.% r y0 u1 L9 n+ I/ o0 J9 a' b! Q2 Y5 k
& a; }" F5 q2 h1 a8 D) RMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said' e( E. [, z6 e+ |2 |' J5 {6 e! \
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 A N0 q7 Z5 i s0 f8 D6 S6 r
competition. # E9 v6 K/ G. ^+ U& Y" Y
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley, f9 y' R: Z3 y4 |1 D4 c8 a9 @
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
2 H* m; J0 ~' P( g( Nall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse- m' p& D# C" l; e5 ?3 t; o/ S! S
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 y U7 A8 Z. O; s/ O3 Wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, U9 A8 z. ` Q8 q+ i& e5 Swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 j4 N% C. B* R% O. \0 e* sthe school system last year.
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2 f/ O. @8 l5 _) a! l2 b1 ?1 `. mThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 }4 ^% N9 U1 c
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.* O) ]0 d0 u1 y3 }+ e
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
* z0 s9 S# @) j z b/ P7 Gclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago% H+ [: c$ M/ k( B% D6 R" k' N- s
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to# n4 Z7 Y2 m3 h4 z& s* l6 Z; ?9 b
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet2 o8 v. N& R5 z) ]/ @7 j
on an equal playing field."
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+ [' l# B- h1 k6 kSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# K/ q1 R. a# Wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign' U) {1 T, s7 F/ I
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks m, T" T0 c& R/ P1 k, b- V( w
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An6 U z+ J* N3 `0 W, x) U1 L
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 G" B! ?9 }, |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the/ {* e8 ?) |8 Y0 n r% r; c/ _0 H
institute says.
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$ t! x) i; o( r' m; FSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 n, z9 G4 E& z& ~6 Ygrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) P; u j) S, D1 i. j; Ideciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
$ [, v6 W- o8 htold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
" x, D" R7 {8 @# J, @6 p$ mclass./ l0 x& T4 w8 V6 [4 r
+ R, c& T6 c aAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are4 {. ]; N ?8 W& J
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 g& l, p8 V; i1 J. |
occasional frustration.& C$ S' Z6 o9 |0 t* |
( l, @( a% a( R& j"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, r; P. a& G' @7 M$ N( c: erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 x% _3 @6 z# N' s8 w' I, a5 z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
* B& j8 ~) j# xChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul, s6 x) j- T& U* a" R( `
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn' J& b+ o/ c0 x/ r. N p* ~$ ~# j
as many languages as I can."
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2 H8 d( @7 @: d# q5 O" \Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 E Z5 _4 `3 d) n0 i4 z' C0 T/ S( d& {skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
0 J+ `: B0 P6 L4 S) g( j- A s0 ^market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- _: P, k) f' z3 ^4 dthat," Ms. Freire said.1 [0 G9 `3 D& S1 s, O- x3 t
2 P! x$ y- J+ X$ hMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
* Y }5 I; a& T! `4 Nhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' B7 l% j# }8 L$ Yschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) y. g9 q! @7 H4 K+ [9 ^1 ftime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
& a! ^7 h: [6 F. }% ]( ]room.
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9 i/ m& n* U' F( {+ j- e5 e& cChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
& D( Z, O% G' Y4 w: f% k3 aChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 p% B- K. H! r
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ @0 L+ G0 u& Q+ m
because of that missing certification," he said.
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8 o6 K7 u9 X; D# m9 wThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,+ I7 E$ e2 r0 G: S) S8 y2 q, l
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: C H& F: I, A4 F7 N) @8 vSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the8 ^& v. W) r: E, [3 j" _( q% G
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& x9 u1 _$ T; x, Q% i4 Athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.% p) b& d* H3 j1 L+ ?0 C. ^
) Q7 H- g5 Q3 W8 \"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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7 Y1 J0 ~ {" B f [ ZCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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