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October 15, 2005
7 K0 T3 t+ Q6 IClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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' O3 R/ X9 _8 u- ICHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
1 ]3 L$ n3 m; }+ JUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary" `0 |- |& A# c5 [; y; X; W6 c
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 f: x. V% q; a! s0 Z) D
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese3 [ [! k5 ] ]
flag hang from the wall.* l, k1 N% A2 I: L
* m2 u7 x: }. Z3 r/ GOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one9 ^. |) @1 R, a) ~2 p
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders P( L s4 r5 ~( j/ Q7 X
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker' ?2 h8 d) W- ^, |7 z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
/ {6 ?% a, K$ f gare already choosing it over Spanish.
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% T' H2 O5 o; f6 X! d5 x"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 w( W0 J9 c. l$ x) Aat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city9 F" D% x; z2 J/ L4 [
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". X% q7 W" L4 X& x% O( [! U0 y" e
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
- K( e2 X& t/ Sschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; \% D: L& W) O. Q
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
& }6 W% e3 @( v+ w6 A. Pone of its most difficult to learn.# @# b& m9 l6 Y6 W" q% t0 ]( `; K
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to8 M2 k/ r& I2 c! B0 }; o7 A
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students# g9 [9 V9 c# \; E
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
5 s6 c+ m3 q; u- o+ zLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 V4 p2 g. k7 V7 E$ E" tTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ e- K% V! f; K ^1 q
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 D Y. 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
( x% F( X7 U! @Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country( L# k( P% n8 d% E& w c5 `' \
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
1 \8 C2 u) ?' Q. z8 cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# d+ V: d7 S8 J( t/ j: F* W
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. I: ?; ^& ^6 l4 B Q$ v$ K7 xof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 k0 b6 K8 [ \ r/ t+ C
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education1 }8 T0 m9 i$ x
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 @4 D! S0 [; I1 [+ ^1 rcan."
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: ]0 Z. }. a' I" i; k- T$ {The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from4 q; F0 v! i! y
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
6 E' k0 z% ^* s( zyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language6 o3 y/ E' M! C7 T D7 z
Institute in Washington.9 h' _1 v: u+ d8 V# F3 ^% V
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# x/ H" G% Y! w0 P! d# g$ _' ]$ |
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
# k" ]/ [5 u' JMcGinnis said.* ]& B& R: r9 O( h5 C4 V. b
3 ~8 _! y5 _' J" F" I! c"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical% q9 p6 p) Z# M# _ v- e
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 M9 k2 {1 U: T; l) m% d& C* Uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 w6 A8 g+ {) A; `$ m6 ?/ rchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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. {/ Q% t i+ F6 V- H2 i6 xUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ O6 D. [- m" [6 _+ s7 x; Qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 ?( @" p% U" \# {3 f! ?* f
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' \2 b* ]6 j5 @2 P5 xChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 T8 Y5 a0 k" I; T. Uon weekends.
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[0 |! \$ n( n; vThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: f# e5 X" E" g) \& T, z4 f
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
/ ]# r& j# p; } F# v; jstudents who are not of Chinese descent.: P: v1 O6 i, A% t
: m0 ?5 u# K9 H$ t! T$ f- }0 ZMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 S6 f8 {4 {5 B# u; kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: e5 v. ^6 q# K3 Y4 |
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ q5 C" @& V4 m2 \# N4 ssaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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& O3 U% ]+ M1 Q( p) uFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( P% Q1 ]( v$ }* @5 ]all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ A" q: k( c7 z2 @% [ {! y& Xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
i# J/ j0 F# x7 O4 O# Fkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
) k7 O! S& \) i x1 t4 Z, iwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
: ]6 |& j& L5 e- t5 J4 \the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this* G6 Z- d- K! B. ]/ R0 {: a
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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- _9 `9 J7 ]7 [% o, d"They have a great international experience right in their own3 F- ]$ N9 C9 @
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago# l& l" v0 v6 S( y5 @3 O1 a
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ `! a( K. s4 |+ z3 v. S9 w4 mhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
B8 r' ^, @- F- p3 h; |" eon an equal playing field."& O1 z# X. F0 u! V" H
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese+ ] r! k: h0 u3 E! ]. z9 X, `: e
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
6 `4 D) P+ ~( wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 B) m4 ]+ ~$ l$ w! c( {: s" zChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An; C3 R: h) ?, { f8 b8 D ?- U7 y) K) [
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in6 [% m i; x0 O; F- e
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 N/ w0 a, `& F( H+ [2 D: jinstitute says.8 F& A! u/ N' J! A3 L+ k5 |
1 _! l9 p0 v% ~+ O' z* BSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
3 m& r- h2 m8 Z) e6 \7 y/ z; ~grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before v$ |0 Y! w$ {" v' f3 O
deciding whether to take the class." D$ P- y4 d5 u% L6 a
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* k" @' e' Z' Q9 Dtold her daughter.2 P# K8 N$ d7 r# q# P b* \
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
5 l- M' {+ z* x% R/ R3 o1 i1 ]1 jclass.
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3 S$ R G, O0 C9 UAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
/ r3 ?4 M! Z* Vstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 \9 l9 U) O; N2 l: g1 m' Moccasional frustration.; ~( t2 x; C+ s: b% ?7 _
3 ?3 { H/ k. J: f, Z- ^; Y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
4 z9 q# d% p8 ~; h: C2 F0 r7 |recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 L' Y2 w% g4 G5 P
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he& S* ^2 s# ?' n" x. {
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 l/ G m, {+ o2 B# Q. K
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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) {1 k$ \* d3 b/ G' e; F0 R$ a; p$ ~"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul Q& j7 C, C q1 Q) R
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn5 k; H% H/ b8 U6 v. Y9 c
as many languages as I can."4 }' ^! P7 E. T2 X' u/ K: d. I$ q
6 Q0 [: T" t- j5 ^Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
9 K D2 J0 C3 I9 H8 p1 X; Jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
) T2 h$ n# U* F- F% f, L6 gmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
4 P; I1 o+ k- F4 ?* F- Nthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program. ]& p8 S* Q! P3 a( O
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 S3 l6 D1 `: J8 ~9 S" s
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
* ]0 R! ^7 z4 b! jtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make! R% b1 }7 H* v7 w( Z
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 D) h7 V* ]3 sChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
8 w; B! V3 f! N- _; acollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- d9 K. Z* V3 V7 |9 P0 d, q' Q
+ p: t# o# n: Z# ?# h"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 G* S! P) V/ K# {/ \2 q; p) F4 ubecause of that missing certification," he said.
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* B$ h% Z$ q5 ]4 T6 a q2 AThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 T7 y( S& R8 Q/ o# ^said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia8 M# L5 B) B6 \( e5 |# [
Society in New York. J$ M7 b0 h8 R$ n
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
1 P& v3 G& M/ LChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) y9 n$ E' l: ~* ]: \* \
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 r9 W4 `7 T: c/ \/ K5 Y
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our i; {% N) f' s# d
own."5 H. l0 t B1 o
" P$ S4 `" {! o- {$ ^8 \' M+ ]Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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