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October 15, 2005. V, F/ A8 H6 x2 p* F( ]3 C, U
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# `9 I8 B( L$ l6 o! K b: G/ q
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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0 B+ A" g! s- u/ ]( W, I: pCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 S8 k6 s" u+ s7 d$ B
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) |( a- H! c1 a0 zSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas. W. b4 x t" U3 ]: P# S
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ U. ~- y* o! G( o8 w# ]' {flag hang from the wall., }2 a' u4 F3 Y _9 c. _
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
" v4 x+ X( J" a4 @4 ]another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- t0 L5 l" ^& f8 Ypracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker5 h" J8 l- ?* b* t* G8 ~# }/ ^( z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 ?6 j4 \! T5 h+ y2 W8 g+ r' r. Dare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
% @! n8 W( [4 n: b: Xat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
' I5 B, ?# n) zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
/ Q" W) y3 \) F+ f" S$ Vschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
; r G# b" T( V* F- M, M* y4 Rto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
2 n6 s9 Z @% Q, l- p) yone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ k( J# L! e, I- c1 j- _
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students1 U- i4 U1 @9 g z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
6 W8 m) t& G2 f! kLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" e% P- O/ G7 s7 D* \2 r* I. w
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
( T4 g$ }2 H" Z! R; u# xChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to3 b7 F$ n' f6 M
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 Placement1 x4 n2 W0 M) k" n
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; k% c% {* w, Z8 ^starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to& m2 U# j% g6 l1 {7 l3 y
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
) I3 I; q- }0 O$ Q, H: Tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
# R! x; A/ Z- |( `of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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0 U3 a" \# i: u6 N"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) Q, j% k- g- o j
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 W+ Q$ ~+ H. J4 A( R4 Z5 ~
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, ]2 q, T; i& R3 \4 h/ J' i0 ]
can." 1 H2 ~: i& A" x4 R
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from" D+ v# T! ~5 r- C0 f% W
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 103 a; u$ q. D( q! ~) x( _+ p
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
8 G8 f' E* C: R5 m% aInstitute in Washington.
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. h4 k3 g, w1 J& b' g"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
. S- [( y2 E, q9 `aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 ~& z! e; t) t1 {
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
1 |. l/ \; r; d$ }6 ?longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be, L! U7 M5 Q% c! q0 N
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
- d( c/ l: \- I# K% Y; xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."' S9 Q; g1 ]+ S( t2 e6 b
; h) w. I$ Y9 M6 Z5 QUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and- n" V9 p( g& F/ }5 h# d
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
. [$ `3 o ]8 p9 Vcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# S0 t" N+ x1 |' t- p
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or0 r: v# m8 P0 u3 I/ _
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. z- i, P' E, }- y% m/ r
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves1 {3 {* }1 A! f4 z* \9 p1 \
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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! J6 g( Y6 G& K! V& X, yMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; F3 j& K/ @5 s! }; p; i+ hproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
& }- O G* T% M( Lcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley( Y( b, x7 u3 K! H: d7 `; q! t- P- c
said. "There will be Chinese and English."+ F& q. X, v' V V
" m6 @: z8 Y! h N+ ?. PFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( F3 l& _% p9 K& q: q% pall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 c. t" }5 q) p7 K" B8 L% Ischools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
( j- v& Z5 b4 c. L2 T( G. Gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: V! d9 D4 L. W( D& \2 O/ e
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to7 M& K% E. y9 Z# N1 C
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 F T& O' i" _& d1 w' i
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 T4 O4 _5 M6 o% h% G* z
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
8 S; f/ c$ f+ e+ ]9 e2 q6 d) Iclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* r) i4 W( R! L( d6 A" O
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to$ i8 P S) ~) V$ Y- w
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 s5 K. X* |- _5 ton an equal playing field."5 J5 s! x$ }) P% z
( I) h5 l9 I: |- B0 `2 \9 x# K9 KSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ y0 ^% j/ b, l. _# g9 Lclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- X( R, B. R# y2 v; } r
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
0 i9 u T I1 Z* m8 HChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An, M' W5 b$ u' [
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in* q9 E# ^- A7 n9 h
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
; H9 V2 b( E- {institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
6 o& b5 Z. {( r* w( Mgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
4 \0 M% B2 x& g# q; T2 Adeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she+ T! F$ t/ A# p1 {
told her daughter.3 ^# J& d: d% Z+ _0 P
8 c: D9 z$ B/ DSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
$ ^- M( e/ Q: c0 `' r; rclass.
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' Q U: A, Z% i- ~" SAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are F1 x- o# j" I. p" C
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
$ e- M3 C, V( g+ C8 D- K+ c" Soccasional frustration.* Z0 }; U; l" Q$ P- n+ _/ S+ a
0 ^/ t/ x/ z1 B( n0 d" ~"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 ] S: Q2 U6 d7 I
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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5 v5 E7 R* S$ H5 G9 p& V5 ~Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! e/ y) L) E9 G w+ j& a1 Rtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
, n4 \, f0 o# H5 U! O4 g5 w- ~# ZChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ l! w; C$ s* m6 e# A! c1 p4 t
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn7 p7 \5 m" Y+ |: N; F/ Y
as many languages as I can."# }0 ]0 _) s; H7 a0 R) J9 x$ ?
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 ]3 E6 L1 f) b+ ?# R
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
- Y5 t9 E6 P: D1 Wmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like0 \: b; L" o$ p7 u
that," Ms. Freire said.& [" a& W0 Q$ {& k+ H! I+ V) J% v
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; Z8 V6 J$ T) \+ I8 j! t7 Ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each c$ ~1 g1 L, d! g& |% A0 x/ U
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking3 N& z0 b3 n+ |" U/ b6 \
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: O0 g1 n7 m( T2 ~# R
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer3 k5 n1 R4 B, V/ p( [/ u# L
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* N# S$ _4 y1 O! O
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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3 k; H$ S1 H$ ~"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified4 A/ G) v! x+ Y. p' Q; a
because of that missing certification," he said.( W/ r: I$ C8 p# Q9 Q+ X6 f
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
4 x/ X7 Y/ x2 [7 q1 `2 Q( k7 x8 psaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# \+ j& X' ~7 b* I; g$ WSociety in New York.- k' @3 t) Q M: ?. ?! m0 T
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% _2 o6 Z8 Z. g( u/ B8 ]
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from/ v2 c3 g/ B1 p0 X# z
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.* F5 L/ f* k3 \; o1 u
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
z4 _% P7 C7 t! @, `2 o6 ?own."
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6 X' Z* F/ E* z/ x$ f6 ^Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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