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October 15, 2005/ W9 \, q% ^" M9 \
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity$ T- y/ k; w0 X R, z
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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. T' {3 ` D# m$ r/ `' {6 t0 iCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the9 c& H8 G$ u) H. u6 D
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary) k1 D0 H5 o1 i9 T
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas1 @3 G% {- h4 v& t+ x0 w% c. w
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
7 G- P. H) T1 \: sflag hang from the wall.
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( Z7 A& p% i4 H8 }One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
# y" n$ r+ P. L$ K( w# fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% O6 b" c+ G4 ?4 b4 q# C+ epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker) e8 o0 W/ l2 x- m1 R0 a
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
; b3 _+ m( k0 Fare already choosing it over Spanish.' h1 N3 x) E. ~
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal1 Z3 v: |/ c, \0 E$ l* I- |
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
0 u- X- k. w, N3 X7 h' Uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. z# y0 g% N4 L2 l" F4 V2 S) rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings w4 L6 }. A# e; Q: A" J" f7 F
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention8 q) m# T) ` h
one of its most difficult to learn.
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- F& u& e4 c* C; y) G! y. mLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- a! j' S) v7 S" Z8 D! E4 y' _. Ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
0 H. f4 h9 T9 l: o4 estudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 a4 X- H8 D( h( p
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
( m9 S: E; q% ]" L9 JTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ T- q* z4 r: ]3 `1 Z; HChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 g8 j4 ~$ N1 P8 Uimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( O c- ?1 v% o+ s7 G
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
/ x h; _+ O" o0 i* X3 RChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( M" M2 B6 o- E$ Vstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
2 o0 ^- y- i) J( F+ w6 {develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ B r3 b: L9 e7 a) _: @curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director$ S1 S4 r/ n( l0 v7 W3 s
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.' E3 W" W. s% o7 ]% ?
, ?: p+ \) _! i; W"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# U* A0 d$ y5 Q( b# h* Q" i) L
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education% D' H9 J8 N. m, Q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
' p, O e/ l, ~8 b% rcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
- w4 e. K |* t3 C$ e J. kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
) Y1 j2 h/ E( iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
! ?8 z8 o% a+ } kInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 d3 n5 G3 t% F) P' V* [aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 p3 n6 e9 c) f* \& I4 rMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
3 F, a7 B+ e( z: T* p3 B3 `longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 v% k' i7 j; u: p8 S/ V- A. |; g
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( r* E2 z d% f% h4 o8 S) X( q( a
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
4 X7 t. X6 q7 v! M0 Ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ a H( u' u4 y! q- r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
% ^1 ^1 e! B3 a$ d5 eChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
: j# ?. v8 w7 [on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
$ k' P1 B4 R7 s7 \2 Pschools during the regular school day and primarily serves* O! b/ Y2 x8 l( @( @) @+ T3 J% f
students who are not of Chinese descent.! v2 m; }3 `& a& I% }9 A
( g! [% f' D& \Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said. x4 }% g6 d) f2 q$ Y9 Y
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the. w* J) Y% H# j0 I! R' l/ Q
competition. " @% r0 [( `; N A8 ]8 U2 a0 ?
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
. h/ b/ T+ K3 q5 F0 U$ a- r7 ysaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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- [4 I; ~2 w. B: mFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" m. O" S9 b4 k4 a3 H' s C- h8 \
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
) f( t9 t e3 V( c/ C0 Yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 s; e, V1 K% T8 _ m
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ c# }) k5 |$ B- m1 d' K, d }
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
; S$ ^( _$ |! Tthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
2 G }& B) Y) ^" Zyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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# ^+ `2 w& x7 u* \"They have a great international experience right in their own
& S2 e4 i# g* s7 y: ?classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago% }/ ?- u' r- _' d: K3 u
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
9 M$ V5 r9 i; ^4 Q) P5 R1 x3 t* Lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
% U/ j, ]2 w I( T6 \# t; L5 P) ton an equal playing field."& K3 B$ H; I2 \ P6 X: x
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese! S6 a+ X$ r' r- N: N# m
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign( f' A/ a# N' X) }5 f o
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- f8 r- M5 e; V
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 O1 l+ [2 d l caverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ s8 ]; ? A& n5 @. A6 eChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the$ B0 ^/ M; N# v$ B% [0 u
institute says.
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) c) }+ A& n+ `& \Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 ?6 I! F }. ]1 Cgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) b1 W. ~8 Z2 H3 F! p
deciding whether to take the class.
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# {& @$ `! G' i V- ~6 l"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she; e6 ~6 t; X: _/ H
told her daughter.- W8 \, M) g5 P! i& G5 c
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite V1 v+ [0 M& l4 M1 { }
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
: o% F' T: U. q$ [" ^studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without, H% b2 M! n/ ~: p) l2 `: _( y
occasional frustration." x' X6 M& V- H* M: m
% E+ b, l' T& l0 G5 ?"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. x' a' m: y# C# ]4 ~recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 f& f& X5 L' Q' g* b
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ H& S1 O6 u6 z* }* a0 j
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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- ~! O1 V1 t1 U+ p"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul7 X1 N6 v1 V& B
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 S. M1 j; z& F; D5 W
as many languages as I can."% {+ ]6 y2 q% u: y5 j9 M
. |$ ~5 l, F; G8 {: F. m. zAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
! {& {4 W8 n m$ m( w: A. l+ Qskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
" N2 W5 | _# Y8 M8 ?market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
# M) a" U0 n+ e0 W$ }5 [) {+ qthat," Ms. Freire said.
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8 ]8 l9 U8 z' T. c! ?5 n( VMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) ` Z) V( O8 c% y. Y$ h2 ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
1 i- n; n* o* e: H! M2 aschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
S" ?" s( V! x$ ttime from classes like physical education, music and art to make3 t9 B# N; f. W7 L
room.6 y3 Y+ D% c {4 x8 y0 n
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer# J. J1 u$ H9 [" N
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
9 R0 i- C% {" K6 L- {" \% Icollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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4 a4 f* G& I8 y"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 H4 T; X; z; Ebecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ |) `9 l i: n% u5 C+ dsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia6 n4 G# q% \! p
Society in New York.
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" ~) ^' T: w: Q6 M" rSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' f% ~2 {4 J% O1 `! v, LChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
" ?5 O- q$ S; M: }3 k* v( h5 L: @the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 d% c0 N% X. o7 f9 R: o
own."* ^$ g7 O) D* O/ `4 ^& {5 g
' N/ B6 @7 Y3 \7 UCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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