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October 15, 20055 l5 D! m1 r: V. Q+ A/ S
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING& q. i, z: D8 L9 F+ a; _6 r: c
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
0 k) D4 D9 b0 E# {United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 _3 {' J$ \# J c$ l" ^
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas& k) ?+ E9 ]3 h8 q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ K7 G, Y A3 e0 Tflag hang from the wall.9 M E' `0 w" n: z2 Q# i
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 i2 J; P& T/ {/ i5 Uanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) t+ H3 N# P R+ N" s1 J" Xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
! a Q& @6 B1 ~boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
# }9 |/ f% D" T. mare already choosing it over Spanish.
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' q. J. i) u/ z- }+ X! D" K"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
3 i8 L' Z6 b. U( y: wat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 r: `* I2 [2 ?
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.": b( Z( J% g* t( O. S& e
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% h7 }( l; H2 h; I- G2 A
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' K2 b* H6 \$ @6 h5 Q
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
# U8 n8 `0 d$ F9 B% _one of its most difficult to learn.$ b j0 [6 Y# l$ Y
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% n3 b- g. g, R. ~# b5 \$ a
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
0 o) ^' n7 |1 g% `% C7 m0 wstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.1 [- [' t/ o2 F/ T/ {6 n: W4 F- v
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
6 K: ^, g3 p0 nTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) [4 s/ p8 `# M: D) aChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to% m9 z2 U8 N5 a+ y
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.0 O# i/ l) }# Y+ @
! q: M: K, \# i) n5 I5 ?7 Z2 mAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 ?! {- ?- U, ~) p. U8 j) }$ NChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
" z" Z7 G* X- {& S2 `7 Sstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to6 B2 ~2 M1 k% @8 ~4 g2 n
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing @- T+ V( N6 `* E# U; n0 A, b
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
, R4 @- h$ |; f" m2 }of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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: D- Y7 A+ N4 c; R0 d"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 ~; O8 A1 W0 D; i$ L5 y
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education% Q% [9 N- f# W) j! @0 C4 p
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ d! y! ]" g" ^ G' a- b* y! X
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from( ^8 B) e5 @* g) y
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" l- R: v4 N" L, e, m( y5 \" c6 O
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
' q' w0 a7 j5 m1 m, @9 M) K9 d* VInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 M9 s- H& B" s6 S- a
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ x4 I- u) a. c" W8 eMcGinnis said.7 n/ F* T' E# e8 S U. C6 r- m
\, x7 _% R0 K6 E1 B) I"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
, h% w1 k L3 K2 J4 ^2 qlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
. R% d3 O1 c* D% J Nready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 `% A \$ x a, |challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! t! h- e) r8 x8 m
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and" E" y; `8 {. L5 }/ y
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: @% c! N7 Z' ?5 h" C! j* ~* H0 jcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of6 Y( c2 k! F8 G3 `
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
# L+ U: U& m3 O$ J" Aon weekends.5 r* y; n% X; I
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public- k# T) c% s( J* ?6 a
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves$ _! @. d( X! y% f
students who are not of Chinese descent.. e, `7 [8 S3 w5 Y: D: v0 \
" ?) d$ V0 E+ VMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said: [$ x! T! l; ~+ {! C2 M+ t) p
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
; D" B1 {* b- jcompetition.
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4 b1 I, \ j. d8 t# G4 v"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
9 G2 M& i( w; ^7 ]% jsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
1 y0 ~: s4 l8 l2 H0 vall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
" I# {- u7 u9 Yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
1 }( \) G+ P) Ekindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
8 P4 k! z0 ?( Jwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
) c; P8 L* d/ h% C% a/ ythe school system last year.( V0 d5 B# n0 u; N# @
* M2 l* }: {* G# R: BThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# _2 [) g3 h M' {- R$ V
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 a& P" N- ?4 g# [
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 G9 t/ s* \) B: m4 Lclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 J2 u4 ^! }) V0 R3 K5 ` HChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! ^( @8 T4 I, k" b; B
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet3 E5 `% \2 z% ?* l* S8 X
on an equal playing field."/ n& f7 H2 W& N: ] D4 ?% E
$ P7 L0 a) E# a( Q6 oSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, i4 x3 Q6 \. Tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" V4 x3 L/ X* W, b+ U. N
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
) S) D+ V! W1 @5 VChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An6 L' x( T+ d8 L( G
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in f: ~! u1 Q& Q' g( C" J: E+ ~) y
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
6 g; M z) O) _& Sinstitute says.+ A. n' U! N' u, L
4 x" `: ~% @- `& I, O. I" NSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( G- F* i* {6 c- Xgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
0 g7 [0 j& i( w% ~deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* L5 ?$ W& P, u9 l# {told her daughter.4 ]0 X0 ]( o0 B3 ~
3 w [; a6 H p9 f( }Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite) w2 F) w% l4 Y. J4 s8 c! W
class.4 A# K1 _4 s- {3 W: q. V* k! b- M
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ x) d7 ^+ ^! \- x/ I. N
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" y6 `" E7 }8 b. ~! [& e6 h
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a; V( ]9 N8 U \4 ^2 X
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 K5 H* p$ x s# ?" D
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 M* m, l, s) W# G& b
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 `+ K2 U7 h- tChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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" [7 ?( e& _+ G9 r"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul! r8 Y' \. x- f. L8 i$ u
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn) H* ^9 _0 S- k
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
Y9 k; w) N2 V7 qskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
( }+ e. y: e( `7 xmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
7 ?$ m6 R$ @+ w# E/ \5 v4 _that," Ms. Freire said.
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; E- _* m4 D7 U5 yMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" G$ H, N$ O7 S. `! k( Bhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
X; g' k v2 T* P2 a. V @5 Pschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking: v1 u0 F, p/ v: v
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
/ w8 ~' S& K% C, yroom.
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8 m& k8 A9 v1 p; s' Y' K: eChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
. n+ S6 R# D+ s% WChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American6 V. j! J: ^' v( |, F
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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1 q- F4 Q; s* N% j# p5 f"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified8 j# d" m: d7 E5 C; \$ w# y
because of that missing certification," he said./ l( s4 \ L: G# X( g9 v) m
! {! f2 f, h0 p2 U# @' A* PThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,5 U9 g$ _1 ?) ]/ w3 k; H( @
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* f9 ^8 P) h) r% d" k- c* }
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the$ m5 n7 S) `0 X: T1 Y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from5 X3 A) ^- i4 r9 u4 H1 h3 J; T
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.. z! w; j. Q2 d
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
& b# Q/ [3 ], n8 I; J* y- U) hown."
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6 N# l1 A3 [. @& j3 VCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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