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October 15, 20056 ^! y0 v/ T; v1 B/ p. H
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity8 _. ?- F* ~! q) h `5 U
6 M. p g$ Q, p" v) z* ]6 \By GRETCHEN RUETHLING# V! O0 D R% a; W1 W2 R
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ r# m7 V+ u1 x, r
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
4 P7 B% _% }& ^! Z+ P$ h, ~School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 v% R' d- P" V$ f/ A
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: h Y9 [. A" C
flag hang from the wall.
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" ~3 ~# b8 d( u! y7 U6 O/ dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( J" o5 s. V. B2 f, F, _another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders% a9 X# _% m: F) S ~' R; v5 E
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker8 `/ Q) }4 \, W5 T- K1 C
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
2 u/ Y& D/ o- a( _+ y% gare already choosing it over Spanish.
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- G- | e9 Y6 V"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
) K5 c3 p$ y8 O* i# p4 Q% E) `8 Vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
2 L T/ e" q+ i: @: x: Ioffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ P! E6 P5 f# s
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
9 B7 e E3 C" D& {! m q2 pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 A6 |' k/ S! j( l7 p3 b/ D4 Bone of its most difficult to learn.
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3 M+ M9 C4 b6 Y, {- M U2 mLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, o9 E' A/ }4 R& U) d X; D6 v
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 a. Y; M) S" F! g
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
j' u7 m1 z8 y5 d1 ?5 gLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" W/ k+ e: I' J1 \" a! @
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on0 x; W; {8 c2 ^3 `4 K7 m
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
' @7 r; ^! r) V4 r1 ~improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.; ?+ o& v8 w! n/ ~. U2 r; X
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement5 G4 T3 [, \: i( @, p; P% {- \
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country1 T" P% e7 x! J& N' f+ z
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to s1 G) u, P1 l7 M4 e$ e
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
, k& E5 a* [8 ?1 y' Kcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( }* [9 r8 |9 V+ Z% Mof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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$ G& ]) F6 h) d# c7 N7 g"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 a2 q h1 ?* F. h% |
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education3 d' ^3 g1 k, M* C I4 f% [- O
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we6 K. G2 y7 n1 V( b {" F
can." + g7 \! N. Q3 g! \: S3 p
: `" o7 U: b$ `3 l! _# VThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 |! J6 i c5 s1 U/ T
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
! V% j- B1 o9 gyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
( b# h9 l l1 p- KInstitute in Washington.8 `8 o# Q a) H8 P0 f3 A5 _, z6 ]
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# o, k4 n! h" o' g/ {. E! karen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
1 _. f- M8 \; SMcGinnis said.% |) X7 j% d, S" |
6 i* F) a, `- `, J2 Z3 [9 d* u"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- k* U% |0 ^1 ?8 |" P1 Y' Zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
- d5 u! I9 L( l$ rready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a7 p4 q' f! \3 B, E, h' t% r2 l
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."2 _: c$ P* g5 S# B; T
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# \9 e4 q( _3 w, }" Y Ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in* y; z7 K6 E$ R7 _' W' ]- w
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ B2 ~! }3 } E. O3 L: R: \
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 e! m; _0 o. E% N2 g @! pon weekends.9 \/ \/ Z$ X8 O x2 v- ~* U2 J
1 n8 {) s& c7 U3 K( ]1 gThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: F! |0 `( s7 g6 R6 Pschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- j: w, ^! x! i) Dstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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- e+ |! d7 Z$ O4 ~2 YMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
- R9 o' _. L0 ^proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the a/ @7 w, f7 L5 x2 r$ \
competition. 2 b! |( |& n& Y8 v" u( Y
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley( t; X) W( k& g. R+ [/ L
said. "There will be Chinese and English.", _3 d8 o$ l [4 K% I2 v/ h6 C! T
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly) U7 {( n+ Y/ W( Z8 S3 q* V' P4 ]
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
# ?& q4 _# P5 s' v% m$ S- Qschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* R; b% W R# j7 h- X
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 j+ q/ ?2 a) Q- ]
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- f: V3 e% D8 K! f5 x3 J, h6 A
the school system last year.
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; Q' m8 x6 Q& r: ?) jThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 r5 i+ D/ f! Y( y
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own2 c7 B- ~0 B* Q7 ?( y) c7 U
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
, P) v2 N# l( X/ yChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 k% W' c! |9 Y1 k
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
+ L* q8 b( A8 d; t( ~+ M$ _on an equal playing field."
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/ H9 g, S1 i2 d, wSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
4 X6 F) _$ ]2 y4 t5 `classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
. I4 H, n6 n/ a( m' ?" m$ o* cService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
8 ~8 k% A; G* m F2 B/ ?Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
- c& P# T# p5 `# l! e6 n5 T; waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
1 J( M0 P9 @) r, `- VChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the1 C8 _( z* U& M- f
institute says., ^# {" v( W+ W2 m% G/ `
/ x* {1 z) U w. r+ P* L% uSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ t' S" b4 Y/ F! F* o! kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 A) F8 `# O T& _7 U+ N3 ?
deciding whether to take the class.
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1 b* M8 I: a: v4 G' g9 ~0 l"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- X/ n( R* M. q+ {; b/ { M
told her daughter.' O0 Q T' r/ I0 a- Y! q
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
$ ~( l0 A- W3 F+ ~# c/ x) K* tclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are- A& L7 Q3 z; o7 E; k
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
$ s+ h$ W4 o- Roccasional frustration.6 I4 X: T2 K: z/ ^$ @- W4 ]
0 g, a' }1 i. _, u9 Y; j! }"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. P* g/ G6 K) o& N4 \% u- Zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.' w4 r/ u. t8 n$ V
* h9 v) _1 O1 pRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 D8 e% d6 Y1 d* D8 u m* q/ Y
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 `% s8 S: f/ u3 _5 f" IChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.0 W6 k4 ?9 B1 G! |. e
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul5 t7 V: g; F3 n, T7 D7 u1 U- K: I
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn* @/ o7 H) U, c8 g9 R
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the* @7 p. ~% O2 `2 F b$ C
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. b! K9 q4 o! X- L2 ^6 hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
/ j& q M9 U$ j; E3 |" T0 Gthat," Ms. Freire said.3 F5 t/ ]8 Y/ ~3 _! ?. {$ X
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program) e& A' ?8 E% Z* D4 i- u8 X" f r
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
1 V" d) _4 F% S& p, zschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( S( B2 g, Y( u4 ?4 [9 B
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make/ Z4 F: U/ q% Z9 J
room.. E: \2 b) n# k6 Z3 V, z
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer8 O, h1 f) T) O% G% e# _
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- B( {+ C% l/ l& y: s* [; S0 n/ \college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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, o7 f& j* t) \" L: V) I"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
* r/ [3 E1 ] `- Y) O% Lbecause of that missing certification," he said.9 f0 {4 G3 I) S/ M+ a
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
5 I. M+ B0 |$ tsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
+ w3 x3 U1 X' L+ g \* TSociety in New York.. D5 R5 e$ a# A
j4 n1 q6 K" U* m. uSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
: S# E4 w% f& E0 @# v3 F, bChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from l+ i$ x' G9 D/ |8 P
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ S( R3 q9 I7 ? E5 p: K3 A) r
6 D" Y, L0 S3 V- \* J"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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8 ?3 q* D% i. h2 v+ m/ ACopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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