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October 15, 2005
, Q& S" V, p7 HClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING& R9 D* _# A9 N2 V: ]
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the! t: b, _ f7 b- n+ t, {" A
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary; X: T5 M8 q9 T; u; ]3 B( S
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 q7 \5 p, i7 idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
3 g/ F. B4 z) c/ R# [0 P0 ~flag hang from the wall.2 ^2 e7 R* x3 D! y/ g/ M6 X( T
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 Y; q) }- [4 g" D9 P
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders7 l3 k2 N" z1 U* B' d) Q, ]+ m
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( Q1 l0 n" v& r% w, b, _boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
2 X# L4 ]" _ L3 C8 Oare already choosing it over Spanish.
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: _7 C7 \* F& j" y: w$ ~3 E"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( I* |0 r1 S8 [at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city. o- `7 A# s! V+ z0 _ a x' t' I
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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" Q/ I9 ~6 }4 K9 M9 EWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments," O8 q' e2 p" L1 J0 K4 b0 Z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* |3 _" N1 g. A; b
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. F( }$ |6 w% x# f0 K0 o
one of its most difficult to learn. d/ y# `1 E* A% K0 e, Q) {
4 M; d6 R9 j! E$ N0 \# c1 dLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 q& |! c7 k5 l& J8 Xpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 U0 H/ a4 u0 f" k# xstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) f/ d: p4 E6 r! @
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 Q* m% `1 T4 p% e4 C) {% STennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! v3 Z. m, T# p) w; n9 C7 z
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) W1 B/ V2 d- Z9 C0 o5 G, dimprove 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
7 h- D* A) F/ b+ Y3 pChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 w1 E0 ~ Y2 pstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to; [1 b0 w& o% Z1 E0 t" |# p
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing9 j! _- q6 ~, w$ U9 W
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
/ k% B4 B9 s6 Y# ]; j" r5 Rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.+ X) s; g. T# c' p
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: r( u5 @, X2 w$ o7 g+ _+ \
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
3 S+ r5 u, ^& O7 \+ A1 n8 jConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
2 n' M# M# H2 C$ w" Z% qcan."
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: H3 |$ D% K+ R6 s/ J6 j- `3 h) VThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
7 l. N1 ^; |. zelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 `- O& Q/ X4 q# D! dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language. M4 C( a2 K3 w
Institute in Washington.7 E+ H8 i" m! R1 X2 p
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 D( j9 D. s, H& ]8 k
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; U7 g" N) C0 h; _; q
McGinnis said.4 [1 H, v/ _% | n0 I4 P: A3 ?+ P/ \
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 r& l H- F$ i! d6 R+ \ ?longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 S' Q5 B+ X. k# G7 k: z- i- J; Z- ?* Sready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
6 Q# @2 |/ I) A2 A& _8 v# h$ j D, s5 kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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?& U8 u& j) MUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and! O b3 L6 g0 P, f3 v
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- Q- u- G! I |3 j* V/ m8 s9 t8 qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of: b" Z8 r! T- P7 e; x
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
+ x3 O8 V5 D3 J8 r5 Ton weekends.
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) I7 t1 j+ Q- Z9 O6 xThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& A, {+ R* Y* }
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ p! ^! u2 C5 E; U1 c5 w
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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3 [" m' A- C" I* aMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said7 U& a& _& [, E0 q8 m
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- g! a# x3 L3 pcompetition. ! y" H g2 W$ t4 d4 E$ a
# f3 E0 t* `0 f"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" N* F8 l* T1 `7 O6 v" J5 e0 E
said. "There will be Chinese and English."- d# l; P7 h8 L$ J
% d7 X6 p; n- _3 {1 \9 `$ ?From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 w2 n! W9 d7 {% T6 R5 n+ ]all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 `* F, x ?! X* y8 ?
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% f/ x7 F, o8 k# i5 F
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students& c+ I* m! u0 f8 G# S) U
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- w% i1 J8 e' ^: L/ o2 f; wthe school system last year.* }( n# c8 n% e& r
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ i. a! G, {8 S5 N( t7 {0 myear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year. n* z2 y8 M Z5 T
' e# }+ @. ]0 i! ]& s6 X"They have a great international experience right in their own
, ~9 p/ ?7 H+ l3 Hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 ^' b9 \# P- Y4 }* W+ N3 y' kChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 w" L9 R0 }1 U
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet |8 [1 u; q1 @
on an equal playing field."8 f. [$ M2 L, w3 D+ U8 E8 J- x/ V7 w
9 \9 ?4 A i- m+ v) FSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese8 a7 } t' f. C, h
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign' C4 j4 Z, T8 M
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
, K2 F5 {3 K' m0 P) FChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" _6 ~" Y$ ?+ E3 S! Z
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 e+ n) X; I# o8 ?& f Z" oChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* n; g2 j6 x1 m
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% s, ^; D8 L; o, q2 S; _9 t
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! e- z3 y# n Y! d ]# W
deciding whether to take the class.9 D# W$ E3 C0 c8 G, x9 U
/ s4 k7 l3 [" y+ u8 Z7 F! N$ V"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 S7 h; j% k5 g' ]
told her daughter.
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: A0 x) Z/ b( r; |Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, o; F3 h& p! m3 f) X# ]
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. W% Q3 E/ U5 n/ F6 }
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
, \' @8 |! G/ q1 d% N i5 @occasional frustration.
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. q$ k& q+ Q8 O2 H"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ B1 x" a' a% X! Z5 r6 ^: Rrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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, I. I2 D* x; L- FRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
`2 X- ~2 H3 l! l3 J8 ntaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with0 s" F. w- H! `6 q* E$ T2 D
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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. _# |& L) k+ ^# j0 K"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul8 [' V) s+ U! [1 |; {, B& o8 x7 K, E
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn, Y* j9 k, I' ]7 c R' e& _6 c( M
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the, f# l7 n) F$ Z% g( I
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
4 |. R" j4 } V% A6 R% h$ P- rmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
+ _1 ]( }! z1 {+ U' _that," Ms. Freire said.
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& l8 c1 p- Z% s7 H8 CMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program- A( Y; }7 E8 `; m. K
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each( J+ N# f$ h# H
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking, {( c3 l; j( {. E6 d `6 T
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
7 o7 Q- [9 a7 B. l& v" T8 A& I0 _7 }room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer5 U1 `4 F2 M" ?
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, y9 y# U: `7 i/ F2 H, w9 O8 acollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified- N' _, K0 Y0 F- h1 o- p# l
because of that missing certification," he said.
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, J6 r, _( P8 e( o( ~& F$ ?: QThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 X; _# @* A# Isaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" S% J( t" W' H9 }( W& C) bSociety in New York.8 c" c S9 l# M, \; A2 h
, h/ t, ]0 C' a+ [) ZSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 I" K' D. w: Q( r+ d) d
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
7 Y2 r$ H$ E/ B' Mthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) h8 j5 ]# f, [' e' {( }
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& @' Q* n" f3 l9 {5 r
own."
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0 a; I0 c% q4 @+ R1 Y; _- uCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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