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October 15, 2005
) p6 q, f; {& U }Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 _! B$ x7 H9 M: b: m( {( h6 D
7 b- d) x& m4 I3 j: A. i. }" |CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& T* g) `) ~' D! _+ w
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
4 \& n0 }7 r3 l& v+ r, \School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 X* ~6 y5 I) B! V' l
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
7 \0 y/ \' o0 |# i1 h* Q, w. C7 [flag hang from the wall.
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) s3 g. c; J( Y+ m& s5 P$ m! COne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 a7 r7 K: C) J b% x G# ^another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 `7 |# O3 T0 J* A) O
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
" I7 ^: ~. T6 rboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
" z0 x: M& ^! D3 g7 Nare already choosing it over Spanish.' L5 F- r- L6 k& ^
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal; I& c) P# T( ]* V
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ n8 I2 Q5 F: p1 O7 n+ }/ Ioffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ d8 }( s5 E) K, B. j& i
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 @, F% r+ h- y( K4 Pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention! d" ]; @' v# o5 d! t/ c9 t9 c
one of its most difficult to learn.8 s6 [/ r: O! A9 y
7 I; V2 E* @7 W' `Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ i4 p0 `3 n8 Y
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; X6 C) G- ]8 K* I: O/ q9 lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 C+ f" T, Z: S' W: x: }Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of. F& W+ B3 y2 |3 @+ O
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
, b2 R# I( ?6 f4 u1 U/ xChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to8 t: v, L/ M- r( c9 h8 Q
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.1 z( o+ ?" G) l# p2 ]. F
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
. ^: y" \$ u7 r, AChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country$ r8 f# I: g7 u/ h
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to w- ?1 c# r8 u# n/ u7 B
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
K+ O% ]4 t% b3 I1 Ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
, ^/ A6 R8 l6 j9 S9 p% Wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 k) Q( I) J6 Z) k3 b+ zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 H! @% w5 R @, z, K2 u+ JConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! }4 V" W# f6 h7 ~& Y/ j
can."
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* M: Q! m8 f" a( ~* J s5 WThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 Z X3 d7 R: C( K/ P( T2 pelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10/ _; B' w a# u4 [2 P" I
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
' e U1 O6 Z: wInstitute in Washington.
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) A5 J, g& M! Y; t1 P' x"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
- _# A" ^/ Y' {aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
' Z/ U- Z: p+ n# aMcGinnis said.! W n1 ?/ u5 q( T8 T, c0 X8 y* n e
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical2 \# z, f/ k) V4 H% m
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
n" D5 `" |- a8 Z& C( Uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% a/ u; U, \, E) Nchallenge 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 F+ \) }. @3 u2 Csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in2 z$ U5 } `; A) u7 W3 ^
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of: }& E' o+ W4 b+ P$ {6 {/ A8 F
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or# g: }% S: ^' Z! } T& p7 a4 }
on weekends.
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9 I7 Z2 ]) [* r- g3 }! KThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% T+ ]( [/ ]0 |5 a6 _; p3 \+ uschools during the regular school day and primarily serves; \0 m% d: \, g" d3 {6 L# H' S
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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L" L; F8 I3 y, X0 e P* R2 d) qMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 f& ~$ r! D% Y, H3 V: h9 nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
% _' f" x T4 Icompetition. 2 F( _9 ~) [4 R" d' M5 G7 g3 Z
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
7 W0 E- }* L2 [- v ?0 R3 Y1 bsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 V5 W M( c, m& W. K' l* ?+ Ball-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 x4 p! m5 o- X" R& g2 {
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from: ^+ k# J6 u7 @
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ l8 }* d" p" v1 Vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to9 y+ j0 V) k9 f% O6 s2 m m; C' Z
the school system last year. r# M" a j7 L- T8 R6 N& z
) z8 N6 S4 l# H& M2 [2 \5 d. lThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 l" C6 G4 g, J/ c6 r5 x
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.: T9 f* j1 N. d. q
7 ~& B$ G& E, ^"They have a great international experience right in their own
J& u V2 O+ eclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago8 K R' W% `0 z4 z0 E
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
! x4 [( A8 R( D+ fhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
, z! Q5 A$ h1 Eon an equal playing field."
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+ \3 L% q8 ~2 G8 z# xSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese) Z7 ?9 N4 D- u$ y! O
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
# S, |* o& W, t: m; l% ^6 AService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* Z& _5 _ d. p$ V6 i. o EChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An$ C' p, D, i$ ~2 u
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
& @" e5 a6 }0 [5 F+ V: [0 {3 EChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the3 x( J" \4 T0 Z' t* f+ i( I8 ?
institute says.
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) P% \3 u" {4 A, |7 C: m1 l4 YSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
: a* R# q! x; o% `) _. u3 z; bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
0 M" W* Y% b/ k# Adeciding whether to take the class.0 V5 |7 h: ^+ q0 Y
& d; ]# g0 E1 K' o6 N"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she! h. L b$ _) B3 P. c
told her daughter.
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& Q1 d5 m( I& o. a% H! tSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' s6 X; X* C8 q+ v
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
& l2 Q$ a4 x+ J; v" x7 Ustudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' e4 V, }$ ~; e! Y/ y7 koccasional frustration.
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0 l, R9 M/ H) x# g" c* Q"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a) T0 x- v; i, [; d, ]% q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 H5 Q I9 {' z, ^& n: ?, V
) h2 H7 j9 ?3 ARaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 N; L+ L" s7 h, F9 }
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 c8 m8 q$ v b6 y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.3 N% \2 f8 { l) ]
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 q, G) r y+ q, Z2 h/ z! Y; @7 U
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn* n6 K- C# x- L6 q+ B$ r) B
as many languages as I can."/ q! i/ R* x+ i) @
; t- h2 ~- Z! ]% `Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 p3 v' z9 e i0 |skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
! Z$ m. r8 T: n* q R, e Emarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ \& p# F4 i6 C- X5 K
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( G- l. E& b, L1 ^$ ?9 f
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
* x* g$ o- N5 J. j8 A/ Nschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 J* V, G6 d& V9 ytime from classes like physical education, music and art to make0 T: w/ Z# h) I' N
room.
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% K; Y3 T& L2 B, F) X# a9 BChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
7 K( v+ W: Z& Y: IChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
) Q5 V5 N# H) C6 _3 Wcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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0 Z2 g/ ]; j( t6 }"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
6 d# w' h' M+ Mbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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0 c6 y/ b& I. f$ U+ NThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
: L; L1 \( |1 ]: S8 ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, j. q. Y0 ~' e6 e v' G3 vSociety in New York.; V) v4 |. W7 ]; J3 F/ N9 u
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& N' _: z/ U. }5 e" _* o* `Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
* ~+ m' U) T5 l& C( p' L/ M' `; ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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# o- Q5 y+ x; X" S! o/ oCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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