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October 15, 2005, U+ J) o6 }: t9 w4 N
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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' c$ I. I4 |6 V( E, ~' j( J2 LBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING9 ]" g0 `4 h5 o: t, v( H C
5 p* L* }. P- \* _7 R7 [# B: wCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 S+ v% F0 V1 y- F7 Q/ rUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary* G% e9 C$ o& I3 P& m
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
. S1 a- ]8 e4 B, g- N' tdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
4 `8 r" q8 T Y' V4 }* |) H# Kflag hang from the wall.$ X& H* ?1 Y! Y2 r
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 x' i! V* f2 {7 A2 }4 \1 G: L2 J9 b
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ Y. g4 w8 L% z. |. S6 npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
g) V! m9 F& a+ I iboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students% @% r$ N9 L4 ^- y" a5 C
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal' H" Z% p2 z; f- B2 w- O
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
) k' m" v" V+ r8 l8 u, V& ]offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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! F# o' H/ j, M6 xWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,0 [3 m) J2 Y. m
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% P z4 D! M2 N5 H! x% g3 g
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* w1 d" @/ R& Z$ gone of its most difficult to learn.% r5 a7 ]; e) u6 Q- R
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) x5 ?9 W9 d( c
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students" h9 _. v) D, { j& m8 [5 c9 k
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.5 ?' D& U& h+ ]
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
8 z! x3 Z' f0 U/ t8 o+ nTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: |/ n. S* n j. B3 u+ h1 T
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ T' h- C0 q- o- F* kimprove 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
3 A% F& m- H) R0 e7 RChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
D$ g( E; s% w9 S! p- m' n8 y6 |% t kstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ `$ l# R( S6 b7 f3 O2 \
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing; i7 s# H' A( ?0 E
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 ^0 @+ `, C9 R$ d+ }of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, T. G- }2 E$ ~$ A2 b6 u
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education1 Z g& L" C" p$ z0 \7 W6 D' W
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we* J1 I1 A4 n5 l% n6 I( Y! A
can."
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, ~8 V: x) E; _7 q0 f( wThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
1 y2 L: o$ O: c3 V0 Eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ l! `. w) J1 g6 R# ~) ]# P4 q& e, b
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language h$ G) `( b( F4 J) ]* z( j
Institute in Washington.
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+ Z: d# u- ]8 }- G6 s"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 u: V" r I8 m
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ u' ^+ w& L. J! x! ZMcGinnis said.
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- G4 E+ a9 ~" D"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical6 \! c I$ |% q" C
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be6 G; v. U9 L' g" p
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 G* Y. I7 |# X% D* k& n$ gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."* E7 w! ~7 ]: B3 D6 t. {' x
' l5 _# D1 z% t$ i0 gUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
$ R2 o% t) L) p1 @5 X dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in) @+ I& K2 G8 p k5 D( }
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
3 h) l' q' w# K VChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 o+ h2 Q/ c: x8 n9 n2 [7 son weekends.
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9 d6 d2 y. z+ @* ~0 b# Q/ V: ~8 cThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" D6 k) E; T2 Z# m8 o- C' h8 Kschools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 e( f2 U' D6 n" Y0 a: X5 u3 P
students who are not of Chinese descent." M0 m3 k2 @ n4 [4 o" c+ H8 W! b
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( I7 J$ o/ \; v9 Z; G0 u1 rproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
8 F6 O \. q+ Gcompetition. ) R" k: y9 B. U6 s$ E& O, f0 X# q) q
0 r" f( I! |) E6 E$ l3 r! y. G"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; _) h7 n* n# N7 \8 B' z# T+ psaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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# q9 F! s- Y% f# J* SFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 F" h5 I2 h; A1 L1 sall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse V3 w# B! G: Z) O2 g
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from/ d8 b. D% z0 w0 ?
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 G7 B- \% P# V6 b1 |
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to, q. Q9 R/ Z, e% t# |3 [
the school system last year.
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" Q3 c; r8 V. @; b6 eThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
r4 Z0 v$ H- I4 O# h; |# G/ n0 p* Pyear 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 own& l! M2 Y& Y5 N* D4 j6 K
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
- q4 j: P9 Q; }1 FChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to( t& o. K0 ^* T: d, j( n
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
7 o: Z F5 B* q; mon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 j) k, ~. B: Y; ]* K. e6 \8 Eclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ z1 i: W3 X3 z0 S5 O: H
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks3 w& O* G7 g8 a7 Q u- [
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
! u8 H0 m% w7 J' oaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 G: G, {: u2 v9 I- K3 |4 a
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
: O; [! m7 x$ a* H, J% ^! @institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 S: t5 Z( g0 R- P6 \! M
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
- ?" H2 Q# l- z% n& @deciding whether to take the class./ |) Z9 a: ~/ [7 L
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' T: \, W% q% g5 Z' N9 ]1 u5 `6 {told her daughter.' T" d7 B0 \0 Z
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite M8 C7 _( K9 T# E
class.1 p! E! a; C7 T. Y' Y
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
2 m# h2 M. s2 V. N+ W7 _studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; G0 g$ E+ `0 s# P% j2 Y/ moccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
9 q( d& ^5 `8 Z$ Y+ Brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he- E# k, N$ d7 a9 {( u; V% |2 W# ?
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
9 X. `% j* K" @6 q% `Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( R' ^& a. r. N: c
4 T- P) c$ S1 x/ s9 X"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
4 ~0 x7 A3 X- M) i* Q: E; `- @said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
8 E, g- d. }- j& C, v' das many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ Q! s- C, _5 |/ P2 A# m# d# T
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
" w1 d8 ], j8 @market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
& P. H1 v' H. I3 Gthat," Ms. Freire said.& v" o. f/ b5 l( l8 H( @
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
& @, W c( L }2 K2 p" g. Where offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; G$ n& D1 \) _! E0 K+ Y5 v
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 \9 w% n' H* l% W, P
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make- Y% E# P {6 e! a% u0 W2 m2 V
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% ~( S3 h V t& V3 }
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& b$ e/ V) \# \' \# z5 c4 B) g
college, 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
8 n) A2 C/ q/ R3 }1 Obecause of that missing certification," he said.8 G9 B1 L0 l" T, g
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, K) G- u, {% b9 z4 P2 m Csaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia% m. S B) l, H$ w; R
Society in New York.: y" z- Y; q; v/ k- a
+ A7 O" O# Z1 G2 \( @Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the1 |$ {& V) A$ X
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from( e/ L) {2 Z( y6 x3 @
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: k- n1 C6 ^: q9 y
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
5 _0 b" z% r2 X4 ~5 N& f G' rown."
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2 h1 s0 U0 p& r, J. x5 MCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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