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October 15, 2005
; O: m% F& d0 K2 fClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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; G; J a: Z$ `) D% TBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING: p. J- r7 |. n5 H4 \1 G$ Y
9 i! i3 {. \# ~% q* A& ?CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. L! k n6 p+ l; ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary1 n: G* C8 _% Y
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 q, O; t0 {+ J% N2 E
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 U. i+ @2 m; R/ O' E& g8 ^! M1 G- lflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one0 F l2 Y6 ~8 ^+ Z! C
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
. ^& \2 |# F. ]( f* Y! npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
7 e; H9 {* C" fboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
& J" i5 a. V" }* rare already choosing it over Spanish.5 u8 j: `& ]8 y6 [
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
9 E9 V5 r; e- Q- Z, S" X- ^! jat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ c1 e6 L* r9 Z! h! t% j: ]9 goffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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. {8 p1 A2 O5 c7 A) H8 _% k+ p" lWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ }/ l" O8 L0 m
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
S3 W8 e ^& Z" \# M# Uto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% X2 P" k# B+ r, H' Aone of its most difficult to learn.. A- P5 U" {& D3 a& l
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
/ ]/ ~( m$ Z3 v0 P8 F+ r4 C$ rpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 a" T- X+ G7 v* b+ b O
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I., h8 ]1 N P0 `2 R `% I2 z# w
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of. O" ], H- u7 K; `
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: F6 M, r5 _) u% L8 E
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
G7 `4 ]' T: I3 x, g+ D2 y8 N* _improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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+ u. `; `- d0 P5 s) ?+ R4 t1 Y- pAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ ]4 L) U/ u3 l9 R
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ N: |# T3 u% e& y" H# Fstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to& F4 J f8 T% u0 q
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
, j' K" B( B; ^9 C& Ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 [) n1 \- j5 g( J! h$ X1 rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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`/ b" P" K3 M6 o/ b' g3 N"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of4 Z% B- @, ~/ S1 R/ j
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
z: ^* k9 X- v$ Q9 ?/ Q: f1 N L iConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
0 Q# h% x6 f, }: e! C, n1 U+ ucan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) Y- {) Z3 l8 o; r) ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
?7 }$ d( ?9 r' ?+ D: P! O6 k1 byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 O0 E4 P3 j( \1 \Institute in Washington.8 ?% ~7 O* G( s) M/ ?! A
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
& U; x/ G- t& V! varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
+ r6 x3 |8 F$ p$ BMcGinnis said.3 g) z9 h9 B& x/ d6 M" X% [8 c
% [$ }+ o# h" b"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 e. G2 C5 e4 C% p' T; g0 dlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be. j/ _6 o, P" v3 E6 u
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
+ O( c( v# [& ?) gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and- v5 _6 B# x0 B, O5 x4 n
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in) C+ r- G. w; z! J8 A5 D) w0 Q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
/ P* ?! _( t. R$ H0 \& EChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
7 _$ i4 P5 G5 p$ t& |6 t/ j3 aon weekends.9 I5 D/ f+ B6 H: S) N
2 v% T5 L, H) R. M4 o7 EThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
- {, I2 N/ @) C5 j8 c8 Yschools during the regular school day and primarily serves! m" o+ Q' V$ K+ z9 D7 ~, T% l0 P
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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- |( t" h4 C3 x8 ]/ c$ ^% C6 JMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
% t2 m! v$ f, G0 E* aproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
, ^- z k1 i8 N" G5 Qcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley% ^6 A% H% s$ U! j
said. "There will be Chinese and English."5 R: c _" X4 H8 e" U
1 t5 Z* f' @& bFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. `4 ^3 [# z% O7 k1 `all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% A* f3 @4 ~" t
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; n) o6 x6 Q4 [( }. a
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
A8 e" k/ D1 b7 uwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 i7 p7 N+ B9 F1 v/ q/ }) t" } |8 U
the school system last year. c- T- h \3 ~, p) }9 h* F3 W; f
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
7 t. a9 [" ]* I: B9 Oyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 {0 q5 H; N+ a( Q! n
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 a7 j* {! i y& iclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( H. r. A$ T; t: ]% mChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to b# J+ O9 X. s, C$ E
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet% Y' J& j) Q* w$ Z7 ?. O
on an equal playing field."
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7 j$ A1 q- |+ PSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' }+ \7 o' m8 q9 q8 ^ a0 [
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
+ W9 j: E5 w _6 w+ r$ E2 RService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks( T1 M( O" h; L& O) q
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" x m. C5 Z6 B: U6 U
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
. @; B. @) m' `* w d/ V1 s( yChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the9 T( S* A* H3 l- r7 A! a
institute says.: s6 P8 h2 f3 {: n) Z
( v* Z+ I4 [8 D6 F" G5 }9 O. u* zSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth6 ^5 T5 X9 b, G. P: E! V
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
8 Y/ B+ R- W/ H7 S2 p0 Ldeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) O, Z/ F! Y/ P' p9 Ttold her daughter.) g7 \/ @9 v$ ?' a6 p
* p A% V) u( V4 u; ?! f7 S! sSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
2 E: l; P3 n+ U3 sclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( O( ]; T+ k% P+ V* H) Wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without! j; N$ D5 l0 j. i" K4 _2 J1 Y
occasional frustration.5 I9 m# z$ R0 z# m0 R
5 n) x4 M1 z3 s1 r! `0 U5 ]) E$ F"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
7 y! r2 @9 l8 t8 J0 Trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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, L. @& y2 g7 d" hRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he! P- u* e6 B0 l
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
+ | v+ k; w/ ^2 K4 rChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
% b) [4 u6 i/ H5 g/ X* fsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ B# y# o( R( t' _as many languages as I can."
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8 I$ U+ ~3 O( ^# ?2 D: U# M9 mAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the) \# M8 P& ]# {7 y. O! C9 T$ M) g
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
( Q2 J3 f6 D5 B: Kmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 \! a& J6 p. ^# Gthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
4 J8 p' Z6 p+ \3 R( A6 Ohere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
" ~2 N# A* S. W8 t3 g0 Qschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- d# g2 {5 c/ [( g+ _3 b2 M
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make2 o M! W9 u' a. H* d+ p8 |$ l6 [
room.8 p* s1 O! j, ^- q9 \& f
% H+ V" {; I+ w" zChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" B8 q) V, q# o4 K0 B: K* s: Y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American, B$ k t" d7 t
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 Q* s/ B2 Y3 ~- q3 T4 [: T, V
& e3 G6 `9 R# q9 W"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
8 S7 k9 M8 n7 N) pbecause of that missing certification," he said. Y# E" w$ o z( s! k+ g
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, h) u% H* k- ` [( dsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
5 E0 o. d8 S* g7 @Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' x2 V% g6 T; ~1 X& ^+ v+ g
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from B2 {) [( ?) w a* K( |. S0 y) r
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.8 A. x# ?5 I. D3 @, O1 a, r
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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$ z+ ^6 p, A% j. E% Z5 t( s6 GCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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