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October 15, 2005
, ]2 U4 ]0 C C- F2 K; G# bClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 ]" F& x' w( U) M. c7 j
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the! s/ v* c' Y; B* J
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 c _; e: ~+ G, M; e
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 R2 I# P3 H0 w; O7 Odangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 n8 w( i( n7 d+ v7 Uflag hang from the wall.9 d, p7 _) n3 E$ A% h6 }8 e
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 I4 S, e/ x$ A& \6 i. T: e- w" Manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders( o/ s3 o0 Q/ c; }
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker5 @7 H' N# X- i5 k
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! S! @ P" d2 n- L9 M6 |are already choosing it over Spanish.! r1 e1 N5 n' l7 B3 ]* R
* [! a! _5 U% @"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
$ L$ n& I6 ?5 G8 k+ y o) _at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
6 S2 d( I0 y+ m0 Y" ^; Eoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."4 Q" I: f$ l. w
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,6 B2 L# f% e+ v+ l* G" l$ N& X
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# g0 M9 @: _( C" C
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
0 Q3 n0 Z6 S- [; Qone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
8 j7 u K7 U0 k% ~0 epublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students/ ~# C6 i; f8 i5 \
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.% o, C/ T1 c4 C& j
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; h5 E3 {- }) f1 x1 DTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- T! a# R* f! B
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& O$ ]% H( H* N
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.0 T. P) T2 Q0 Y4 D. _0 y: v* F6 I( S
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement* J2 H7 J6 V0 ?& A# z7 G' i
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. C& U T" k0 ]/ r# T' J
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 l/ U" R P. r6 k1 }2 k% H; adevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# t' z& ~% U) b$ C) y4 B0 J" {4 A+ E9 F
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 D& f: Z1 f2 O8 O I
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 W) g9 L) ^- k, V- J# H
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
% O# y. N9 {1 ?9 `- n6 u5 ?4 d& Jspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
c/ m# U* Q# \$ g; ]/ o9 X0 tConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we6 E0 k. a/ c% l, ^6 d
can."
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# t3 m( k/ K" O& t. q kThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from1 W" C% m9 _! |, B# _5 @ w
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* G& f( m! C5 ~ Z3 j- d2 c* V
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 M6 k: ?9 A/ c& e8 N1 M- ?/ b
Institute in Washington.9 \- N D% }+ @' c1 ~. B7 l! w
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ {! Z5 E1 T2 @8 l, w% j0 ^
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.. X( p2 _9 y3 C0 z0 N: \
McGinnis said.
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6 p' ]# \8 A* t: T; N) V: ^# f"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical- w5 G5 N+ E3 H
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: s1 O7 ?1 i% k2 p& F6 wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
5 l$ A& d- T% zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.", ^; X3 e3 \9 u2 r
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and) ~6 X1 Z6 F& l6 {
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) S9 x- Y; L4 f9 Q! w% fcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% j1 B! i( B, V' N4 ~
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% R. R; k0 {) t3 qon weekends.6 j5 F. G5 y/ p* O" `
1 w" r! e) m7 `2 gThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public R6 e# |: h8 r: _+ J3 H- M/ e
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ c. ~/ L" n5 e" o: `3 j
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said* G* T7 y, d* [
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 |, Y; u2 x2 xcompetition. ! R* h' K! Z% P3 P
- J# O. t9 y3 m9 L3 ]3 y( U# L"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; l. [% S. v6 Csaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly5 g8 N2 {' R+ F: S1 u% ]
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
0 ~/ ^5 G' a) _6 i$ @) Eschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& N" o* |' P2 h! e; r% B2 ~
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
; `. v! u9 k' e" {! J' owho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ R& A- X5 X4 I, [
the school system last year.: m z5 f8 }; h8 y9 s) y% k8 a
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this+ y, x5 t2 w0 n0 ^5 \
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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0 O) B- [* E9 M8 A3 i"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 |5 }5 s' U% P8 _/ W+ F: nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 D$ | U P& V- x6 f" P' cChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* x$ `: C4 _+ a% a1 M
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet6 j( M& U5 {- i M/ ^
on an equal playing field."
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4 f r+ C5 |) x5 @+ y) fSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 l3 u) B9 K$ h, vclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
* E9 f( _9 R- X. C* j1 N5 bService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks+ {- M; V+ ^) F3 \& y9 a( Q0 U6 P
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An7 P3 R8 ]( r4 k/ U# ^
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
, z& z. T( t- [3 n. P, j) BChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the' r |% m' c4 m4 ^/ c. a% z" T
institute says. Q2 Z" Z7 Y3 V
, ^$ _8 n( i `/ [* x% R* hSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
3 G& e* ?" I# v# t0 x" G: ygrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
5 ?& T y# ^8 Vdeciding whether to take the class.
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G4 p n5 k4 A1 t, w"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. v5 T D* q5 I+ r) ^: `7 o4 D! Z
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 m) ?; t5 {* G8 X
class.+ h$ c/ P+ Y2 {8 H6 i2 g7 x
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
8 c, d8 m( o. o- O! \studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- |+ I5 o9 {: F* X# B
occasional frustration.9 Z1 C; V; i4 e
+ }8 [! ]1 y7 _* p"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' G; x$ l2 a6 ~, c$ srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 t7 I5 G3 n: \" mtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ Y3 w+ ?# U2 E* |# xChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.* T5 x2 C7 n0 ?) X" O: ^, u
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ r/ {' K+ {0 D' Osaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
: |9 p' R: S$ o- b9 I/ x/ @7 cas many languages as I can."6 `" J& P. e# V2 J
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
# }8 P1 t% S& @2 A! Tskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
+ o H7 }6 O" v, o+ Hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( H5 M" C( _2 r/ K, J
that," Ms. Freire said.; m9 U9 ^) z% m) |% x( \, Z( a x
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 {5 P0 L/ I8 `% z. F# There offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each: p! E2 ^9 ]% Z3 a
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking* s- ]" g) e7 @( S
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer' d. g8 C; @8 N' y% G
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. h1 w- }# t* s* z0 rcollege, 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
1 \1 V+ h7 x# ]* Xbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 U m, |/ a4 Q( U- |* m# ^ B
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 J8 V' |3 A8 sSociety in New York.: h3 }& K: H* W
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
/ Y7 K5 L& J+ J' z0 s8 cChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
$ X8 c4 C/ [6 l7 `4 j* jthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.( T% v% l6 N `& B, e- n
# w: N# v- m5 n" o* g' l% X$ j0 ["Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our! X# s8 n7 C, E% p* V
own."3 b- h* u/ ^% n/ a7 ?4 B
8 u2 }: i" U0 v2 a* J! LCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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