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October 15, 2005; T9 {- p& K% g1 Z* R% n; ]
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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7 _2 I2 G9 G) _0 C! P9 DBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- A, ?$ O$ }% Z4 |5 RUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 E! Z1 K# i x, A7 C2 j! ]5 cSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# F# U- o3 W8 Q( C$ t6 a
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese( `$ u% O( k. o) i
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
- |" z5 L) M% banother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
8 }$ z/ Q7 r0 A0 e; H% L% Epracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker4 ?4 ~( ` G1 G# q
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% D6 M+ W6 U+ U( ~0 E0 o; Bare already choosing it over Spanish.
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4 j2 u1 C- s6 y( L6 _0 M0 ]"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal2 u% _! t' V' m# B+ d
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city2 T" j7 K. \8 p! d+ E
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."( Q e" {9 g7 u/ O. j( O$ I7 A
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,4 A; B+ N; s9 P
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings9 {6 } o$ Y1 ~% b
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention# v9 f" J5 v! a J2 ]
one of its most difficult to learn.
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8 y# F6 r% c5 |) B3 ]5 Y) MLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to& F: L8 J, `$ D% f& }3 H3 m1 f0 J L
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 f4 h. ]& X$ t6 c6 Q" ]' u ^% p
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.8 ^4 r) j4 G0 C# t
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
9 e9 p& `1 d0 x }4 pTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on4 {) a' k; R0 p
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
. F4 P0 U) {/ M# l0 Himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.9 d6 s0 E3 l, r3 U; B4 X" ~
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement1 r) z# X, ]; h% T2 f
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. g; `+ p4 b3 Y+ v6 @% a1 m- d
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 r. l5 ~+ @, T% |7 }% \develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
/ `) d* X9 ?( ?' t0 @. i0 Ecurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director' ]; e' M0 g+ }
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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7 r3 _" J# [. d) x"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* }& L- Q" \* F0 E3 l' Gspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education. B1 Z8 @" M( K. d- W0 ^
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" @* n7 |3 X7 R$ ycan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, ^5 \# T2 D4 w. ~elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: x! E' c# ]9 i2 _ Uyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language$ h9 ~5 X* J) c
Institute in Washington.: e$ F( i) _' d- {+ _5 C
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; G1 i+ p* w/ \- O: }aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# P- u& V' B+ z
McGinnis said.( W7 `- E7 y9 H# P; t# n/ D3 L
4 x; a m1 E0 X. h" D, n"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical, }1 _6 D- d7 k( ?# R) k
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
5 g) j" k+ J1 sready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a a4 g" ?5 \1 J- B
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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$ K$ ^3 o6 K# }! q% UUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 `# S2 v: u- U
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% p0 y- }9 d) X+ Ocities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
- k }0 k2 k, I) t4 H, WChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
; i5 @! `1 [3 U# pon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
8 s2 j w0 D9 ]4 B; f( @+ Vschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
% j" w. m( V+ Nstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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. S4 J' H+ M/ Y, K% aMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said& z8 G4 w- c ^; q) d/ |
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the/ M [& |# m: H! v g
competition. ) ^: n9 T7 k9 f9 R( n/ Q0 w
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" J' o) Z1 `6 B G- U- p
said. "There will be Chinese and English."+ D0 M3 w& k1 H9 Q4 E G
5 x# A! h- D0 `2 ~6 tFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 Z$ r& ^2 c7 Zall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- m2 u$ b8 d5 M' Y* ^4 pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- `, h/ j3 s" y- \, vkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 r; m& T$ J2 ?( I2 r
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- q5 H5 k, U1 h @: j* F2 o
the school system last year.( K" U/ I) z" U7 H8 ^- N
5 A3 _" I4 \1 `( X( [% S5 h' hThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
7 {6 b% `8 H% x8 ^2 x2 {+ V: N5 E6 _year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( T& w; i5 V2 B
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
1 u$ d T l ^7 y Z! Y6 {7 Uclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago. J! h' w4 C3 u5 Q0 l1 }! p
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
! ?& f0 g, B1 q; l4 M; I! \2 khelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
* v8 S* B0 q; d2 [4 Y1 Oon an equal playing field.") o- {( t1 b5 z6 _* V
# A/ j R9 Q& k2 r; E4 JSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- t- i# |) o5 {9 F# Bclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 u/ P: {7 Q$ M$ V2 Y5 {/ zService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks E4 t7 g/ S# N8 A- e; j- `8 Z( p
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
1 T# R' i5 J: A3 gaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in+ z! `. P3 D9 |
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
" c3 m" R i* M6 F' d4 F! cinstitute says.
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+ c$ C0 V/ q" Y& y$ ASevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth) M1 q4 H4 Q% L% z! C
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
, n( u5 Y4 E( ~, Q& J& x4 W; m' odeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
2 ]4 F+ w4 [' Atold her daughter.
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; T. ^' v6 m% j$ d7 W" |- M$ uSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
5 r* M; I% h% G2 d- l6 Tclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
; F! L3 I! ^- o3 qstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" v/ k+ ~1 H: V1 L8 D. ~occasional frustration.
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( \8 O- x: V2 K& h8 t"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, @2 G. B* v3 H# Y+ B% Hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 V9 V7 ?+ p. D, `, A! x+ j
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 M( a3 d! f5 K$ z0 r Staught words to his mother so she could better communicate with, ~1 R0 ]* N! Q9 F
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
% G. i, {" }) \4 y/ K# X3 ssaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
6 z; ]- F* ~* J: M2 t$ h Nas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the5 B2 \6 O0 J) }( O, { p* b
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
! c0 U- f7 K# ymarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( B1 K6 ^$ G4 f' ?
that," Ms. Freire said.
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; U8 o8 R! G& A7 m+ f! GMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 B) C; i# W% P( e
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
9 c0 |/ s2 Z5 N/ }, S% O4 _3 kschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking B% b" f u0 F
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make* |4 B2 g+ m) e% W$ n9 M6 x! i& o4 S
room.9 d$ z0 b- I3 o6 I! R6 ]2 `! F
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
; C$ s L; N0 p. aChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- R4 l. P! `6 U( q8 m" {+ Wcollege, 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( h# x4 Y- C$ T" D, [3 i+ X
because of that missing certification," he said.5 L3 J+ |9 q( \2 J
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( t$ R! b$ Q! f( W
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia0 R9 r; ]( L x
Society in New York.
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" _ e1 r% _5 \. B0 VSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the( j/ t( j1 ?0 r$ ~1 D
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
; l [1 [& O, [! r% s' Gthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.% c2 b/ m* R( [( [- b( N
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our9 F8 S' q5 N o* A9 k3 {& C, G8 V3 _
own."2 a, ?* a! J' r" R
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