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October 15, 2005- S# n7 C8 K0 X$ I
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ d) z1 g+ o7 ?9 o, W7 q
) w: ?" J4 J/ B8 P3 T8 R$ ^9 }By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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! i. b9 N7 Q/ {. Z) J. z4 e( G$ NCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
: {. C3 @" c$ d8 r6 ~, M% Q: yUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
& p0 ?! i3 S% [: M4 @5 [School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: W1 D$ x2 O5 `
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
9 v3 I6 Y6 l' t. T' Y, Q% R$ Y& tflag hang from the wall. I2 n4 W3 r. k
, B% X# X' d7 f4 @5 o. w# x( sOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 Q7 K: V% }7 @; r6 H M$ h: k+ N
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 `* m. U( X. ]$ U
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, b8 G5 W9 t Q; c! [& S
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 k, |+ \( C& _' p/ _are already choosing it over Spanish.6 U R* g+ `! W# \, `7 T
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal% c+ W4 U& f6 }
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- @" x2 i0 U" s+ O" D. v: [offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."& s4 @& F5 v4 O* H7 n
5 u$ e" b1 ^& K; u* bWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
& D' r# f! q9 U/ t# }" Mschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. [$ }8 y7 ^: S; M7 Lto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% x( \( C! Q: I2 [7 a6 f- ione of its most difficult to learn.
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7 P( f, | F) I+ K& G- G$ eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" |) t; I* U9 J! P, N+ P! B3 _public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students" t3 A2 m$ V# o# P6 h
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I., y" ~7 I3 W" O0 }5 ]
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of# D+ y) Z+ H( b! c7 _
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on$ b4 C+ y6 S9 s t! `4 `, f* A
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! ~( B' B9 D+ ^& d, p# j& ximprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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6 j* J( S, L) W' tAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement' g) [+ O1 E6 v& n" h
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country2 p8 C) i3 r9 O7 e) e7 g
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 u6 T: C8 c0 _' b( m) i/ Q! k! Ndevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 y- j Q/ E! I4 T: P
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# q6 W/ E: C& F! [
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 N' o s; L5 Z7 M$ J
u# u( ^3 q6 t" U& Y* S"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of7 ^( _. J8 n, E! N% q$ d! R- r
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 W6 ]; j) j. \( P+ P" x NConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
5 F5 G. b6 T7 N5 Scan."
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, [' w# h6 A4 z2 `0 F* {' z5 x# bThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from4 Q* Y7 _6 e, V7 p
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( v- r ` g2 i; z
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language/ o: C' A7 u- c. d( ?
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
: t* A/ a2 R. r& Iaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.4 {5 B$ F# z9 B0 }9 d
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical) q2 c: p( Z4 b7 g: v2 o7 f
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 c+ V$ ?3 i1 t9 d/ W
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a% w0 Z) Y& A6 x) C4 x" X/ u- |
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") u' @9 U) t* v9 |
7 H/ k& J b. t& |/ c. ~/ |Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 P7 Y Q) j% j) Q# M
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in4 ~" o5 L, i. y9 _8 ?
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 n# M5 t* E2 J& ` O" G2 H8 eChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 }# B/ P! S6 Z" mon weekends.) D6 z; A" C% ]0 ^2 z( T/ U ` A
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 [$ z) [ y- k5 ^8 @# q0 h
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
" h+ t, J, J- v, l/ P; lstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
' H% f/ H" e2 ?: S& xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- l8 z0 G4 |; B" x" xcompetition. : s4 f5 v# _+ |; V. `# k
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley* ^( | G: c3 N9 r
said. "There will be Chinese and English."8 s9 O7 ]* k |% I( O# o; w
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly( B: C7 c3 R$ Z b( \% V2 t
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse. V" E3 _: c1 t1 M$ f1 q+ _
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# s9 H- v7 p A7 }5 g) Fkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, k* F8 U$ _! }( W0 H6 M
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
' b$ X. L, v" y0 X9 b7 Y1 ithe school system last year.! |# n5 M! G' o0 g' X: y9 W5 [
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; t. w) X, H j: `# z* C
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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% y5 r3 U( \2 S! p8 @. ?* u"They have a great international experience right in their own& x2 v' A$ z6 M, U% n
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago- M9 A; E ~1 A( \& d# H
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' Y% d9 f0 J: T/ D" h0 J# R) [* ehelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 m" L: [ ~. Z
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese0 v# a. \0 E, G; T
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 u, V$ Q6 a1 D" IService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
& e$ S4 ^$ a% {3 \+ l; oChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
, C+ W/ a Q7 w5 ~average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in' M4 |8 m- k( d) l8 J2 E$ C. u/ Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! F, C- J' J. O+ I/ vinstitute says.: I9 N, Q" W- }* a* O; b' ?
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth) ^/ e; ]9 S* j( b0 j# i1 M0 m) F' G
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before# ?, C4 s, m0 f z, G
deciding whether to take the class.+ v+ `8 J7 ^. ?
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 t9 |6 Y1 C1 V2 Ctold her daughter.
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/ b. }( c4 a$ J& ySahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% K% ?1 n4 {2 p: ` D. Z$ V+ o8 Tclass.
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; i, ?0 ]+ a2 J. ]' dAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' y, W% S! \/ t1 |5 K- Z
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* K* b: y9 S/ n4 S/ M* boccasional frustration.
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+ ?" a# ^- _0 u* o, c2 ["Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: W, j9 Y- p3 F7 X9 ]( w% x, B
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.3 m+ s7 a z$ S1 T9 p
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! C3 _' h5 e/ Q1 g3 ~/ \+ `+ qtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with, J$ @6 U/ O7 l. G
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! Z/ t7 R: d* G' T( P1 c6 n8 y
$ l3 [/ H/ U, N0 r/ ] U"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
7 B/ G5 r( s p2 F6 @0 Hsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn. f |- z, S* x. c8 i
as many languages as I can."9 T1 c4 B; N4 x" e3 o' W0 y0 o9 M
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the2 d5 _/ E$ ?$ B5 B) B% c
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job1 L) B2 q% r/ w
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like$ h7 f- Q( W( c+ K
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
7 L2 x$ B$ O) f" s W, {here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each+ U) A# o2 ]2 c; ~
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 N; c5 V7 E( p% ?: @* ~
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make7 s3 g8 D0 g y% G
room.# O3 x7 z5 x0 I7 p9 H9 Y
4 d0 h' N; t; t* |Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer3 X' G9 l: d4 ]3 z2 Y8 M9 b
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' v/ V: e: o5 k% l
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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8 U1 u) Y& x. [1 F" W6 t6 n( C"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& U) Y! z4 W: j5 f! j4 x( l
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( `# i/ t: f* v) Z
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia0 P" l. y3 h0 e0 {4 ^& S8 \
Society in New York.5 |' I" M, N3 |) N0 _
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ X: W' E ] G. @9 }% ^Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
. M0 ~/ t, ]% I1 C+ N/ H- \. f. ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our7 y& }& C4 k# E# v. [
own."
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