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October 15, 2005- {+ H H" N0 |+ W' q$ @9 d
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING ?+ B- Y( J$ B. x, E! a7 ~
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the" \5 E* j& j& y6 w1 u
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 r! n+ D# G% g5 {4 u, C
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% J" K1 V/ @2 A/ a, L8 k8 {dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& e# _7 @ u1 z
flag hang from the wall.& [% X8 q/ L2 @$ n3 x" A
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! T: q6 s" }9 n& f$ u: Q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
2 Q) k6 X8 Z5 q) |5 xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, A/ H9 b, ?( ?: I
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
# j0 T+ x; J. J- U5 a) _4 r( zare already choosing it over Spanish.- z7 r/ x% Q9 t; D- M% k$ v
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal) f+ p5 O* m' i' Z
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city1 r; _0 y6 o+ f9 ?$ r: V4 m! W4 h
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 Y6 O y2 _3 _ g* O3 \
9 e( y# u. q) k' F7 UWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( B6 O9 ]0 V. q1 P2 `# C
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
" T! V$ w) \$ a: Z9 L8 k% pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 `0 [" v; a) V6 ?: G/ R7 \/ @
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ n. }1 r6 N1 n" i5 s; Z1 ?
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& a+ N' k$ R% t7 z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ W; }! j# \$ p; y G# b0 Y
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of. l6 U6 m: Y: a, ~/ H7 |) f
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on' S! ` R& p8 U" r9 l; k
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
3 s5 ~7 T) ]* s# |# Mimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) ^1 ~* ?7 ~0 W; A7 JChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
& e* Q3 L. }% ?$ Istarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
. y8 a/ s( O/ d2 x4 f, M( xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing9 w& [. I& Z1 `+ J9 w
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director! L- l( u7 ^% U; h0 n. C
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of7 a# ~: U9 w) m: t3 s4 j0 U; L. z8 {
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 B# |- J! a' d; N
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
2 V8 [4 z" ^& ?1 Acan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 F0 O. k- t, I" {; P4 r- X4 ]elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 h- \6 I; Q8 n! `6 l
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language+ w& [5 B+ O2 B2 J: e
Institute in Washington. J5 u% I" S2 E: I; `' V
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
+ `1 X: a4 I! _3 Oaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; q0 h- |, q1 @; `! q: FMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
# C. m. W1 t9 @- z% r5 p6 U% U) Zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 r6 F. Y9 `& `0 z& j. g9 l
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
; V8 [0 [( g+ ]/ i- V0 b# Xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" A& Q' S9 T5 A& Y% ]& J" Y
' D& b! T& ^5 I4 N, R O d% mUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
9 ]9 e9 Q5 ~4 ~6 ~/ J" ssecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% P* v' E: j8 u$ d9 J& {9 k6 ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of0 Y- |# M' f$ E& o2 i
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 N" D/ c8 I1 t* L/ Gon weekends.- U2 e9 n7 e# x1 T% h2 s" O: N
( Y4 P" a, L5 W4 B0 x- GThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! `0 p# L$ G Y" ?: K) R# p
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, O% D% _" F% C8 `+ k, S5 V6 Istudents who are not of Chinese descent.+ ?2 e8 c; q1 l+ F
" f6 X; `1 Z% y; u DMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said4 g8 t! Y) l# u2 S8 B' ]
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the9 L" b0 J9 z% s$ H! Z( `
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 `8 t3 O+ @* l. d9 R4 X tsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
) _; ~0 T. Y4 P# j8 ]all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
# ~9 G- Q3 M: T8 p& p7 O% ?schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from0 E7 A- x6 j- `, v# r" k
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
# v# R0 ?/ Q! G& twho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& j6 P0 j2 ]( }& t/ _8 P/ rthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( C# {6 G9 I3 p3 ]. dyear 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
, U9 Y9 Z/ r- H0 F+ Z9 zclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" W' x) [% c& D8 d' {$ m5 |' LChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
9 u. d. P3 |6 ^2 Ihelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet) N! V" y3 r+ s) o# B2 g% u' g5 C
on an equal playing field."' A% R N9 q K8 m( v# p N
$ R- c, x$ r5 E/ B9 d J7 g9 sSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, W+ C% `1 i9 R: W# \. yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
& _& q: D/ e% a xService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* A. `* S6 h4 y0 ?" XChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" [( ~$ `/ b% `: naverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
+ N. E& M9 Y# `# ?3 sChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! V+ ?& Y! @ g5 S8 L* ]institute says.- r$ P, ~: F1 L. X$ {7 k3 I* h
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth! _8 b p& N6 X; a! ]0 `
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
9 Z& \5 S7 y( L$ m$ zdeciding whether to take the class.# ?3 S& J1 c# Q: Q/ R2 y
; ^$ C( \% G" ]3 w"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 v( [9 j$ n! Gtold her daughter.3 d( o& Z' \# N2 S, A0 C5 ^$ s
, k5 U+ u/ m, P5 g3 _Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
! o# n: f. Y( A$ w5 ^1 x q: r3 kclass.0 L6 U9 G d @7 X/ U
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
c0 {; G; q/ l i6 Kstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without ?% Q8 i" b# U3 J
occasional frustration./ L) W% r, J+ Y4 `2 A: M
" Q# o$ U( s5 b8 ?1 H* X"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' O3 o' j1 }( Q) srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) n+ w, ~/ t L
& b' l1 S5 t! u( JRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
) |; G3 m" t1 `7 S; t3 P0 qtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with- D f! e; t0 @' G
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 m8 g g# [ T d) i% U4 C! u
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn. T/ f* o$ k# y. A3 b
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the3 d, Q) l. b" K& y" p* O
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
+ P* H7 E/ b( l2 mmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
* l$ r: X) M+ P) c! d2 zthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program6 c" V" u, d' c8 {, a
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
2 L# Q" \' w$ ~/ mschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
# [: b. {4 y) F1 \2 _. J7 L, s& F( ^time from classes like physical education, music and art to make$ [% m, G- Z+ R( c t- C- x5 t
room.& ~( H, y+ \0 J/ P! c* R
- a$ }' {0 H( P, y. T+ ~* O& ^Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 ]& h" H$ T4 YChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; B0 b) J2 S6 o" {+ T3 }
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
, B' Q, I+ H9 c9 ~ Pbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
/ d8 l3 y; C3 @- f8 G# E7 q/ ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia1 |; x, c1 f1 g- l
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the! w& p" l! d/ W+ e4 l- m* J# r
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from7 s8 n7 s2 X5 X9 v2 p
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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