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October 15, 2005, q" w, G' r! R- e$ u; a
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity. c; E- `# M! Y4 b
$ H6 n& z p+ t/ P) A, bBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING' Z* h) x }# w
. A0 e+ \ o# @' a" {% |CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 h" U' S% X5 p" _United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
4 ?$ F v! G. w& ^/ A' [School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ J; O* s1 J/ W; _dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& e( [5 ~. V) c$ q4 u
flag hang from the wall.
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1 O% I: ^/ Z4 b& f9 p5 VOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one/ I9 U& o0 x. t
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' j/ Y$ m4 K2 ^3 Tpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 S, ?- F: }+ l Nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students9 P) Y' \+ [* e, E( H- h% |
are already choosing it over Spanish.% z; ?7 v' q8 v: T3 Y1 P
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
- M4 }- o3 B" m9 D. Gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" O' `. U& w7 W- r9 ~offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* r" b, R5 q W5 `+ g+ ^8 S
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. U% G" h' }* p: Tschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( W/ H. o6 [" K I' J: x
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ U0 M" B' R. ?! S" C1 F: bone of its most difficult to learn. O& R2 E# [- n+ q7 A8 A
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
. `. E9 z& P4 L' `+ mpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 V2 x5 e# R' nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 B1 k" ^% K" E8 a5 ?
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
6 G$ {' _) I) ?7 M8 \0 KTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
* Z2 b p. C+ p% T, PChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to, P5 W2 i5 K! y6 V% @# ]! j& l
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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6 J3 W& z; w7 [' s5 f _After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 {8 g; m- A5 s$ S
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country' `# L. }& b) n! p/ R0 F
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to1 O8 @0 i4 H G$ C5 x
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing0 H) b/ r% z' w, I% I
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
* @4 c9 C$ [" S' yof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of( e7 E6 @* m* S, d* v
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education* E. I5 t& O, B& H
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
( z) H/ |: l: r8 S( ]5 Lcan." 9 l& O4 r) U, v5 y
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 W+ Z5 g. T* l8 O/ gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; `: x4 y. H% Q& e) P5 [years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, b+ J! u2 h+ A" zInstitute in Washington.% o4 U7 N6 z0 u0 Y3 Y# m
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
7 r; E2 H" {! {: varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% u" r' ^( ~3 o0 Q5 gMcGinnis said.$ V2 ]) z6 p# e
! w, U- f0 a4 A"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical! |4 A, h8 ?4 E& U [
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) Q8 n5 s3 @4 P) Dready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a% X- q" ]) V7 O0 U
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
& J/ q: K3 v0 z2 z8 usecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in! ]& x" f5 h$ Z% |5 g
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
N( D, f, Q7 I% \1 }2 CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 R* M+ `1 n. @6 Y1 Q1 Gon weekends.' v7 j$ I( m+ ~8 c
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public" m' y2 k; P! |& G: [- M ?
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves# e1 A% G4 L8 M8 N4 H
students who are not of Chinese descent.; k _2 l+ t# |. x4 w; W
" E) B K% d( q: W) m& jMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
3 j; F! v/ e( y5 Uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the) W& |2 \& r! v6 a) _/ i z+ n! ^
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# I1 s0 P+ @+ G, b- T; gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."3 ?, f6 q- @! c; P4 q G
8 G3 S# W; ]6 T" mFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly' E! Y* @. h/ }5 ^
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse2 _6 W4 {; \/ \
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
8 G; b X6 k, a" i# F- _& b' hkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- I- J' p# }1 @6 hwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 P; g9 ?& U$ q
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* p$ l2 O% Y6 y% a: v2 Uyear 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
. d/ Y( K9 _+ y' `6 ^/ oclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 s" S; N- q+ }5 Q& J% qChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to/ g9 i4 Y* b7 `& z, [7 y W
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
+ t, ]$ m. g3 P( v. Ron an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 W+ s9 \ |# ~- ~" Y9 u- d1 _
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 b: ?; c& _5 W5 DService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 y0 S: W5 p( J/ U9 d
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# D5 h" J/ k5 u U. ?* r9 f
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ W- V! W. p) _# Q* x# G( r. b
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the0 N' e: @6 a- [! D1 R N& S8 b
institute says.
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7 h3 W! @+ U$ l% zSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; o7 p3 _5 {9 \* _6 o2 Ggrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before3 m- r) S, L5 s7 s/ C
deciding whether to take the class.' A2 a& U% v" L! c
4 }+ Y& n; V% z8 P"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 y5 I# N* I& ?8 d! G9 Ptold her daughter./ L _1 s! `: u+ v& p* c! r2 x8 y
- |6 ~# @- w/ g4 Z& OSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- C1 b# o: Y8 {% c5 C5 |; z bclass.. _: F7 j( y( G- y* I4 L) d) a
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
8 }; J; }1 P5 L+ @studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
6 Z* |* h. K9 U- H, \! |occasional frustration., T4 j* r3 C) y( h1 N- c2 C
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a7 ^6 I9 p( T6 |& t5 E& M! ~7 j$ z+ U
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) V! e6 C5 j! D! \# A
9 @3 F& d" {% k! J/ }Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
' z- p: z$ h n; Etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
' l& V: V3 j; j, L: g! zChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 W% B5 a7 e9 J+ X N$ N# [" q/ q$ t
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ m! I& s" L7 [2 ^' \
as many languages as I can."6 J- ?1 j6 y- K, ^. j
% X3 h4 {& M9 X- qAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( S3 t6 a4 S# i Iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; M# D1 V$ M3 Cmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
! O3 J7 k1 p4 J2 ] \3 I; r4 Sthat," Ms. Freire said. G$ a, {* X7 M
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
3 [8 a+ c6 X& R' Where offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
* W! x. d: A; g: G3 k0 A8 S e( qschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 U; m2 m& k J5 J) s0 mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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( @- |: t# n* i; f3 B. ]Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
6 }5 q# Y$ O. S7 {1 ]- H2 tChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* L* m4 K8 A1 d3 i9 j
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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/ I( z9 ~3 I, f0 Z9 n6 {7 V0 q4 P"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
1 z/ D. D5 @, o3 mbecause of that missing certification," he said.9 Q- ]0 K* j( M* \2 D: J( H9 k! _
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,$ h1 L8 m) h$ t3 h( W: `; _- c
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia4 A! Y. g6 @0 {' o% v5 ?7 `& w
Society in New York.3 v/ p! ]; _. L. k3 V! {
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 v' R/ { h8 |' q5 eChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from+ X& Z8 o3 x- J; B; b8 r
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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M0 x2 S; Q5 Z4 d"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our A$ u4 f7 o9 V
own."# T0 Q3 f/ c( n; j
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