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October 15, 2005
- ^* a& ^# @! t( E g' NClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# e; ]* M% r2 Z
& r5 g4 `9 T/ xBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, z& K) n' @# j& f \. E9 R
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary& P% }4 P' ]1 }, D) s- i- O+ {
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: r! l9 i) H* n* H" r3 q& d& Q
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
! w' D S5 z6 g' |+ w/ I1 dflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one) l$ k2 a' f7 V' F" e- g( l
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders- w# u2 L$ Y7 H w6 T+ J
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker2 M5 U( W" X8 C) z# ]
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 ^9 N8 G& I& z; Jare already choosing it over Spanish./ i" B3 f9 R0 Z$ T
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& L4 x9 v9 k' m0 f
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 ]' H5 O- q, i# y+ J6 P3 d
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( U' R2 v1 y2 i( }" [
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings2 _7 s* ]9 ^1 \/ t O c( b
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
$ \* w0 N6 X( G8 b8 h8 z- Xone of its most difficult to learn.' B4 s0 [2 c _/ h/ E, J0 w1 o
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to* O) k/ H0 _* f4 s4 I* v
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
# Y5 N* s/ Q. g) q+ xstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 C6 c3 N7 H. ~0 uLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 i! a2 y. B" L5 b) o
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ q+ e# z. k1 c- |9 V4 f! B1 e* v
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& w$ H* V; K( n1 m8 ?5 f$ v
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ m- d5 n& @0 m- k+ W; @
3 p( f" z$ F8 P% W/ hAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
8 a& k. Y5 j+ e* ZChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country/ ?6 |# f( b5 ~
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
( R7 V5 G( L% {2 Gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
, Z: C- d2 R0 ]/ ^. [0 q/ N. tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director. ]1 @, I% q7 [2 u
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.7 T; ] r2 T, m
1 |4 t& o4 `- v% v' y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
/ e! P* h& @9 H: bspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% R% D; T( _' E$ fConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ Z# v/ z& t2 q0 k; m; B/ {can." % Q/ A+ S! l5 v2 d: [( k, B% [
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 k% C; U2 I& C5 Z- Eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
+ f2 o9 o$ y/ o4 qyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 s+ |7 m6 D% h" a; }. [5 d/ J1 [ zInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages% ~3 M* A" j# M2 M! S
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 `& v5 o& y: `% c: y3 `
McGinnis said.. e! \4 P+ i$ T$ K* s" P
+ u6 T! U, F# Z9 V _! t' q# k"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical e2 h9 [8 Z/ T$ A9 g
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
$ |( k. S9 w7 d, Cready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
- K! Q" Y/ n! Y8 E% C& G/ l! pchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and$ ?2 @' i5 J/ n4 u2 z/ a
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in6 U# c# U) T: p% y
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of3 v6 F/ Y/ Y5 a# \& C% Z
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or8 b7 ~3 D; x% s) W, |+ D
on weekends.2 |) C) V2 _3 \5 t
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public; I+ T/ c7 Y9 |5 }! k" ^
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ y4 A! S+ Q4 f5 u3 A3 D* _$ w
students who are not of Chinese descent.! E$ i8 ~; m- P6 L6 {
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& G( B& [ w R7 C3 l1 k1 G3 tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' y4 X; c5 S" a* W# a
competition.
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8 O& s$ S9 S9 c3 _"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley4 i5 X% V4 m; S
said. "There will be Chinese and English."" A/ A2 K' Q) B3 X8 ~ [
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 W) {3 n; y& m- l1 | i7 k
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse) R; `" D @6 }, D
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from+ x c1 Y% t' d( R, D* I9 S
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students( {! w- n N& `! g* N7 ~- q, Q! Y7 J+ `
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to3 Q) B1 e" j% h( W6 g8 R
the school system last year.
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0 [1 c. V- F& h3 w8 {4 n7 l4 ?6 PThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' V# }9 L l) N$ Byear 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 own7 M! R4 b5 k' N! `" H* h* A
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) G0 M' ] M/ ?: c8 V0 q4 {7 I8 QChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to3 | X( `5 }# l2 K, W; A
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
l9 W+ H: A- i8 r! ]$ M) R7 ]on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# Z4 J7 }8 T% r( m- L( v' R- ^classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign8 L, \# P% Q ~" H* N
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks) X0 Q3 e, I9 J+ r0 b @
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An3 D9 k9 [2 ?6 b# L" J( t% l
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in* K ~' E* K# f) y% h# b- N
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
4 h$ o+ ]1 a) y: kinstitute says.; p' q4 W) j4 b8 U+ d5 J
6 e+ c3 J! m9 Q1 d% ?Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth4 I9 V; i& g0 m4 x' j H# S
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# C" y( L" U4 z% Y5 gdeciding whether to take the class.# h% a5 M% h8 a. [5 i! q% l3 N9 S
. a+ ?, g4 |" o( f: u2 Z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 _; a" R( B- g6 ? f# y8 z* t
told her daughter.# H1 d; e; L6 p# K/ y4 H* W- y
! D8 c4 ^% c, A+ ?+ ^0 ], sSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite$ U- a7 K/ o7 P/ w, G
class.1 _ y* g9 w! g
2 D" C6 U+ J- @6 J9 QAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are1 a, x" O! T5 ^' `
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; V1 H k2 Z: P6 S9 A. goccasional frustration.
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5 S! t3 x% J# N- o2 q"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a% z! m9 w# S: ~" ~: G
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! r n' ^8 i4 H* h4 ?, L6 utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 E! V1 b& H8 E* J9 FChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- C3 c/ U7 x" K
/ b' Y' g6 _6 r8 d5 ^3 \"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ i2 D5 Q, Z/ h" ?said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn/ A. S6 J1 F7 G5 }+ G
as many languages as I can."
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+ ~1 X& l0 ^& tAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
! v& o9 L6 G1 N" Fskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
1 m7 @8 @0 @5 Y7 K3 Amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
) H/ v% m8 {9 U5 o) S1 }1 P! cthat," Ms. Freire said.( t5 m3 M/ [5 [8 d
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; ?. X# i% F* b5 V( z Ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
1 O! m X4 k3 S8 f1 z8 I/ eschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& q5 g5 U$ ?4 g: A5 Q9 Mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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. Y! D/ g& V# X$ OChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 F$ r' ]5 O/ c) S& K# u/ [
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ O' g5 G% F9 I6 P
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 }4 B9 _7 a2 J/ z: i) a
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
4 C7 g) G1 e9 d6 M3 Vbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, o" w4 ]$ T) r0 Ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia$ l9 o: F9 @/ B8 I" S) v
Society in New York.9 B) |- z4 ?) z9 n
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the4 C3 x1 |6 P4 k. q. w
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from* R, S5 j5 C- G( S G1 j; i% P) C: |
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! }" a+ f) a! B. ?4 c% o" f9 S
own."* s6 Q6 a N4 L: O
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