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October 15, 2005! R* C' o6 {2 L
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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+ b6 p9 [! ^9 _9 s3 s6 r! vBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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. s, [+ z" b. v, Q9 g% bCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; c% y/ y7 ]9 ]% i$ O' ^5 L* VUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 h/ o4 h/ Z1 w' h A
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ r! g9 t- X1 I9 ^& i. H# E
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
* w0 G4 s3 h' Uflag hang from the wall.
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. T' _: B9 X# I& g4 eOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( Z. B: [! O4 p6 F& qanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
3 @! t. o+ y3 N# F$ V7 b6 R& r/ v- a3 x* ~practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
2 Y+ E2 q$ | W6 z( l V! Kboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students8 k& L6 a% N9 t/ U
are already choosing it over Spanish./ u; z. {1 W p3 h5 a. s3 L
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal4 }, }5 d2 L5 T0 u7 T$ R/ q
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
Q7 X# u/ Y( w& `; ^: a. Moffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: y6 U$ Z! B+ E$ i% G1 ]schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- \! ~4 o+ Y1 w8 I1 X) @; vto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 O5 j: Y( y% R4 s5 ~
one of its most difficult to learn./ \2 w9 J/ j; K3 r1 Y6 T3 @% U
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
2 ~& k) r$ u* c G% i, [/ Ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- \* p {. p: J4 dstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
n* ]/ r! ?, FLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of# f+ L$ @8 H. {* i" D! k
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 P: y- ^% n C3 t" v" xChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to4 l! x; }% Y2 U; ~3 y
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ q+ K! N! ~" v1 O, R
U! J# e2 E% k4 t) S, f6 mAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement2 C, }/ h& O5 F3 r6 Y
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country( H% s7 e0 M8 O+ B; h. F0 ~
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 G4 x& d, a8 g' K1 K C% j( z
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 P" m3 m: ^% w0 m; R- d) a& z
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director! S5 O# N! c6 M3 E$ d3 S; u! O
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.# w! @( j! b5 v0 a0 @
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of* @) H0 l3 M) O- d4 q$ ]- ^
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- |! N: M* {4 B2 V' G, ^Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we ?, l ` i; Z! Z
can." 1 v1 } E( D P
- w5 h0 e L' I: ]9 x1 I4 D) oThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
" W6 m$ k+ {/ S" o0 ~5 Selementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10+ h( X( `. m4 m( {
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; _9 w% b% B! x+ m- [, X1 w: f
Institute in Washington.& n7 C. ?" f7 Y5 V7 y
% ?+ n1 p3 t& {5 A; @"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 H4 W, I* m! @- j O' O( b/ i
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! E* n" q: q# d2 sMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
, p1 j# [4 o4 v% `6 D! Z7 Ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
' A! \6 u$ _6 `& r6 m) y7 rready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a; u; h" e; d' H8 |5 x% E1 R
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". J ]& {6 i4 B8 c' r: k
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and* `4 C! V, q8 ~+ K; r8 |
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
/ R9 f: G( s8 U% m( q, u9 \cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. f/ f+ J( M% [" zChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ D: ?& S2 h! K% M! P! C
on weekends.( N3 [" U6 N3 O
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# d' @* k, ~: I. G7 c E4 T+ {
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 k+ z! S: B3 h0 gstudents who are not of Chinese descent.6 g2 E5 P ^0 j( G
; a9 X1 k! L) ] X1 Y- J3 TMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( w. A, d' | l& O( g5 {3 O
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the c5 \3 L5 N3 y
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley( ~# o, n+ z; {+ r( i, t
said. "There will be Chinese and English."2 q; q. f" t: p1 e
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. G( y7 e, Z7 ^" D6 \0 @ U
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- U- ?) o& _; U/ Eschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
4 `1 j; M0 A1 z' ]( T; c2 H8 a1 E3 bkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, X6 x1 v5 U* W! C2 awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to2 v) A ?( j; t: b& n' ?9 X* S$ x0 G
the school system last year.$ A* R6 Y, T' G n- d7 J
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
& e- d* _4 `4 @% X/ ayear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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( o; T) J D* f/ T, c"They have a great international experience right in their own h" e6 O; N- U0 H! s( n* t
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 ?; ^+ w9 N x- |0 K4 QChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 J% D& M5 m1 z( ^# ^" U3 l, o8 F( C
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
& @1 g' H. p7 E+ R& q# c- kon an equal playing field."; s: B9 d: a; L- X* G/ ~
N3 E0 S6 O2 x$ ~6 wSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese6 [5 `, A3 P1 P/ ?; }. O9 ~0 V
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign: ]# h. \* v( l0 H9 S9 ^
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks% l9 w4 o2 M, S+ l5 H
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
0 Z3 Z* K6 ]; M! q1 C3 ?average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
# U! \+ j a4 X2 E) W4 nChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* f, ~* F& R. ^: a, F, V, o3 Dinstitute says.
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: c( N# D' k. |! _4 b6 WSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth# u) L# i) _& N% ^- r9 _
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, |- U2 w2 P/ t; H
deciding whether to take the class.$ H7 w" ?8 M3 K, R' W4 c# Z
% p2 z7 y. p: l5 u) |3 E"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 p5 @# W" t( b$ dtold her daughter.4 H/ G# Q5 A- u
# w; x4 j$ x3 s& gSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 R, R3 T1 e$ [3 p- f" r1 y) Iclass.8 K/ M: ]# s: K, z
! Q+ X4 H( j) r+ X! iAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
) a( Y- c: c5 g8 U7 l' `+ ~, wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 g3 l, v1 [& V, E1 n5 E- eoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! Z! l. O- ^5 R- M M" S- `recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.; t9 U* T- X- m
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ ~! g8 Q; l& v/ y' i
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- J) w% j- N/ x- E; _- OChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.+ x3 {" o) c. b3 U1 x1 T
: i- n; l$ u+ Z9 h"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
, K7 B# l% L u8 v6 ~said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn: r; ]# {" D8 Q$ x6 |+ D
as many languages as I can."1 M& |. J* p7 m4 p4 m! C
# V: l9 n% y5 p) a' tAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the) B% p- S5 F) e
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job% [# [2 d: V9 q7 P. |
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, f: a0 R- u6 ]% J
that," Ms. Freire said., A7 M W6 q& w7 R" c7 [' g
0 H$ i1 p* Y1 B0 o/ a. k5 m" RMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 C X4 a* t9 [* v. ]# }4 Q M. }
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
& | q# {) ?7 qschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking9 D4 p# Y1 p9 \- Y: l5 a/ r; @3 K
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
* O; |, Y# o' Q" p# eroom.
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- U4 x0 q) T" F3 I) B2 S% B [Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* P* f9 c/ U% E5 l
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American( n) g5 Q: x# o6 l
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.) T9 j7 W% y. Z% S) E
8 N& Z1 f4 I: L& v" x; q$ H; g8 |% x"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 a# D8 C1 ^! I0 U; n
because of that missing certification," he said.
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3 m# u9 D! s5 J% \; d# Y, LThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 B- \$ H; o$ R% F* @- B) a8 X- S
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* q' g# ]. n) c- h2 A3 @( Q- ]! B
Society in New York.6 T- o* a; L' z) Z' V5 j4 `. R) ^
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
" g- D" q3 s) b7 z8 U0 I, L$ X- u! @Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from* c6 Z7 _( _2 @ ]% ]
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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6 b( f/ t$ e$ _& `"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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