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October 15, 2005- i$ N9 n7 q* J; M& [9 T
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity d+ F0 I8 g' X- b
/ k% c9 _+ J0 X* K/ c( H* M5 G! WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING& o$ [4 ?' _6 r& y
U/ u) b5 m, ?) m6 ]
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
$ `% ?( g: J4 P" rUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 c9 m5 s2 x6 L _+ f
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
3 A+ H' `" b, |" R9 L# Vdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
7 V4 x% U; G/ oflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
" H' C1 m% v/ {' ^- danother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% e) h& y$ c7 Gpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) v2 [7 E* e: `! b2 z2 L0 Nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students! K8 ?, z6 l5 g& t
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 w' n% V" o' q5 K) E; i; fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
8 p, s2 r3 G, c5 S& \1 A8 x; Q2 aoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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# g7 k1 ?5 @# P, cWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) V B, R7 q3 A+ s/ m. U" }) L9 g
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% I4 I* H x. [/ M0 t. d
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( z' |6 o0 I! Z3 m) b) wone of its most difficult to learn.4 l! V8 d8 s) g$ `- \
+ [0 d0 Y- Q5 \- hLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to8 o2 F7 V* |+ V
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students7 y& {) B5 R3 d' x% a a+ C
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.% [( @6 x" q7 o
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% y K$ S+ o2 `% ETennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on R1 e) L$ N- d2 D; P" X
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 \% z) W( i' Jimprove 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" l# x6 s9 H4 B- a( _, h3 K" d [* A
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
4 f2 i5 t6 u3 [, o9 b( H' i" M) @starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ y6 _* T. e$ I" x0 x$ n X4 `& c4 J
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# m/ s0 Y4 g2 w) l, D
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# j b' p2 C1 v" K$ d$ L5 ?& f2 q
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.# p5 t7 v0 J A2 W4 `
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
0 m, v# ^" r) A* A! q Rspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education' Z8 i& a4 A/ W" Z7 N
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
5 ]+ l6 }8 _6 h% Q- R C2 bcan."
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3 [7 b6 N, b- F3 O) \/ RThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 `/ B# O- X1 h- x" Ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' w/ p( K9 p/ S# ?1 C9 }* [years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) S) Q1 b9 p b& [9 O+ h! B) `Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
- j! d* n: {. v# ^; f# G/ Karen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 ]6 M4 [, r. @0 o2 z6 B
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
) C$ @/ o, B- wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be& T# ]$ X4 D/ | J
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
! H( \; H w7 X6 _challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" e2 y+ j4 j$ k7 l9 l
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and; H$ y% k4 E; e( P
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ s. n) H1 h" u. ]! N
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
" l/ N, V6 |" Z. `Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
! m$ j1 l( C N& Non weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
, m8 H0 d7 h2 B" k4 B& ^schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
! F: g2 }: @0 [2 c: R* ?8 X1 z; ~students who are not of Chinese descent.: u0 b( S b4 G) P% Z7 ~! [4 w
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said0 b4 S3 u l+ h4 I1 F' f
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the E' P8 W, A4 J; [6 A) f
competition.
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4 P' k6 T, k5 S' T"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
H1 c, r5 L+ A0 @9 Ssaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 M! L3 ^3 W; @. f# N0 Y) W, ]; rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ ^- h7 s" K- Y- }3 w
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from: b' ]" V# \) ^; ^1 m' @
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
4 g6 c, W# X. E, F( s4 \' nwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
/ `5 S+ d6 Z7 j4 P8 ?" {2 s4 H( ^2 Qthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; ?+ z$ |$ G" z: V1 ^, t8 P
year 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
$ Q: O9 L1 Q1 y$ ^& e0 e! O E* bclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
- T" }# A. ~, O' pChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
( x/ g3 P, b' A0 `1 ]% D9 |help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, t9 l' p2 _/ c# M9 C3 K z7 I
on an equal playing field."
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" U+ l4 Y* x0 K; L, i+ GSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
* ]3 G) |# ~ D o* T; R" Wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign' S' Q$ w3 v% i- v$ s' B: R* o% X
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
6 A( m* w2 [& D6 eChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
8 k" o( o9 V; g3 ]' A% Zaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 n' ^- a8 N. p( \6 |* R2 s
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
3 O4 E! }4 b9 s) D+ C9 hinstitute says.
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6 {6 {9 ?8 U2 e0 R* i& e. U: `3 ZSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth Z9 w1 N s3 A& E$ `' q- q! ` X2 `
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* M0 ]4 z6 F+ A: v$ [* g
deciding whether to take the class.: g/ e" a d- Z# z3 Y% X
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
, a% d) R9 b! A5 o& `told her daughter.3 q$ Y& L- V7 C3 }( v+ H% y9 t6 }
- r" o6 R! s9 Q% z3 dSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, e" ?7 y7 v/ a5 C- F
class.( J/ f% ^2 I+ ^
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' \* e8 O$ a! M; ~
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' c! f1 M% C/ ?
occasional frustration.
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4 Q% M0 H9 r5 u, z"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a, P: K; m! a+ d& d
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 n5 P0 A6 a$ e7 _+ Etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 T- H6 H) \& o7 X! s6 `
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
. o/ T& q, i* E7 Q; B6 usaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& d, m& j- [* c" l$ [1 has many languages as I can."
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+ r* y9 \4 V: {, M* ]7 lAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
B7 ]" ^" ^5 I) S! I* @skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; T$ d2 B9 ^( _$ B3 }# jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 j0 p: s+ }5 d2 x+ hthat," Ms. Freire said., t+ r7 O. ~$ ~9 C$ f; \
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program+ P0 @$ ^& x5 Q. K, [1 d
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each9 V* d5 b$ A6 k3 H; E
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking# o7 ~; m9 J7 L$ U& v) W
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make# ^4 v: g" E+ I, p! H6 H# \# I$ Y
room., M' s( Y9 t2 T8 u, i
3 D3 E+ L. C4 L1 ~) C- M/ D2 RChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
7 w$ j* Z, k; s% a5 R2 L7 M- EChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
9 E- y; m0 |- @& xcollege, 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/ N' A( e/ V9 D3 p, m! T) W
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,. s# F6 b2 M$ a! [% @, U( A8 H
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# b2 E! X! c" v; l" K* ISociety in New York.
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1 f8 c9 C' d# `) T( |3 B8 m, F/ bSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ d, l- K) H W( C/ G! L, rChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
$ g5 A5 s t; Kthe 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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