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October 15, 2005" A' B! Q0 h8 k2 e- z2 F! i A+ f
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 P3 A0 R8 G& t: R( y
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING: V8 v4 C( i0 V5 o* S, [/ f
+ v7 o( k: n5 y7 S! wCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the- A _& ~. d1 m/ R! O2 O" m! z
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary1 }( R% C$ S/ i9 [$ {) T
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas& X: [" a4 B9 s1 X0 Y5 Y U
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese" [" a& L0 V0 W- m1 }( ~
flag hang from the wall.
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/ R" k s- ]" J. k' UOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
. p) V5 R; D, M @) x. b. t3 q- u% oanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders% F. c3 b/ C( h) B& }$ u9 T9 t3 n
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ w1 b! g$ [' Z. F$ h* v! q( X
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 w: ] w( b! a1 B; [- |
are already choosing it over Spanish.9 ~- r. u7 u9 l5 C
% x/ G- F. d$ U! d& w"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal0 N4 ^4 H" V2 P# G& f: G5 L, n& @
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ }6 T5 t5 c: v" b: L$ a
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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' o, a; K5 G( [' ~5 ^& U4 W% RWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* P: ~$ [! R, u+ ` ?' }schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings: p4 n& [% ]0 S5 A2 g8 g, P
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- ^5 {- R8 N0 q8 W. N' c+ rone of its most difficult to learn.( W, k" X# e7 U$ e8 M2 Y
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- L4 J! B7 R$ y+ f
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 {6 F% k4 _* A$ a: N2 u" e7 |studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 d' Y8 E1 k4 ~* hLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
, d5 f+ O5 E! t8 G6 U3 uTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! D# w9 o) g3 r, _+ z" _5 E
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) i& M% Z) j. v: G0 E7 X4 k- ]
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
: C/ }* M e: b$ ]4 ZChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
- K9 F* E' x/ M) [starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
+ A4 D# p/ @4 n& ^) B4 Vdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 k. N, j( }- J( |) @4 p3 @4 x+ }6 d
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; w* o5 `" @1 [& n. Eof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 c0 M K: ]+ x' Q( n+ L
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" W. L! T3 i! I2 z S6 s0 O
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education5 t' y7 q% V M2 o7 J; x/ G
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we4 L! H8 g( o8 b' ^5 i
can." $ O) I* ~$ G0 n: J
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
7 T' V0 u+ ~+ U; b% T F2 O# w/ ~elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ ]8 n+ Y8 |, I" ~9 M* V, K% O# S, W
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ Q+ L" D* n; t. l. |* S1 z5 ~9 @Institute in Washington.
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5 G% Q* f4 Y9 y( `2 ~0 i9 j1 D"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages: d0 H& o" f* Y2 z5 X* [# j
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 ~2 ^- _" F- y; F, l; u
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical5 c/ b' }. ]1 e! l; \" L
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 U* @) ^. l) |. Iready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a9 x3 T3 O6 M/ x9 w! d" u% |
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& w- b& \2 _# u
5 h4 k2 k, D! ~ F8 F& _Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
$ n: ?4 S& s; F: |3 b4 {" jsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in& t* {. k3 ~0 `' m
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ x) b1 l& { ^! G) y
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 y' ~4 L/ d x: Y& Mon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public7 ^+ p3 K# R2 ^" ^* G
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 P6 ?% o. w; v: r" Zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.2 n6 C) Z5 L: R( h5 k; i! x
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said: h* Y5 b% |# k+ D3 p( h
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the% m9 P0 l) r. k7 v4 m- ~* e- `
competition. ) k c2 W; b1 n5 F
/ R% O) y7 G8 g4 r; ]"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
! q, l9 u ~5 W5 u5 Wsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ ^$ T4 O+ m! b9 z% y z& N* jall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse9 W3 | Z: e& A
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ [0 ?& t3 N4 ^8 @! I/ w0 ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: U& L" T0 f+ i
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- o2 A) _4 i% G% l# b2 q$ b3 K
the school system last year." ]- _% K, z n0 ~% N8 Z3 C
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
: T. a. E0 P: F( s# K. |( jyear 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 own5 m' e5 {9 m n4 K, E. g& ?
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 q% b. K4 B9 v, u* x( t5 oChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
+ j; {1 [7 h# w! ^+ B; p+ A6 ?help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
* _5 y I/ Z) `8 Pon an equal playing field."- m9 Q4 j0 m9 Y+ l
9 M, g. P& c8 w3 s6 ASome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese+ p0 U! D' g5 [9 K. C" O
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ c( _* Y& U Z
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 t* @- }) Z1 q+ }
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An7 s0 A, l( ?; ?
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
+ ^( v6 m1 m( _Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 q2 M |' f1 Z9 j$ Z) n/ vinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' U" P( U9 p9 }2 l
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ K4 _+ {- b1 ~% i$ C% I+ U2 d
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( G3 b( _; f* b6 i1 n! u1 D
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' u" _" A3 G' D8 O) G% w& N; H( {
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
1 {' W2 }2 u ~2 H( Eoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
O" o1 t4 U! J0 Brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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: A# T5 @" u1 a ZRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he6 U2 a" u% }; V( t. {6 j
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% c( V& N/ g" Q
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul* l4 h2 h: o" `9 x7 S: a& E G
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn% ~. `8 G" ]; e. Y4 D" y1 y
as many languages as I can."
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8 n d7 o8 K2 b7 D. RAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" k; a- M- d1 J+ h, {8 u9 ^skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. z, _7 w9 S% G( B4 n* v6 `! Hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like. w3 V% J) d1 [3 b3 R V
that," Ms. Freire said.
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5 A% c" o. t: U4 R1 \0 k0 d5 wMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program: I; x9 }6 | P! g
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 g8 q8 ^" ]/ g9 _
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( s* O6 U+ b$ E) q. I9 f6 m; G
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
4 j/ m+ I2 S7 L0 a, S2 Hroom.
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; J9 d+ D" {3 m- D4 I; iChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
0 P7 K1 X, T4 {4 M4 Q3 a% JChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- S0 i3 {, L3 w; qcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ ~: b5 l9 S, B$ u% Q* E. S
4 ~, [% a* [6 B O. p8 h, w"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified4 Y& @- U6 v9 H5 b, f6 V
because of that missing certification," he said.
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) {. V3 J2 z. U; l: eThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
$ \ n L% Q" H0 e) w8 v$ xsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% O+ W% d6 f/ Y( @- T8 {9 NSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
. _, o+ W8 |9 K6 F+ }5 Y! | [Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 u# {( {# Y7 ?7 m# R
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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# p! y4 J( Q! ~/ b' N"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" h4 C+ {6 h4 U8 R; U$ Q5 m
own."
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