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October 15, 2005
- U7 K1 r" v* z) z, J# oClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) F9 Z% Q( ]6 M1 j8 G
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
: j& h# r4 U& q1 ]& i O. U7 KUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 ~7 p8 B' F/ h% ~
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
% j7 o# `% u& D1 cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# N% i/ e- F1 L2 r |
flag hang from the wall.8 P2 b- f! ~" B5 Q; Z+ W. v
+ d& Y0 `) T4 ]/ M0 r b7 jOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, ?: Z- Q% c, G( N0 |" d
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
; d1 Z; D7 b, Z& n$ I+ xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% N5 t- V: [/ e3 j# f0 y
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students- |4 `, }7 e7 u% q" v3 D1 j
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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$ h" L9 G& w8 n0 a"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 w; z5 L& x W7 U5 a0 tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ Q& E* q' ^1 N9 S( Z; e7 k, r
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 e! D. K% M* T( T' R) ?! `- I' U
6 k1 ~- x/ O" \. U8 D* ~0 a6 N' WWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 G; U! k- O- O; J* w: Pschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. C9 u% r* x( Q' U) K7 O% sto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention0 G5 O4 {' }& [
one of its most difficult to learn.$ N+ p. |- Z: b. X
\7 ^ Z+ F1 q9 R+ C& |. s+ yLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
4 {* M& Y" s! kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students w0 Y& ]* G& ^% @- ~- ]2 T
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: N, i5 o7 y$ b' m% B
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
$ p$ m7 ]6 H Z3 @8 c2 r+ DTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on% G+ X% {* U8 c1 [7 I
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 W0 |+ }+ k2 l
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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c" L% T: A& W+ A L4 Q6 G5 }, DAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
, D& h% e* e% t7 Z/ UChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country/ @: G; J4 Q+ `# I1 I7 }6 A
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to5 [" o" ?' H" q% f, N& _0 u/ S3 \
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
6 r* N5 s# _ ?6 z& p+ M3 X l/ ~& lcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director. M% c* q+ _6 p5 g; O3 B7 _
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.% q6 V3 w, Z/ o* }2 I
1 ?0 H" b+ y+ H"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 O+ Y: J* k! ~; N% e" W5 R R$ I3 e
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
9 B2 A% A7 B- O, u( f, @2 YConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( m1 ^$ I) O) I6 D% M4 W5 m5 U
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 v+ p% I( F! a; nelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ M2 \7 ~( g) X. R! x$ M) K5 C
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language3 ]3 \- {& s+ c( x u
Institute in Washington.' z( P! q7 g% r6 c6 y) [
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
6 a( P, D7 E; Z8 N) C/ R5 Varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
2 V- q' g& F T1 m! A. K+ VMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
5 b8 Z0 ]* L2 j8 h; P) hlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
' O+ Z0 X1 z: Z! t/ xready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
; ?$ }9 f! i: x" ~. {4 Y jchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and4 J. w h8 Q* p( n7 l" U/ k
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
3 e( n: \, |% ^5 F3 dcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 R Z1 H* a2 H/ [' I# s( F" sChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ p9 o' n! }5 U; kon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
5 X! J! {2 b. i8 S D- Rschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- b% a$ t* ?" f( b8 G: v* estudents who are not of Chinese descent.% b1 E* Y1 x: F
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said% [& k, Y& b% n7 V5 k1 J! n
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
& F# y3 }+ i, B @competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 J0 K' b5 G( ^, W" F: c* S& d/ F. v
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly, M! [8 k+ b G7 [- n5 O% |( t
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse- x5 I% o; i# o
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" R7 E7 d( T( n8 ^- xkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students4 ?. ^0 G3 r f! N( O
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 \& T* F6 W% \3 V; s; @
the school system last year.; v4 j+ v( F; g0 d! M; |
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; _- t9 j5 u8 ^! y6 y% m2 J& n
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.: Y( V5 N! ~: z& ~
; q7 W# q. l" O( S! g; l7 h"They have a great international experience right in their own
' I( z" b1 v7 Eclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
+ @8 N r9 P2 l: s1 _/ [$ R/ YChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 l; p) A: w# \$ U# z J$ L( T2 ?. Phelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
7 ?. l5 j1 q9 ron an equal playing field." q+ N# u0 N4 \- J; \# p
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
2 V$ f5 [- {7 K2 @classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ g: }3 ]+ m# ~# XService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
~, x7 A. ?) eChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" M6 A5 l5 E, \
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 i- u: F. x( t6 u% p6 v: v mChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the9 `& m, I5 z4 n
institute says. K- i' t: q" n% f/ _4 c
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
, T2 ]+ L7 T: e0 r5 f! [grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 z1 a+ x D& R5 sdeciding whether to take the class.
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' p ?9 Q s8 v2 U# x2 ]2 n g6 L"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 k. k5 P! I* T7 `( c$ d' F! K
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite$ O+ q* J! t5 F0 v; b6 N
class.1 u( v% |5 Y P2 J. f% O1 _9 M5 z
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ T- H2 p' ` Z! ?. j) Bstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* x$ a+ O, w# R9 h* {1 Voccasional frustration.. r/ C1 m8 N6 x! J3 p5 U
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ g+ L5 ?! v* }recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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4 s+ M) E5 x4 ~Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 E" v# k! V" K: o5 L8 Mtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with' j3 r5 X9 I; m
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul; @# H- C5 t2 b2 i" C6 y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- B. r& H l: J5 K7 Z% \3 f
as many languages as I can.") l# N1 f- k# w3 X- `8 y
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
% E7 j; j: Y, p/ Mskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
2 V+ e4 w& a2 U" ]5 S2 qmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 k5 ^% ]" n; O
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: A: o/ w& l; d+ _here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' S/ ~+ f9 q2 c! ` ^ T% S5 Qschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( }1 p2 U/ \& P$ Q. g) B3 f9 R5 w
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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: }2 _5 \( b4 L! [, R9 I+ F# s% hChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
& O' U4 [% o' ^8 J' o% i1 U8 V; FChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
8 u1 ~5 |, T B! C& k: V8 A1 qcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.* @# d* a5 t' F$ Z, p
' [0 i: L! d, p% z. s) S2 `7 G" i"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified5 T1 t m' _5 \+ e! g7 d! T
because of that missing certification," he said.# x, K$ p$ q: `1 c
! Z9 [8 z* Q F4 Z: E5 l- \The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
% M6 `7 f4 X$ @8 M2 x3 msaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 y$ G3 o3 H7 T3 ]! D1 A1 mSociety in New York.- d) x6 w; V) R' z) }, i5 k
& i) z# n3 D: S- J$ ?6 a, iSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the0 b1 Z. l* A0 R5 i. C
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from$ h0 Q& W: g- c+ R- ^; C
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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3 ]) `$ Z, {1 X$ e) V1 o" Y3 ^"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( l! Z0 E6 n! v4 [8 u1 G
own."; R3 a8 W+ i! P6 ?/ Q& @$ u
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