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October 15, 2005) W$ A, r7 ?* X& l0 k: v
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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: e/ M( l+ c8 n( `+ k- TBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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6 S& z5 S' C! j$ \! J% SCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 j# S2 J: \% T5 K A: |
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
" S* r3 N" P0 C+ g/ [" s ]School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas1 P- ?4 b4 v! h: U6 D0 A3 J( S
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. F0 \% S; E4 d3 a# L2 F
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one' R* h# J. `5 S/ p* _ R: c8 p- _
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 e" _+ C; t& x: W1 ]
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
9 @8 Y: x) f( q c X$ Pboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( c. `: Y' {3 ~ J/ W6 Nare already choosing it over Spanish.8 s, q% y0 C- s7 `. ^1 w" F2 x
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ n; t. V4 Q6 X3 V0 cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
) r; s5 B# V0 N# M" a5 D1 Zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' d( o% J0 Y* H- j% ~0 u/ eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. X% ~$ l! H& o0 r. `3 E: l8 t! zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 z" w, P7 k/ ?& s8 z: mone of its most difficult to learn.3 C5 w. N. z; Z1 Y+ u( ` P
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 l9 b! U" o# ]+ ^2 ~8 t* ypublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& U0 `6 f! w. Y
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 l" a( k; P, X% f
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 ~) }6 @( ]4 m- ?- H
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 ^; e/ W6 F" A/ _1 M) u
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to6 N" h w2 q4 d! }; ]) j
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.& n6 [+ F2 P h' J/ J
) \% e K5 U& O8 `! _After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement3 ~! W d% i/ E
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" ]. F. Q( v6 G* ?6 ^/ r9 [; u
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
W0 O. E$ M* Y1 M1 ^develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing- @* H, Y. L! q0 \$ I. [0 ]
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
2 H( _% O9 c7 ~( x1 iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: T6 u/ i3 }! i8 |0 i# R1 x* c$ x3 s
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education; k' K$ Y7 q1 Q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
9 A1 t3 @ J" j. ican." 4 J/ ^' i$ r0 R
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) F. d* m7 C3 D. |
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, Q' l$ _9 F- s$ v& l
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language X$ k) ]/ X4 c- N. a, y
Institute in Washington.3 x6 `' U/ K* j5 E
0 u2 {4 m3 h" ~3 q1 d* P) A1 d"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" z! Z7 R% P! \$ R+ V$ o3 F
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 J3 v/ K- Y, e, L9 a
McGinnis said.
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( e+ H8 I9 z r; K* {/ ?"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' m# E; `4 t }7 Y4 P, G A& z
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be- I6 r( u; P. B5 R9 y
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. D0 P7 g1 t5 w- Z5 O! q! h' Wchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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1 e# `: x# G, l; z8 l D- M) wUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and; Q2 Z8 E- i! W) K
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
. M# o; K" ^3 ]$ ]7 G$ ocities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of `" @% ~6 Y5 u% |
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
- m) s+ P& F9 q4 F' z% uon weekends.' Q/ i( } O! n( D# Z+ C
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 U9 H- b" m/ U% v
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
1 t" z/ L. p$ \3 N$ T% H$ ystudents who are not of Chinese descent.( ?3 E& U; I8 R, K
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! o2 Z) Z' G; E( {% ~proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* r8 E2 l4 S# u4 W2 @
competition.
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3 Z: d: A, e) {. ]! S# b"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' a. K3 ?- p' }$ X3 u6 psaid. "There will be Chinese and English."7 k( g1 N7 A6 f A" x! { e
* v/ _* y/ q- Q7 t: z6 P6 z5 PFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. ]9 Y* m; y) U8 u% G1 F
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 p: {5 @( K: T8 Q. O' |2 @+ N- d; b
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 j7 p- z; v" Q9 S5 y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% ?# T$ Y% ^5 R. \who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
! }& P6 \+ r4 t$ {5 hthe school system last year.2 O7 ~1 D% {1 e! \
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; v. ~6 Q+ R( h4 |
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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4 v* l) @9 {3 @"They have a great international experience right in their own
* T E3 W, {% T, D+ dclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago& ]' W3 ^3 X; ~9 i8 m7 G
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 v6 D2 a& B H% O: D) Dhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet& B" H7 n) w) [2 V# [6 V
on an equal playing field."! p# S. ]7 M1 g* ~! U- n- z
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- H2 a8 M& C2 [1 Q) sclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- S& ^' `: s% q7 J6 b6 K+ O
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks9 |8 r( R7 }( D9 x' k5 o
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
/ y6 R+ i5 L: q1 J( p& _average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in& N5 U9 N0 n. O
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the, k7 ?- k% G9 K3 k6 R
institute says." n7 l0 f1 j: o- L" v
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" C' r0 R9 B7 w, f1 g2 T4 y1 ]
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; l. G" d5 w! j! U) B& Cdeciding whether to take the class.
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# [7 ?7 Y9 I# R0 z' \"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 f2 b3 G9 d b6 E4 Etold her daughter.4 L/ ^ G2 @6 L2 p1 U6 ]- h
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
6 a( w7 {* m4 }2 L8 M+ Gclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
! O5 W3 Q7 M) P# S. A& zstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
7 Z @) G" T( \' ~occasional frustration.( l* Z" T* F: ^+ n- x# C. e
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. k v1 s" g' X w7 b- urecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.. F5 o3 m8 y5 B3 A" J& L
' H! v: ~( d+ V _# ORaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 J/ W* ?1 H0 X
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
# p. C& Z ]1 W( ` x }$ ^Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul C' Q* ^) v$ r. F
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
6 _ B8 f& Y- Jas many languages as I can."! K! m7 l# ?4 |
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; Q" s2 b+ t1 \3 Qskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job' P# a/ A; L1 h5 q! a2 \9 @
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 T8 B. K, |, n( P; S3 K) G9 N# ]that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
* H7 M1 h* s1 _here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 v0 f2 q( Z6 G5 \# u
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking/ K9 W8 g) e/ {, p: I
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make& h5 o, F b e+ w1 D& j
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 s( ~& K M& B3 K Q. ?/ \! [( hChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 X+ T* \; B& I
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' l, \- G; j- v
( b+ j4 B- V. A- L) _"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified2 N; T Q9 N; o4 Q; d' k
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* f2 @+ i: Z/ y" C4 \- K; nsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
* @/ C7 t3 H, _, lSociety in New York.+ R7 ~* q7 K! _, _0 x' J
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& ?0 A' A7 \4 k GChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' z( n3 H r3 Nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.7 X/ J4 M* b' i3 q
+ a8 o" i# M- V. F5 r/ v$ k
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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