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October 15, 20051 V' T F" m! ^7 ]/ |
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING" x' A& f9 Y* k" |& p+ |, ?( c
. Q& i; g- u7 ~" PCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
9 } H) ] U$ X$ ~9 ~, |United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 m C$ @% s1 C" V* SSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: d1 p# Q0 N5 z% ]dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese" r3 h8 E6 J. _' t0 ^+ W+ `
flag hang from the wall.
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: | B/ L( N+ uOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& T5 s7 P9 S2 S
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
" A9 T; R. y7 H/ tpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& D7 ]% a5 M* v/ E
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students7 g, |$ A/ Z7 E2 x0 X' o, Y
are already choosing it over Spanish.# x& [- g" J, n0 T; p) O3 h4 Z
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& \! q: t6 i7 j3 _6 b- _
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city9 G7 Z1 m, k6 z+ |3 }
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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! e) X/ h$ E+ ?- r) UWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,- O6 E& Y# H! T" j5 O
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings0 h% ~3 m2 S+ k9 y2 f0 j
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
$ N- L: p, p4 ~8 }" Mone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ b+ b: X1 l( R: _' R! {- `
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
# {+ L- F0 o# Kstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 L# d. z+ H' z( c/ c, \& t! PLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" h: D+ U L% |+ `1 {% j, j) j
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; R0 _* B6 U7 l6 z+ HChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 O- l% X( e& @6 l; `9 L
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ Y$ \. f- ^' G( |' x7 a- |
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ M) i9 n1 @4 j# @$ n1 P& d3 e
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country0 _4 s- g0 r0 j, X4 x
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
2 R( ~9 B' a! A/ T( z- S2 Cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
4 @3 E/ {& q' L& K0 T X' Kcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director2 W8 V) T C/ ^ U) U
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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( N8 }# Q) i' C S0 M"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 S6 e) ]: N$ y' s* [9 t
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 w' @( {9 h9 `' c# v+ Q1 P+ a
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ b. H% j0 b" k) acan."
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( O" c' {1 `- h* _/ f% \The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% u5 d' g4 {* p7 b) Lelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: y" c$ A, k6 n& byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* r& N( e. R# g3 c7 ~Institute in Washington.
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7 L* ?- H x3 v" s"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" @% G9 C. ?1 b4 D2 Qaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; @, ? \, T% G4 @/ O7 N$ D+ QMcGinnis said.: i8 i9 I: O! A0 ^3 u: t
: f* E o) F" t0 k9 G( r$ H"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical% P( w/ \8 H4 n+ a, N
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' G9 c; I& s( u* M
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% b* @2 \; x. `6 E# W9 S. }challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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G- z. }% j2 j4 BUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# O8 A! P; r/ R @9 h- U3 L9 P, |secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in3 A( l3 @6 H, h
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( i2 n0 [ a5 C* {- b& V' X
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or7 F9 ?5 x" }! g
on weekends.
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, j" J4 T2 g7 S9 o, H; J FThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
f6 ~1 N1 v1 D( f8 l; dschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 v$ G- N0 c1 Wstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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0 P) t" l1 y) D7 i3 K! J3 YMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said" ^: i7 u f9 M* \2 q/ [
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
% I7 J$ N$ w5 a8 ocompetition.
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4 z& ^: c/ h L4 Z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
4 U. k6 L' [: N5 O) asaid. "There will be Chinese and English."6 x2 T6 ~, I+ F' o
* d' ]* u) |1 C0 w$ i2 {' zFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly; U; W5 n# ^1 {( u8 v) R
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
; T; {7 C- o3 f( v& a" v* W) z) Gschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from/ V6 Z' k2 j' p3 d7 C! ? z# P5 C
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students4 X( X: ~5 s) H
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
* P) V8 S/ R/ m5 b# }9 _" x% ~4 Uthe school system last year./ T5 E7 b/ a3 r" |
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this3 b- j( `5 ]" E, u
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
6 K# P% J; D6 o, M ?classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
. h8 k6 _. o+ J, V2 UChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* v/ v* P% U/ U! y7 s4 G) c
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 z. M p3 A2 j$ g; ^/ w9 P6 U
on an equal playing field."! S$ v7 o+ F+ d# d7 ^. ~
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: P+ O3 [5 F8 V) b# `5 F" F8 t" Kclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 u2 ~+ q8 ]; wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
8 S. e9 y4 M/ P' l) V/ Q# l, m! mChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An9 h3 M1 W3 t8 M
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" l5 I6 }4 X* J
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the& u( I' _9 W/ ]5 h* G3 h
institute says.) W& U' E" r' H2 ?7 i
/ V7 X5 u5 B' C) Q, n7 GSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth, ]+ h) ?- z+ y6 r* m# P
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
3 r. u! J# _- ?deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
( R V; j( g3 \+ Z/ |6 a4 Z0 W% E# Z+ qtold her daughter.& m. y2 i3 {2 g7 g5 a4 k
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
& O8 @; b/ S+ n# X2 L; Rclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: E4 E' F5 Q. x$ P! c
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' g. v2 G, n9 U6 J; Y# u
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 Z0 J; Q. A% S( I0 H
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. l: n( p1 N# I, J
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 `% m( N1 G5 ]4 s* j# Z- Q4 \$ G
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ A& C, h3 S) q" K2 j' u
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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/ K/ a+ L# l: O6 |7 h"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
" g* T8 f+ N% J% a5 d3 |said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn$ q& M# }' y6 q+ A9 s% E- A1 k1 o
as many languages as I can."
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3 e# G! v3 V+ c* f+ T) ?Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the4 N2 N0 Z8 u/ X
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job B2 d( a. h: K% V
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
. a8 b% n) V, A1 ^that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 D1 ?% d- g9 ]; G5 M1 L
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
) U. f$ }5 g7 p7 E$ Wschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 G) m# U% L4 }; Wtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make( x% h5 Z' H6 D- U+ c6 O
room.
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- B5 b3 g1 X% q g8 ?Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
0 C. ]( m- b9 P# y( oChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American- m& S: j& W/ X
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( x0 i' n6 s6 q& f( C
6 M, i& a8 d0 T; g% m% c4 K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
4 j! ]" q p! Q3 Obecause of that missing certification," he said.1 @4 z3 r$ g. s2 o* c3 k* H
O/ Z D8 [# R% B ZThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,5 g9 b& Y( O. I- I b# [7 h
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia- m0 e: n% X, a5 R
Society in New York.2 g- L+ l, T+ g u# \4 a K
- o# X( y, r0 F: V0 e; tSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, y( f% E8 n) e6 s2 @ d6 H
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 [3 i" j. H% h3 {9 K" I" Z/ w
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
: C O2 s; M T2 h( nown."
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