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October 15, 2005# O: o+ C) o& X% Y' T
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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; I4 Z9 X6 j+ c1 J, _ ?* YBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING4 d: Y/ ^! O. _! R- x9 R6 b- D
! w$ z, j+ L; Z2 {, eCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the% Q% a, @9 A6 S! z0 r' |
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
2 v* r! _1 @$ z* t; B. }7 w, B- aSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' w& y2 X) M/ Y5 D9 r2 Pdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 D# J( a$ Z& M; Vflag hang from the wall.
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: R. n+ J" K8 rOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 O1 C% Z% ^9 e3 b. ]) c$ f" Z8 Y
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, }. t2 `. D! t( J
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; C- q; Q9 g" R0 ~8 {- }
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ e" B2 N' v7 L6 N3 J. t; J5 Aare already choosing it over Spanish.
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1 }4 q. F2 q( P"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal4 I$ N0 z' Q2 M% Y* g
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 P0 s% a; j+ {) c6 coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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* l" Y& R3 O8 W5 |$ d8 fWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,2 U! b Z8 p1 u% L/ V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( s3 H% m* ~ T6 L5 D. o I3 ~
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
+ l( ?2 K# S( H1 q: P5 Q- Vone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ u1 A9 `3 D$ q9 t; Q
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, |! t2 z. E' E$ @studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& A0 d! S; b5 m. M$ ^3 m% I% fLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ H3 E1 M( l% w" YTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on5 f% X% p5 P9 A( J" W' s
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
/ n* q1 C9 W5 V$ J+ q3 m7 Vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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1 b f1 B* o; Q3 @After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
# _, ~$ _" i5 ^* ]: ? K9 l9 {& _Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) X9 r9 C0 |& R( Z" ?. `
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
# m0 I5 ~1 v" wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! t6 ~, B5 G6 m2 `1 E* |
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 q4 U- V0 m0 ]' K3 E/ Q: `
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.8 _6 L5 v2 U# @- c
3 H i3 K! X- `/ t& S"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- r/ Y9 O- c0 @$ r& T
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education3 J: ?8 z: W5 j8 y. p6 | \/ q; r
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) |5 ?& q; u) t# I1 P
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% w% J; g6 m9 f6 g3 {" ^% L8 telementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
8 d! W* l5 Y$ w+ {1 u0 {years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language% F* X8 M1 G( W7 a9 S) @
Institute in Washington.
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' V( b9 f. G( @) ?5 d) @"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 d- r( ?+ ?$ Q6 m
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; `% m- H0 L7 r: M5 q1 hMcGinnis said." a% G, o0 A& E* L
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; _ n# _1 t' s) A; g0 Z: [; \longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( v l0 i- ]' C% l3 N
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
0 G2 D% D: U6 d+ p/ t. Achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.": n1 |- ]3 u6 J# p5 q: H
" U: d1 i, K7 I5 Z% WUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# p1 q0 V& J' Y" z/ msecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* s; y8 d8 v: Xcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of$ l/ y9 r( h: W1 Y# c
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! a1 d2 }5 {: p: \9 d4 [
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public9 U; C7 o* ^1 O
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves) r F4 Y( }5 l, d. z; J; `6 r8 @
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 @) H/ e" W) O3 s+ o, X: }( d
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" L5 M! E" _3 yproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
" l0 Y9 V0 O# ^, J) R0 {5 ~* w7 Icompetition.
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9 V/ o8 d0 _% M( V A' P"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! E4 ?* B6 q) h) H1 Z
said. "There will be Chinese and English.". M5 ?% t8 S& \$ P' _1 a" z* k& x
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
1 ]" O7 [5 N6 e! v( wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse( o, X$ x4 k5 G
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
* ^- r5 [3 k# j9 b7 K* vkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
3 `6 ~6 n) A- L3 gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to8 r# _* @8 T: w1 x; d! \) m
the school system last year.: y, T5 c! |5 M; K3 D7 y
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
U- o2 T+ h2 U& |$ S; ]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
+ w8 X: h9 F6 o \9 R% N) ~classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) { a* q0 M2 |- }Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to: j! l0 R* Y9 P# p2 b
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
! ?' W( ]* n5 G: ?$ Y$ U! k9 yon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. M/ s$ f6 ~& _$ Q* {
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 F! I) N. b$ K$ OService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks" C K, {1 h3 {5 M5 E P5 G
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An6 b# f4 K- Q$ T
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
( R9 O7 E' ~3 g" DChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
d& g9 Q9 N9 [6 [2 {+ Uinstitute says.& f5 p6 i$ A0 C5 h' L
3 W0 @( H( o* Y- N& FSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 r- x8 ?3 q( h5 t vgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
, A2 x* p! e6 C6 y) Q) Q2 W& Odeciding whether to take the class.
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) K2 `. n& X) s6 {, o0 ?) p* m"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she6 E2 A+ |4 M6 Q+ W1 I' m
told her daughter./ M1 Y+ n' Y6 f( p
" h& Q3 ^7 k; \8 z! l4 ]Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# p) b+ ` y" `7 @! v) t2 Y8 Z( Dclass.
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* J3 @" u) N9 Z, |At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
, j7 f* h9 Q- L; s6 Nstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 n: {" ~' C2 [7 ]+ Noccasional frustration.
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8 T. p v" i/ e- `+ i. @"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; P4 o% @. a& V9 zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 k7 H* ~, D. a, U
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 o- N* {. z4 |; h
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 w+ ~4 V3 K5 r6 S
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul# k2 Y4 r* E: \% a1 b6 M6 ^/ q
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 ~' T8 A/ C* p9 f( ~+ k; h( i
as many languages as I can."$ `1 h) g- b8 N* ~3 J! V
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the u* S8 ^8 w: d6 I
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, @7 g8 e- W' }) D; Y Dmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
$ K4 B# a+ G' ]" y- X$ ~that," Ms. Freire said.
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, a c- ~& L p8 Y5 _ YMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program/ m: Y' Y0 S1 P1 V" R6 B, C
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 p5 g9 V9 [% e, B/ n/ e
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; f6 A% k9 b* W; S% h# \time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: X9 j' P+ Y' N+ A
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
% }: B( Y6 \; fChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
( C/ ~! ~+ R& p Y% 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 qualified6 J# r2 q$ f4 u
because of that missing certification," he said.
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l& ?* M8 v. w( u' mThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
5 u& b/ x! M# @. }) A( tsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
0 N! b' M0 b+ m! ~5 O6 K1 C* xSociety in New York.% N2 D8 K8 S1 A5 R: o9 G9 \
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ L2 `: ?" e7 X0 d e
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
$ i" Q d' h+ G" {3 e, d s9 ?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
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