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October 15, 2005: |# w5 b1 b) b1 E6 z1 i
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING; L* k! ?" P. N0 e. _0 Y
; s) d N" D: `4 K, T- XCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; @! _/ a/ [- l' n, \* F! o4 i$ LUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 c5 }; V& C) B' D( O$ V0 [
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas6 X/ D: h$ x) `; ^( l; d4 [
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 B4 [, G q* L3 zflag hang from the wall.
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7 o- ]- c$ V! n0 c2 yOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( f- K( C- d0 o+ `" w! ^6 p4 q& manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
" F. ^9 e) l8 |- j) a+ lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker. ^3 m$ t% W5 p. z/ O
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students7 I/ y* k4 F6 E7 ?* M5 h
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
" K( o7 Z! ]0 d) d! a( b; P3 oat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ y8 k6 f& p, I+ o+ A7 N
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# j/ R1 O, j% O4 N$ Q6 _8 v
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,0 y- n9 P+ E' V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings! {9 V2 X' ^1 a2 s' Y
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- ~5 y" r- Q' c$ d1 Oone of its most difficult to learn. A- F" J: Y6 o8 ~# }; u% @7 l
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to: n: B' ?9 v# m* p
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students4 l' X: E6 J8 @3 s5 z* C+ ], t
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
2 t6 G; | o2 x. a6 tLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 h4 d8 t' T; H3 t1 \; \
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 w) B5 b% p, j$ HChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to# M4 \, ] `' q q
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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- f8 Z) k: r8 w& h* w- H) G1 |6 {After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement5 G0 _8 Y N9 L$ J9 l9 ^
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. Q7 A* s. N9 o' {* u9 ]5 D' @/ x
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) F) x+ I& O- y0 w( s
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! G4 O7 |- F- ~ q& |2 V$ T/ ucurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director% b& |5 ?4 H0 I1 L* `
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 ]7 Y1 z b: @# k! t) L8 M
; {% h6 g C( @; x0 V1 m9 F"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
% u3 D) Z9 Q+ G0 t5 @* g) M2 yspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
( S% V* i% F( \ vConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
7 J/ B7 H/ Q1 M2 G$ Kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 ?& ~2 `6 C3 p3 xyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
+ y: h! X% \) ?! }Institute in Washington.
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- C9 y6 d1 `0 D( @& H"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
4 ?+ l* ]$ N4 ~. Xaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.7 w. A1 W1 l/ ^/ o
McGinnis said.
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. X9 {: t! _5 |( g% M: U"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 [1 Q$ ?9 W3 K# K
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; x2 x# y! `8 o
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
c+ n: E1 `: w5 ]0 L% ochallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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0 x5 c% a0 U5 K/ y/ q. c. NUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and$ w/ m' q3 @/ c8 k1 }/ X1 P: N2 ]
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 R; K$ X7 {6 n' W' J, ~! y
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# q2 M/ P& w# t8 A4 Y7 S g
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% ?' }& w/ p# o. `on weekends./ }/ k! c% j) u7 g4 d* ]
d* ?# o. C$ T; ~/ n3 qThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: ^3 ]' [$ f% Z2 J+ p8 H2 H! Nschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
9 E3 Z0 G( h- T% O* Hstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& j. ~3 B) ?. t' R" p' g0 F5 Zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
/ }; u& m, T) H+ p* |competition.
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" O4 ?! ^* S: A* J# B# F/ }2 B. ?8 K"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley: j+ C- C8 \% P
said. "There will be Chinese and English."; g9 G) s0 V: Y+ F, \& e9 z
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
" H {6 m: ^1 g# y+ Z$ u3 Wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse- W2 B- P9 M! \7 @6 A5 L$ S! V
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& P1 ^( z: O+ L ~! _
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
( }) F" B1 `4 [who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
+ U1 [* G, y' |6 S, K/ l% O& n/ Pthe school system last year.6 B9 t+ w8 N3 L$ l% M c! R! i9 j6 C
+ s! Z6 M; Z9 [The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# E; F! A* d8 ~0 g W+ p/ t
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: O# ?$ [& i) H
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 P( \3 }( `; D1 w1 w
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. j; D9 Z1 g# v6 m4 Zhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet/ C- z5 x9 ~" J2 [) O3 {7 Y4 y
on an equal playing field."" b% L0 `: J. g2 w4 t4 f4 Q
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! |- }, o( B$ J* u/ W iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 d* s: S" y& v7 |4 P8 z: w
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks7 V. C7 N0 o+ f
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# M7 p7 F4 \, `. G
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in2 V( q8 n |3 G3 O1 H9 a: J4 Y
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the% O8 B0 Q- I# L* ?7 ~6 t
institute says. ~! ?7 c! w4 ^* y5 W2 r
: o, C! o" ~. O; n3 U) gSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! v6 R$ X; s. G1 p' l; H& ~grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* G( b% H& ^+ n; x$ e% }& u
deciding whether to take the class., c) @' F5 a1 H1 J5 k
0 F7 m0 J9 s- m, _0 N2 U# u$ B- Q"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! w& t( s9 E2 ~' e" U+ Y' ~5 |& J' ~told her daughter.1 k: K: E+ I' Z+ y3 c
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# b% W2 t: K1 Y9 @# X; Eclass.
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. C% x5 }2 H% L! `" R* q/ r. q' p- Z; KAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are! \" }' l2 l1 v' `4 z
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; U# m6 Z) E9 Z! T1 r$ qoccasional frustration.0 o5 T, n5 E( |; q1 W# \
" | Q6 `' }5 ]' F0 B9 r"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* O2 S; _+ b% u1 h
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 i) y2 Q$ @6 G" }, s4 U
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& K, m7 J5 e3 @; x+ v: KChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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4 P$ r8 z' {' r"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul1 K* o. `5 O0 }3 L% n7 v" c% Z) ^/ A
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- T1 b! l8 j* |% n
as many languages as I can."
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9 ]3 B, @- [% c# t: r. BAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- \- P/ u7 y. G( t/ oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
2 f. P9 I1 n7 v3 Wmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like; C' K% u. N& D8 B6 u$ B( Z
that," Ms. Freire said.( t) }' Q* ~$ o& z2 m
* F, q; J6 R+ X1 sMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 N- C7 V8 R5 t$ [: W( ]here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each% _% s4 [) [6 F" H
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
9 g! f; b$ \* r0 h8 t8 Utime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
+ U% O. K7 k4 V4 B8 Xroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer' z+ B( f3 X( `2 n1 S
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
; o: I6 N3 L0 }! J4 Tcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.6 n$ _1 ~+ z! [
' J- `; \3 o% m/ s"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified( B' x6 a4 b: D1 R+ F
because of that missing certification," he said.
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P* `; Y; {) E, x! e) C& ~The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* B7 g3 k0 Y8 E2 q; T0 Psaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
; B+ L: c3 F W. y( CSociety in New York.5 S) q, N& \3 k; T/ H, ~
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& v/ _. Q" r0 oChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
! M/ j- {1 I( ~' A" ~* [& dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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7 Z% y5 \0 H3 b0 ?"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our7 b2 V. [5 |. a4 p0 |/ y( D
own."8 ^2 [; C( r, F/ M3 N. ?
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