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October 15, 2005% u7 B! L" V( g0 K% [
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& j( B: w \( U# d1 @& T+ A
, P6 h& w8 m6 SBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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# L3 A% m9 l X% GCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 M% B" e8 z% {+ ?* | OUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. Z" }6 B1 j" B3 |
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
, D* U: m. I4 Y- t$ ]9 S9 J9 Q( xdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. s; L; d* ]/ C! _
flag hang from the wall.3 y) z `5 o0 o% }; q& Z ~2 M; ~
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 `; v! U1 j0 {# x5 |6 P5 Vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, S4 h @# p. W' {
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
" N* f1 o2 g' Z1 {boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students) w# e: z2 {9 e) u
are already choosing it over Spanish.. s7 \( J- p% F6 r) O
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. S2 g$ s( \9 @0 E0 j
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city; I* C- |) D; ~% |6 i
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". U* t& F+ G; b0 B. h0 M7 x7 k
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ K* R9 X' q& t2 Z+ i
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings0 n1 P, G, P& g- ?
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( S$ a/ C% X8 u- R ~2 z3 N% gone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
' \0 s& Y4 P% X& @public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; A8 S" p/ S7 |2 t$ A) `studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.2 Y. _" r. |! L7 j/ d' u+ Y3 t
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; t9 i. Y, K$ n& g, O
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
& r* G+ n; D, \" X6 SChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to: p+ R- }% L# \) i
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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6 o" l6 q, Y- Y3 n# V9 l. VAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement4 ]8 Y& l9 u0 `, k" \
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 P$ z4 S) i( k9 \$ xstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) |7 g( V( X: |1 V) }
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
4 C4 o ~+ q, X: }8 f8 mcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ m3 W1 i3 t/ a0 K3 {7 [of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of% n" i" {6 m. r" S# J
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education5 m+ Q! w9 S" t: h( b7 f# {1 ~
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# V$ \; u0 u, b- v# H
can." ) c4 e; P* s- n6 m5 [7 F' G
" Y/ M& r/ L* r+ _' a: k, SThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
: E3 I/ k9 w( i; X- M" yelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
% T% ~6 p2 g3 a! ~; fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language& K+ U4 A7 M/ S" g3 V- ], k1 N
Institute in Washington.
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% _5 V- W8 d0 D* B" h( h"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 {. h, j* e' G
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
, U* ^3 Q& o, D$ uMcGinnis said.3 n- J: E+ L2 @0 n- j1 L; }% u
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical- D7 [' {( I/ P* w/ @- O' |2 h
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 I3 z( E! b9 I0 w5 v6 m
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( h. J# B! w- s# I9 ]- h0 D" T2 K. V5 uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" C" R8 V$ [ x1 p; w
/ z( [- p, d9 ~; @' ]5 GUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
6 B2 A$ ?: F0 ~; K( k: R8 |secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in& j. E, S5 p; B* R( b' c. J
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
1 h- Y" L& V NChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
W) s, r) w7 g. Von weekends.4 ^/ c% p" a; Q8 L6 j/ _ r
: ?+ J: l! u$ J' C1 lThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
' r# I% u# M6 a f. H5 F% kschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
; ]3 U9 t3 ]1 |0 ]& s! U+ Z7 L7 lstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said1 X9 e1 k: i4 ~3 Y3 v4 h. o
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) ]) N" Z7 y, U7 \competition. # ~7 S3 f: I1 J
* u: ?' x0 R9 c0 s$ `0 A: A9 ["I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley3 A) Y$ B; E2 C: x# L; X8 K
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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1 h2 F7 f5 H' w oFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ d E8 U* N: Z: w1 b5 E
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse; C K. b0 x+ G) u$ }
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from t) c4 w# c! x- m6 L# }) s
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, x* g/ ]6 g2 E7 n% j! _7 m# N+ m
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& y* K% o* F5 R
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
6 j& L3 p" j. e3 F# Gyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.+ i7 b( t* m- @5 Y# R
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
# O* s! M( x9 r2 ~* w8 qclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
! f1 s& c, Y l" oChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
# H& |& }) b% r3 i$ ~4 {, k; uhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
, c) c4 ^& I" s& e1 L, c2 C) Fon an equal playing field."2 s+ d; d4 ^( C1 H( }3 @
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese! @* ~1 H. y/ k9 V9 r- F0 e6 V7 ]6 V1 L$ }
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign1 k4 N! \$ @8 v I
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% k2 b4 l) Y& X. `: u" I# n. E hChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An% L, u6 Y" e9 [0 u0 ^$ v3 K3 O
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
x6 c" T( o3 f X8 uChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the+ A' i9 m, L% I9 q: k. B2 N% f
institute says.
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6 G6 [1 u, k* j/ CSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
& G; ^) E/ @$ R3 s3 _7 T6 |. tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ c/ \4 `- S9 Q; x
deciding whether to take the class.+ i* x+ n( `7 ?* F
# H3 U2 t s% V1 ` w/ u( O"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 T0 w# K' Z. f" `5 e: Atold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite- G3 Q j; X/ I5 u1 G" ~6 u- r
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
& j7 j- L4 D1 M7 g7 c5 D, A8 x! B/ jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' {# T. b9 `9 H! k* ^ _
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 {. ~! K( w- J5 ^' A3 X
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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' l3 y8 I( S$ M2 F, \" r. WRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
1 X( q+ x: T( Jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with3 ]+ O4 f3 @9 l5 C. D$ U7 ]( _- ~
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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$ N: o0 n1 o7 u"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
; C. s9 U. {% ksaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ d0 ?0 t9 u# X6 Z, K8 s" \* d2 Q; Aas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the5 R3 w ~4 P8 \
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- ]+ A7 C. C% a; X* O" I1 {# Z
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like8 o" t( V4 `( Y- a
that," Ms. Freire said.
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$ l1 m7 ?* V# `7 hMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, N- c8 f: E. t! u: Lhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each9 R8 \# G! Q$ a* N0 c8 p7 M: T6 q, m
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 W. v3 m# \8 o) {! `, H3 Itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 [3 r+ m7 N& A+ ^
room.
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* s2 f+ ?/ f! gChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
! J7 B. T% F) m" |0 [Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 [, T b6 f& u P, ^6 q2 kcollege, 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 qualified C# V/ k2 O) \3 [8 u& X
because of that missing certification," he said.* G+ O& x" \' C* l ~
# t4 o0 @4 I N% A# U; Z) M1 xThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, b' o9 p4 R4 t: y. a N
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" m* r- f7 g6 j& F( ~Society in New York.
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: ]# A& i4 x1 O) D2 cSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' f9 D2 [: K4 E$ f5 xChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& E& c) z, P$ X2 ^: h
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., J& Y' K# Y0 j9 g% J z) p# U" u
/ g; Z, u! }1 q% w+ k4 K7 ]"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
1 z2 e) A, p ^: ]/ Eown."
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