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October 15, 2005! v- m: _+ f e4 W0 F- ]; S
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity H8 D: _. U0 Y6 s
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING# x+ T6 T' V9 v2 U/ |
- M, w# h! X' n% |- K( rCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
1 Q+ K" i8 W0 GUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
& D g# S- A; H4 h1 A3 H, U9 qSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 K: A0 m5 K. {; v# N8 M6 _' g+ [
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
+ w% @1 r. T' Z, C: E& Cflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one- G8 c) u% y& N2 k0 J) k7 e
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
8 w4 Y5 Y: h5 b! V, x5 t+ M" zpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
$ M" l: n* w9 H# vboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 V" M. Q& i( W2 l2 Y) Aare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# T4 l9 }* ]* t& l) n
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city8 W9 l" J& |) k
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."9 r0 a+ v$ f) W, |1 }7 {( P8 o8 `; M. u
, G0 b# S: a/ a0 v4 \ l6 [With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' T" |* M5 B; f P* o) lschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings! E! F+ g* x7 D1 g
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention) N o& @9 f' F3 O1 s6 ]( {& u
one of its most difficult to learn.* e& k1 {, @( D& X7 X
2 d& h' v ^! z* @Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to" C+ g. n3 p% | }- m- a* F
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
' U9 v0 L& C7 p7 `8 l0 e5 i; ^" ostudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 \( B6 \ H/ j3 t% _
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
# M# s F* K0 I y! ?Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on( `+ _# N; m( n, M$ Y) y' G
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" y3 C& e' c: I0 @: n$ `
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ o) L8 P; K$ H2 J' _
d, z! ^! G$ ^. O, ~After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
9 m- y- S: v- P' nChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
E6 L, P; M8 c0 m* G0 G% y+ d3 V2 Qstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
+ U! X, q( s; X! L4 r/ hdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
& L' n* v- C3 q& M$ r/ s& vcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
2 m) F1 }; F: N) Q8 f: @of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.* s+ V; x) i, k5 R* R
9 b# ` v4 O2 |( v7 {5 j) H# m"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
$ h4 [1 ^, x5 Y( R1 \9 Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" \! d, D( c0 e/ B" mConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 S( s' q5 ]6 G. T
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 P4 \9 e5 U& E9 Welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10) A- w- ~' \7 x7 y
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language: `) N$ Z4 p( f9 ~* B7 L9 \
Institute in Washington.
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7 u" s! }# t0 |7 M' ]" a( ~) q"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
- n0 T6 j0 p* r& A! S( e! `3 F& _aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
- ]. Y- p" k% Y j( `4 oMcGinnis said. Y) r& R) j1 ^& L7 H2 m
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ U0 \0 I( I l
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; [) X3 L% y: d# d l# \
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a$ a6 ]4 B" u2 i v5 a& k
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( l$ t9 i4 w; X5 c. @
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
" v, S2 u( N. e# @3 _9 S4 Qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in) c" {- X" Z) P/ w& T# w7 n5 Q( z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of9 N: ^/ v( \2 K: E: L" i
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or- g# ^1 g. n9 b. K
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# f: F/ G% B" {: n6 b, o" w
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
& i3 N1 b* p* Y9 estudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said" y' `4 I9 h( ^% M0 z
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
. ?9 J4 `. j: O3 Q% Tcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley) I: b2 a5 _7 h; m4 p2 X. I
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 q" C4 l1 a- w, v) M+ X# iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 m% ~- `/ k& g! b3 ]: \( G. L4 z
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
e% j4 W" ^0 ~0 a! e. w' nkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students# [( P: }! o# B7 `; g5 _
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
4 k" Y7 w) ~% J( B' O" ethe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; L+ r A7 {5 {4 _. `
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year./ M% R7 o o" \& q4 T- B
. `( \* G, i% F9 h. m"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 ?: Z" B8 x4 o* C0 }" } A9 }classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago8 A4 j( E5 M9 Y( S' U& {
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to/ f1 N1 d) J# [, {2 A3 ?5 H
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
; V$ @& o9 `& {5 i+ c/ h( uon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, z' Z) F1 T3 sclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign& X$ o4 E& G3 S& R
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! R5 I! l2 P! ~' ~ IChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 R9 Z# ~ b$ G3 e* F
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
3 X& s! G, @2 i( [, z; o4 s1 uChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 D3 ~7 w% H* }4 l' \6 k G* d. dinstitute says.2 p; D+ o+ p3 ?' U$ C" b o
7 X- \/ k! I6 ?- A* V' USevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth v: y; h- O' e( x
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ ?* u7 X! D* P% x! _deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ U3 { N0 H) o7 _. ^0 I
told her daughter.) H! T4 k" e8 H2 e- N
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, u1 i+ S1 i9 b7 J$ H
class.
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( Q" M5 e2 {* m" p, H6 w4 B/ WAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
" f5 c: _, W6 A; Dstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
$ z% U8 _: M- s3 [occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a7 {! q* s! f$ e' |- ~+ J
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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) u* B9 F' ?' z# }Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he( ]7 t) P1 Q$ B* X+ f% @
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with) j2 T( c: j, D5 P( V
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
( Z, g5 }% ]% H# O/ g) Wsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ v9 k/ f0 b/ A7 i2 X5 e! \9 uas many languages as I can."
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( L1 _, N9 [/ I8 hAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& P7 H( F4 m' h+ o( Z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
- E6 P9 I8 L4 B5 Dmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' Y- v+ |+ C6 X+ N
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 F: g4 @8 T( p4 j k" _) K9 k) e
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each. Y3 Q1 R* q. d. p. ^4 A* `
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
( i7 `' j1 n% ^ H/ Ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
/ p9 `& H1 Z" {: W* R' P. R1 groom.
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: y9 s y0 a5 J6 FChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( z1 t" l3 K$ D* H: @; tChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" }+ _9 z1 z1 {$ R- n0 ecollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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1 j/ w: V1 U1 s }"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified( Y1 w4 ?: ~& K. z/ v6 u1 L' N9 x' n' t1 }
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
$ O7 _, s4 ~( z# Msaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; _8 v1 M& y. E# D) l2 V4 t
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 _( q" W4 k) M. I* e$ S3 S
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
) G* {0 |* S1 t6 ithe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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. k f) K* P* ^* \' s( }, _"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 X u4 g3 ?. J; q$ X% b( ]' o
own."
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