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October 15, 2005+ U0 h Z' Q! c7 K& P! [
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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' D; X& o# Q; \* h) T# _9 a7 @" l. dBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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! y" |6 K7 o* n5 x7 M- yCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, Z0 h5 j. k. n& z* ~
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
8 t" D! I7 u. {" wSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: p: H8 a8 ]% |
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
3 _' z {* j0 U3 |/ c' o' bflag hang from the wall.1 N& i/ j+ \2 K& @* d
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 a- e) O+ R3 y; Ranother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! s% N& S. }) {1 n! R
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker) K7 y" J8 a1 h+ R
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 j! z& k$ K h- Jare already choosing it over Spanish.
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$ r: P0 v9 p7 {"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal; P0 p+ c a9 J; P- u. `( k p9 K
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city2 F1 K+ b/ o' T7 i: }
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."! W% q# M' c# W; ]
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,4 _1 v3 k a& E" O6 Z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 U# L0 A6 y" \! ?to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention; v1 E! {1 Y% ~% [) Z
one of its most difficult to learn.
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& e/ Q% O1 z0 e/ |( F" y0 O: i9 F3 u0 WLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to1 H& }: g" m- w5 ~* x& O
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ n; R* g( X# Q, d
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.2 [ ~' h: Q, R
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of& i# ~9 l4 \. F- u. p. B) p
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- J5 m5 z t' ^6 B4 v4 b7 q
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to5 n! Z; x3 ~. s: l
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
# q6 ~ A7 J7 m6 _6 N6 O% [. NChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
& G) Y1 ]1 j$ @4 n- {% _4 ^2 w* dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: x) ~) h8 T9 r8 ` z+ O C/ qdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
. L% E( d5 V) }* P" `curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
+ \8 |% I' P) G: s" Z3 Qof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.* T, s8 N" W5 \8 E, T/ T- V3 ~
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 q$ n4 i* L% c
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education" T& O) y' W+ j# s2 v4 I8 f+ ^& d
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we1 i: m+ g7 U- v# g0 \2 A1 u1 y
can." 4 q3 N. ^" h7 d4 ^7 J$ Z6 b
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 F. n0 q8 S1 x; G3 C4 f. X$ z
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10. t/ @0 t6 o1 t; w! C& i
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language: @: l8 I4 K3 V+ N1 o
Institute in Washington.
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; r# }# x3 [- x"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 P3 U" [. e+ z* U7 u) D1 y# o/ Z" Raren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 R' \) W) G( p! e
McGinnis said.
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! z( A/ _( w) ^8 D ~" H"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- H4 C* v/ ?, \% L; ilongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 g" o2 X( s" D6 H. Z2 M9 k) d
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ X. ?3 T& ^6 n$ jchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
8 f, h8 N; I8 l3 t( ^5 _ |0 i) C2 b3 Hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in# ]# S" e; ]$ r; W# N
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 s4 L8 X- D/ z+ b) s9 o MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
9 W, e' }% G! L* ^, K! x) |- {on weekends.9 x5 C( U) k+ m$ S
/ u+ ?/ y9 J; Y0 e7 M( GThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
( Q# _& l2 h8 a: F8 N) @schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
& h$ y% d2 H3 N" s( v$ C/ kstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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2 j: b' p& K7 t7 [; P# V5 K7 p' `% vMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( ?! e$ b$ h8 H: _% o" zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 {- f! `8 p/ Y, E, l* |. {5 Bcompetition.
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' e P* M4 ^* o4 t"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 ^3 L* u" S. i; c9 f
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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6 s# _* P4 c. b x$ W3 z3 EFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly1 g: X& _4 R: M* A* n7 @
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
n$ u* K. m4 Y/ |) s* y( U" z, Mschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
% W, [4 B! F. Jkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ E: o7 w6 R( D; X9 L& }: O/ ]7 wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, k4 Z# S7 i3 L1 E; ~. X0 _2 U5 kthe school system last year.6 B2 w& T* @1 v$ g
( Z% ~* g |, m2 O8 IThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( i3 }# ]* G; p! H# p6 h6 d6 Jyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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% ]2 B3 {& ~ c6 e3 ^7 o( a"They have a great international experience right in their own' V8 e) e9 q, X' b( B& P. R( G9 ^# _
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, d7 o+ S6 o/ q2 s- K9 m* T7 Q
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 Z5 U4 t8 a% k' [ u" lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" e; w' L7 ]; v% N
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese+ q1 Y8 n, n4 r/ \
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
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Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 B* a- h" ]& J1 W9 {: G
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. o$ P- X4 Y) A* _* s5 R+ T7 o
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# J2 g ~7 J3 R( _5 q) _% _institute says.8 ~2 x- e9 t6 b+ b, D' {
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( w6 W9 l. `, q) P; igrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
( q$ c7 u* s" w+ Xdeciding whether to take the class.
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* {- p, h$ y, j1 f"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
: V' `6 p2 \8 C/ c' ~0 D' dtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite1 [( K L( S9 l/ S* Y9 w
class.0 C3 ^- W, n8 ]3 X! s* m
* l" V) x. u8 {At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
X" A/ }9 E+ [0 jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
/ l) S, O; m( ^! e) roccasional frustration.
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* _: R$ r9 L6 O$ h! ?$ F8 U7 }! S"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a" K8 r5 L2 \& N, e/ C
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he Z" I; D: W( P; P
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
( m' w5 A! M& C- MChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# X' C5 \4 d6 r$ P! \said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
8 i& D3 e$ o' `$ W! f) w7 Gas many languages as I can."
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% ]/ o' a* G/ P. NAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the, R# Z( ?: C y \% t/ i
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
]& B; u: g9 jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ w" g1 }# _% e$ i
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) a. L' s- N% c9 D7 Y, I2 F" Ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
! b! X m8 W8 ^0 G! a9 q( Y- j; z, Zschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
" S+ j W+ [8 G/ ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make1 Y- F0 ]0 ~) U A
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- k. N7 b$ Y8 g3 {Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American$ f" Q h% E2 y/ n% y% k
college, 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
T$ x7 ]( W! {4 j: n5 @; Gbecause of that missing certification," he said.# X( |8 D' H" c$ x0 Y5 ~; l1 [* D9 Q
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,9 M2 I3 U: ^+ \. ?. X
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 U% E8 [6 k! tSociety in New York.
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* p# G4 y* j; U9 w. e( p& }Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, _6 U; q0 }$ T2 y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
0 |' r8 L7 l: e3 xthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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3 E; d# S0 ]4 R"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 v# ?: F! p+ t- O3 O
own."3 k# z; q8 x; Q" D' c% _) V
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