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October 15, 2005/ o5 y6 d8 b+ S) G, P
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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& N* s- p' l2 B- X7 u: ?# hBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING4 u5 Q6 F2 E" H9 H3 n
" D6 {0 G, }1 b" F" J- I; cCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
l) G$ t; u; t* I9 cUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ v( \" b# E2 N3 T" s9 z' q
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 e% B9 W( T, L, S6 Jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ l* ~) E% R5 G+ Yflag hang from the wall.
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3 {5 d5 s; `6 w5 Z J0 _0 u& `. }One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one* Z. f7 I+ P: ?) U+ _8 n
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders/ [# T& Z( X; J* R. ]+ C
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 n$ F7 @' x; [: \boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
( @( ?: x/ L, u4 F" O6 Q& y. _1 care already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 B [- e# Q5 V/ N' V
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city% Z- G5 o# B4 @* S
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.": j X' b- }7 v3 b4 x1 a
! N) N8 v/ p8 {) `With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* J5 w5 S, l+ o( g- c- e. ~
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, _$ e7 p3 L9 K" u! B0 O8 k, j
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 d% z* I6 `% B) yone of its most difficult to learn.. S. F3 }* U% J5 ?. J) Q* H6 T
- v$ I9 |& L% M2 sLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ \1 b& d0 w2 G) ?' {/ _1 g
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ |2 v; d/ z( v+ K' x
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# F/ D* b! x5 w4 s: eLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- `. `: e& {' r2 lTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on7 G9 u# G( J9 Z0 [, q7 \( N- C
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; g) Z; D3 v+ H7 [# @7 Limprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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1 f6 r9 l# B }0 \3 I4 _0 e, UAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! i4 x" ^2 n* NChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 r! i# P0 V& n5 Pstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to ~& f0 U( c3 r, d# G
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ `$ G$ s, Q& E" y2 U" ^curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 ^: `. H) U( z+ [8 O: Nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.! y/ t" _% Q8 h3 b8 s4 z
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
B4 {7 y: S9 O& H. g3 Z& M5 |: _- jspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education# ?5 V9 W# Y+ B7 I" f
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
% M2 F3 D0 p$ {% ^) ]2 u8 ican." 8 q4 P5 e% F& Y% A9 a5 h9 d# v9 n
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
* h2 L) L" k3 o) ]# jelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 @& b2 |3 G/ I, qyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language" t9 m/ k* t% }7 j8 [
Institute in Washington.0 a8 ^+ i3 _6 k8 `! F. u4 `: ]
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( @/ S' K4 G' F+ O5 taren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
3 N" H5 ~4 ~$ _4 NMcGinnis said.( B/ X. i' f0 w, I2 x S9 F
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; v- d/ \$ S. @3 S: [4 }' v: C alongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be/ _$ b! X5 j" S& Q4 p& m4 A$ t
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* e6 H; o* Z* ?, o4 k
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."; p, q/ T& q0 v- V
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and8 `: I& }- s' e
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
8 m( R( n1 p; z: h# I3 w; ycities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* C& J. a7 @3 ?& eChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
x: O8 x$ A! a" q* ?on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
) B. |& W* H! S& Sschools during the regular school day and primarily serves3 @" g; }$ f3 h( h+ g
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said# |/ a: V. p) j' p% l {' @
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- ~; s2 @" x, Z" W$ m& s3 K+ ?! M& A9 S
competition. " _1 }9 S6 I, `/ M( E6 S
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
/ y% s& \8 u# L$ q, ^$ Osaid. "There will be Chinese and English.") g( n/ N# k; a: y1 y
4 J- d6 f0 P% T, G2 HFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly, H: \& X5 w) j
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
2 v9 r% g7 w- t, U7 tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from: w2 o9 v9 N1 c4 v% d0 [: D
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 n e7 k. N8 ?% b7 `1 ]% T6 J
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
: E- ~! a- n- z/ b" {8 C# Jthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this4 x) i: F7 D5 N3 l
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.8 t: G& U) o6 K3 @9 W
6 X/ [* n7 w1 @"They have a great international experience right in their own
& D0 H/ I) x7 u# L! R3 D1 aclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 {( C9 H+ Y& a3 Y% r9 n
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* C. r2 J4 j4 v9 R6 G' k
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
% O2 k8 y5 V+ \on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, f# v( f; H6 m K! [classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
% _4 }. O/ f- j3 [' V! ^Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; I' `% R6 g. x+ g' H! w+ Y
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 \: ^- N4 ^) J5 J6 Zaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 U. b; f a D6 p; Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 ?! S+ G* R5 [- R7 V' dinstitute says.
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4 l4 D8 f8 P, n; W; J3 P# lSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ K9 F3 Y" C$ _2 l. xgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# T7 j. f( }3 c ideciding whether to take the class.7 u% s* l j& I- s( J
# {2 H$ U, x- K$ P"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 y8 V! F( E# Z. \9 G4 q/ h
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
( }( S+ N; ^/ _( s1 `& ?' ]class.
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$ Q3 |" P& Q M3 @! [9 }1 b7 _1 vAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' g) [! }+ A$ Y5 L* Bstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- c% b: ^! M0 d1 [- C
occasional frustration.- g. \" X& _) a* a
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* f, O- m1 @' j8 V2 @* ~
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class./ X: }7 p9 R9 v, K) |0 L/ v
2 p7 W6 R( d% H( g( P; ERaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he( N" b- S1 z, Z; F" {. Z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ j& |. o5 ~) p" |* n4 e, kChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
/ d3 m5 C0 A" a7 @said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
' q/ d6 {5 A7 r- i: f) X& @; u2 Cas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( ?& Q0 A- p sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job) H1 e F# A: e# _4 h) w, G
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like9 T3 h/ [7 K" p) R O; e
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, Z: K5 N: V9 Q2 Lhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
, q8 r* P9 D# b. K# ?* `school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking7 [- t/ c! s0 ]0 |3 w
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 x7 T) }5 Z" F) w: h. I, T
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
& L4 \3 p n, r; S1 iChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' V/ q' g9 V: S, F1 z
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
/ |3 ?) Y/ u" h# C: Fbecause of that missing certification," he said.- R3 M) S0 I L- |
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
( M9 F+ ?4 H. d8 z& v* m6 T+ G1 Psaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( f7 J2 T" K6 k& k% Y/ {2 O
Society in New York.1 [, v6 ~' s+ ]5 L
7 }2 \- I( M' G; HSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- w2 ?; y# s' s8 J
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
6 L( B' m$ u; Q3 Zthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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e$ _) A! G* W: }/ b3 A4 ?"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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