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October 15, 2005+ i3 l5 W2 [; _0 W- _
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 \" a' ~8 z5 l; [6 r: b! D6 J1 \
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING) E, c A" x# `* I3 b" I7 U+ t5 a
) |$ p7 r `+ D1 d/ }5 ACHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 i/ u* I5 a" [3 C. b/ qUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
: J9 Z1 [0 Y e4 s! ]. aSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas! F" i* a3 U1 e Z7 g
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) ~- g4 {+ V/ q6 c0 G* U( E
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one) o# M- v( d6 H; Q! Z5 m2 X8 C
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
1 d" S u g+ ^" Xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
& U" J; i% v2 x$ u. N, Tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 u& U4 U0 T: h4 S/ V5 D
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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) C N }; d' t( \"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" b5 @) g! t. U1 F
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city8 I" V: w+ D9 w3 m2 H( \
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* d( i" i$ `4 |" I7 V" t
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
" C- Q C; j: j4 B: vschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings: b0 W6 ^& P/ O3 K1 G6 a
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: f+ F; k, }* W# _( k c" L9 _one of its most difficult to learn." H0 q* R' F R! q: g2 }$ f
/ h) |7 T" s! iLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% l% P# c* m2 T: e! w# D5 C9 a
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students* e k5 {4 \, f+ y9 Q( ^
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
/ h/ c: A& i! g4 f* W0 BLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! O' C# [' [6 l4 m0 ]Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ ]. x" _: N. F1 }7 V( dChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) Y' U f5 ]6 T, T
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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$ J. y. i8 N; S5 X0 D7 c$ nAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
( c* n1 ~7 \" q( HChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
) O4 ?$ C1 {* } s/ \# ?2 |starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& j6 N' l6 u. W0 f$ C) rdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( Q7 ^7 {9 ^7 D( c) l% E
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director P6 P: \. _5 T
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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3 P; ~! h+ S1 s) b9 |"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# J% l. J0 z# @" c6 L }5 fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
+ j% X# T5 m, k: ^2 ~Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" k. Y2 c/ q& s: }+ L- Hcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
9 e. Z: s( E6 s; N# gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; l/ X) V$ x4 k. [ q
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language% R7 z, ^( ]* w3 [( ]
Institute in Washington.
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5 V# W7 t- u, k A" m) N7 l"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" y: ~% e4 y" {1 l( u7 z7 laren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
, ^, o% v+ d9 v; ~$ OMcGinnis said.; s- @8 H4 o: k8 X8 f( `
5 e- u. U# M# w% V0 J; i"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical% G3 I9 f/ x E
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 v* y! ~- G7 G0 x$ D8 f2 a" Fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% P0 _ O9 e( E, U" D; n0 nchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."7 I; [/ w1 _, ]
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and/ `/ ^0 M2 V6 b+ g
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in/ ~4 ?; {) ` p2 u# ^- ]( A! F
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of9 m! d% a4 M7 \8 Z& R9 O- I0 k
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
' W' m$ h; D$ L; O0 lon weekends.) [3 K( s0 }, T
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: q! R2 a/ `4 w% \: P
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
8 I% t" v! w, p0 e cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.& Y+ Q3 J* m$ @: n& e; w8 r9 e) d! p
, e' |2 N5 R6 R L% \Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ N5 C' x9 ~+ [& J. d6 vproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the& N9 p0 z1 c. o% r
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, J; T$ V$ o7 j* Xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."' t0 F8 `2 X, F+ }) e" m) `+ Y+ _
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly5 ^" U) L, L) f$ }+ O. |
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse: R) L4 R8 q# n
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 }& v$ U5 J* e( C7 bkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 ^8 q, H3 }6 D2 l- |who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to0 `, i8 ~8 K, a/ {6 v
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' k p6 R7 \* z$ ^
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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2 v1 @" |- Y' L! y$ A* p) D+ |2 q"They have a great international experience right in their own
' R6 N& I$ l: X" r& {. e/ e1 Nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago% G8 l5 w3 m D: u
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
# H8 h# X6 p1 Khelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 q! N) y* l+ \8 C( fon an equal playing field."1 G N U$ l& @9 i
5 n! |& Q7 V6 Y: w2 Q \- f* ySome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
* _* h4 ]2 K9 h7 B' s9 [+ L8 oclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign! t1 @" _8 y) k$ X: f0 M. s! M7 l
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 O# c% c) D* l$ b8 ?Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 J: L1 i+ \: [average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 v9 ^4 T8 _- C" r( OChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) `$ [3 G3 E! N4 Pinstitute says." {; [6 t5 [! P& g( J4 D1 E; n, z8 U; ?
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# Q% [! b% z' q* u9 ^9 \8 Ggrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
, a, u, u8 o5 s$ ], ^3 w" }0 ddeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
2 \8 ^ d" t1 `, A* ~ rtold her daughter.
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6 r e7 D. j' l- R5 TSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
( d- z' [, k7 A+ @& A/ [class.0 N1 W% G, @& p$ Z5 S: I' z) S
- W, M5 _1 r2 i$ }3 u, oAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 `' ^9 G$ _. y2 I
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; G& R& J8 V F: _occasional frustration.$ l* P) r" A: t
; z3 a: P4 c2 j' T6 D"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 @0 V" E0 O( q/ U5 [9 ^recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( t9 t' i* q2 q
1 e2 H' i4 G' e- MRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
+ Q8 C9 ]$ C, Z3 p0 i$ J+ {taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 O0 ~0 j: w( \, g, ~2 X# @( {
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.' \3 x$ Y, h5 z0 c* T/ \0 m6 {
0 ^' @" r _2 x" F# t- ?, v; n"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ K- o. O( A/ z$ W. {# H
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn9 ], X2 X. s- ~ ^: c
as many languages as I can.": y* A" q& z& `
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
2 E: R, l6 u; v$ U+ m0 ~% Bskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 I5 a( s8 R& c: I1 w
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- B+ A2 e5 h+ xthat," Ms. Freire said.. k: w, X' c: m* Y) A; J
. m0 |1 v, O/ Y2 r- @" PMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program: |) [+ I4 i1 o; J
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 o! R1 o& X& E; q, s% ?- Gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 P# ^- N! e+ b T3 Ntime from classes like physical education, music and art to make# s8 @: C: _0 A- z) v5 b/ R
room./ A# T$ m- w; M+ H7 n) D
/ ^- f1 b/ ~$ r$ V1 ^1 YChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* ~5 P6 _. Y& Y0 G
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; D1 }+ G3 ^; s" @# o+ D( ]+ N3 q
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; ^( R8 Z+ Q$ d. w( K
5 `6 ^1 M# U' t# R( v+ _ v ~"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) G$ _8 O- G/ |
because of that missing certification," he said.
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( H: F3 r" T7 a* O# mThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
& M+ c% b0 b8 Jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
. V1 j+ k; n. {/ D7 KSociety in New York.( S6 s$ P( D4 r; n4 s
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& u6 O. s: @0 T& B: Q" w6 sChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: K* D# z @# \+ d
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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! Q! @6 y+ E, Q% D0 L"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 d; b" |2 L- T. I: ^% G, a; l
own."
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