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October 15, 2005
1 w) r/ G0 {5 B) E5 O1 IClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 d* J8 x; e" ^- s1 ~5 E
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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* \9 Z/ n, u0 Y+ rCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the' u7 A' e2 s; C- j' M- ~* {
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary6 { \5 ?7 k: m$ e( x: O. e+ @
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas" X2 N/ Y" P _
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese/ A9 L: [/ J4 j) w
flag hang from the wall.! z3 W0 f0 K7 w7 i4 A( c* ~% I
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 ^" l* q! D: ~1 Oanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders& ]3 q7 p. i0 s6 e" \* F
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 O( V* u& L8 E/ P! v, X. \7 ^boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" D8 I% G1 R( z6 q+ h1 J. y9 g+ c
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
- ~4 L) m. h$ y; E1 Uat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city# Q& K$ ~ u; u( p
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."& y7 v7 l# P. r$ v f: w
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. {; h! f0 I& y. e# V$ W' i- S' Rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings7 F+ `2 [4 `* ?0 f
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention; x/ R) [: \/ \ @( y
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 V$ ?6 }* X: f: upublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% y" L: m8 F/ y1 Cstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
3 X/ c5 b% Z) P( Z, o- [Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
. h0 I7 u2 ?# y) @5 d. X% d# TTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' w, t E+ i \. @! p8 FChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; p8 u$ m% o8 q2 ^7 v) T" \improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.7 ?, m9 I0 U- Z3 r* I2 j, i
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement! D. b4 Z4 k j
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
# G: d( @% B, _# u9 Bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
7 M6 S) i5 |) ]/ @3 Y. qdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing" Q" k4 Z4 {0 m3 D7 x8 K" h4 p4 A
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 R5 g% O, g4 R* U1 zof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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% T/ y% s ]3 M- n/ \8 |"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) U5 z' R! K* `$ E& ^! \, n- A
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
7 y% x6 m4 Y7 d# Y+ T. x4 j, mConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. w }4 Q. i O/ R% w: x$ o4 |
can." , H! U- F. C" K# Y
; [: Y. ?' L, [, Q0 GThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
7 l# E) f$ u) I3 S" eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
+ Z; K* Z/ W/ J8 W" z, E: }) ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
2 a3 i1 V% G& wInstitute in Washington.% D% e; C% |! v" @, D2 b; q
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
- i1 p# w" }3 U% ~- J4 taren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
0 y, x+ y: n7 I {9 K3 O* jMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical5 M) b% e; ] s! y$ {0 p
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
2 w: R- |: m5 c* ~ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a9 s; D7 y, V2 y. t0 ]
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& L. ?9 z# T* @/ l8 A h: Q
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and, _0 `/ S9 V) l/ @0 q1 ~9 w
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' H% H6 K; f B9 D) {$ L0 K
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# H* g) G t0 P1 \. \Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
: p9 L7 k$ d( t* ?9 m* v5 C; ^1 aon weekends.7 N* l- m M d h9 D
5 c) B# e. o9 p! c: o# c, S7 tThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
; v8 q2 m& |4 ^ z2 r( ^ W; g3 Aschools during the regular school day and primarily serves" |! H; ?: K7 B
students who are not of Chinese descent.' w" a0 `6 B+ |- [$ \- P
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said/ B: ~" z+ J/ `# X! H" {
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the. f% r- R7 P3 U% x! z! k
competition.
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/ b; f' A- n+ H"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ N9 L' R# D! z5 A$ psaid. "There will be Chinese and English."' P( U( H1 U$ ] V; X3 |
; m$ u5 I2 w) tFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" |9 @4 O* M( J0 i1 o
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
, o7 I F2 \% Z9 w8 sschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from# ^4 I4 ^8 l" }& P% i6 W; e$ ^
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 Q/ `3 u5 V7 W, G6 K
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' M) G* E* o. w! x+ F
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' \" E; G$ I' z+ ~
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year. U& B; S# @; M% ]4 ^
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"They have a great international experience right in their own3 L: x3 G# [& t/ Q& z0 m
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' |6 |# n' t9 o. k' w# [/ c$ c5 _
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
( G9 A+ m0 [% @+ o1 ]; ahelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, \8 }- D# F! Y; t# `% T5 I
on an equal playing field."
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% J8 q4 l8 Q0 g g4 p) } N. BSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 M/ x; q, |$ [/ U, \" U9 iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign* E6 s5 I! _2 r8 z8 n- C
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks5 Q$ l% k( T' \. |
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An3 \$ n m$ i3 l1 l% P# A, \
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
' S& Q$ R: }5 X8 QChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 J# }2 P7 e% \- g0 }, A
institute says.- J$ w H/ i- Y8 p4 h8 {" K
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth3 I& o) h; K6 N; e$ M: t
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
0 M2 W# X- j( f6 c2 W# udeciding whether to take the class., [- `% G( i+ s; s; k
- C8 ^! G J) s"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
$ M: a' h+ [1 Gtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& Y( `* N& Q; ~# a
class.9 j( \" k8 @4 B: Z" Z9 f% Z3 [' M9 z
) @( P: f' V' K0 g: A0 A7 eAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
% C# q8 j# f+ ~; ~studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 q. v9 j" r6 [" ~occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
3 S5 E5 u8 B5 {' q( M( ~# Trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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7 y% ]$ x! ?5 H( _1 m* l* DRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he* L8 S2 V8 q4 {2 l6 n _
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
* N8 V. G) `& H" \Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ Y4 t: x! ~6 r% d8 X( ^5 hsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 ~- n+ W8 Q5 Gas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
0 }. ~8 ^8 n! ^6 x Q* tskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job( E$ {* Z2 C7 x$ D
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, {: g( j1 t$ J# s( M/ I' I5 x
that," Ms. Freire said.
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E. \1 T% \4 g, s" yMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
' Q5 H" ^; b |* C4 `6 ohere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; ^% } e* |8 u( b. S5 x V; ?, J: s
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
1 z* J1 v4 N, D: y* d4 c$ Vtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make* f1 n% `- x; h1 r7 w) n
room.
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2 S* `; e$ i. { m) \! c1 VChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 _" ^4 j" W' zChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American, Z2 I' a- e, [) [: F# j
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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8 ?# }5 w5 ?6 P1 n6 @"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ Q. U1 a s2 y3 Ebecause of that missing certification," he said.6 j$ L+ ?* C3 F b }6 v+ Q
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, y: U ~( C* u2 J0 L. t p( Zsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
5 I) f" X2 h; Z9 HSociety in New York.
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! k8 n: R4 `. `% q3 t' hSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
; N& e; A9 V8 G9 X" D/ h4 [% p) d9 JChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from. ?, G4 f5 O' y/ R0 O) t {
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.0 O# E# @3 M' j' L9 `# B" Z. u! r
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our# h7 |8 e% E7 i) K' z; k4 S
own."
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