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October 15, 2005( P, h4 H7 S8 ~7 a' L0 \
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING8 z w; r8 |) z+ V) H) T5 o
+ F. u: B2 O+ |2 kCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
' u9 M# y9 `5 H. lUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
0 p. W* C( z9 _7 K' p) ASchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# u9 f7 w/ m( ]
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& X. J4 t) B$ b1 H2 Kflag hang from the wall.4 F; |( g: [: R4 q! Y/ _
8 x) u/ n, S: u# A6 uOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
x7 a W$ A: k2 P( M: `+ |2 sanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
; E) F3 z8 c2 `3 d1 ~" \practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker: p1 P' t5 t& ^, e; d
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students5 E9 s7 B& n3 U5 n7 ]
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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1 O% h# x, Q$ b0 r( j"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal3 |; U p4 e5 A7 D% q* Q3 C4 F7 {0 c
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 B' ~. f" n) g, I
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" M1 [3 v5 B3 Q8 W, G
* h; \# z( D, w+ T5 e! ]! QWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
8 a5 }9 n, X; d% Q" M# j% ?schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 ]2 x8 F$ L$ r9 u) L( ~to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention& G P, ^3 A' }* T/ [
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ A5 Y( y4 x! q1 b7 I l
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
$ B4 I0 e1 ^/ G0 U s! Xstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* t) y/ W1 B. `1 U( p: c5 sLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" b1 O/ {& c3 ]' e; K
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on, u: E1 ]. M5 i3 N' {2 A
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. |; ~- Q' i* i+ `0 h
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
. S' y7 R# m, D" RChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country2 o: t1 f0 a3 V: ?6 t
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to' _$ [# \) C0 t0 D$ |
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing/ M- L) d+ L8 A
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director. T6 _4 V6 X- l, }) x. m+ Y
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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% }' R6 Q4 |, m3 ` X"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! P( d( r% Y7 M3 i: E+ v- W4 Fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
7 C, |5 d8 r$ j3 R! hConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ f5 x8 I; E- a" E0 g. f
can." ' `) T, e& O/ i, |) P1 t, I
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from {2 z5 c( p( E9 i
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# Q b* q7 l+ f5 W2 ] xyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 h. z, X' A# |9 E+ S+ GInstitute in Washington.
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$ d: |, C/ [, Q& T"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
) }2 v4 K0 M1 V$ i* @9 e6 Taren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.7 K/ _) K/ b L+ i. R1 T
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
}" ~3 R; v, [longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; j. f E2 P: \8 G) ^. R1 C
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a s: C* r, j% k
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.": Z. C+ X8 ~2 p* j+ m+ ]7 l0 F! E
. L7 l$ ?' u4 p0 G' q" ^! ]Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 n) u! T1 P6 s9 ^* Z" [5 w8 C
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: z& s; Z+ Z# y6 z7 o4 B4 I1 \) ~: M. g
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
$ D& t" Q I \6 B# h7 wChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
* h2 D H1 c% c, c# Z& ]! ron weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public5 S$ ?) O( [& h- P" k
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves* h& f: o9 \( Q, ?# Y3 C
students who are not of Chinese descent.- h' V2 @: Y n% r& q
! j$ V5 @% v' g1 L$ s4 fMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ N% |, i# D- C6 T7 b; f
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' y8 \, j- w! h# ?5 {1 B' e
competition.
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- G; ^7 P. c2 V0 D"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! B2 T: x N2 l, K1 [
said. "There will be Chinese and English."3 y. }% Y* U# G( ?. k" ?/ q
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# }' m$ S& n2 G) p! d4 j' x: H+ Fall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
7 B7 v) t% h. \7 h/ S) n+ n& C" [schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from$ a; |0 e' H5 u; F2 m
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students! A) S' K. v; L# N+ C S$ }
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 Z! F5 }8 d) h/ u- rthe school system last year.6 v! c5 H) J' [# B! Y
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( |$ J& a C: x5 H, k
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.! m/ m, A( s# G4 Y' s0 L
3 a3 n& _# e0 v& D; Q; t"They have a great international experience right in their own/ @' z( G+ p- v& _
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 q% e! o( A2 C) C4 z2 E/ Y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" x1 A5 O4 \" p) b! D
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, f' e8 `3 C% V) V& R! w) R
on an equal playing field."" e% ]7 T7 ~1 @6 @3 [
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. Z1 p6 c- u5 ?9 g* M: n. x
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 \' ~0 s# M/ ?
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 s8 t. g2 v! I! J, ]) u; p
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An3 o1 G3 h8 a$ m4 [% u! I2 V
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
, V& {8 ~8 f( [* k MChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
$ U- Y; I+ w3 H# Einstitute says.- i% o+ G5 c7 j! l! z
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth5 B, g% Q! ?/ S' X& H
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
, q' f3 ~ F$ n6 mdeciding whether to take the class.
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% H! D. d, @/ D2 z* e"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she9 `! |2 B" o/ [' R: F
told her daughter.* t( D# r4 O% }5 `2 v
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite* Z6 B3 V1 x" `/ [+ S
class.
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5 @- |3 K$ Q4 l( yAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ r, J6 T4 v l& s6 V
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
, n4 U. X4 r$ n' W. s! Roccasional frustration.$ d* r! Q6 z- u# x$ g
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 a7 Z5 E7 y# x" T/ y1 P: a( r
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class., \/ {5 _; S9 w# a& O& }% V
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' }5 q! F) X4 A
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with6 ]/ R& K$ {1 A
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
- h) L+ X& F! \6 T4 isaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, F; Q6 `1 W" R. m" k2 Cas many languages as I can.", r+ I" f) M& E, S
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( M9 p6 f& D+ g' Q& l/ Iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. `7 B. p3 U b$ m* m9 amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
4 j6 |5 q7 W+ jthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program. k P/ H' B f* r/ C" U. l+ a
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
/ U5 L5 H. ^5 ~3 Cschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( y9 M7 n7 c) b
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: U, A9 x. u2 c( _* X# R; N b
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
$ m1 F3 P- r( ^+ CChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American- x/ K0 B1 @- C9 S& V! e
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.8 L6 D; N6 z3 ?8 n2 f
& c( P5 J" l/ h# D- t d' n0 I, ~6 ?"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
- Y- r- S9 W" R4 B- x- f" b Dbecause of that missing certification," he said.; W5 O& ?% H& u P$ M. j
2 h. W" L2 w/ e: @0 \) iThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,% z# i. T/ D- C" P0 U
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
6 R% Z! V# n- H" _7 R% \Society in New York.7 `+ M: r8 o0 ]: q6 t
! Z. W$ M) R9 F4 t4 U# C" ?Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
m' G: G2 M3 I9 @0 r1 vChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from( V4 {# K; p3 g% T$ H- p* @+ l
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 g) e; H4 w7 e) _
own."+ T ~# m3 ]; J: M1 s, |$ g* Y
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