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October 15, 2005
+ o$ \4 y7 |! N0 A( S g9 Q4 C" [- DClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' E9 y% E9 d$ V. a
9 N& D7 p/ R5 _" ?, B+ q. @9 B9 I* yBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING7 N# P4 F) B# H. C- o
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 L0 T X, P5 o6 K" wUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
, { }4 @& U. V9 Z; `0 b+ pSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
+ I$ ?9 A; s& d7 \- |. wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 w# F- w3 |% s2 D; R5 U) Qflag hang from the wall.& D; P0 D0 n8 R! d4 ?
8 l3 h+ p( B8 j/ IOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
8 N# R. \4 K, p/ `another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
: i% w2 y( b' _; K5 u" S0 Z5 Dpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, I* x0 h# s5 w! O
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 X( c- k8 y: {1 }1 C6 u
are already choosing it over Spanish.- ]1 D/ P# G1 n
: h n7 U* R3 N# k" N"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
% t! Z! X5 {& Fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# m: ]" n% ^8 _5 s ~. G. c6 koffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 _ O% z& b6 [! W" @0 D& Y% l
- [+ D' m/ ~! A J' F' N( UWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& W6 K/ e# l& c
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
9 g% n# i1 v% Q2 p8 I4 [4 u/ v6 Zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention K/ Z# p) {8 A$ Y0 o
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ D1 ^' [) y O; H, e; k9 s# ^1 [
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% w3 p7 } y! [" S' Z; O2 N9 sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
" i+ z; a: f. y5 h) P/ mLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ Z* M! X0 L! x6 O: T: _4 ^7 [0 j! u9 |
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on( W! K* h) o7 a2 Q1 x
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 X1 ~& h1 \5 F" z9 `' Wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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! j/ d4 F9 c& |$ N" aAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) E' p( n" u$ J6 xChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; i6 r+ K" e' s1 c
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& q" E& n3 J d& s9 C& {* Z; Udevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
: l# r. o2 V# Q6 U2 xcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( Q4 [8 C' h3 x/ }8 m- _of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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+ p# B- {% T$ G0 [' X" @3 m"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# V% v; R0 S8 S% P, M* wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" E) p+ R& J1 u" J+ `( H+ R8 O+ EConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we4 y& c5 N/ y, t+ P; ]3 q! E7 Y
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 d+ }: [. A! u0 L1 I! E& y8 I
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
5 |3 w6 n1 n1 z3 o. R. r( ?years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
Q( ?1 f% Q7 ~4 k K) ^+ V+ ?+ KInstitute in Washington.
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6 G" Z! F1 D# a* O"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ n. Z1 N4 u, g8 x, t
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ I" x) E5 S7 K$ U+ EMcGinnis said.4 {5 h% ~* V8 p: j2 i# R* Z6 \
* O: r& O7 T2 E" [2 E+ R"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
6 [0 A: A5 H# N$ o( t3 alongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% r+ e+ Z! w' Q xready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& n/ x: B' d5 }2 |5 {4 ]3 a: ~( C8 s
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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, m' z; u$ d fUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and" Q, I; h0 a7 F* `
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 g: a# \! T9 X# x. B, e
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 Z1 O0 S5 W# }6 n
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
- [) b* d! O" W2 g1 t9 B. Ton weekends.+ L* [5 B! b- E8 [; ~
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: K2 a& ~6 R3 \$ c% p# t- ^ V' Lschools during the regular school day and primarily serves* h3 C, ?7 P7 D# x- P3 o
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 X* h3 h$ b1 _0 |) bproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the% x( F, a5 `3 {' C0 X; O9 u
competition. - l& ?* y2 o1 p& ~1 @% \; e6 c. @
+ X i0 \5 m# p( A' |"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ q$ o) t8 u; I* J8 V! u
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
* H5 m. Z( V6 H3 tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse9 U; Y6 k3 D5 \# Q/ L" b
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
; l* M% I0 u9 [8 ^9 Ykindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 P. `3 L1 w: I& owho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
9 K( s4 r9 G& jthe school system last year.; @+ Q! \& y% a3 `* M) X
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* Y0 e0 j4 Z0 v6 k! U9 Jyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own7 `" N" g5 B4 ]* C- C, m- m
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago: ?; J( j- d3 n( Q6 R( c" k2 u4 `) r# q. |
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 n2 B! [; a9 P+ n! Rhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet/ \* _. ~% e# }& W. D' U) A/ ~6 p
on an equal playing field."
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. `0 a% G8 I! ]4 c* S9 ~Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. L) t P2 K( H3 T! f% Q& }
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
v) \, }# i: O$ ~3 F+ t0 f9 ^Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks: P# v6 F/ I0 w
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An& l0 h* I0 o7 V- Y1 N
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 d" P7 o2 d" w6 ^& z& |, H
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the. D1 b; x1 G `$ b
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth. X; l: {) `: {$ K
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
* x( b- H; S [/ h1 F' _deciding whether to take the class.* X0 z" J* `" i8 ?( c2 X. B
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 u5 s( S' P9 Y8 a$ Dtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% I+ s0 _% h2 a6 {" mclass.2 o, `/ N' z" \$ ?% [
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ c+ A( a2 v# y( U
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
3 ]4 P- q3 B' }) coccasional frustration.
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+ {% F# l5 U) U6 _"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
4 X9 _6 G2 l* G; m& z( Y- ]recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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- Z% g Y# C+ B* yRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
; s& I1 ?( o/ [/ ^( Y6 j* Rtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with9 O6 Q( W. g& j4 o! j
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.2 Q6 Y; B" K7 @
+ J' G& D" A- H5 w9 j"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 d8 ?& S/ F0 _/ E. wsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 m# F7 {) N, A$ x# D$ e( ^as many languages as I can."
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: {& ~) s% v" y3 h3 y5 BAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* u B! e4 W- D" N# ]9 u: Kskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& t: R) M% f1 k$ F: g, _7 p
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like, t4 O7 C) Q+ }* b, T9 o
that," Ms. Freire said.5 {; r4 ?# S- U! W. D4 I) n
( a9 L+ f: t; _ qMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program" K8 z5 J y( X0 I) z- L
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
4 e2 a3 n. j( P! pschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 F9 `' ]5 l3 T+ ?3 y6 }time from classes like physical education, music and art to make- ]+ P1 u$ @. G+ q% z1 Z
room.7 o+ V/ v% N8 Y; j# \
. Q8 C' s3 P, ` `$ O& e, P( nChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer& `. W" M% c9 ?$ |, G4 O- w) g& n
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* x% a0 |$ z: g% H% ]5 s
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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: G2 h" p7 j1 X4 ["It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
, S6 g% E! L4 Hbecause of that missing certification," he said.7 T1 b8 Z" o# \& U) R! h
0 W( F+ ?+ t4 e1 A/ `) zThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ k3 a v8 f6 j
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) {5 X( {8 @( E* R) i
Society in New York.
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2 l7 _+ m2 y4 q: _5 e$ S4 Y, aSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the u* p1 s* [, x5 G
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from. R- P" U+ F0 [% p
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our/ Y" F: z: x, R: u
own."
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