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October 15, 2005 P- o3 F" e% ^- k! o
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) G) V) _7 q5 ?
& c7 X) n4 X* K; w& ~( Q9 S/ YBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING b! C7 b9 W; Z; |
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
1 G! G& v& W& z5 ^7 q. D, g6 d% JUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ t8 T) @4 f8 `2 v, c2 h6 v* B
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 k3 w( I8 W8 L$ _8 z d/ c1 E: \0 rdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
5 x! ^. J8 Z I; U9 D+ `flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one# ?: W* `" M# O3 W) ?- O
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
; p! J9 W6 _; B1 wpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker9 G4 t& u0 m7 g( C( y3 k9 k0 B
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 ^! I, V9 m+ ?8 Y
are already choosing it over Spanish.+ V$ j4 D( b$ l5 Z) Z) a
! T/ W" h+ k1 D"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: `) ?2 k6 Q% b: T+ }at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 T5 v2 S# z: Q E3 noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 D$ P h6 E) R: }& q
$ r( G/ ?& D/ t" KWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,6 }9 \3 f- c. T# }
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! ~- ?& B( D2 v9 o( }/ h" mto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% ]* b3 J% Z% _5 _one of its most difficult to learn.7 T; N9 y$ V+ ~; Q' K* ]3 F$ O8 Y
5 f# ~- H) I' ~7 {Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to5 ]2 T: v. u6 p* s
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) O% @3 t2 ]- ~4 W2 P
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 p4 R# c; N. @6 y: q+ d' }, C4 r; e
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of' Z5 A) F6 J; [1 T, |
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- Q! l: T( g( N3 L
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
3 `: f$ a) p% Limprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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4 I' |% C2 {/ }2 kAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement U) a' j6 r' @, v) X
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
- R, X' b5 S+ C; u1 j* G7 Ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to4 G- y/ x* Y$ y6 O& i8 d8 j
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
c; y# \0 K$ w( ?3 ocurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 Y% l' t% i- J
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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( y0 A' n4 ~/ | j' q/ f3 x. b3 E"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 n) Q5 i4 u0 A/ j+ R) g
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
- F: I" ]3 D* C6 T4 L# x% jConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. k, |0 x# M) \- _. d" @1 f5 t
can."
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5 ?" y$ c0 Q8 L0 o. B5 K. MThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
* i- U6 L6 p( H6 D4 Z; i) nelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
9 a% | P- n- t1 E7 c+ S6 yyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* j5 z9 K' T1 y8 M6 zInstitute in Washington.
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" v+ p. S/ z" \4 }. _4 `( d"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 @+ o9 E. J' v! R' b
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! `5 F, O9 r$ ~0 \6 \! Y7 hMcGinnis said.; P5 Z |( _0 }0 Q( m
- V+ C7 X! Y7 o |"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
2 i& A6 \2 K& h" O# O. {7 Nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
" V2 A3 y) S, ?6 d( X' Gready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) x, d: O( l0 O" g1 G- n- p* g" Uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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) q( B: N9 M9 O# S" {+ X: xUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
6 C; z7 P! M s0 B1 }' ?2 p7 \ [secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in0 S% z7 s" d# W3 ]
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
; h3 F0 k) N& u1 f; _- @Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 V8 \: k. q- q( e( y' |! _, Uon weekends.
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# t! U# a+ @8 _& m/ NThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
7 @6 B6 e2 S: t1 sschools during the regular school day and primarily serves9 V) a7 b0 z0 {) Q" m
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( K' o+ X- w6 M- Q6 m9 |$ p4 aproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- `* i$ v5 T5 [7 t
competition.
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4 A7 ~0 Y/ ^8 R5 f5 K9 f+ H! H* b"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
4 K% g# J4 c! Y4 K7 g; msaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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/ S. _4 p, o; }) m! i( lFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ _/ p+ q0 Y3 z1 O( k6 Pall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- K4 Z2 X' ?) [schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
2 U, D' Q0 q6 Y* \0 }! g/ skindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- `" s4 V @5 o5 iwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 [' b9 X+ l; P2 O4 S7 {& i, Jthe school system last year.2 N, l. t7 t: M5 @! F5 I2 W. X
% i) d7 M7 X) HThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this4 [, `! i6 C& m# }/ A& D9 L
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year., y+ @2 @, e& q
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"They have a great international experience right in their own5 o4 C9 `+ t9 V7 L1 Z
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago( I& p/ F9 u/ B$ O1 u( J
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 E J6 m5 s( ]2 }help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet! _& C& X0 p( n1 l) D: {. D6 A
on an equal playing field."
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- c6 N0 t6 C5 \+ Z/ L0 M, DSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! y" v8 M! J* g- t/ Qclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! {2 F4 J5 ^) B5 KService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks& g2 t6 N* E/ O# y( q
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An- }, s4 N3 b( i$ t( Y, b
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in* W) T3 C; y# K9 ]1 f, t3 I
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
4 T- b/ M' l' ]0 U5 N kinstitute says.3 B+ N9 J+ d' s
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
0 v" f$ D1 q1 Q3 dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) J4 }) V8 Q* |2 N
deciding whether to take the class.6 J# m1 ^( ] c U" v& |$ C v# z
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. V1 q! m2 S$ B& G% I3 r$ [! [
told her daughter.
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5 B% y+ U( J# D& }0 Y" DSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite- ?% ~* W6 ~# A. H& }3 @% X: v
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are P% V/ ?$ W% Q4 {! q* e
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without) g: |* ~; \# P) ?; b4 o) J
occasional frustration.
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/ n' T: k1 F9 U"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 p& {1 V* g! H7 i! m
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 G: q9 Y1 M4 y8 j2 y% ~8 _
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
( P' g M6 t) Q4 O% v0 i! I$ ntaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
* z& P9 Y2 j" s6 jChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.' }: }3 S% j* G& l" U
8 U6 G0 P- j p. ]) c& Z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
! ^( [& j! {- V' v1 Vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" Y K' B% i8 S: m6 y9 Y# k# D
as many languages as I can."/ _+ O8 `$ U [& u0 @
, u+ {2 X, `# a, j+ sAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 O+ e7 G ^" x
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- ?5 {0 E) H' ^1 D8 K
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
5 c- |/ Q& q' o9 tthat," Ms. Freire said.
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& v; l( s( X4 J; @ SMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 e: t- L" d+ k
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* F* J8 M( W `" u6 F5 S! e( {
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 R! \$ p9 ]* [ G' f" ^
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
3 E+ X+ e! Y& x2 X: M7 _room.
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0 q0 C1 u& m3 a! y2 b: b0 g" t* gChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer. j' U. D4 L. S5 T0 F* \
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 X) g# y# S, H/ K s4 W; B- xcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.4 b w# F9 e! O* o3 D
/ [( ?* ` {; W9 D. Y+ t5 L5 e7 ~"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ l2 l# \3 j2 W' Ubecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! S" g( B, m, R# ]5 gsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia1 a$ X* m. u; H" E% `3 H
Society in New York.) U }8 E. k/ h6 o$ o
7 x7 i! k* M1 H& \! wSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 {! A/ i! R, F0 z4 e+ [Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from* L9 K G v- `0 E2 f
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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c5 o, ^. m/ A3 p"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 S: }( e' ]$ v* A0 a
own."
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