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October 15, 2005
- S+ D& e6 V- a: `9 ^# t: ` g( sClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 o) d8 @, }% X2 M9 t# VUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 X! I! i* w% Y8 g
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas g; q. G! Y; ]3 k1 Z
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ m: t' j* t$ _flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one0 o4 w- c- e$ C
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* P+ V: K6 Z! Y2 z; k+ |
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker" `8 S* ]- u: a
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students7 g3 {/ v/ n$ \5 k
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; @( W P) y7 P% ?at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city& j( V. q9 E5 n9 z8 g/ w7 E
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."9 ~" a- j4 v% m+ o+ m
, Q" |. Z8 B$ U) X! {1 F' bWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' z8 a5 [% J- v+ U6 \/ Eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
5 m- k6 Q' F; Q" P* O P' Kto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
. T& r, R# s) b0 s& t1 V* a! N: j Rone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* r; r& q2 A! c* u: ]! @" ]public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students/ k2 T" A0 z, s& G+ F$ i
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 H) Z" z6 v8 jLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! Z6 R2 G( t: a) |7 E5 X$ v. b# I* fTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
8 M- p* ?1 x6 I+ |Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" z( f3 u# Z1 G
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.9 {2 J$ w) d) q. ^
" u+ ~" d$ L: w, x& zAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
, L( @0 A) n5 y% {Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country* H8 `( O6 n3 R) |; o1 ~; X; H
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& d; B6 F5 B5 v* N& K4 C6 z2 _1 ~# Fdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
* o4 f1 m2 K$ [6 i2 kcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 `6 c2 l3 m4 H! L% L4 ~of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.( q0 C7 K7 P5 ]7 L4 B* H: u
0 I' ]! T' A$ s- c( Y/ b( C, g"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
0 Y" D: Q0 m# U* ]6 Z+ Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. q& d& s' c {" W0 ]! sConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! ?6 E+ q+ h& b
can."
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- O% ?8 i2 i2 g+ `& @. pThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
; _0 O, `2 K& i6 }8 d, y! relementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10' s$ Y! h( X2 U A- e2 D
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) [2 N) P' C/ O& `- b' x: W/ F
Institute in Washington.: G/ |7 y) _2 o
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 E! ?8 J$ g) S: K' z& daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! C I+ d7 R% [9 mMcGinnis said.% _4 M1 J) [ G' E# y, z
) y: f# c* O, B0 Y/ i/ G"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical5 ^6 d# r4 \/ r; w/ F1 r" N3 U
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# M- n b2 C( C2 w
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' `# b5 J( L. T o! schallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 Q* I' n @4 [3 A/ z/ v/ D1 d; b- `+ s
' f' \! @3 a$ C( s$ Y: rUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
* [4 n6 I ?3 a# Msecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# s; Z* n$ v- [, \! L7 [cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( ~ v# A3 I8 _5 r; B, V& ?Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
# U3 M1 D) Z4 S3 |2 T, ]; Won weekends.. ?7 Q* {6 u0 \+ u; S4 U
" R" m! M5 T% O1 ]0 s" B9 HThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public) P" {, Y. M" k& s1 r+ e. K# a2 W! g) Z' Y$ X
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves) C$ A! n! V3 a" y1 f4 h3 ~
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& X+ X6 ?+ d) L! ~4 sproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
1 `4 F- A9 g+ o+ \4 {/ ]& ycompetition. " f) ^& }7 Y7 d4 F! R( H
! _( v" y8 Z! ~) s( N6 ["I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley( W* l% s' V$ n. w9 S. O P
said. "There will be Chinese and English."% W# g, j: g6 {1 `& d' T
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( R; Y, E, r! n0 L. Gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 K7 P# ]( X% N. ?) y* B$ U |schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& X3 j( q8 S" ~$ nkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 W' x* N6 R7 i2 |$ r/ q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to. q0 [$ J3 Z+ h6 _
the school system last year.% ], v0 O6 \: t- t5 M: X7 J( b6 E/ s
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this4 l* i ?/ [' ?% k* B
year 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 own9 l! ~' ~0 d0 i; t, \: u8 v. X, K
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
U" A% _. k% W: a4 VChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
& ^9 V8 l2 D, ]' R1 j1 I- Ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet2 `) L1 Q2 v$ m$ z d) A
on an equal playing field."
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% [/ y4 I9 y% BSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: u) }3 j J" u) tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign& ?3 A& S+ v5 V
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
Q* c, S ^( B4 QChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An4 \. R# ?5 `5 I+ R5 j( J% K
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. G1 O8 e) O" w6 ]
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the0 v7 J% |. \8 i; f; i
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ z- B8 n r& I- S3 l8 L. }grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
8 N$ P% [5 I+ m) ?deciding whether to take the class.* K! w; E x0 k
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 k- J( g0 N* utold her daughter.! l$ C; D3 f" }
. u' z, E+ X4 nSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
0 [8 U+ a+ J1 Nclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 Y( p" ?; u, \2 Y( G% T* \8 G5 pstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without }7 Y6 m; B- G* C0 U e- @
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a5 A! }# D8 M% `# z" F
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.$ O/ Y" U8 E; B% z" d
6 c1 d# x( w% _2 M: ?. v. d+ Q( rRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 ^4 r5 ]/ v3 Z" T
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with# `% o2 z2 T, F! A) s
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.4 T* d" N' `) P# r( [1 ~2 \1 C
0 b6 |3 S/ O8 D# x"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul7 x1 T) s7 _5 a: `
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
g7 Z- e1 I4 q5 z8 s% Q7 |4 aas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ Z" k/ V& u3 Q |skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
0 {$ p9 p, ]5 o/ P2 L) x! dmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ M) o, S2 z5 \3 _* e- G. ~& H
that," Ms. Freire said.( x4 V$ o/ O6 ]/ }' o' P
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
6 }4 @; S8 ^- Lhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 G3 d6 v& V% D t
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking& w% m/ a3 ^: f/ B5 B
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make( w9 K/ h# k- b) l
room.& x% N5 y7 A4 u. k) M
8 S8 N0 ~* V) l1 |Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 f N& q0 m" C; {) p% J: U
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' u$ s; p8 T2 c* ~% C' N! x
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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$ B1 x% @4 B. E! M: b"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
* `* e" {$ l" x0 xbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,) t, s2 K9 M( }3 k
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- f) B z# E/ T3 BSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# V' M! Q$ [& A9 |
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from. G$ `, r, g: O3 o" @2 P2 ? ~
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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k; B5 h. G, {"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our& P1 ~) y1 U. a( n
own."$ K& e8 m) ~+ h( ]
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