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October 15, 2005' B& |8 M! O0 z- \9 N
Classes 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$ W% [+ T4 Z q
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
; Z( M$ n; q# Z$ j' E# L) FSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas2 e3 [$ a6 s# u* {& h! V. B
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
- l' I4 u _7 G2 d" Uflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
% Q9 Q/ f1 J8 T4 k8 y, danother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders E) O4 f6 d5 \6 N
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker2 L' \( b6 |6 c( y: ~0 a
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
- V/ X, T( Q' e+ Fare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal( U1 r. p6 \- k* T `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ ]/ ?: u: T* Uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments," B& o' y+ i) l, q+ y
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
0 w' `6 d0 E Cto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- A* a9 Q0 }& j7 c: yone of its most difficult to learn.
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% y6 N. ?3 H9 z8 rLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to( F( z' n0 O+ ]
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 S3 y: I1 }5 w7 P, l G) k! cstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
2 u9 h( i5 ^% i- ZLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% n6 `% h. r3 @; l2 e5 C) D2 U+ ]' xTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on) J; W5 q A( @& u9 L9 O4 `
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ `2 ]" ^+ Y' _" ~( {/ j+ B1 |
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
G" w6 j# }2 V. hChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, p" m) l5 t) ~& t. |4 ]/ r
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) \2 G" f6 F8 y7 J4 l5 j
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing* b- U0 Q9 L) K7 L6 U& k
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. ?8 R; {3 E# h, hof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.% k7 v2 A& x1 L2 H0 ?
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- I; x+ n/ P' X9 w2 I. d
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education2 G" |: |' B! n+ |, u" P7 `
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, ^' S& P( X) z6 G0 k% H
can." 2 p$ L+ N. r5 e0 c! {& k2 z
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from9 |. z+ U% O8 x1 i
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( { k4 w ^& q( e1 ~years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 L* {7 Z3 T, B7 U! X! qInstitute in Washington.
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" T! j+ P7 h+ K$ v"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" W4 z/ w b' x# zaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
& j$ Q% [! t% j2 p% C5 h9 Q$ J9 DMcGinnis said." T6 ^/ m$ M" B7 C% V
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical6 y o% J. O! q" d& ]4 r2 ]7 _4 J
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% c4 P5 f. x" g8 J* ?% Yready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a% n. j; m3 q% h, l! X1 q: W# l
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 `* K+ G" \2 ~: P: W3 r
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- `& ?0 s% S& _) M+ N$ ~cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 S# U' E7 W! t& |6 Z1 q2 I! }Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: h- }4 z8 K* f/ c
on weekends." W( h1 h W# X9 i( [# B' R
& X, Z' ], }! V$ k% oThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# s, C! x$ L& u4 ~' ` e8 `schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
; x: V+ ~6 e `; d$ bstudents who are not of Chinese descent.5 K! Z8 n. O4 ^8 m
# d9 i5 [) |$ V: d; B+ YMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said' c0 i- U6 z+ L* h
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
% U9 d& }* i6 C3 H+ Y$ Rcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
: x; b4 u8 u1 i; z, esaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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`; V' {( w+ s) x% gFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ m9 j9 p9 q: @2 q8 s9 Aall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 Z) C: t7 T( F7 T8 ]' }1 w1 ?. ]5 pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 {( Y- f, F7 O# ]8 F2 f9 B! p
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students! {" I' U; s" H8 @1 \
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 P3 {3 x, i9 K
the school system last year.8 P: e' E6 D1 w- V" i7 p4 L
. J. l* w& [; g2 x6 VThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' x) @ n" {7 _) m/ V6 Hyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.) \/ F, F1 i- v5 b, J \
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
( x+ S7 ` I$ D! A$ Cclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 Q$ r: U. y) N2 b/ W/ M& t% sChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) U0 A. A: T" ?0 [9 C( S! W/ K- \
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 b9 a P: _+ f# U% V* }; K
on an equal playing field."
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# ^* E: W( D$ v* ?+ J: eSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese# D' L2 E% Q& {$ G
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
1 y+ n" o4 z$ q- Y' {# SService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks& Y9 C3 U, A j& |* A" Y. l
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
8 |% S, W% h% u( K( M: Uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- Q. O$ n9 Z* ~4 q6 BChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! n* C9 o6 _& o: h+ R! u
institute says.
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- q, U* M$ f" \! I: }, a* y7 T( }Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; y. t" g. ^) o! X; K6 B5 b/ y
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before& s( }! f) m8 x
deciding whether to take the class. L- @5 S% T3 f' {6 B) u: O
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 j& n8 h' y& A) r' T H" r8 Mtold her daughter.# }5 s0 y& y4 V! k, D6 ?3 }
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 _& ?; V, N1 w/ h
class.
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# p! K$ ], G4 y2 ]0 y5 F6 x! RAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( r1 ? m6 X& y- a9 zstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ \; H3 m! A! R! |- j+ d) koccasional frustration.
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2 D5 ]7 D) \: @"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a8 x6 F$ z4 V, P- `+ ]% P
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) S. R7 B+ o3 B$ m" J% y8 R/ l1 t
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' e, D+ u, S0 F/ ^6 v4 j
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 s, K* R. C2 N
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.6 ?8 e" t7 t1 U- T* b
& A; ^3 S' W8 g: d, t% |"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 q4 D( N+ M) J* Z
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
( n: [( ?! m0 W. o( K/ I) Ias many languages as I can."1 r o7 t* {8 _* u% c H8 O0 y
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
1 ^0 C9 r) V: ~2 U' p, {skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, D+ v; o5 o6 @* X3 U, E# Y% Zmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- @0 o# G' d5 C, y' Tthat," Ms. Freire said., R+ j, {4 X# ~" H3 A1 K, A, v: t
: g& I4 z' j5 |; M' qMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; z& X9 O, S% q: E# Y2 ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
n7 S+ i$ X& D3 x" J1 |& dschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
$ ?& ?2 x* ?# c2 d0 g+ G/ D+ Xtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
! ~$ ^8 W# r+ L1 |5 Hroom.3 o# K+ c2 I7 i; x; O- a: R
% j) b# a; f- q2 p/ P' h1 lChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer. N$ j$ Z( p4 i, U
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American, J- o" @- a: Y0 p+ u
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 I0 i) ^; [& ]4 u# C! x
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified0 B8 p- K3 i1 l- t
because of that missing certification," he said.
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' A3 X6 M* N; v) cThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, D$ j1 q; X9 H% _' rsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
4 \' X0 Y! n# o8 H2 w: CSociety in New York.
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1 D8 K6 `' y5 e- u. T# G" X: ]- P# ASix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
C) ?" R) n. `" ?& VChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from* U4 v/ J# \& G
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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8 F# _' u+ X% |"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
/ h3 e3 y" T6 eown."
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