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October 15, 2005( i% ^- @, f% I; b- n& Z0 }
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 L$ c2 _" n" |
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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3 P9 U5 |9 y7 n- u) n" P- ~1 p6 xCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 e* e; ^2 G( `5 t# c
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 y) Q3 r6 J. L7 s+ T P
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 K T. {, y5 E# N7 l# g6 ]+ [9 Y& Gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: ~) Y4 T' d( {! o
flag hang from the wall.
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# b) U% h: r1 o! w: @" T' u* kOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
' \6 T; @6 V. G) W' n Y9 a2 ranother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' {4 E( f- z0 z1 ]2 k; X* H& }
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker) p `3 w7 K1 k
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students$ @( L K3 h' z" J$ Y* z! R
are already choosing it over Spanish.7 f. I1 B/ m8 Z( y' Y* N& s1 X
1 \' b! T* b9 I( ^- `( ~! g; d"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; g3 f, U& v8 J3 T9 U- b5 G) vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ y+ u1 U* `) ^* m5 X* u$ c) c
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" r7 U7 H' R8 L, d+ ?# p. F
6 Q& }: [% W V; ZWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
* O6 q3 E& @1 Uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- Y; `+ E9 p @6 L9 jto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention+ P3 h6 Q M* G/ P
one of its most difficult to learn.
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+ J8 X" |/ ` t/ B6 GLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& b, c! h4 F) D7 ?: M# Ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 n! C, {$ v) ]( L3 S% k' }studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ J! W) ]! `3 ~/ Z: c
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 c. i% n+ _& STennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* o3 o3 b) l( J& S
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to8 l Q' S0 N0 T5 x5 {
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ j5 \: q5 p1 i' \2 a* g
/ _1 K+ m1 L. Y2 h) }After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement& w5 O2 j" {$ N7 y; N1 t
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
4 L S& r7 I* N' z" W) v1 Bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to i$ [8 h: Y u
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing5 n3 b; [. u' S$ l" z- T
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director5 ~ d8 Z* V! u
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" g @7 k7 J: T& C- g
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
6 P, h3 T: z+ S9 d' ^+ M1 fConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
0 a( N' k1 m* A: d! Jcan." - k. I% w" g$ x( x$ \( u
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from1 ]: n8 |) v# P- l1 X2 g3 P
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# I# P$ S" d/ _years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 Y% O9 R9 J/ x& J1 D, v& ~* x" R3 n7 ZInstitute in Washington.0 g: y) c! Q% p# t+ J2 F6 m
$ D3 p2 [% l0 g- r/ e- W8 S"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ d9 W* o. s2 T6 ?* {" r5 X, c
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.0 Z) n% W2 N& z, u% v
McGinnis said.
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^( J6 \1 _1 }. ]3 O" i"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; `% B. m$ Q! ~( D! v
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, E% h1 w7 J/ o6 m. s, oready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
" @( e7 i8 N' J2 r' x- K9 cchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."- Z% D ?9 ~. G' L- c- ]; Q+ s# q
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
`9 g" F; @/ `0 z( i* h/ Tsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
! T5 g; V3 o& dcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
$ ]; A5 ~# S2 pChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ X, O+ J& g8 r# j8 g7 eon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public9 z* {$ o6 U5 s; ], g
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
+ G+ l( t9 B1 ^5 Nstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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5 `( r& h5 p3 ^$ R/ qMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( H+ o5 [! X2 M' [ X* ~- v" Kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the+ |/ K, \2 R" ]5 f. v6 ^
competition.
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1 C s9 t! `/ N"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley A$ F4 D4 `! e$ K' L7 E
said. "There will be Chinese and English."/ J6 E' z9 D1 [# M( v+ Q- V5 |
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly1 v- o' [2 O* Q
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
2 C s5 B; _# {schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- ~$ }% }9 ^' i* ?( fkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ |3 u9 V" N! i. W* a. [) d+ M
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to1 U _, S" G' V3 w; d
the school system last year.
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. _" ^) d6 L, f0 X# O8 |The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this R5 {) [9 v( x& M8 S4 y+ m' o! B/ ^: O
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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& S+ g. |/ t+ e$ s4 p/ ]+ @"They have a great international experience right in their own: i2 A% ` d2 L7 v* `. n
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' d) O5 ?2 W G) U; B. \1 O0 HChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 D0 |5 B+ w4 W/ d+ G, h( o
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ x1 \2 ` X0 b# E- |on an equal playing field."
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7 ]9 x/ I e8 n+ m9 R' t9 N0 X! QSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese A+ K8 J5 C' w
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign! x* b% i# S" U" S' B3 M
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 q9 {0 D K6 t2 D* D3 M$ k3 a
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* O- Q( ~6 f* z) n* x- o S" `
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
& o7 p, w" O& i* i' l& pChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the( J3 J5 v* y8 [- T# q$ n2 `
institute says.% l Q1 O3 Z7 D; ?9 c
% E( d0 u( Q9 B: m* k7 {0 N4 vSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
& `5 m. {6 z5 a6 D8 ?9 C! qgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 _" _2 |7 t" P M2 R/ Ddeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 t3 z$ I- T8 `6 |$ z- l
told her daughter.. S# u9 h5 X4 P" ^' q' ^4 z
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ e0 G( P! f0 v Z
class.% K( s2 s+ A- k. V; m) e
0 b" q( z- N% R3 L8 \At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' I* _% k5 w4 \* p7 q/ p; \3 ?
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
- B8 G# I- `) t1 T" f" u! Ioccasional frustration.* j: t& { j# i/ |# o6 Z
, _5 a& [& ?. u2 {' m9 R"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a9 }( a, R% X/ M8 H
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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5 `/ G$ `1 ~# a5 ~! BRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 X. t' }0 y0 y$ p, Jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( M* I4 x5 _" C# a3 y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.4 I7 D( Q+ n/ B! }
9 u- t+ V' a' V"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
; p1 {- A+ w* T, F* d Ysaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn c3 w% L2 q5 u6 V6 g6 ~* d" q( f) H
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
' y1 V/ V6 `" g p+ P2 sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
1 r' b& M+ y6 i; q% C2 {market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( h* X; {5 R# U
that," Ms. Freire said.: g" e# H; @/ d
; f+ I% o; I9 l. d, y3 r7 IMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 L5 f3 ~# X0 |; {4 x4 x1 b$ x. Phere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 i- L, l6 M3 w1 Ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 a0 q1 S+ v5 Y3 r1 U4 Q! }4 utime from classes like physical education, music and art to make, N+ t* f, K+ M! H
room.
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F( B2 _; f: F4 {Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 _1 C) t, x+ ]% F& h
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American! ^# O0 F5 ^6 r! a0 m
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
: \# S( N1 X% T/ Jbecause of that missing certification," he said./ I' |4 y' Z/ ^8 y9 e" F
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 V4 m/ C8 N1 f7 K0 Q. csaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: u' y% G( u: V9 V% ?* X# nSociety in New York.2 V+ K1 Z9 l3 d* v
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- x# u/ T- T( u' q1 [
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
* b5 w( X; ?- Uthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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9 F7 I2 ]- u% I0 U3 H% y' \"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
. U+ K3 o) v' u, V# S- Nown."
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