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October 15, 2005+ ?% ^4 r$ }1 I$ k% w# r' u" J }
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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: w8 J' d1 L( V0 gBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING8 Z5 M' K9 p, i# v. X- _
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
: c8 X! C5 q! S( g. d# fUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 D0 ~ @' q. a' x$ b+ z& Y
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 @ }* X( V' Q: m) n: |1 H
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 U9 x; } C, dflag hang from the wall.
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: L+ g4 t0 U8 ?) u7 M, MOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 R0 d9 m4 q( q. B; b9 }7 Wanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders; }+ h/ [; t( w; Z' D6 k% w) N
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker5 s& ^9 ?; |, M" W
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 \' ?* O0 K* H; t. T8 g) t- o3 bare already choosing it over Spanish.0 b. w/ S- F2 B7 x; t$ I; J
$ W3 ^2 S0 ?3 K$ l) o"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
0 t, B8 g+ Y! M* {( Y. @$ ~at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" V7 ^ P o& |7 hoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.", {( J2 ?: N! u0 T
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,4 \! _4 A$ t. e" A
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
* }2 f3 C+ [# L- Kto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention9 ^! C" B9 ~& k, A2 \$ }5 Y
one of its most difficult to learn.- w3 l9 B4 {9 G4 e K1 i
' y# [! Z* z& T, ~9 J9 `Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
/ S" B; J- U' z2 ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* ]! [% U3 J2 J/ z6 W9 G5 Pstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 n7 w& U' L2 z6 V! o: }$ QLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of* v2 \% v o" i! k4 @# i1 q' Z0 N
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
( K0 e/ ^/ |7 m: b+ M1 a9 W! C! }Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 Z. s4 h ?) P+ r
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.) B8 ^2 E2 J$ w+ s
8 q' t! a& ?" M: M; f% ZAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement& `. G5 c( \4 z$ b- q/ z
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
& b# }" `+ E4 n' ]starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to+ _7 x% z- Y- x! ~) O/ M4 ]
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 w7 {) e. x3 h7 h ^
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
. U8 t8 T$ S6 @& {# pof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 X9 M) F$ B! T+ G# u9 v5 }0 t3 T
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of S5 d9 U# d8 G( l6 S! |0 m. F4 Q
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 Y6 {' D: x- w4 vConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( P* L% I0 V5 t# Q& W1 x, m: }
can."
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# n% ~# @2 i D) `" ZThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from/ T& z. {6 |" H& [ W6 G, F
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 g: t" t8 x4 M: U' C4 {: w1 k+ ]
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
5 N U2 d* a; S/ r2 XInstitute in Washington.5 n) j8 @% B& y7 B
8 |" v* q/ v) v3 ^# y"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; \$ {( Q% q4 P( ^. x9 t. k* c
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
: g' E h4 P% V3 B( r; U. K! zMcGinnis said. m9 V8 ~6 P1 `9 O# M/ X
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical3 g" a; _9 o% I4 [" m+ V. \
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
& C: a- |" f( n3 i# Pready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
1 m4 N- n+ q, [4 U' O. Uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( `. x$ u h) D7 E g' X+ l2 c
9 _9 M8 o7 n6 m9 g8 ]. R6 y: xUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 k& e/ i2 V) q
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% ]5 j, b5 p2 r3 V. O1 g) B! Icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of; q2 u3 r: v- S) w' N
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or- C' [6 L' s* o
on weekends.- ^/ i* c& @8 Y8 s
( e5 o9 T4 ~: h% r% G ~' hThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( n2 z& p4 H: q3 c5 o: }& I
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
& `/ H2 c2 S, F* S1 o: @ E: ~students who are not of Chinese descent.
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" D1 h; J+ z8 }Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
' t' B U7 c% Y2 Q( Iproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( B! W2 t) h0 j Z2 _
competition.
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& m l; P" @# T. J1 j3 k2 g"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# s3 \5 w0 }2 p, _6 X- G
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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5 v# J* z: m# @6 F" d p5 BFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, v% j& j, v4 t- `( @+ S0 H5 Gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse( Z( t5 f6 C5 ?3 q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- ?4 `$ v; @- V5 t% i0 Z7 v- H7 [kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
0 p7 Z% E3 @! G1 `# w- kwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
9 w( J7 {1 t. F0 G9 rthe school system last year.1 t! k. S9 g4 G$ A8 K3 @
; w! M" N/ v: ~4 s7 |4 L( kThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# {7 S0 z# r5 C3 ^: d+ g
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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: }8 W, G' W8 s; E& m4 Z"They have a great international experience right in their own
( R* _$ m( D/ p% A/ C' M! N9 U# H; aclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago/ X& I1 e, F; T* \. X3 b, g* S8 W
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 Q8 t- N- j& h: m$ u" Vhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; [: b) `- x1 l+ E/ d, e% C
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
/ Y& m- u" k2 R7 N) T1 L1 I; q( A+ ^classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 e1 M+ h( j/ e3 u3 H, |
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks# R& ]6 E7 D8 M
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
- s5 r, o$ J' ]5 c$ Y; Y9 Raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in3 @. D% m; L& k. S
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
3 m# t2 w5 R( o/ ?. Z' Vinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
~% F/ V$ U9 h! R: M. v( Tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before1 `7 X: W: T& ~$ f: I( T
deciding whether to take the class.$ Y* O( C3 F6 _8 x1 M
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. }: d3 g0 O, r* Q: w" Itold her daughter./ \7 _ A; w" g9 x
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' S8 Q. R+ A+ C, K/ C
class.
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$ O* _; P |) _+ F: fAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 p+ B6 t& y( ~1 c
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without9 U$ J0 Y: _! Q5 V- T
occasional frustration.' {# N! z0 n* {, [2 E# i" m" B
; n6 L f) t& F+ q8 B2 A) p"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, d" h1 S1 D1 c$ C, {; \! K4 v% lrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.5 ]/ ^: `: v0 i' u6 f( u
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
" ~" m. c, T! V( _) ptaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with- Z6 K, b# A6 A' M3 F* y ^0 [1 O
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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/ B; M y- P0 B3 d3 e/ U"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
/ K V6 x/ O1 c _said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn' i& ~: k$ e4 D4 [: ^: t7 J3 {
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
0 p7 C* J0 d) d% u4 c; vskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job7 X) G& Q! O) g. y# @5 w
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
' s& V7 F+ P( f; `9 Z% V; e7 o! zthat," Ms. Freire said.
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( B7 b0 N) V h9 N8 J4 |Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
4 e: U% w$ K% C2 _ E q O+ xhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 e7 t- [0 b1 z! l7 ~- t9 bschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 r' v+ z0 c# G) X( `+ gtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make# e9 q+ @, ]' k& Q* p# w) Y
room.4 g; J( [, k9 }$ K
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer$ H! m) D) ?" ^$ e# K$ ]7 b G8 B
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
3 n$ d& x. \% I: ~- lcollege, 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/ z! I; H0 R+ S" C* f% l2 e
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,4 g- O& c& h2 k- S0 }' J
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ ^1 g5 A n# ^1 E8 Q
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
@# }$ R% y4 C2 ? {Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& s8 a5 ~5 j$ M4 \
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
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