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October 15, 2005
- u- r* Y; B: L, l5 s7 c* W; iClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 P9 F; p$ q* i% j$ ~) o- \
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the% |# X+ P8 i# {5 u5 _% n0 m7 N9 h( A G
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ V' ^% [2 o! W9 J3 K; @) e, R
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 D/ V, A! o) Z# G# l# m7 e
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
! T1 |9 J7 F) Mflag hang from the wall., E _0 t! F4 }7 I3 w$ p
& r7 @) m4 B- u7 C, uOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& L# ^8 a; _' D8 C2 e% f
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 K5 k( Z3 W6 l' U" j: p
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
. _. \# N' k: k+ n7 U) Q" Tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* {4 s0 n& O2 j! w$ M
are already choosing it over Spanish.( q0 Q4 y: _# ]" N
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& N8 y/ D- W' _. V% j
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" L/ `9 N5 D, Toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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, H% V% x( ?, S$ [! ?0 u% iWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, p9 B% E0 t I0 }
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. l( P& V6 W6 O# T7 }9 A1 Qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention8 c, o1 |6 }; `0 P# |
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to! @/ e- Q5 m8 L
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students d8 W8 X% T9 B
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
( ~8 c! M) R; p; {9 _; Q3 c; e" ~$ KLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
9 B. T- p7 v' g! E6 W- @Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
5 {; e5 \" _( M/ Y( C3 h& H! qChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
: j+ C( F7 k+ H+ v; f+ C' W; g1 x; Qimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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: p% S9 w) P/ nAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
( `0 M% c" r. lChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country5 N h/ l9 ?. Q+ N# W
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( {( W7 G% b4 V! b2 e
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 O3 K! n/ x! ]6 a8 }* Zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
# F% p& K) n$ Yof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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2 y" i( l: X r$ Z/ q8 U: M$ Y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: u' K" ~9 j$ w. `
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education; Z6 M; `$ z9 ^9 [
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, q. n3 g- O' [+ L
can." ; H/ Z0 W7 |8 y: @% W, e( Y
6 Q$ [ i% u) z [. R3 Q, kThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, [9 d0 o5 t; r" Q; A5 C. o
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 102 Q. T( l/ j; ^, i
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
8 P' T" I2 E! X2 s1 uInstitute in Washington.6 X0 K% z" o' ~& `7 n3 {
m) v3 [' O4 K" C4 h1 c"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
5 I2 f0 Y" Y% xaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
* Q- X7 r2 h, C g4 SMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; n8 D7 k1 r( Y" f6 r4 C$ g( {
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) [- r+ F9 x& R- j. L, Q8 h- P
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
h, {5 t' D J* u; t. _challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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2 u# ^( u* i9 q, [, x' s6 bUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
+ r; V$ ?7 x9 n: W# J2 Zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
6 f4 }; [3 k7 P' }4 y8 j- Zcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of. |- f* g$ G: X G" c) ~0 U$ ~
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or6 |( }4 j1 S. [4 q# p: B
on weekends.& _' F: @# i3 h6 g |' ?8 ~
; G2 X% @- N+ b; o& g% IThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public4 T; i9 X$ t" ?
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 _( m9 i- l) vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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6 q" c1 B7 c/ M3 JMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said, t% i4 H* P4 h' x+ H
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the. J) p6 n6 Y& n, a/ N' O
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
! P3 D3 s5 ]2 U S/ Ksaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ {4 z* K5 D" Z8 v4 W2 `
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
8 U& M" N2 f. J. U& Fschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
' {* f% _' ~2 ykindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: g% Q$ c0 ^& K) s$ {
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& Y. j0 Y6 z$ T& O+ k- c) e1 o! ~, o
the school system last year.
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3 _) E0 ?7 R" m/ e8 z2 U- j% MThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 C- `7 } _9 o, Y- z! ~3 w b. B
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( |9 I$ `/ \9 I* }" `
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
' O/ h$ }. @8 |; v0 p, j7 V" }classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! ?* u8 N6 L* r- x" G
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
s& ~! |6 l' ~9 h9 bhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 O7 R+ n5 t. i1 F# R, a
on an equal playing field."4 Q1 f5 P9 `# v l' [- ]4 z/ x
+ d" d, _9 i J. tSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese6 w, |* s7 z" e' C C$ j
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 D% _+ O9 A0 z" X, o+ }' y8 c
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks t6 t& Z4 f7 p: X* ?/ {
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An( p- m" R* u: t1 c( I; P
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 K1 `" m% E g: K8 G3 Z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 n/ z4 G6 a+ z( V1 ]
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& F6 _. O- s9 y4 r @8 T. ^: O
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) u! j# m" J/ Y" ~9 hdeciding whether to take the class.7 Z1 ]4 s/ _" O$ H
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# l' k& O# r* i! m
told her daughter.
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: ]+ N+ n# _' Y* s4 SSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
( q. W+ g0 q0 `$ y* iclass.7 B& h4 f# k, }5 B4 S4 E% m5 `7 u
5 Q" s# e& B! t& \8 ZAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are0 y# m4 w, x" _9 [, ^- g1 U. v$ S( d0 f
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 T* A# @) ]7 J& v% h
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
# \6 I! x$ O# a1 Orecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.' [3 x( G7 k/ x/ X9 ?! S* w
# F0 b% _. n8 J! U2 K3 ^: {Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
4 m4 |( r. i+ ?2 ~5 p4 }taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with, i! O3 ^3 t+ K1 g) v
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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8 s/ }) d0 D2 v" W2 v6 Z+ F. x"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ B: _; s' b" a* P! g' h/ u: Y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ m9 W% E4 g3 f4 r" i4 _' ]# jas many languages as I can."# X3 G1 v$ A3 G6 I' J
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: A+ a8 u) m h$ T; mskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. t+ X* p9 r$ f* n& O( Qmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' d3 W* O7 U, h1 B
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( L% a4 u1 ^; R% [; S' ?here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 c9 y" [8 d: u6 c9 W, H/ G
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) G+ l0 ^+ s( f9 B& [& ^' v' H' j+ K/ mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
% q+ T! Z" I5 m9 q- Q6 e% c0 sroom.$ W1 Z s3 Z7 E$ x0 R# M
& K4 P' |8 `# d+ y zChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
; X7 x5 C# \7 P0 \* s/ P$ n4 d5 `2 Y5 dChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
0 t* g& Y3 l6 V: D, ? U# C1 n7 Ecollege, 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
" r2 r" Z/ W3 B+ J4 F* @because of that missing certification," he said., q" X% b) n) U) _( K9 s* [
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,- Q! x5 ]5 S+ ~" _
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
; f9 C( [! Z9 K) g. ]' e5 sSociety in New York.' o: r3 R6 T3 Q5 Q T4 x
' C/ {' Z6 n3 B! U) ]6 a# NSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
( f$ }/ {+ a p6 U% Z2 S, OChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
6 O4 g) S6 }/ ^" h8 u' d" Ethe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.2 M8 l. J6 q. J1 g# J! w
2 X3 l m# Z" x3 S+ M( D& b"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
6 V% r3 t1 w: r2 Jown."
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