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October 15, 2005! X' g* g, u2 T/ G! x- |. h7 p& K
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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3 g: N( s- P" qBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING/ U2 r* g2 b: |9 {0 `" K
5 o0 l1 Q: ~% |) g! p# `CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the/ `) [6 w( r; x5 _6 [
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary9 v& `9 ]/ k9 F. V1 x- C; k' V
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
6 U. Q& x' H, Ndangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: z, h* H4 W0 @7 O7 C
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one( O X" Q# H8 E6 W) c
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( ]( t7 X8 h8 d% R! Spracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker# ]. k% Y* H; [) Q! g- s: [2 `
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
0 P5 v$ |: V: {0 lare already choosing it over Spanish.; l4 p/ w7 y/ V9 C) Q1 D+ M9 ^
3 P/ S. F6 c; U"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* I j$ L, D n! H; p) @2 _* ?9 L) C) z; Gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city& T. H$ g% `5 V& u
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. k7 T* L3 u( ]# Aschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
/ W/ Z. W1 C8 w1 s4 N: N t; ~+ n# Vto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention# E% Q8 X1 G. r! f# i# q: v' t( b5 N
one of its most difficult to learn.
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+ T, B% h3 D9 J0 l) C$ O0 |Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# F" L' x$ b2 T6 ^2 ?
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students/ c3 j% [6 ?* [) \
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 K" I2 |- ^: A6 j4 NLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of ?9 C, ]4 s I7 T- N
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" F% W* n/ ~: n4 _% s+ I5 PChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) l t' d9 r% Z% Rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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$ N+ y: a1 i- h6 R N+ k, `$ dAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ n/ l, z$ f. w; i1 c) e* `Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 ?) U4 b: ~) J! o
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
" {, d' r7 K! \develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing2 b' C3 _ n. L, t4 R; @
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director2 @3 X+ H5 q3 K3 A7 [
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, N; J) b3 L% v
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education: X3 R0 z4 E2 z$ n a
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we2 D6 L5 K, e1 w1 [+ d
can." 1 [( |, A. }4 c+ N2 z" l
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
# A; `* S1 l( {: | V1 Belementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
& p& s$ P& ^8 t: {years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, _ r" F- Y1 Z" D( n8 ?) OInstitute in Washington.4 `" \+ D8 h7 k g; X
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages' q& O$ L6 g6 b% K
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
; t1 L; n6 B$ E, R& FMcGinnis said.! k. ~6 [) H* a9 I
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical3 C. I) t! J% ~7 v: o$ C
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, m% U* M7 |% D. r$ d# Dready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# s8 M b8 N+ U) X* i
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."6 P0 Y6 D6 F Y; C3 c
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 A* M# B d1 C4 Vsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
; j( J3 ]- }/ N: p5 i5 L8 H H* _cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of D2 g/ O( e" M1 F1 @
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: b1 ^2 V2 b/ Z
on weekends.9 f, G5 V0 {6 D! `6 @* t3 u; U
! W6 o' {. ]" N: k7 N+ ]The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
' v- s, x* p# ^$ gschools during the regular school day and primarily serves; B# y* {+ Z, x& _8 ^
students who are not of Chinese descent.1 B" x: j6 F" H/ \* U3 C
r9 I4 P$ ], i( @& [ E, IMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& i; ?) C6 x0 Z$ \0 o6 |proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 B9 {+ N: j4 H5 ^competition.
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2 z3 H* B4 ]( @6 C"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley) T6 X9 n; r' W# }, p
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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/ }2 l2 i' N9 z f& K# F) O- v; SFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
2 b( @, m; M- Wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 u5 t$ r( j% X; Ischools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
1 E. v9 n) D6 G* B2 ]- Z6 vkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 ~% v; J+ x+ H8 }# d; Q2 Vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" w; @. K9 y* z! @4 d* [: {the school system last year.! x) c/ L B1 D& i2 E$ O, U
! X: q) W7 X0 P" _The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this$ R; ^0 h8 Z: y; ]! h/ q
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.5 S2 }# {4 q" w _4 O
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"They have a great international experience right in their own. f9 V7 |4 r' F# S! I6 F u6 i
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
, A6 c7 Y, g3 ?5 j" J% T0 eChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. H/ O5 O. q) T1 h+ _2 m" ^help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet( }+ X. p! @) s0 X4 ~
on an equal playing field."4 R# q) [ f0 W* K- r
; o; {3 R' F- I* N% }3 i2 VSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese: N- Z' M/ F/ _ F, X( [5 J
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 z% A; I2 ~ wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* S4 X9 O- |! dChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' Z5 X7 z$ z. Z m4 E. E/ g! C2 _( b3 |average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in9 [: V% ]/ ^5 A0 s3 V, w1 f; W7 J% i
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
, N+ Z+ N! Y6 yinstitute says.
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% g1 L# L% q, p' u. s% k- d* aSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
/ E" X2 {( G5 vgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 N/ ^$ d' a- l/ z% G5 ^2 Sdeciding whether to take the class.# B4 ^4 L% y) l$ M% I8 r- ?
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 M( R d) w: d) B
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
9 |+ h: i! Q4 V) Q" Kclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
- p" e% b4 o' w: a) mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 a h5 j; G: G' J+ a h+ f) T' Soccasional frustration.& b4 h I, @; e& D% w0 v
- P* z) A# s9 Z ?- r6 h( c; d3 O"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a5 |: {! F; ^- b
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( N* s& j/ L5 P- K
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
4 }' a( A+ \+ F6 Mtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 W/ k* L+ _, R, ^+ |# HChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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" G H( g( g6 k' r" U"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* F9 v, [5 s+ c5 b: I$ p' G9 Esaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" \7 R, l( m' M2 uas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& G2 Q3 I3 m& T s
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
% G0 Y7 S3 Q9 E, g" t1 _market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
1 |- A8 r' I ^2 f: Qthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program; x/ c B9 o) k H. X& G7 z
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
: H" s/ w" H( {! A7 Wschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 ?, x: ~ G7 Z5 V% T% ^/ b
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make' v5 K: o8 @* V( V! D# z
room.
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) d- g7 z. H& }8 Y- S* {Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer+ t! v# F# a( T- x/ l. o* p9 a/ r" Z
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American( V$ T; X$ Y/ V( _! a
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.) `7 g, P) P' G; e4 K0 g% S
" z8 O% v4 x& n"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' c) H3 i8 P3 Pbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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0 P Z- ?/ \% G/ l8 U( O& yThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
( p6 v2 L1 S' ]7 ?) ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
! f+ R/ z3 p$ J1 m, F9 P: FSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the! a4 F2 R& t. y% ^- z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& e3 B+ A& N2 j5 u* ~the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 a# y( s7 t/ a V8 j% P* ~7 B
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
* {! a& g3 t; L( H' v# K; Q9 b8 \; @own."
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