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October 15, 2005, v- r, Q. t% x( v+ Y' d
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
9 b0 S( ?8 H. a8 u( C3 M. ?
4 [% a" I. K% qBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ r5 S- P1 e, a4 N, v. e) Z6 C
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary# r b' |: E% I; h
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
+ ^ A5 C( t( `, Ydangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 u* n) S) }* A& ]- Z' Z, L0 Xflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ g+ ^) ~- u; r; y6 K7 Y
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 l9 ^6 B8 `' R& A) s' W, D0 c
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
# ?8 K" o3 x- Sboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 h, b- e0 p2 H" a+ {are already choosing it over Spanish.- V3 w. h# b3 k6 t8 C* \
, Q/ v- n3 ?+ Y" c" X% R0 Q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal! m$ h4 g& B* r
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" P6 m- n! \1 x- Y& i2 l/ u2 y. Eoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# q1 m0 V0 D: e
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( J7 F0 y( p/ e; n; Q `; ^
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# S( U5 D- n9 `
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: Y1 {2 d6 J$ yone of its most difficult to learn.. [ g! z# Y) e" L
2 k3 e/ {" P& O8 R+ ?- {; HLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
; h. B8 u9 x& b" T8 kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; ?1 d; o+ N: C5 H( Z7 U, w' x0 }. Ustudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ }5 z7 g4 \2 f( X& g/ h7 |. D3 }+ S
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
3 @; N9 s2 _3 T, L( l7 aTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on% f9 V- X+ X- \4 h9 w" K
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to; n! ]+ ]& C. { n9 I- n
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 Placement9 @5 ]& K: J- L) Y
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ F0 F7 G$ ?8 M" u! pstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to9 `4 r% v/ o; p( ~& c+ ~$ J
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! G+ \: }( i: C
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
1 ]3 p% C: G) V0 q- h8 e' Q- ?of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.1 S; p0 Z7 K9 u* g- K
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 I! P% N, E" h+ S4 k* C2 K
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education1 t1 X: Y# O, x! |% _: j4 v& \
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
( Z7 i5 K, ^; X' c8 t- T% tcan." 2 x- ^9 Y5 B0 y: t: H% T6 A& f
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ }1 B) b6 {6 s; o1 U; s
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
* `0 X! ~2 E4 ?$ G; @ Tyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ l3 p0 W; [, J/ \* f: SInstitute in Washington.3 K4 t" A, ^, S. E/ y
/ V% Y" g# d! I' y' U# t"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages! O1 m) Z, O1 X, ]+ T
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.1 o: u# y0 g. c6 _8 ~: C: ^4 |
McGinnis said.
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# E) W7 h3 R! z& I4 ^+ k"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical% ]2 V) ?& I2 p. o- r- G) o5 P* |2 j
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be2 d) R# h4 X, F( n$ l- p4 Q. R
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a$ `/ L. @/ x1 [' {
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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: E Z9 o$ U6 H: y; }Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and( F- }- w) P5 e; N0 Y
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
9 t1 O# K Y- \, D) q* w4 pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 g a+ F$ U* q; U. J; u, m3 n7 UChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
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1 Q2 R! [% o# n: O" N( o W8 q gThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public$ Z8 f3 v! _! o3 ?- }/ n- ?; g/ {
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 l3 F5 Z) u" `) D6 v% B/ m! tstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said* o1 e5 R- T& Z7 Z
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the% U3 r7 O) j9 L' _5 U) D& b
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 K2 ]& P0 w! m- o
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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0 [# _+ V- }/ C* r" r5 OFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 Z! F" y! n( S. |5 ?+ G1 Q& u. nall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 C1 ]$ b( `4 g9 \5 }( Uschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
) ]7 G0 m, W3 l" b) @+ y" Dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- V/ l$ @5 t( Q7 F, A- Cwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to. r Y" E* J$ Y# z. N; W' H! m# W# o
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 s# y3 k+ [5 H5 ?" Xyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.' m0 c! K4 ~5 T+ i7 P7 T0 i. `2 C2 t
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
- X% [2 a; m1 ~2 H% x# Vclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 e7 w2 ^* \9 t7 l! s5 k9 kChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) b6 }: D6 h! z* t% W' b
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet6 _9 i( }# ^+ g
on an equal playing field."
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/ y7 |, b1 _# _* h# Z8 X+ `0 zSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 p2 G% D/ c' b* j+ l6 B% Vclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
; w: ~3 [! M5 X# V ^( jService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
5 F- s+ ^; M7 O9 |8 E% ]Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
# g5 a: }. K$ v& i+ taverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
; q+ w( ]" z; G7 lChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the) d2 J- U* O5 c6 w9 @9 F* h
institute says.0 x3 [/ F0 \/ M9 Y' Y, Y. V- g
) v3 n+ E% I2 \" n+ B" wSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% n* U: Z; }2 X( s' f1 U
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) q% g- q! D; t& n. q' g: _deciding whether to take the class.! j5 W+ M( H I0 X# F( f. S( Z
: Q- l- [+ E2 X9 w9 _# E"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
2 Q/ V5 q7 ~' [$ Etold her daughter./ m u8 D V( `, W/ i$ z5 [
+ D7 I; G" |+ L) f1 sSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 K, G: f* `! T* p5 z Z4 wclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 u! y' ]# V) _1 v+ K* ?& h6 X
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without8 P' {! I, N1 R
occasional frustration.' M& b4 t5 ~8 g4 f) U( p+ Z
$ G' S+ D8 |6 I. N"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
1 \9 _) n; k; m# e0 f4 [7 R6 Irecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.4 |* B' J( M) o7 T3 B7 Z/ {, }
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
4 T c2 u9 a& Ntaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
' S4 ]! Z" r; f) gChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.) A ?7 C: j' \# Y4 H
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 O( u _' f, l9 \# Y+ H5 B
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 d2 A2 R1 s4 z8 B/ aas many languages as I can."9 y, l7 n; N' p! z, t# {7 R' q
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: l P% `* J1 o. W) oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job2 H. V1 r( k. \
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
1 e( z( m( B$ ^& hthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% _. {3 h1 j0 C# Y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' r/ w" W* B, c4 vschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking# @- R) @& S' u# A
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make A g- J5 Z! b9 y: ]+ t( p: M
room., N. z( b0 G* r0 `7 ?
( W" b, B5 `5 }4 pChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 D6 [3 z+ C+ qChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
8 ~! \8 A& R! v+ l/ P1 pcollege, 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 qualified9 G! S1 c( j, N. e2 J
because of that missing certification," he said.* h$ H( a* y6 h# A( U& S' `% F
% c; m6 i, [# I& s( a1 _, LThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,7 z) `# C# y5 w$ ~0 m) E, B
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia1 K$ h, V6 Q( a
Society in New York.5 z# \4 M4 I$ c' E0 w
* u. m/ U6 |6 |7 E }1 VSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' M9 {$ a3 g# p3 c. B
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 ]7 W# V( i: F+ Z: jthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- Z: q. N7 G4 R' W% i; _2 y
own."; s5 B3 w' S* q* u4 o5 S- k
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