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October 15, 2005: h) V4 O6 o W8 K2 X
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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% K) ^; u9 [1 f. J( P! m& M! s9 EBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING! ^2 ?, _5 b0 u' R% N2 N
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 {, P4 V; x4 u( R; G- bUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
% D# F3 J% `' i" C( V6 ~; [School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas, {' K& B) k9 h9 t) [
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 i9 B8 u0 @6 c# a: Lflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( ~/ W! g# w- Uanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) [# l( R2 b: C) E0 v
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* c! o6 U- Q! x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ j7 u$ k: p; N Q( Nare already choosing it over Spanish.% ^3 F8 j5 Q( |6 X r, s2 h
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( _; ?8 o. y+ Y5 k8 Oat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city! g9 r2 d) L; E% y% K
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
- M( Z8 |* v. Jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
( u+ x- \0 i' pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention# G7 o+ p% k" o$ c2 h/ }
one of its most difficult to learn.7 O! p% M" {+ f5 O
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to, N% o4 N* o3 n; h5 Q- l: E) H
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. C+ _4 {- e. t/ t; _studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.: s! A$ ~: a( t# E9 U
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of9 L+ i5 D1 J& v& h$ U$ R; ^5 \: q1 J) t! d
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: F% X5 t( G( F4 L& s3 g
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 r, U+ f6 }5 _* `
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
' `# G$ M* J: c- jChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
/ f: f3 R4 ~% {9 e) P6 h% `starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to0 v: k* q8 L4 T; O, Z* }, D
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ g- D& n. n( }7 [
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
6 p& A/ x. ~3 v. O+ h' eof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& @: H" K1 x, _2 U t3 V
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
, _. K' L) t: ^' `. @" s+ Yspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education3 R- V* `% x+ ]* K0 q; l
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
- X; J/ J+ J5 Z% e; ncan."
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. V+ e+ M3 I6 p. g% t8 V. @: Z3 xThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from4 J0 m' r2 u; [( Z- H
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 u& k: @: D1 g" U& W& E
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language. L$ |2 J7 a* ~2 T; g
Institute in Washington.
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; k6 z- Q8 H) @1 E6 n; b"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages: j! {0 W; Y5 k/ J; C
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 a+ W, K! o9 [" j: ^
McGinnis said." n: l& a7 ?) ?" [2 m, y T7 I& L9 D( h
# d; m3 F5 m! }8 O8 \1 [3 f"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical" D0 V2 B, Z, c' K0 W8 J" B
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# U& b7 O+ C( g2 v; w- L
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
; H! \: @5 {$ _challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") B4 P9 \& W9 z3 X. m; N/ r" }: M& m
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
. v4 e- H" o4 B. Hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in" t* f: Q) J7 c' _9 z6 \1 }
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( \" p& H# E* e) J" Y2 H/ k/ `Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 O+ t/ K! q/ O/ y. f/ _on weekends.
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5 x6 x8 \: d+ X( U5 l/ p" F4 T: yThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public/ J g5 F! I7 C. z" X5 w& p
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves7 Z; j% z: W( V) B
students who are not of Chinese descent.& T( Y/ o! q0 h3 [0 p! u% l
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said) @7 _$ d: q* ^* n' Z& |5 y
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the+ p. t6 }& c* W' u
competition.
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5 D. P, h8 _+ _"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
& u( W$ B* o# s! U$ c fsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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& _, c9 s$ |( m- {! _4 YFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 x1 H6 H* s, B& z" |, r) U" Aall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse& d; s8 J! c( Z' i, n, }
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% ~1 F0 r& H1 `% a+ K$ d: n# ^' {
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
1 T: E( v( o( k7 ~6 f3 U! ~5 y) awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to# p; x! |$ w9 J
the school system last year.' V. k; a7 r2 ?5 b. o
% u7 Z* f* K8 u2 N0 B/ [3 U1 JThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this" Q5 D0 O6 Q+ f+ ?1 X7 d
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.' l1 w( b3 j" E1 G4 {
8 S: K- }/ R7 k"They have a great international experience right in their own
' ^* k2 B) ~7 k& X5 k/ |+ gclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago8 d( Y* L$ A& D4 p% {
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* P7 D9 q! I; [% `' z3 N4 I% S' `help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
3 N4 G* \' r3 F, O. K+ d0 g/ aon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 ]/ E, j" E; j5 ]1 g1 [
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 M5 e$ h: J* b
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
. r( e+ v' N# }; U; K1 YChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An% p% O9 X9 y( R1 c0 i) J- p4 }8 g9 e
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ J. }6 ^9 [% \3 b* N( Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# e; N0 w' t" j! v* |" \9 K" E9 Einstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth. j( j: I+ B; ?* W. t
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
3 x( [% e8 y" L. n Y6 _) Sdeciding whether to take the class.
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) ]9 ~. L3 G/ g! u4 G"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 C- M1 g! G, a1 C d0 K
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' t' Z' f1 V- `1 q! qstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
/ A! ?4 C* H) e% I& Xoccasional frustration.- z) {( M" X# E
0 m8 `. ~3 B6 k. w, r"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a3 P4 v8 C: e( X8 @* F1 J
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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+ j& R/ w' k8 DRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
; D. I; H4 |* O) T! @6 L% Etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with& t p+ g4 R# p) m5 ~! w
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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; `2 t& N) @- W/ a"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul u6 G# F3 _9 a
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 T X4 C5 H7 X
as many languages as I can."
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' ~4 H- B6 A8 k7 U+ I# I/ rAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 [; p: @; j6 I! ~1 Gskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
2 ~1 H$ k/ s" @% f& T( Umarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
% P5 Y1 U T3 [, r9 }* ^that," Ms. Freire said.
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2 f( g" _4 y' z6 DMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 d# u& t6 {7 Ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each- w) q- `/ ]) w r: c2 j9 c
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking/ d: M8 s+ A& r6 i
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
7 \: O. i$ Z1 z0 v: |+ b$ CChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
1 m+ h2 {0 p6 J" F- mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.8 n* v& A& p/ p5 _, {
3 x. F, G8 i% M/ V1 r"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
2 J/ g+ t2 @* @; }- hbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
' _5 [+ V- M( b) q& l8 Y9 y) xsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia1 T \2 q: i5 m$ p
Society in New York. F [' O% c. j J9 a
) }: N! ^$ k7 [) `Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
- h. ]$ C1 [' h5 ^5 YChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
2 a8 ^1 ~, r: R, K+ e4 Mthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.' R3 {- e3 U- ]1 Y3 P9 _ A, w
5 W8 g6 L- u% M"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our9 u1 I6 V) _2 ^3 s3 ?6 `7 l r
own.". e( L/ O5 t6 s/ h9 Q/ ]* V1 b
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