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October 15, 2005- H! T% t+ }4 F: {
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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3 h- l+ N# O I! ]! KBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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5 c T, d3 q1 Z8 ?2 FCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
& e8 Z7 X, p: e1 e- j$ d7 LUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary% K3 e+ V3 u& D* |& {5 d% [* n0 J4 \1 U
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 {) N! A( M' u2 q X% y" sdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese `# f4 l$ f( p- R, p; P2 |
flag hang from the wall.
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+ |9 F% ^ l3 |+ H8 N6 K" \- t7 W0 xOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one6 m$ m2 c/ k0 o2 V( a4 S; G
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
l V1 k: ?, N) r) A! h- Xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker" l9 z) X' I" J. ?( G) |* I. q
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% S' ^# v3 m. x( F4 T Aare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" y0 Z1 @2 a3 W# w% u1 c G- D
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ p( B0 Z' }: _4 R: |' Doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
1 l6 x. B" R, |0 S$ jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings X5 I% T* p R" h, J6 o. L
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
6 O% W' z% g5 |5 W; d1 Rone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to' l2 \* `$ ?+ K. O
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 {" ^% z2 i: M6 U) Dstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( W3 w6 C6 y7 y5 l, x
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
" \8 `( ^0 H1 NTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: ]& u- r- @! N, i, f' h! CChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
( Q- l+ y0 B' p! n( `" A0 bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
" K, O! I ^ O0 r3 ^Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country1 ~1 {2 b& B6 l% G$ \9 p- {+ x
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( g: s* u" N+ v
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 ]" m2 X9 f; Y9 o# fcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
: R6 F$ h# j7 W. M' ~; bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.5 z0 P+ ~4 J+ [, n: T/ z3 |5 S$ L
! L9 W( [" Q1 y2 |+ Y [9 C9 P" L"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
( |* ~( K1 y1 ?: U4 yspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education3 _! n' b5 K+ p) d" V8 l6 R/ M+ C
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! ^! L% }- X- A* c1 _5 p
can."
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1 b4 {' t6 A" R `. ~) QThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, e9 A4 j1 x1 V6 ~' V$ B
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( k' M4 r0 U* x2 x& d1 X }
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
& |8 ^% p, O! v! b6 ~+ o" ?: lInstitute in Washington.
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8 c1 }6 R# J) {# R% c' ]/ n"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 ?- B5 {! h! f. r$ p
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.- S* v: ^/ \ ~$ h
McGinnis said.* u \! I3 J3 E+ K4 `5 R5 |
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
& ]5 p' g, c" v7 _1 E8 ~. Zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" \6 F- A9 Y. }1 x
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' ?7 l+ I1 P) z1 J" B& v. y8 Schallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( I5 E( E8 c! X% ]secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in9 j ~; f. C" I" N
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( x1 W& b# T* @
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or$ h/ j" n0 W& W8 t( `
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
( T( \7 _ @8 x+ G! Q6 Uschools during the regular school day and primarily serves8 j8 S# x E% F0 j
students who are not of Chinese descent.$ D+ J2 _3 e0 n$ T G
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ X, g; W5 X( x- Z w# Qproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the- Y r) F5 B' W7 }
competition. 0 w+ W" x" C' I6 t/ U: \/ M$ ~
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley* A/ p5 X7 H7 q0 u
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 X! _. x6 e7 e* Wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
& n0 R2 k, ~, ]4 g6 I( Pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from! @* l+ m/ x/ E2 q
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
3 z6 B1 M8 E" n/ m7 U+ rwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to) B1 l2 Q7 ^+ M$ U- @
the school system last year.- [& B$ w9 c% j; O
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this9 ^6 B- N: Y/ p" C
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 A6 w! T$ s: e, z+ sclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago+ q' Y* N( [* Z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; ~" A; k7 S$ v1 A. N! Chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
$ k9 a3 _5 U8 \on an equal playing field."# `' C3 U( m" l
2 q; G w' `' [2 U: h2 SSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese# Q5 Q+ G) V [9 w
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 `- x/ B: q! o5 a; a# e' W& B3 U' |Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 Q3 g$ y; N6 B" d7 q) F
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 R* ] s3 h& O( Taverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
# b7 n- B; k M' D3 |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the9 e" E1 `3 P$ r1 X7 |1 D8 ^# K% x
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; V1 h, m1 x/ s4 i4 h# k* e3 _
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 G/ b3 W1 l9 L4 s' A8 v
deciding whether to take the class.
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1 b+ A2 D" u3 |+ T. c0 O# _"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
4 ^: \& l3 y. d3 P/ ^- M$ jtold her daughter.* ]! N$ w% h6 f7 A
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite" ]1 o/ F/ C5 C0 x; D7 X1 [8 N6 j* z
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
! O3 N4 l q5 z6 \! v* D$ b5 A; ?studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: P: ?* {) p. ~7 ~0 n
occasional frustration., y! C* L! o& R2 @0 @, C! D' d% `
( A1 C3 B+ C" w! {" _"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ K! Q. Q" O, r, D G @! `
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 i' Q) q+ q$ V( s
; U4 Q: l/ P8 t1 P' `9 ]Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he/ G1 |$ O- s+ @5 h7 {4 c. ~
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 M2 z! R. N4 `( }
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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$ L. f: H; |. n0 m"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
9 s0 a- C7 d6 r; O) V1 {# ]said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn6 E6 W' Y d, E3 _: c5 }
as many languages as I can." X3 p% T) J+ l
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 w' x1 z. K( o m9 a
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; ^- L: \' c* i1 wmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like% v# \- u3 D( P1 X1 B5 s' A
that," Ms. Freire said.$ {! o* X) ~. h1 j( A
" w9 h- m! N* T) M) K) W3 L3 nMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
, S0 m( N0 x, x: s7 uhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 O1 B) R/ ]# x' B( [
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking! a% P' M+ A+ i& E
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
" p Z0 _% j5 `3 d- XChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- K. Y: H1 D# _: Ycollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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4 h2 ~, r9 L# J- c- Y4 @( f9 c! ~"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
% o; l6 u" i4 `because of that missing certification," he said.0 Z& _3 R1 @' H5 ?9 R" e+ f2 S( Y
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,- ^# v: N/ R, h7 w
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ ^" n* ] h- s* KSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the! A) i3 b* ~& w+ R# u! Z6 V
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 {- y* [9 W9 x! {6 D/ }; U$ F
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) R0 @$ q3 Z6 P) D
, K* }, ~$ i( ~+ o3 E8 V! j5 e7 D"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
# }. w- w& s1 p% v7 Down."
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