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October 15, 2005. L0 j" S/ E2 ]7 [& M" ^
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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' D: W, D$ l, U- CBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 o. h4 `8 I8 z4 `& v$ E- M$ {
; n$ g6 i4 B1 q% v3 z1 lCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 N5 x1 G. ~8 ~, y) A8 |
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, k/ c: ^1 T+ I' I1 G3 b; ^4 E
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas7 W, g* Q! Y9 H1 `5 v7 L: z
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" H. K, z' d, I+ Gflag hang from the wall.$ @3 s; K2 j4 p3 h: q/ {; p: v
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 S/ Y! Y" B1 }1 P/ u) e; L/ _another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders5 {* V/ C' f. E. Z1 S. J
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker2 I; Z$ _- A3 I3 Y+ Z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
' n I' |8 b9 g) L2 J% dare already choosing it over Spanish.$ f' `$ h. O A" z8 M7 M+ f$ S
3 m U9 f+ _8 b, c6 t" C/ ?6 e4 _3 y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal5 X9 ^7 T3 ~, J3 A% g. n: v% G& m' N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& s% z% q- `$ l7 joffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.": ^7 Y) ~1 O' M- Q3 \
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,9 ]3 |* _& f; N3 ]
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 j. k C9 H8 g5 K) q0 a
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
9 \- E! X$ J' {one of its most difficult to learn.2 Z; E0 u1 f: } a, k9 T5 i' V
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to! u0 e8 K' i- g/ } P- p6 K
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
r4 y5 S; o7 A3 }5 m) vstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
1 T, c: s/ D; \2 E& }0 f! S* Q! wLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
: E3 d! I7 B. A7 XTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ b4 {/ M3 S$ X Q# D( ~% F2 b" ?Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
6 {" p# [ \8 |# Y* s+ kimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* \) R- _4 m3 O3 }
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement* Y( ], Z) O s
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) G+ D' H( @1 e
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
- ~: v, m$ {: w: |0 h% Edevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
# H# ~: j0 D- x5 w! _9 e- kcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
5 L! P1 \% y8 {9 dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* i- ^0 C% l; j. z/ wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ W6 K& O6 R$ w) `: g* WConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we2 t) n9 R. a1 |# i1 z t
can." % T$ z3 C+ D1 r: F
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from& t$ O! m. d6 u5 e
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 w. z3 ?* l. S, r1 m; e
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, w) ~! s C7 b# [7 d0 f
Institute in Washington.+ i4 {3 o# e- \4 z( Y- X
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages, j" }, @! x" S9 O
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 P6 A- I* I; `* p+ P/ ]
McGinnis said.
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2 @% Q A* H" ?3 P- M: k7 U"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 l: G1 ~8 d0 V- M* f+ u* _& }) H# z" F
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 [# f) p. |) J Wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
7 X+ P& G5 Y w3 h. f! A6 t4 Achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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6 S S$ q& K. B! k% C- ZUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
# f+ W# Z: R/ [+ ~4 Gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in* o4 V7 t$ k) ~0 u
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 P- S- ~+ {2 q6 i/ NChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 ]8 j" Q; _* Z' f" N& ~
on weekends.
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9 j! i3 ]- X' }& G8 w ~0 B7 M% \3 |The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public6 g- F! E; k2 y& {# j2 A+ J
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ A2 D$ L) J5 q
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 B' y# @. J7 P" x2 O
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said9 [) o5 d% e7 M5 b
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the6 q6 |& U0 @1 y
competition.
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" ] `2 k4 U; u p7 {"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley- q4 f: o3 p0 T8 d
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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! a f8 m, t0 X$ y( h, t E" hFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
& _9 h7 X$ I* p, D9 C+ Call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- m8 B" ]9 X8 T8 y0 U" eschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from$ J; F! @* I+ a* f6 ^! C( B
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
0 J7 m# ?: n1 L- y- x( hwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
/ y( N% ^% [1 |the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
2 |* O; y; ]9 B! z- b" uyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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: C0 d0 c& D1 D& [1 b% Z, ]"They have a great international experience right in their own9 `: _% I6 G" y/ {/ }' n
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 {9 l- y) J. `5 }' h8 h( N( XChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 |! H5 [( [$ }2 ?6 G. L! S) c4 X
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
( j+ i! R* D2 C- g- Gon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese l8 R: F& i$ ~. G1 C9 Q
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign Y6 o5 I; {" M: D( b7 z
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 @4 F H+ F5 O% u( bChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An5 U8 k, ~4 j8 q8 w
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 y9 T2 @0 H( J7 ]8 U
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the% B- A# H4 g, K* s: o9 ?
institute says.
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' P' K( |7 i2 TSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
8 C, l; `/ T* t) d1 I# Y7 I' G: h Xgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
% q. e1 l: D/ n+ D% W) `% ~deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 O' V! e5 h+ J7 Y
told her daughter.' z0 [' l2 _- H' J( K$ O, F
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 x; W& y' H( b$ _6 O; P& gclass.2 |2 W( Z5 z, k4 [* [+ A
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 ]3 K% |8 \3 ?% ~/ P: U
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 I2 i& o' J# [' E8 O \occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a/ B# ~) V# L1 @7 R0 m2 b n) u, n6 p! A
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
' j0 |. ^( T2 y* q% jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
. ]! H/ n b: lChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. t, G9 e' n* x+ i Q* \ N% D
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul5 X0 C3 ?9 h8 C2 ]4 Y# l
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 l6 b1 h& z% n
as many languages as I can.", X' ] p$ f5 i; ?. r" {
1 |% E* w6 Y% V7 L( e$ zAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 S) o. b1 m1 A* @& Z! Kskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job( Z9 u- o& }5 w& O. v4 m2 ?
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 Q s e9 _9 Fthat," Ms. Freire said.# n: z& n! o, P- b) e# W
! c7 d$ o4 [' @ z* w6 xMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
& O1 e/ W, J/ G; ihere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
% y# Y3 l2 p* \school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ x1 l- O( z5 \1 K/ [% n
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
: [/ Y+ \3 q! G6 U& U3 P) groom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
0 q' U; b; ^5 IChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American% U- H* k6 U. {! \+ Y- Y
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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4 |7 \0 U( P2 X+ v% E, w"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
8 G" v+ Q. N8 }& fbecause of that missing certification," he said." B. _2 V% P) A4 L+ t# a' Z% }4 u
4 Z9 W4 P' \+ N" eThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 E F. G; M: Ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
5 V$ l- r4 p1 x3 \1 b& y, _Society in New York., n. x% I) M+ f9 o
. ^2 A F- T& T' qSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
b W2 U. I- f, T; f4 I2 ~Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ \1 H) H# f1 f9 b& Dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 H! V: e1 M: c% r' w
own."
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