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October 15, 2005
0 J0 v$ `' y2 Q$ G0 sClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 c. l7 \! ]) o" u) k! R
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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# r6 l. H; n# @3 ZCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
" [3 N0 p( ]' D6 FUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- h6 c7 |. \# U
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 C I; B$ r) C7 h0 idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese+ ]2 m: d% V: {6 V% F8 d
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one; M5 g' n2 N' F3 b. M; q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
7 G! a" @& G0 x0 @% c8 npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker1 ]# x' R4 P8 @+ |: j, s
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students: G9 z% D0 l* i: v5 _
are already choosing it over Spanish.; B" W4 L2 g) Q u2 b9 a" `1 `- P' ?
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal1 ?; Q- @: B# v" u1 o
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city5 u+ x, N6 a! A$ z+ C
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."6 E7 f9 H+ m! h: c" U1 z7 G
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,. p+ a- f9 [" `
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
|- F O! ]# }( j, ]% M' T qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: d* q+ s& m0 |1 j' H
one of its most difficult to learn.
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% L* R$ s% m$ P8 b5 H- z8 zLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& t9 j3 C2 D; \6 {public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& I% B( D I" L( C2 a
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
, h& \$ o, h! g* A" PLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% H, {, ? m. GTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. S5 }2 V, U7 m& r8 ]4 H* TChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% l3 K5 g w1 j$ K) U+ i% zimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." b) N9 l8 g3 u: w5 W; b
" ~2 e/ o! R& r1 MAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
0 a& R7 F( ]- U9 b* A- ~Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) q) m* s" ?7 e0 h
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to {0 Q _7 O, l# M
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
/ R2 X q! l- b) acurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
1 N( l0 @1 h- k. l) Z* c) Oof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
( m! n |9 a6 |* m+ \5 R1 Kspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education' ?! X2 y: j$ H# E
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
0 i. L9 q1 {- E3 Dcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from M$ k2 f2 H7 [2 n: b
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 N! E. D4 i0 q3 Tyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language" r* ~8 }' d; `! g* T. s R5 }
Institute in Washington./ ?/ z5 K: R* O. I- e
9 h/ m) W$ b( u8 C4 G"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 f( x. V) W/ {5 f* R
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.$ H1 w* \" C* h
McGinnis said.
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( f4 u$ {1 e3 w& z/ ]8 O& M- M/ M"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical G8 l' n8 Z/ F: w7 d5 E9 m! M# ^
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be- B+ N/ {# F# B4 I V; @& }
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a+ J7 x, a; {3 G
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."1 V; r" [ Q- s
: i1 _! ?5 p4 n% r2 y) Q* rUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
5 d: ^1 q* O9 K8 N$ v: W1 asecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. B: `& \4 O/ V/ [
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 Q7 M2 E* R! rChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or9 u- H N# Q2 ]% N5 ~* R
on weekends.% p2 R3 ?" y3 D" r7 m R* Z P
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
$ Q0 R2 B( n- Y9 u4 t( p# D" G0 mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves; g ~. a0 S9 ]$ \% ?- {3 e
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said* n r% r! G% A1 A g/ {
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the e8 H- W9 H1 c5 ^( T
competition.
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8 L1 E* I1 S3 q8 f( \' {. Y"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 I( |5 M7 ^3 `4 L7 t- O1 osaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 X4 `' L6 ~- H; o
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
2 H- {5 H( F& b2 E1 Rschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
, [& M2 s# ?3 skindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
0 f3 x3 s* v1 S& p4 @# Uwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& p w g9 D/ ~2 c# k7 c+ E
the school system last year.
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0 G& c6 d7 L M2 m" \3 vThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this+ p9 b- M( U6 y6 O& M
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.# y/ B- R7 O3 L/ C, a3 L( @
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"They have a great international experience right in their own3 ? `; P& ?( T9 O+ b
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* k* l- }- {6 f/ l0 T4 }; sChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 C$ S/ }4 C& g- `1 K2 L1 g% e
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
! Q0 q; s; G, V& K% V) Ion an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese9 z$ B4 w; r( r' M* _2 r" J) `3 f
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
; n3 ?8 W# p8 y$ [* R) ]% I0 T8 LService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( |. J4 {8 d _4 k- RChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An; V; ]6 h2 _ d2 Q% z E1 @0 P
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
+ [5 q2 {, \ E) zChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the) @5 \" w1 ]1 ?* T! W. V4 J
institute says." X% i% ~ E$ H0 S* H/ v
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 U; R. a G4 g1 U4 D
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 o& j9 S# i9 X( t1 J! x4 Edeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* C! w! H( G; @; t1 P# Atold her daughter.. e0 V: A; W4 N. X
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
: F* c6 D' |% |1 T. B5 F. qclass.4 J( C2 z" R! \+ v
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 w# }$ [9 M9 x5 Rstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without( G5 l7 z+ s& ?( C7 ^2 u
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ M7 u* S( d R4 P# H- Precent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he! y" f9 M5 X d
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ D" b% D* l% u$ W
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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* `$ `3 K7 x0 i' P2 T+ x2 r# ?6 z9 d"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
6 ^( Y6 X6 C' ^8 v& @* tsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
5 z5 L. p& x. x& Y$ ?( ]' ias many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
& B: j: z0 k3 ^ K/ N# Wskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
1 g, }* a; A9 `9 a/ Z b7 M, Hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
) Z4 g; y& I4 R: I& }. m! rthat," Ms. Freire said.3 P! T# M4 { B9 S2 w% p5 T
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; M8 `6 Y, }9 _, ~: A7 ~here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each$ L9 p- U% r# H( _2 _4 k
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
( z' o6 Z! z& H) D% ptime from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 }+ Z8 x5 | N
room.
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. {: A- L b3 X NChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 {2 _1 n) j/ a- `) hChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
+ a% I7 L: |! S4 R' U6 ^* k- {3 Jcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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" X$ f* M/ j2 v4 c1 V"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified+ H! Q) J4 I4 N. @$ @, W
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 G5 e+ U2 P- C% O% c# \said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, @8 g4 b6 n' G1 I0 X
Society in New York.4 x2 R$ S1 v" [8 |
& p/ D- [" ^' V' ?2 HSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 ]1 Q# w4 c+ k% h, qChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 A" y; ^* p+ P* T& f D$ m6 a
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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0 y+ q' r3 ?1 i8 y"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 M; o" s o9 ~2 p% e- h, {1 H
own."
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