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October 15, 2005
- `7 C! }6 R) WClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
- r+ y' X# x7 C7 D/ B2 [: R) @) r, z& @ C* Y
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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. E. ^4 H. o: a. k5 F$ ^* iCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ A" U/ @* N1 p3 _
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
+ H8 y4 Y' N( a4 f1 c4 w9 GSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas9 w5 O9 a1 ^: u) |
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
: G' ?: K' ~/ m2 }1 y3 Z2 \# Yflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
% i4 v9 t! d4 J' K& r# M. n; E4 O, Fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders6 r4 C+ \3 L# i/ Z' _; `; t
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
2 Z2 O) |$ O/ h4 b0 p8 Hboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students% h/ i3 B! X3 ^4 { ^) h$ {$ t
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
3 }, B7 I" Z j C4 Cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city( l/ [1 T4 C$ Y0 \% t0 T
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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+ ~1 z, x. B- ^8 g, M( Y8 hWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,4 M. s. g. }1 ~8 H/ d# A% {
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& \$ P$ C; v3 S* m% h0 o2 X
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" o* c, h4 V+ [& f. e7 T$ ]
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- h- [6 J1 b3 Q5 [0 |3 P' spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: I1 K9 n n6 n/ Y0 qstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: B/ l! @8 w! O% n+ v1 ULieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% a K( \! {, n" n
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* D, D2 _/ O! d- q5 J2 e
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% u+ u4 |+ t7 i# H& uimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.! _( a: P) I9 M$ {" n8 j: g" _( M
1 x5 Q; v) m2 T! ]After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) T! w5 y5 T7 [( e) X: ]; o- O1 D( HChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
2 ^+ J( r5 ~$ M/ c3 P a( Vstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: A5 f- Y% r( `7 ^. m9 A/ b
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( j0 s1 a' `8 j+ ^
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 w* G! [; k6 dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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8 S' U) p. g" N3 z; b- b0 u"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
N9 ^0 _7 K( g( @3 r6 tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education4 a" ?& \# G+ v
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
( M" s) I C. g3 e% Acan." 4 R# K% H; {, Z4 C) `
" |) Q3 n) D5 GThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% X$ Z( B" i4 y" w! M a
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10- `7 O2 {0 z8 Q* k/ ~" Y
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
# \! }2 w$ K1 M7 D- CInstitute in Washington./ Z# h3 k/ d; G# Z" a& K
& T: ^* ~5 O- e6 ]0 Y"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
6 y3 c# j( M. \! n, }* V7 }2 U# A* ^aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
2 e: f! L0 @( e ~McGinnis said.( w1 o: d1 T2 ~& x7 L0 {! e
3 {1 Q( o- I3 H( D* w5 U"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
" n( K) @% O- a: ^longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
0 I9 ~7 N: j9 m& F6 `ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% M+ u* I/ w' ?/ z- w3 uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( E& D" b+ ]4 m) Z6 ^* i2 D6 a
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and0 ^. c6 l/ x% k# r% q8 H8 i
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: V1 T' N ~( G. D: K
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
; e9 Y: V: ?3 j5 j3 m7 HChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or7 I/ W3 ^3 i p0 N
on weekends. V$ g6 m3 h! G; B6 Z& X0 ?
. D! A3 ^" n4 eThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# D: u# n$ g: l$ M0 u8 \
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
1 d+ R u3 r ?% N5 j H6 rstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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. q9 d( u" D) f/ B. _0 {Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( K0 g- A$ C2 g% s A: x: Q! ^
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 `! i2 }; j: K! h2 T1 l+ ~/ D
competition. / i! h3 d) [( N( y, W
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 M3 P' U0 r3 }6 Z% Nsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
0 Q8 u d, R0 Pall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
% a6 D# @2 a( Y* U% C9 @schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
1 B1 T5 G1 L9 ?, Q7 ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
5 x0 H+ E/ W% F$ awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to* e# S9 i* ^; h9 M$ R: }# q# e
the school system last year., R# ~- k* F( f6 y# Y+ l8 ?+ g9 z
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 k6 [* ~$ I" S' A, b. Gyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 I2 S+ j6 D# X- W; B
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 ?: t/ ^; j' V6 f7 a! a* n: s" ^classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago/ ~3 |) s- q+ m/ P& k8 @& c
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to/ f+ o3 W4 e) Y
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- N! D5 G6 W3 k2 k" r
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ k2 [3 @% _4 v( m, n( mclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
2 x; j; I8 o' U6 tService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks4 B9 n( g, P5 C# j T
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
/ d: {/ S& B- z- ?0 Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- R' M0 Y: k6 `5 Z/ _5 ?0 g' ?: CChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 v0 {- h* i1 z: l8 ?$ Einstitute says.
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( r; F8 U$ m6 E4 v( B2 vSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
" ^; w3 X6 m- A% i( _4 S Ograder at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before3 r+ y$ g4 i$ }, e! u8 m
deciding whether to take the class.9 ?6 }7 I1 p+ q X9 l- X1 t. R
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# Q: a6 X" X4 g2 H8 G1 B6 E
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite3 M& Q1 m6 w+ \. X& I" ~* ?* X( B
class.0 A4 ^: G1 }" l Z8 s& J
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: o# i5 w3 f8 n8 s4 n0 w
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
& c B# E6 _8 b8 {6 qoccasional frustration.
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* [; c$ A- A# g4 V* o"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 ~0 B( g3 x# [" v* J
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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" l2 _# w0 \ q, oRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
" T5 }2 S7 p7 o3 E( D1 _2 B" ~taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 ^8 q! f% d. x6 ?
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.' o: ~" @" V: M, R- M1 q
$ f* p: {) ~! ]" {) o$ M"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul m: |/ L( h3 w$ s: e+ i
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, l8 z k: g& _1 ]5 T7 Fas many languages as I can.". ?) G( d" o, I* }+ C1 N& ~
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
+ G- I% o7 d) j( I( H' Sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; f$ b3 u1 k$ `2 D* [+ N. r
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" u& a5 l1 L+ {5 _7 c* Qthat," Ms. Freire said.
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$ L( q6 N9 H& a# DMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 C: ~9 E; N* P* q' B3 ahere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 d% ^: I+ p1 j \6 H9 J' [& k
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking& M" n6 }/ M9 _
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
, W z1 \ A7 J! v; h1 K# z! a+ Xroom.5 U. _. W8 J4 R8 z/ N+ d2 h! d9 }
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) p8 v/ `6 o8 X. W- {" aChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American3 {) r/ i7 X4 W: H) a* N! [, e
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.0 d4 K/ C7 e; q5 U5 }& o5 Z0 C
: H- z) ]1 W' b# f9 M" ]9 J" P3 i" o"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' x2 u, f# [1 K0 t5 ]because of that missing certification," he said.* |; j7 y4 k$ g) ^% J
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
/ r# R6 G& G/ X! p4 U8 O# |said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
3 s: J; c0 E2 S) u- d7 ySociety in New York.
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4 M8 Z, n/ U w3 v. e5 hSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& d; \6 T; ^6 i* }: A) gChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) Z! y+ C2 W" {' S, W D
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.. m8 I+ j& j- E$ A
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: |' g6 a$ a. z
own."# k: R8 _- h p* R3 v: x
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