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October 15, 2005! e B! m+ s7 L" J
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING, s' @7 Q( j# ?# l/ F' ^3 T
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) A! [" e R7 UUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) a/ x' q. a0 sSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas- b. a& z* F( E4 I1 o: T8 [3 H$ I
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
( F! h ?6 ?3 D; Lflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one: d! \& g6 Y9 L
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders3 q v" _' o* b2 D6 b
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
% p6 J# w7 a0 gboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students. m$ M2 y! E$ i \! ^. J8 ?
are already choosing it over Spanish.9 c* W" P& W2 w, _8 u6 W/ Y. F2 `1 a4 Y
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( n/ l k% p! G. O) f/ `at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 ?4 n+ Z0 q, U9 _1 v( r$ I# N
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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( O' S/ {; l: p8 R9 eWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
" {/ Q; q( @" L1 Cschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' `# Q% t7 V+ t/ b
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention% L5 ~% X! i+ ]& m B; h& ]1 N
one of its most difficult to learn.: I( s% L2 E7 {
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 D' A' O" Y) }# `) K% ]2 ~% Q- [
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& F' v; e8 I- m& m7 B" }
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) f/ l) ]; w \" L
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
R7 X: G3 ^% L: X# W4 n9 qTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 f% T9 F$ t8 U( W5 Q# v. t
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
`" W1 v4 Z1 @% T8 D- E! }: b. ximprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.7 W) y" A5 V( H/ g
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- X; X3 D: a) i, P0 c% @/ ~Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
5 r0 b9 C8 G4 @2 l& ]* Wstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& [9 n$ C+ y# C' }! Wdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! V3 R% b9 y1 A! c
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director7 d( T# n& f! E$ a* \4 f
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.7 V& E1 Q" A. Q9 D. M
+ k/ U7 Y( d; c4 N% b- Y7 }"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of; S: a# R/ v% W4 [5 F# t
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& r, f# k0 Q0 O9 s
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ [$ V4 m, K: Q6 I' ]; `' l' M& u/ _0 M# scan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from6 W9 s% i* \' C( P% n( ^
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10% T7 M0 W; V( h$ n
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 m2 I/ D, \& o! m9 rInstitute in Washington.% e w8 i. } V+ e/ ]1 p* D
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
, N. v" ?# r* L. w" j( E+ |aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
" {$ e( l1 S$ g( PMcGinnis said.
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8 c M P/ x- b, o"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& q* s3 ?3 o- _( m0 \) b
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be, n; j3 ?% Y! q7 x
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a8 T) {7 m D8 T6 W/ Q
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" T7 u, v) ]- Q n- d
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 n2 ^( u# x/ s& M1 V; x
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in9 Y' ?0 z4 B3 ~7 a: S
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% C5 U" A; F% ^7 z; |0 ~
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
i9 C C7 B3 \* q3 z# {2 Y; fon weekends.4 |5 B% L1 ]5 Q3 B& P! \
% W/ g- v* \* o- W& u K$ M& I \The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public5 X5 B. Y' O4 \( S
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
1 g+ g$ r' l. W5 c" c9 C( d( Xstudents who are not of Chinese descent.: o) _, D3 p- h5 ?; U3 g
) Q4 t8 B- r+ i' O: ZMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ L3 [$ Q; j0 t
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the& D1 j1 @" J) K! y
competition.
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/ I3 ?6 W" a! }) o, G"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" K" }9 M \* a2 h8 d) K
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
& E @; @' b1 B1 `8 j! Iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 O/ C' z0 [3 g3 Q5 Jschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from: _; s1 I3 J8 r+ t6 K
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 t/ s- o1 I% o
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
) b( `! v( G ?) f9 y gthe school system last year.
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: s4 q; [4 d4 V& Q" g W; |+ jThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this s. G& m8 Y) g/ h; D( j
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
# a$ v3 H! R6 G' `2 s2 A* P8 Oclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 m7 z/ [' o- c1 Z j8 ~Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to' B0 f( {, o1 P
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
5 i/ b% n' i0 w0 Don an equal playing field."1 L, Q" C8 v# S# c
. b+ T& y/ O8 t0 V, Y6 P" \. a- ySome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 ?* W& k$ I) C4 z: Fclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
" X7 i, b) o: `- [+ TService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 |5 [3 M7 t) n* c& y; f0 JChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
7 y/ |( D( ~* h9 B' `average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in2 e5 i, s, L& ^4 P' t
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the& S; E3 l, P2 ^
institute says.& I2 G; P' k# G$ E% D0 D5 ^
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth* F: G' @" A; d" `8 X' R
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
! W1 w% `9 o/ q- ndeciding whether to take the class.
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+ Q% ?. Y# c0 e; m5 V; z0 `" l2 D"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 L! r7 w. ?1 {3 t( V
told her daughter.6 L {. g' `; ~* B3 [
# P$ E7 @( E; ?! ?3 `$ U4 sSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 m; `# C! w. y6 V/ y3 i; B
class.( {3 B5 |, P5 e' `: i- H
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 J5 M! u E" n: Q. B8 V y
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without( h) D1 N4 y* O+ z$ d- W1 \
occasional frustration.7 ] P) }0 t% s' w: Q, D4 ^" U
/ g3 _. g0 C9 f, Z"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ C* `3 G) R5 [recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.- F# ?, |5 u5 c! n- r
) `" S' t \% z% h$ u* ARaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
" [1 q4 S3 Q( _' J* rtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ V0 I6 I: |1 F. W, l( k% G
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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: Y Y! _* v; x+ A# J"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul1 @" I% A+ O: r: ]. } D* [
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn$ @0 n4 `* k3 B3 B2 z
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
! k, o6 a2 e7 b8 a; r/ Uskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 C; a' b( A5 m+ c$ m+ qmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like9 H% S8 L( l" R+ P {
that," Ms. Freire said.! l* g# w- J, T+ G8 \7 Y8 _
/ H6 t! `) t! m1 hMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program6 l4 _# j; @/ P4 c6 [6 w
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each+ i5 o! N) e2 F/ d Y
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
/ S" C5 v7 f+ Y% E- h4 Ktime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
" N# |" Q3 O6 X$ h8 Oroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 i) E0 L Y% r9 B5 B7 O
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American$ }1 }- n }$ y) E; g, \
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( a& b) y7 R4 l: F
% P, R5 c3 a) I9 E4 ?$ `3 m. a"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified% V: {% g5 V. Q! z
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
4 F9 h# g- G7 }4 a6 c4 fsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: ~) z, {) V/ L: u# }: E# _: C8 @Society in New York.* `: |, ?& x8 s3 a: r6 E/ D5 A; \
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: e$ a3 j, i Y6 N
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 Y& j) V% O s7 C1 X6 Kthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 H+ y7 W/ e! q: a5 K$ O
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our; H" n9 s; g* Y2 {1 _# G" s* W1 ^1 k
own."6 H+ [' x: w7 ~9 |7 o4 s
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