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October 15, 2005' B f8 B" y. G& W$ M" m6 q
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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& g Q8 z' D" q" F* c. I+ O2 wBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
9 h3 f b+ k7 S4 P* ~7 A: _United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, \0 Q4 l2 I6 v# d( p) U( D. m
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
a6 S2 r" ~/ M4 @dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
S0 [4 V& @6 z/ xflag hang from the wall.+ S1 |. R9 M* b2 ~( V- |- X
' X# T( a1 M9 b" l: AOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 _6 J" A% Y% x; Aanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders6 ]% @, N7 ^, ^+ b9 a1 S9 K
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 Q0 E% z: K, j/ Q& D( o
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students. o: o* d* W* }% a
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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: _0 M9 m7 g) Q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- u2 S6 ?3 q5 T7 N c
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city+ l' W( [' n1 q0 H
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: y, G; ~' Y' o3 [* y
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; q0 K. U, _& J: n; b' p5 G* v
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
9 r4 S' u" Q6 v3 [. uone of its most difficult to learn.( W- F9 {1 l' X L1 G! _
+ F( A+ j1 S% f* vLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& B% O% [: B' {; u* z0 X8 s1 H6 x( Ppublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students. c4 r+ k; B+ I) v8 z3 Q5 E
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 H o" o r0 L" E+ B W7 D
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of7 n3 Y+ C0 ], X
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
# C* X% v0 X* CChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
( o/ U' F# ~3 X1 m( \; Jimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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, \, N$ _: k) j4 o- w5 Z7 |( FAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 M1 G1 w9 }$ F! G$ ]4 Z2 j6 ?5 F" I
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
) A2 x9 u1 Y& C! I4 q- x7 K4 N" mstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) Y6 {9 g; I' Q
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
& c; F- f$ P& n% U( Scurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 H, [* s" p+ J) Xof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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* H9 I$ a0 g& a' P& d"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. X! A' u F' N- O
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education' Y5 y7 c, H4 S2 G8 x; p. z
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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% F1 R1 q. j9 A Z1 w4 a4 AThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from0 ]" z1 I+ J! S0 g
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 100 }. g& [8 k: U; B
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; F8 M; r& k5 N7 oInstitute in Washington. F: u* i3 R6 z8 u
* }: v! @* O- w: |6 ?"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages5 A, r l# O# w1 x. G
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! A+ Y$ y2 F0 u0 z' X
McGinnis said.; e- Z% E4 u7 p. |/ J0 ^
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
9 U" a( E6 a/ K+ D2 clongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be. X/ y4 F9 \( W& Q! {
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a; w8 d) }& k6 ^1 S
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& f p- X2 p! ]8 x% N
& g9 T0 N$ ?; t! I9 vUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
b2 u) w$ x M: Y2 Asecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 ~& B& r3 z$ c9 T% Hcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* q) R1 t3 B$ x) n' v5 N* PChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or. x) p3 B& X: ~' H2 X
on weekends.
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4 S0 Z0 M8 ?: T$ H d+ T+ hThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public9 B9 \$ I" Y+ E0 v" [. F$ m" [
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves% C" L3 x4 L0 d# \! F
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said# ?6 Z6 Z) X% O. }( E8 e
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* [1 @% p: D- F+ T* S5 U. H9 g+ s/ m
competition. ! k: w, V! ~' c5 T5 [/ B
0 N. R0 _# H; I! K: \5 i5 C"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# }' B* \( H! L6 {( C9 _% Q% M
said. "There will be Chinese and English."6 Z; n' i3 d- g7 ?" T; z
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 l7 W$ f8 V. l7 t2 Iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
& i: n$ J0 I# V. Fschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 o1 p; L( n, w' ?' Wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, t; {# I6 H: D2 f+ I+ P( [3 j
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
! k! D) i r. M; Q4 {the school system last year./ h/ `% I) T5 p; Q f* R
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this. {* ] t Y* b& d* p6 k2 P
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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$ D% O$ m) ?' f6 H4 m0 |, _"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 W$ B( z" d Q/ I7 L) L$ |classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" O5 R; j% G9 w3 w8 v8 G
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 i5 ~2 I9 x9 y
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
" \' L$ u _ Y: Z& W3 f9 ]2 son an equal playing field.") }- e9 q, r# z+ B
- h6 S5 A+ U) ?4 LSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, F i; y& N! t) Uclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, q3 s- ]! C/ E: s/ M6 hService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks X; m# |1 I1 u# D4 p4 N' F3 \
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 i% V9 t8 |0 z4 I h
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 s8 w7 R) P# G# o, @$ P7 RChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
( u) J% S$ v( B+ h4 x. einstitute says.+ r, N P0 i. n& S( j3 @4 R8 `
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; F7 @+ C8 ~2 ?' ?) }" p
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 H9 H" n5 h8 y: @8 W# g9 s
deciding whether to take the class.1 m4 Y2 D" Q& D6 T
w! F! g! z- I* g1 x7 Z; e7 M3 F"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 x9 ?/ B% x* e; h4 b$ ttold her daughter.% n4 S( k- q! l2 B, K% r' b
* ]# K) D7 {9 v* tSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite0 t& ?/ m# }% E3 `: l$ `, V- T
class.
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+ D* s+ d9 {" @9 G' DAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
" G4 O9 v6 i) ystudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 C% v7 J' R; F: x/ J9 foccasional frustration.; _& B1 |: @8 V( j
1 y' F' G" ]( j% T) F+ ]/ V"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
( D( r' B* e3 A9 E* nrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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2 L4 b) E- e+ N7 f$ ORaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
% u1 N3 B; X* D9 \taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
# c5 S4 a7 R! A$ y4 n- k) oChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
6 r6 Y* n% K6 Q& F5 Jsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
5 a6 [5 B+ ?+ @2 i! Kas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the' ^& C4 o: V! K" h6 ^/ }
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- | ~7 }1 O/ Y7 R1 ^3 o, ~7 W
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
4 x8 O4 c- M' c, l9 mthat," Ms. Freire said.% [8 d# `0 [& X- \: u7 ?
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
8 a5 ?8 J& I+ U, s, Shere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each7 l5 Q4 {$ k6 Z: z* k/ m9 b
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking& T' H, R# H5 j1 \& M( O5 t
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make7 q& s! [; q/ S) P$ y! ~
room. V# B4 X1 Y; E* _8 \
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 A0 d( P$ h. S9 o, F2 n
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American& L+ r1 K8 Q8 X/ d' p
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said." v3 M4 X& ~; m5 j. e- ^
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) P* |# a1 A) c- b+ _
because of that missing certification," he said.* | g3 W2 I. C
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
" ^& w, `% i9 l8 q; O4 nsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia6 q! X# E& Y6 k1 E3 k! Z
Society in New York.# n$ s. i3 `4 l% m' e# ?' U, d
# F% `. {! i' R# @ F' gSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' d E; _( A% y3 Q* Q. @: zChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 M/ a2 v' g) j! u$ Nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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