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October 15, 2005' C" d; V! |+ Z6 r8 {: P! j% q2 R
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 f* d' E4 Z" ~! c4 E! e
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the* {9 K5 J3 d0 y2 s# u/ x) ]
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary% f* \8 ?& A# a. O
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
- F4 T: f, T4 H# Z$ _3 n6 x$ C7 Q: U; Xdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! C! B0 k; w3 ^7 c4 T, y
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ f' }2 b G( N( v
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) m3 N. p/ P$ P2 ?practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* t0 l7 x/ L2 @/ |: n
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* C7 _* Q4 y' W* { _4 Vare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
a0 L+ O2 l% V0 n' u' iat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
% y$ z$ L3 Z- m2 h5 ?6 a! l- Ooffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."- t: j2 W& M" D! g) |" Q
( Z1 K8 w" `# o% ?6 u1 Q: \With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,( D1 @5 a0 R4 z7 V- F }: @
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings0 k$ b& L; ^) D' \+ o
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
, e) ]7 Q* z+ u; d F- H2 m/ Q" ~4 Lone of its most difficult to learn.
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5 s" ~, p3 |, ^ ALast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to; O2 ?5 |0 b$ E7 N8 _( w
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* U; F- G$ @& J+ jstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
1 i8 x6 h" ^0 c6 A4 A& b* @Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 h9 y' j+ ]" F, r6 J9 L
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) g g5 l- f9 O( oChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) d! J+ I7 {8 E, c, U( ?improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. |8 L$ c# V0 V) N7 ]/ }. i
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ i5 R% P# j- R$ ~6 B' h% `) c
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 |" y- Q0 _9 k/ ^
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, G; { r; T7 [; v1 ?7 N2 M. W, udevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing/ e, Q+ `) k) i' K7 v! K _
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) a* @6 W! c2 S2 \( e8 N
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- U, X/ L. } Q5 l6 x8 \7 ^"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of7 z0 w# j. \5 [* A l
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
) [& |+ o x6 T4 Y' _& _3 \Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we* d( D/ t5 Q( G$ j. Z1 }6 N
can." / c& _/ Q7 w m
% l0 q; q; ~$ a3 `2 `! QThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from8 G- ^, X2 d$ \! N
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* Q7 e6 r. U( b+ c' e% A
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ A U: d4 y1 o+ F1 w* {' v3 D5 ?Institute in Washington. D# O2 t, X! } O1 U
5 l& @1 P% k) l" a6 ^8 u"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
% E2 Y: U3 E% L$ e. A9 Aaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; h+ D3 d$ p/ F. F) i
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% C: P! n) W9 _$ J/ X4 Zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
& g0 K/ i5 n0 y n! uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a6 {( p( N$ @: I" j
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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1 o2 x# @; y. KUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and# m& U: i( G0 @/ ~
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
5 o4 a+ N3 D+ c: Qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
% f7 G# `+ q! s8 o+ z4 yChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! B( ~& n. I! m
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* x/ @- ?' e) w6 h. {, {5 |- V6 y
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 q' C' l }) D# q# b1 ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.7 s `3 W' [0 e' a% j) h5 g
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said( d8 _7 j% A% f( }& K
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
! G) r. r, U O& P dcompetition.
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) @" n6 i4 Y$ }& \) U) o5 p"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
3 g) G3 t8 [/ e" {said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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3 ?6 p: @) y5 R1 w3 \& T- L/ V, jFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
" Z5 y, B8 i" [; D2 E5 t: o+ Mall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 V( y O% |6 ~- [# J" U7 d% l
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from- L1 l$ @' K B+ e" Q
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students% Z: v) V" n8 {9 r* a1 t# p/ |
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% G+ j Y; p1 F4 {* N- Z+ V
the school system last year." [' @9 y* d% p# e' [
' d; F5 a+ V6 AThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* F& Y4 N+ v8 Qyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.. f" S, x; G5 c' l' j8 \/ O
$ T T7 p9 _: a; D"They have a great international experience right in their own/ K6 _" Q) w* `2 S; O
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago/ S* S" \6 ?% w: H* z; L' l0 Q
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
& g! ^8 L) N. S6 |1 J8 Khelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet% B3 p8 k- K; P' q
on an equal playing field.": |: e/ O4 o: b6 U) }, M0 [+ n
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese% T7 u0 Q6 p3 [8 R" V
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 ]# W; q( t7 y" p# _
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
" x+ P/ x1 a( d7 `( a$ `2 b& R+ G6 R3 YChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
- }# Y! p1 C! j) D0 d; Haverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in- f; z9 B7 q7 S; Y8 q3 D# ], F0 e
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
8 s6 E" z9 o B5 ?! R3 w0 F; Ninstitute says.4 q R7 g3 g* R( z
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 V8 X0 t& m; w! A9 Zgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before0 ?, d! R& z4 G3 W' P1 T. y
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she G0 I w# K) Q% k: w5 Y
told her daughter.
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' T) ?4 I0 u* P* r& m. NSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite$ Q2 n' `0 ]5 K* f' ~& D
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are! ` h1 Z( J, q. ]& v. P2 Q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
$ F# j) I6 a" c; {& z& N/ Xoccasional frustration.3 S: x. D! ?- K/ E, K
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a1 |* H2 A2 j2 \5 u5 w- c, [: M, Y- ^
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
3 @" D' }1 p9 k$ `' N8 \taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
" ]2 Q8 i& b! c" Y: f1 ^9 b2 }Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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/ [! O8 H: U- f- O"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul# U5 q4 r+ Y1 z) Q* y% m
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn. n! ~8 r' u0 E3 p* X- ]- v) o
as many languages as I can.": f S* M3 a! _! G
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
' d3 f$ s+ N: Vskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
# Z' k% j' i o3 R( T' l, ]% Imarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' A/ U/ L( X$ f( R `- f
that," Ms. Freire said.! ^# K& M- P% |5 I
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program8 ^+ t1 N2 K; X/ i$ Z: k \0 \
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
+ Z! P0 x4 M" b& U' R! a. zschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 j) A# z' P6 \+ L
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make# d1 J* ?$ ^- `: k2 b/ V0 N
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
6 W8 ?3 m0 f8 G, c# JChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
0 `/ H, S' F# t) H8 ucollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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3 w+ j: E* X* ]"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified3 r: T$ r. |5 B& z u
because of that missing certification," he said.
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% f0 Y' F2 @% sThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
. C- o5 c/ g5 G5 k7 esaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia! ]; P+ Y! u- C$ O; Q1 L
Society in New York.* v; b! y2 M! G" E; I9 L
" l- U* F) R6 I0 V, _- bSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ n0 g% |5 T! ]# z2 z6 y$ O
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
) Z5 N/ c- Q7 J* W# ?4 ethe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
% j d2 e; r, ?# t: Xown."$ I# Z3 H. ?9 F5 q6 M) i/ \0 D+ [
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