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October 15, 2005
+ W6 ?$ |% O/ E2 w* K( RClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING/ ^( ~4 z! k* ?: ^, x# S
4 R2 J' Y( ]0 f0 `CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
t. c1 D* u" G: Y. A, CUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 }2 Y' P6 Y: ]& i8 {! FSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 z) n0 k" J* c0 a" m2 |4 G9 |dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
% w9 i) z% g5 H# ^) l9 ^' a& n, p( `* Sflag hang from the wall.& M4 a5 s& \/ k' _/ o
; }; q; B" q! _5 ?# }; N% o, @, HOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! A& a( e! A7 c+ E( K3 P
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) S$ S$ j+ U* w3 N# spracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& I8 `7 k0 t; I6 ]) q, |
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* r! a9 N" h9 n6 h, M7 Q9 F
are already choosing it over Spanish.$ h8 k& S+ }6 ^) v7 _9 B
1 H8 v8 J( v" Q/ B) |" H"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal/ @! K6 H( d$ J# y r
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city" X. Z) h8 _0 w* A! K
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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1 B' g% L9 l1 H4 i" z! B% nWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
`$ K0 }0 k! Tschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
4 G* s" V h/ J {/ w3 E9 [2 tto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention3 H( ~ }/ u# ~+ V
one of its most difficult to learn.7 h0 O3 z* }. w7 c
- `, o' p {6 l' tLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& F- E& K* D4 S: n, {public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) |8 g5 U" ?* T3 t& X" g" H: {) S8 pstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
- \# E0 b& c( y. fLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
) W# \7 ~. `: O: Y, hTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on4 c$ |% l5 a$ {, P
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% Y! w9 b$ y# c; r) D- Oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) c p% X! ]& Z. { X K- l, }' DChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
+ Q. D/ y- x$ b* i; bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 m0 `& R8 u* a
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing1 Q0 x; Q( A2 `" f) R0 r) ^
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director" u" M3 y: g7 T
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
% r4 J) A: j8 R" p0 ^$ Mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 z+ O, y4 n2 y2 O2 fConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we8 N: \1 y$ ^; c# o+ X9 t; ^
can." 8 b% x4 l- Y/ X0 _$ ]
" ]# k3 `8 T: t: o9 QThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from: U* R; ~8 z) D" ^3 e3 r
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
* @8 O7 ~# Z( d$ yyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* z8 ?; y9 N2 }Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
, S" ^5 ~* b4 ]* n' [7 taren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ U2 Y) ^8 A! n& Z# N& vMcGinnis said.8 E& q4 z0 s/ l/ N7 o2 B& V) f: o
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
^$ ^4 C, {. ]3 xlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 t" ?( b6 i2 d% V( Y6 W4 w& e
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a- t9 R6 I2 Q2 c! `
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
, x# z8 I6 C# @: \9 g0 D: isecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
+ c% S; e8 U' j5 F. mcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ C9 s5 C- D$ ^' k/ R, ~5 C/ {% r0 _
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ t8 w+ x; }% jon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. q! S2 c- e9 s
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves) J+ h5 x& [ I" s1 S5 o% W
students who are not of Chinese descent.- G' M+ R& R+ W8 @0 R( r5 O
0 `9 Y V) {3 e0 l! a2 e1 N6 ZMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
/ u" y# V. e, O. Cproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ \; Q, V0 U7 K/ {. `' l* I3 q
competition. ! w- o- F Q# j6 |. f
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
9 j" K$ f* B9 b* V tsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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. `9 Y$ }4 ]! N$ P+ F/ O+ O0 X, pFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
" H" ?0 |, u, t7 c' Q. Oall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse7 K h! Z v0 E7 F5 X
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from, B+ Y; [9 L2 V" X
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 q6 }2 {$ J _
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- h+ ~, R! y; ]6 t$ t% Y
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this* y: z) I4 ?8 r4 M* \
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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" T+ G' U( z' e7 T# v"They have a great international experience right in their own
: O o6 V. N, u5 hclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
! x( o- G7 h$ l, R* U4 S. @Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 {' {0 ^' Q8 o1 C8 t
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* M3 r2 w! C4 m# f) I9 b& A7 k, w
on an equal playing field."
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" v3 ~0 E/ y3 X8 [$ j/ @Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' j9 X9 q$ D |
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' L4 l* U; |- }( U" v, F3 z6 bService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks: o/ y) u2 a+ N; v& I
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 ^! r0 n0 |: j! L# @average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in- K/ _; w8 U) v
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the0 c$ C3 m" R! [0 q7 Z* |
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth( w1 x0 }9 o* W* b
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. n/ |2 @+ _. `
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# p7 l- I3 P: K {2 l( y: g& v
told her daughter.- J8 G" L+ D0 k$ Z
/ y9 c' C4 X. qSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are- X8 C$ ~5 C! N6 W6 v
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without8 t8 U) O) e8 Z+ T g6 ~" _
occasional frustration.9 \! U7 \9 g( l0 X$ W3 M
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
1 b* ~* M# K7 u W- P, I% T. z7 o' B; |recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, n; r$ c! q% J b4 U5 `+ @: ]
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 Q) V9 g$ b! jChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.1 y# e, g; ]* E F$ `! c0 a
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
1 H' r$ h( F" w3 qsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn: R/ Q2 P% R/ ?; v7 D8 t" P
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
5 B- o# d# @7 Y0 B2 dskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job8 z! N4 o. g$ b
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like# e9 i9 l9 G/ i6 C! M" ~, n
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: u! O2 Q' a. z! O' fhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
_) Y1 z% K. a) {4 tschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking: x# P) \3 _/ y; V( j+ d& _
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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) `4 C, a# B- ]" i lChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 T; M2 D! t, o
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 ?! C) u% A; ^+ x6 l* Y
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.+ w1 U( P, J& T, j' Y
$ {' y' a( U' M/ X! r1 _. u9 ^: @"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified1 M4 }! K' q9 H, m
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,6 n- ?, H* _6 V3 \7 x$ ~3 C
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, h# r- T9 N: k& LSociety in New York.
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- Y; l5 n1 G; |0 `2 vSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
( }& |1 g$ `2 R1 }Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from9 R' Z# N' s. }) T$ ?5 T
the 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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