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October 15, 2005
7 T q1 M4 X2 \: NClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the( `7 h" R4 |4 p; N) g
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ R$ V. A: t" }* u- C
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' k$ F/ E5 u3 A% Kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese5 \, ?. S( c5 X2 z9 j" A9 }* L! k% e
flag hang from the wall.$ w- L& d( f4 g6 U8 ]
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 K9 I& c8 V" y: Y n n/ g& s
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- S3 B& `7 [- M' E! T, h/ o& opracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker# j% o- V" Q, W
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! F: [1 q: ^2 P8 `are already choosing it over Spanish.3 V' I, E% h5 R
- |$ @# u" p2 g/ q) _! ?- }"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
" i U' e8 ] f' C9 r; ]2 F t& Gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 O3 _, e1 s9 c+ _, Poffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."4 X2 V/ _) `+ K4 [$ r
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
/ J, I' |9 ^$ P: lschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 _' D; o' J, _+ f, e
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
9 T. n4 g& R6 S8 ]$ E' k! Y. f6 Yone of its most difficult to learn.2 Y8 @9 b$ v5 w5 B6 s( `
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to9 X0 N! t3 Z7 Q' c& u3 [$ j! e
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students0 l8 O$ x$ g1 d0 x# y( H8 o
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.- o; h% M) L5 n
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 g n; A+ U3 C0 J8 I T1 K
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& r& \. \+ m) _/ R+ z; l' e0 N
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
7 \ Q7 x7 t9 k" [$ }4 R: v& X) k! U5 wimprove 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 Placement2 Y+ X7 g# }3 m L3 ~% P( D
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
2 ~) w8 x# Q0 D7 `starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! W3 h e4 [) e
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing' G4 b; |6 q p4 m, c
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) ?. [2 A" z' P; W
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of4 Q. h9 V- S1 e4 P% c
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education( t9 G7 l' Q3 G4 ?* e
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 W* Q/ Z$ d1 a% p: J( W' ycan." + I; O* L1 I. H/ A/ t& L; |' N
- w, [- ]. @# |6 jThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from( U7 e6 B- y+ ^' K$ M
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
8 P% d @) `# h5 b5 O& F; jyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
[4 S! z1 P) S h/ gInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
|0 Y) X4 @! w' i! k9 Faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.5 [# W2 N2 K, Z: T
McGinnis said. {& S& l) K$ ?! {& \
/ ^, _+ ~( \* ]# d"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical. \6 W% n1 y4 V- P0 b
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) s9 ?' Z9 c* j. D1 |& T4 _ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
; {+ x, n+ y, `, P6 z5 gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."$ M% h/ [+ B x
, [: P- P8 u0 \/ `Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% r; d6 N& I; m
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& {6 h6 |9 k4 T! h3 r. |0 Xcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! ^$ Z1 d0 @0 O+ H1 JChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: L" s8 p* L5 N( w) y/ W0 a: @
on weekends.5 h$ m2 u5 S; m F
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public/ F0 o+ d0 a4 o w# e- _
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 B$ p. n& P9 J7 ~students who are not of Chinese descent.
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. p, A2 }. \& F- o8 |Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said: b& i0 T2 W ?- Y
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
& q- x% ]( i& w" R/ k* K3 m fcompetition.
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1 Q. S5 B5 y5 b w9 V9 G"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley2 V2 R" U0 w+ R. D/ Z
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly! r9 A3 [& T& c% Y# K
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse: n' U5 a8 i, x7 f. b
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from7 p6 g3 p: b4 n' ^- W2 W; {% \1 H8 g" f
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students! o) f, R" D. L w
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
% x4 n* H3 }+ N- Zthe school system last year.. } l7 x/ C. C- J
2 w! i: B2 n* C- J; O* uThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
0 R5 V: ~6 M2 O& H$ E) J- xyear 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
- y& H/ k! A& i. Y$ Bclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago$ }% ]' h0 N" ^ {- E
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* P& h! b% q! I# R5 v9 j$ Z3 Chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ S% v% b0 x( a2 b+ K7 ~* non an equal playing field."
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] q! g( e& ~ g4 u' qSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
. m, [2 J' T7 T+ |' }1 yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign8 W0 {- g- l5 W5 q
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks/ S6 c+ O. T1 C: v2 X. z& o
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
g% b( F: |5 {. laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in- U, P& j8 j9 b9 u, H: X9 f
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
8 g. I& X, x" W: d' D7 S. s5 Q& Sinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
0 @3 q% ?% ?" \1 ^grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before( ]; R1 i7 @/ y" Y
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she9 w$ e5 ]* y% A+ Z+ E
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
* F1 [$ s6 s& u% Pclass.9 b. Z3 v) Q/ A0 C+ m
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
& K0 Z- W, k, Kstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 @- K# L. h- g6 y" {9 y" K3 C# ~occasional frustration.
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, T0 \3 A3 ?. c* c5 Y' W"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, w, X" n" ]+ N: arecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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0 L Z0 W% K' y- m4 q& T! z* rRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
- g3 p0 e& H: L7 w n" Ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 x* `3 C/ U2 o- |5 \Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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8 \4 K8 H- G# w/ c"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
4 T- ]5 X# I {. ]5 ~8 k: bsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 @9 y Z* ]% d- ]4 ?1 e
as many languages as I can."6 R; q6 y4 Z+ i9 ~# f2 k
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( F3 w. G6 n" n6 oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; Z9 K2 [7 |, Z. ` \& Y- k' dmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like2 g6 a; o; c' L! m1 B' G5 `
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( P4 `# b' g7 d- Ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 j* ?. }" L" B( \* v
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
k5 C; A8 K3 r& V0 I+ }! @% ftime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
* A% S5 S, n, H9 X z& G& Y+ [$ wroom., L3 M/ N3 d. N
7 A) t& ^* v" y- hChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
7 s/ u$ G0 |, ~+ k$ m* HChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! R7 u. e0 u0 V: Y4 D) R. J& |college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 ?* ^2 w) i% P$ d( x% J2 e4 I
2 w+ x- S. X7 z B- ]. O. V6 d8 U"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
9 H& _* m$ @; P# Tbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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2 O8 Y, t4 b/ nThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
1 }9 S4 X% d4 l% `* c) \* S3 wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" m, C" K4 e: r2 Y" P8 ]/ m9 @( xSociety in New York.0 ~+ n7 u; a- v. ?% e Z$ q
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the4 U0 R' q& T* j$ s
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from! F: a0 b# V8 z* @6 P! [* Y
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: A8 ?7 O% B! i
6 H9 L' g, {9 F: R: r2 v+ x"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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