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October 15, 2005
. u: {. }) P: o: T- zClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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: X! a5 a, i6 U$ |. ]) A( VBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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# c3 B# B! h7 p- R7 y, bCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, w7 b6 L* G( y- j4 a, {
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
: s- b4 p, L" W. CSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* ?9 @2 I! }" _4 R8 a. T; C! |: edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& x1 o1 E4 A d' t0 P' j0 oflag hang from the wall.
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" I: {6 }9 W! g ]8 o; _& gOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one) [. [2 T2 F& M, L
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders8 r( T% J& q, h) f3 x
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker4 z% `4 ]) F& E% V* g$ A
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. a6 Z0 R/ \, [4 a' ^+ Q. oare already choosing it over Spanish., ?1 @2 G. U; ]: }9 b' d' z; B
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ r) m$ n7 e/ d
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
% Z2 M) h; Y3 xoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' P8 I$ U: Z5 l) i% B X
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
* {2 y0 d. a& ]( Rto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
6 N/ t; y2 a1 W! Ione of its most difficult to learn.
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" _3 m5 l/ c+ GLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) V' o7 |. y4 O/ @
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- l# ~( w! l7 M: estudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
- `& q/ J* n3 P' _Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 r) Y( n- o$ ?* {& ]7 V; Y# gTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
0 [" Q* z7 k r8 `8 _5 |Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
1 s) _9 N& _( L Simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.3 g; |8 A) s8 h, b6 {7 x/ V
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ n5 G6 {5 y7 j" E& s" [- Z- Q4 vChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country1 w) I0 N* j8 r" h" i9 F. w: r
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to. u% o9 A( v0 ^5 s: E
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 N0 ?- ?+ u6 b
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director, N% A+ H5 C( w6 Y7 L# P
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
2 P0 }5 K7 }4 k- ]; ispeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education% s: E2 ^% m* C
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we9 Z1 R" X% u4 X' J( ~: `2 I7 ~
can."
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) x5 t) j3 `2 N# |, A* b9 ^The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% N; T+ |5 F4 c( y' D8 a jelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 u* o( v' \1 |* ` v5 ~years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) k$ [3 ]$ S9 `, [7 _# _) r/ J
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 d2 \( V9 f: Q& `3 E1 s: @
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 {+ u9 \4 k5 G) J {* q9 a" M
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical* k9 b$ K7 B9 H
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
( W7 i* M2 r1 S, ^ C- Uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
8 d1 y! Q' Y. \4 a' c' B! Gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."9 c: }1 v6 b1 {! o9 ]* y9 Y
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 `& m) Z5 V7 E9 I% n$ y/ D) P
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& a% B3 [4 O5 Mcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* W6 v) g, F- k+ g; iChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or9 C! G; T7 v7 n# t
on weekends.
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* r& @8 B; i+ ~ CThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public3 o, c& h* S4 Q" M
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) j0 w `( {0 ^- nstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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7 J0 T! I/ {7 K( kMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 M5 z% ~0 j0 W1 b+ n' x& X& o5 I0 wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the1 s5 b5 _% @" e6 `/ k* w
competition. : M# X' \: m# D! n8 o
3 k/ m4 u) d* J0 }, F# P" D"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
9 _. L8 s A+ Csaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly5 ^; L! O8 j- K5 { q" \
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse6 A/ b N# C3 B7 i
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% `: X7 U4 t, g; W5 X3 U" @" K
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ o6 _% {% J+ c$ nwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
0 ?# I. k7 }4 ?( Gthe school system last year.
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8 M: P9 [# i& j# }6 Z5 {8 c! m2 NThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
) t2 y3 C; {, `9 _- J+ _1 Hyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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. f+ d" `* h: S( O5 e- O"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 a" R; h3 R D1 n- X5 i/ Wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" u# E& n9 M6 L3 y6 s" U" QChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
\1 {% v: d" Y( e7 Uhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
7 f4 S* v0 F+ W* ~, T* C9 ^on an equal playing field.". {, p& \) _+ k- s' P4 ~) Y
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& E0 J, z. U1 u& j9 zclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign, G. F+ {0 T+ l+ C+ E' E
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 d$ }* ]$ q$ t1 q9 g9 W* z" X" N
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
7 t/ d: M( y$ I7 I8 Iaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
' S+ I5 Q4 [ z7 wChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
( W; d1 W) |. p1 oinstitute says.
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( C1 N$ W$ } g8 x$ w9 vSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth( Z, N u5 v7 w/ }! t+ M( O4 R2 B
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* Q' y! v6 M. Z8 ?3 }* Z+ ^
deciding whether to take the class.* I6 W& I$ J* j; k ^
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
?% L+ B( {% N% Q$ Wtold her daughter.
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: I+ K& t4 B9 m' N4 H1 Z4 P" qSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- t( I1 V N+ `" ]class.
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4 }7 L% Z/ |8 {6 \5 PAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 e4 I" ]7 }$ i. M( }; V
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without+ b% g) r/ s0 t6 K
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ G- @: d& Z; M1 d( H7 c) @
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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) h; |/ B2 }" L5 b, b1 v% XRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, X7 M- g. X9 J& Q) Z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
5 }7 H- {+ S( H" Y) M1 x/ VChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! I5 d) w# w" Z/ o, _' ?
3 T: }7 h$ Z, {5 o$ `' m" ? G"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
/ p0 w Y# U! {3 U* c: hsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
V2 ^7 T% m' x- Xas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
. k: n( [8 N, F; k( w; ~8 ^/ Sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: W* \; E- q2 g0 v* K
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like W/ Q# x3 h' S# O: P
that," Ms. Freire said.+ `% U7 k8 ?* a- J+ d2 {
1 ~. P. T- u+ b! H! r/ eMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program& D6 r' O$ f3 K2 D, Y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ `$ ]3 p3 [: N: G. d
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking* y w; P! h. L1 t$ E5 w6 n0 p5 H
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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C4 e; S A1 d2 XChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer: V% b# [" E8 W, Y: a
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- J' n( Y1 c8 t0 P* \3 j) `college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified, Z" C+ c4 {+ L# R
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
% w# J& Y9 F; V; Csaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) P# I/ J, O7 J6 ?7 O8 h! ^
Society in New York.) o% ` S) {, N
1 g2 X1 E1 X: [( N6 WSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the& T: Y6 t W s! H5 J( I
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
" i! g# U W F# }% R, n! Uthe 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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