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October 15, 2005
; E# ?; u. r: I0 AClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity7 g$ U1 m8 L: s/ l
2 F5 B' o2 M4 b! aBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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" d: O) l( T1 TCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the0 r4 ^' X# y. b) _7 l" W6 r# t
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary6 I' Y5 g& h6 @" e
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
& T5 ~2 J( `; U7 X( Y8 W+ ? }dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
: Z9 W+ z v) n, I5 [8 Uflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one) ] h0 O8 i9 a E
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders4 J: L& B1 g; y( _4 { v
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! r. m5 M$ j/ M3 J7 D1 v; C) Y
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 g0 ^: Y2 X/ B. I& q! U1 `8 i3 y* m
are already choosing it over Spanish.* v% G; Q2 s0 Y3 M9 J
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 z5 n1 n& y9 w- z% B" z7 Fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 v2 v. U- C, G8 Q @$ R8 U
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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" y) h9 h) r" |; W+ Q0 F, oWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( B2 h6 T) _% N1 t% Pschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
% n$ T7 R, v e! A# n) Hto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: d! f& i/ `2 W5 b
one of its most difficult to learn. O! U( L4 L' o$ Y' i
( c; ~8 D6 U& }' ], ?* ALast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
3 I5 t, \* H8 D& f2 V7 epublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& z7 p1 s* U' Z- z% w+ m* s: I& \studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* h5 C& K+ |8 q4 XLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 D: y. R: R' LTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
5 t5 k7 p4 \+ h. L2 kChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& a( R' u; {0 K6 D( c2 q: D
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.. d- ~: e) @" s7 w; P
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement: d9 ?" e O A; C
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. v$ { M; y6 w( K9 {$ fstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
5 p& r: ]8 C" X$ a# Gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. n1 I$ ~+ b3 c& M" X
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director4 R& E8 v& q7 D' {: F& B
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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( t' ~, \4 Q5 L- E' ]"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
$ H$ {% S9 K7 j# V P1 G2 yspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. z5 a" e- H7 r/ {# M+ J, AConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
( F, q) D. D. w2 k8 Bcan."
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' X8 e- c: X8 L1 u3 {The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) o$ W f3 n/ P3 p$ p% X# }1 g+ relementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 109 q2 U6 P$ M9 n/ H. u- W! `$ g
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
8 r; @2 F9 d# tInstitute in Washington.7 ]8 L6 F: H1 Z7 k
" A% K2 u( B" p) k"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# q/ m3 {/ Y! j: X) \- o1 Maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
5 W5 P, I0 m1 ], V. \- H/ z, lMcGinnis said.
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- B8 r/ V0 h& z, D7 @% A"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; q" O, a1 Y0 l5 ^6 |! _longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
5 ~; ~5 |* r# G/ C0 Uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* x4 n9 \$ E* S# \+ A; G5 v# a6 k
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."4 V% m, K, z4 k& ^
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and) O$ \& X" V% Q, E9 |8 }7 x3 e
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
7 l0 |* W5 e: K! M( I) dcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of5 c2 }) o: H2 n! j. n9 d8 e, [
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or y5 d$ Q+ Z8 z+ W% H+ n& \0 c; t
on weekends.
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* y, u) i/ V: X; T+ BThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
9 c$ Y' j: S* \2 C2 Yschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 R$ T5 R! |7 [: A6 L. zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 E6 G3 w4 g0 G) z* `9 L
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the3 F. z$ ]* y* `/ g* t: A1 n, R
competition. : T# j1 X0 d+ V- ^1 i; M' ] A2 F
) N! ^: `. D( ?- }5 x9 W0 k* w2 ?"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley( V& V( n0 a5 w* J. K6 |! L/ U
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
) R0 p. l( w; c! m; M! I1 S+ Y/ M, @) rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 |7 l4 p. Y+ t( y! o- d
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( A, T* z3 T8 C7 x9 U6 R
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 p. W0 n. K" q4 [9 H( |% h$ [who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
( r7 g# A4 V" [3 s0 F2 gthe school system last year.7 d; R j( @3 {% ?* l5 K+ e- m8 A
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this/ Z: B. w0 X' x; w5 n: R
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 D2 t/ U1 f+ W/ N
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 Y% o- G+ }8 N# fclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
; i& C; A& j* A: l* R2 K% ]Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
# }9 y9 s8 Y$ Fhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
* {+ f4 k3 j: Ton an equal playing field."
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; L( h- v: P0 J1 U$ k, GSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 z% C5 ]$ a1 U4 k
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
6 |: C8 C- \. F S5 {2 ]0 t7 jService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 Y% A& R* z/ h; i* ]
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 j, H( _4 ?' y8 t% iaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ U& k! ~8 \4 G6 U% y
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# f4 ]/ q8 t7 L1 uinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! l' Y$ f5 {9 h h9 Y4 sgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 N$ K* i' g8 B: U$ ]( @
deciding whether to take the class.# B& _# c: f9 u+ j) G
. B, n. L* u" q! t"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she" Z/ e" S* \/ [$ D& w
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
; g( I/ `0 a- {& u: H: A' H7 G* Pclass.
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3 c: W% K3 i& ^At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
& ^. |( s8 r/ e' \- `- _6 V |: c4 Mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' g# M( j( [$ y& e/ Foccasional frustration.8 J8 z/ [8 [$ U4 u
7 e2 }% q, K; B7 a: D5 K R& W, f5 D"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
9 L* i$ L% K/ k1 Wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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8 t! E$ Z6 x- z# Z6 J. i! {/ T0 fRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
6 _# x1 }- a2 Mtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
* ?4 ?+ M. ]4 B. ~) @Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul! f3 k9 [# z. x( S
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 H C4 s& y7 P
as many languages as I can."$ r$ e5 b, c+ T# s/ ] P, L/ {
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ r) a" |6 B3 t1 k. v
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job* e3 \0 X0 z, y. |$ `
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 B' L6 B. |3 B: Bthat," Ms. Freire said.0 X8 ~7 |2 Y2 @$ i0 V
" |; Y/ {% \4 `& j/ }& |) N2 S5 nMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
- R) @* l2 T& f* @9 b2 h& khere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each: S: ?; m) D. m. c
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 Z H7 M6 u6 Otime from classes like physical education, music and art to make: e4 G& l1 R7 N
room. M ?: p0 I/ P% C
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer& j# t3 {' _$ b! Z
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American# z* E- \6 l5 \3 W# `) @3 m/ G
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.1 d1 Q! P" o8 v% Z
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified" v& C2 V+ X4 i# V* {
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,7 a( L, P' X, q
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia+ \) U( j8 i5 D' w7 H
Society in New York.: I3 [& @6 K# [+ i6 B, U4 i
3 C& Z2 l# _# A! n: YSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the B# h' v1 t8 R& i" G
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ a4 D1 W; Q, } n' Z1 uthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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$ N: E6 S+ h7 e) R"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
5 D' B* x( ], v0 kown."
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