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October 15, 2005
2 j8 p8 G% ?8 Q1 jClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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6 [3 Y/ t. f) \7 kBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 Z4 }) N$ i* y
& |8 P: }5 T2 {8 KCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the0 o4 V7 Z0 G) C( T( f! c
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary% r& g9 g8 }% X2 _; Z7 U
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: a c. r% \" W3 Z) L& A. `
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! [( L. h( E& K' k% i: t* u, @3 A
flag hang from the wall./ B+ c' C" S& _/ p3 w8 }0 G. k
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one' ^3 w/ P; A& i, a) P$ v0 @% j% ?
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* I8 g. s$ q. [, v+ z
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ t' v, y7 a2 }* l2 M) E2 _
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students/ D, t* P" R. |1 {6 I& h- N2 }, w
are already choosing it over Spanish.' Y9 {8 A+ I$ e( k
9 `: ]. _( z6 M9 B4 f" Y' ~4 _"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal/ b* e8 w: @9 g6 H9 U) F! z3 K$ H
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
) o+ |, c! C: k: E$ y. u: z: B8 Soffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in." L C6 D% L3 l" g$ i) C7 l$ h O) q
" e8 [* F4 U- s, z. m5 eWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,6 u: J3 `0 [. L% `* {% l. ^
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& L4 v8 H; ~8 Z2 t" D8 I& pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention% T. Y1 q( W" D
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 ?! E" g5 Y$ `
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, d- I ?$ |5 ustudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 L7 I9 o. w3 U& N8 f- a
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of7 [& R6 H9 c: n8 G
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on4 D7 [3 U3 r" y! E1 K% R5 n8 V: j
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to* l/ ]) q" d8 b( I8 y4 D( |' p
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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8 f0 F# x( N2 X$ d6 jAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 j" H& I4 {& d& [. h
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 Y( D/ A" Z8 n0 J% ^4 p. Nstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( [* E' J) T' e1 K( {( R3 g
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
1 X) E5 w7 G! p( o1 f; B- b9 \$ ]curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; X" L+ ~3 `2 {& J1 D eof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
9 P5 P! ?8 H+ p" jspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& V p) R1 M4 A8 b, M
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
6 V! f+ h9 s0 d! p' @can."
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( t- Q3 k2 }/ d6 GThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. j5 N# r$ S" q/ J% X" M3 Aelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10! _1 s+ d" |8 i
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) q/ y$ z4 G* J6 L' U; r% K
Institute in Washington.
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3 R( N; g, q/ R) S: o"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* z |* }/ L1 A! ~/ Q% M; M) z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.0 g3 [% q) }7 H% V0 f# @% a- D* J
McGinnis said.* V" H2 g9 K7 q! ^; b
+ M' J) o2 y' G" w/ E"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical3 Z* a; `: q/ s; ^2 P% _8 S
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be% E4 O* F. _- `3 k
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a) U5 T- v! l6 C
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 ?/ b" G8 @* k Q( Q
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and" R$ m4 y+ ?$ x7 w8 Y
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
8 b0 t5 s) G5 ycities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# t- @ Y" ^% Z) ~. b
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or+ I( G5 c( n. y1 [# C1 n$ F$ G2 F
on weekends.! U* [1 a/ L5 [" g: t' @
! d1 x9 ~* q( B x. w* yThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
7 Q) e! G; N4 b4 A9 oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) _9 o; Y0 C8 @! T$ Xstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; ~0 w0 |. [! M O/ H! M' X
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the3 }6 h: I* S; ^5 i5 `
competition. " U% M! L0 v( p+ V
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
8 e- U0 B9 n2 Gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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- |$ @, O' o: W6 T3 i1 ]5 AFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 ?! M7 s' ?1 _9 ]all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
2 v4 ?' L6 `# x) g3 B7 wschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from6 X( M" L& a( z) h) Q9 B: K
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
3 `1 t* s0 q8 R# N6 u% Gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to+ X- t- l ^9 I! w9 L* X! d# y" t, [
the school system last year.: p. `7 f% H* F' W$ v
# ]& W4 Y1 t6 nThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 @+ l) ~4 {- b
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( I: I/ I3 q$ h. ~0 p: j) M
$ p# S1 j6 `; S3 E) V8 {"They have a great international experience right in their own! p& }. H, y: f" W
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago; Y4 B, C: J$ o! O, I& i: k6 q& v
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to U' ^+ o' B W# r" o3 A! U u6 B
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
2 y+ u* \* g8 j) `+ f& fon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese" H( n" h( C; j* o
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign* E/ A2 o! H5 p7 a# [' i) {
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks5 z* _5 s; J/ R4 R2 w# P0 Q
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An) k7 I4 W% O2 E+ ^9 H
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% ?0 p6 _( x! Z& |# |7 ?Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! k O! g4 t9 j2 t0 Iinstitute says.' d7 \2 q& t) `! J+ V
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: S" \: M( Q6 J. c- E* v
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ e: B |% u4 \$ x& edeciding whether to take the class.
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' l* t* r, f4 g' _' N$ E"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she7 w/ n# m. m& t( G; i# k4 W
told her daughter.& j# {) k: L: m, d1 I3 y
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 F! f3 r' F& v; B6 J4 ~% yclass.
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' `7 D( N+ z( ?/ F; cAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are4 d$ b4 L6 m x! M
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without3 O T+ f) S" V& \8 f. i6 r4 j% G
occasional frustration.5 P6 ~) p& l0 r
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a" [. T1 D( l& A( h3 `- {* \1 y
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.+ n n* L& k8 H5 j2 B
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he* W. j" \7 V% S" U0 b' I
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! Q; l$ ]4 K1 l# q' G9 oChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- C3 H; T, B9 h
& G6 Q" V* K+ n7 o3 j8 J"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul& z) Z% G; g. m/ e; W1 \3 a
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
5 E# U% T# l* ~' i1 T" x+ las many languages as I can."
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6 w) h4 {- W3 i" M. a3 SAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the* A( `9 \1 w" G2 B/ R2 U
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ c' q! d# a( w. |; @; z
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
2 {" x8 b0 ]$ k9 zthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program6 n% k: R+ i, R2 I7 z1 l
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 O X4 i& p3 t. K+ b) h) K2 u2 gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking4 Y7 ]% X+ i' H m+ P
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make) u& Y( z. {8 U0 e* e) U( L3 p
room.$ K: N# k( D& h3 f3 \' L
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
+ y* c8 }4 E! e9 E+ ]/ R3 FChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! y0 @3 g( i6 Z/ Q7 a! Xcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.+ C) H2 \2 p3 h o# p7 t3 T% o& \
0 o; T" T; q- n1 q; ~"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 I8 j' }0 D" _' { P8 @, zbecause of that missing certification," he said.; e+ @3 q6 b9 P' K+ a
: m' V% ?! B C- c! iThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,. w7 Z m: H6 U) j' X7 V
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( M3 q2 f2 _! P( W8 r3 k1 G
Society in New York.! q; c F8 y) F$ u- k6 z2 _2 L
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
7 t Q n$ S9 D8 w3 v( p1 iChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 T) N9 E0 C" u* {& mthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, _' V& i: e2 a1 K3 ]$ i7 x8 j
own."
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