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October 15, 2005
1 z# P3 h- \# N# ^1 n2 wClasses 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# \& w9 b9 D* H3 x f, w" L+ ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 N/ e* n- Y$ ^9 F6 ]- ZSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
! n1 j3 K; |' |# Gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
# M7 z4 T" \. g' Uflag hang from the wall.5 q' E) y' U# Y( L9 J# y
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& s" E! x. z( O
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! f, K' P; p5 G- ~
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; t9 Y8 \6 B2 ?, M" `* L4 kboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ f0 k( Y" k+ q& N1 Ware already choosing it over Spanish.
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/ k4 _" s# C: f5 n"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
' D, q5 h: b! r! v" x7 C- ]4 q' Cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city+ v9 \ [. x0 d( |9 Z* D
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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6 b6 y n/ H9 h/ n9 s: QWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% X) O+ m, ]( p1 k) ?; U% q) F
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings5 i r& n! n4 X/ U$ i
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ ^, H6 B/ n0 w" | O; J8 done of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
- Z# ~2 u2 c0 _) Xpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students: l0 o) k& c" j5 s/ n9 A
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
5 G9 K/ h) ]/ HLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ u9 `$ z; U( [% a) }2 u
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: g& J# o# U( b! g8 OChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
& u/ ~7 n: C+ } Y) W+ |improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.8 @2 h/ D, [3 ~$ s: B6 |
! u" e% W: M' P0 H$ a) ^( V1 PAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
5 T; U$ f1 P8 k* e" [Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" y) k7 b2 V) {- T5 s S2 d! w
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
1 r, h' P3 u; c( k1 Bdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing) Q" T* n3 {, ]
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; ]0 M% k K9 m- R" i. U! oof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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* y+ x2 y8 G% x" r. Q( w"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# v* q/ S! J% E6 aspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
; e4 D. ]1 P4 T3 S7 XConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, w2 U# _" c, y7 [
can." ( u5 d0 m* q! g$ q
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from& P, V, ~/ d" F2 N5 I- X. c
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
" b" D7 {4 ]* R. B8 r; B0 syears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language! m1 Y1 z* x. L
Institute in Washington.- A/ R$ t+ y$ w+ U
2 c! T3 c1 a Y; L"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
8 W7 |$ W1 _1 K- Jaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ h! x1 |; u1 k) @McGinnis said.
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" w: w% j2 @% s; a {4 c"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
: e' E+ A" }1 o2 K: m9 w8 _longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be2 ?! J' A* n- y5 B
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a4 @: B/ [# c, t& C5 ^ y: s
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" Q- L3 e# {: {# G6 Y X( I
+ k7 K" t0 H6 L3 U0 S& YUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
s5 A$ {3 c/ u3 {2 C1 y4 gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) M& Q% o3 B u+ `cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. {' a/ M, w8 h T! F: ~5 CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
) h6 R5 ^, z: Xon weekends.3 A) d4 s+ x, C8 l& Y; r
1 e G, r; Q* h0 L2 ~! OThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public5 T* Y/ h9 Q9 ]& x9 Z- P( k0 Y
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
* r! ]$ o) S. [: }* v; K0 i$ M ostudents who are not of Chinese descent.( k7 ~$ z: u, c# N0 ~0 @
# P( A$ h3 h+ M; x- C! n3 K) XMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
5 Q8 V7 }$ n6 e6 }/ uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
4 w/ u7 x4 J+ R3 m) U. bcompetition. $ _2 e. o* ]7 ?; U" x3 {2 z6 U
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, {$ @2 C' r$ L' t) Qsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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6 m/ _ \4 T5 b% G3 E; M7 k5 E* k$ @5 }From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
* D% y" R# ^- @2 }# lall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse" f# s" F e/ R0 i" f2 J) }* T
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# j4 F) M7 H8 L+ @, @+ _% skindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 ?7 C3 F4 Q; o/ X7 ~2 ^* ~
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
: K6 A. d: G! s7 Bthe school system last year.6 j7 `4 e6 v( S2 ]/ z* Q. ~& |
( P9 t. |3 Y- I- x# yThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
) |! a" H0 w8 B5 ayear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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7 b0 Q! o) k2 @- I& ^9 _4 k"They have a great international experience right in their own
7 F: y) y# v, W, o/ jclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
~( o+ E& V: H0 v1 S3 H6 OChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to# E) g9 R- \( }5 G
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
" {% g3 F( U: m: eon an equal playing field."6 E2 H N$ B% p) a& _ M
7 g' Q$ ~2 j+ g. q; j5 m, F1 o3 N& pSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
3 V9 F. Q' W) P g8 g7 T" i: sclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign& `* \6 E8 `! S" g
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
" j% a) h: {; S5 [' D1 uChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
0 N0 F. s1 v$ A* kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 A* v4 y K! _, r+ S; k
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the/ y3 E5 r/ ^! L) H2 W
institute says.* H8 k0 N: h& r" i* d% w$ {1 ^
- p. i2 w- {: i) b Y6 u1 L, NSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth0 h1 L* N" i2 e( ^
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before( z8 V {+ F2 D. l' P
deciding whether to take the class.
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6 p: E" c- G9 z8 |"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- e$ P/ E8 v9 w% d
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite) }! B1 w1 p) K) R' X; N) y
class.
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' C0 C. r f2 [' b! a6 ^3 qAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are$ `2 [. }% T" X5 n+ q# B
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without$ v1 N6 O; v0 q. h- f0 S: r% [+ Y
occasional frustration.
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2 x( D: y0 d6 u, Z2 _4 `"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 Y o1 x; \. i( H: d* Q- n: Jrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he) Z( t+ e. Y' _* L
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with q# C9 q6 X8 P- d! F
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 Z2 ^: |" j B& H! U# _
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
7 \+ U" a/ I6 V) |8 ~7 H' n% c3 _/ Psaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 M( _% L4 T4 H3 h7 K
as many languages as I can."+ B, S+ A' n7 T% C7 c; ~
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ N& @3 G% n# v1 R- pskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: _( _) X% V7 k5 O3 z" O$ t1 D3 l; n
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
$ M& [. R; V5 l# `6 {that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program. t) `% Z0 T- V8 l& `
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 }. N- ^! D* }. @- Gschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
* g( X: [8 ~( O4 ^# ntime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
0 u4 o8 W3 i6 D9 K- `room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 U: M* E) F) P( Q# [Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 G' f u8 k u4 f/ o
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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" G7 ]: \' V7 @; J8 c"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& P" e" `8 H+ ^3 x" l. l* ?% O
because of that missing certification," he said.* P8 C b/ g* j. G; U0 W
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,7 P( M& q& @0 e6 x. A4 f, G
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
6 z9 }% A! S1 M% a; t7 f+ \% _Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' t+ T* o. v" a8 t! ~- c, M/ w
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" [. Y% e" H% J* N5 {; J
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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: R* x1 |4 ~6 w"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 {1 Y4 e `5 h6 g- R" J- i
own."
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