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October 15, 2005
9 q e: |/ U0 oClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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8 c0 Q' G }8 Y2 K; k1 O/ HBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 N. b/ ?. c& {+ }+ _
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) U& G! h% e* _- FSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas, t' m6 m5 G" }6 L, J
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 F6 i3 ]/ U# G! k; R( u
flag hang from the wall.5 r0 o4 g8 s8 P
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" F- X- d& f$ t% ]/ T" f4 @
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders1 F, Q0 f8 }7 x9 a1 g) R y; R
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) c/ B0 P/ ]/ V) F4 v$ gboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ N3 T) G# p# F; H- D/ w" m- ?$ [are already choosing it over Spanish.
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! M' X/ _1 j# D5 U2 h. ^! _# G"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
9 x$ P: z& h: H9 h" k" B8 {at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- I& d3 t- p/ L! p2 T: V" Xoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" o- H% e# q+ w6 t1 ]; }
4 C3 b' h8 A1 x* _! t g3 m- H( RWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) K, e& R1 X3 E( j4 s) Q
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings0 W8 A( l3 s, N
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention M/ p/ z, q- g1 p9 e
one of its most difficult to learn.: ]8 o" D7 a \# ^) X8 V+ X) d
: n+ N6 V% P$ n4 @1 Y$ V8 iLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to |$ L0 A. g# M8 `4 A& p. c9 d
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
' t6 s8 n. K: P2 J Istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.2 {4 y. f3 g( l. p8 T6 s
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
& P3 U e4 ~- E+ [7 yTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& S7 }7 D! G/ l0 e9 N
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" C- E6 ~& o- r
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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8 s( _/ L' x6 ~$ p) hAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
* z( Y; Q6 r& G+ K* tChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ |9 r, k7 L+ y9 }6 W! G7 L
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to1 G6 e+ i% A8 k
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 \9 g7 j; D: S7 S% \$ A0 m
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
' ^& H( v0 z4 l$ jof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.& H. }# p' o; A) P6 m
+ X, W& d$ r8 m"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
' j! y7 S w, m* Zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
$ @* m) R' ~9 E# \$ B) ], h0 w9 `Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ `$ q. {7 J5 g
can."
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+ ^- D/ J* D- x) H; n+ CThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from. A9 U8 y) A& w. s* Z
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
" j% N6 b2 q, f+ w; ~" Q, Q" y# oyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 W$ I. k3 q' GInstitute in Washington.$ v# D4 a$ B1 d; q
( w6 f1 A9 X7 t' x"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 n7 M! \2 W: Naren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
# d* O* A' g6 MMcGinnis said.6 s$ v( ]3 T9 x
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical) s- _" e/ M7 q: ^% u
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ a( H5 n* G! r" Z8 d. E0 ]
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
& O" Z- _1 [" T: z8 nchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& D- i& G$ E5 f4 {) H* V
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% d5 }6 i8 i% D% \/ L1 n* _+ \1 isecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
; S( f6 t7 w8 {9 _cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 s B; j2 G2 Z2 ^! t# V3 lChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 Z: i8 G( z$ G. B/ R- A( R& k$ F2 s2 Won weekends.' _' y Q( ]& C
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( H; m/ d7 n' m' t
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
+ R- d1 p) L, y) \1 C0 c0 Ystudents who are not of Chinese descent.7 K, {3 V$ j8 L5 P1 R' v* w7 f; I
* j A' [! Q/ B$ c0 IMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 x: H% v# p' ?! t6 m
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the4 D0 [; z0 [( {6 s
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 q3 W8 w6 g: y4 @
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. B6 E( q& K* V* A
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
# J; J* n ^, l7 h3 xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* c$ A6 [7 R7 G' F
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students" ?5 _( J/ v9 K9 S2 [
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% Q# c5 K0 G% _& F" }0 d
the school system last year.0 F; D& D0 O& i8 g. r9 x; p+ ^
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; ^& t1 W4 I8 w/ [6 yyear 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: I# y/ N* r" N( p7 [7 K
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" [1 \ }) v8 ZChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to+ \; n* s1 u( v( C
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
; | L' y, h! oon an equal playing field."7 |; C' v7 T9 k: l7 r
. @' ~7 U+ V u7 lSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 D8 n9 A5 p# S
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign. G( z( f: P2 {1 d
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
/ Y! X# C/ X5 L& g7 C. fChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( Z' d9 x. Q" y7 l4 s Y9 Saverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in/ e2 H/ h j( H* Q7 C2 d+ H
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the& |, ?( J( X5 Y! @
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 E7 C/ x2 `1 r" V, G. @grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
' d) V; M6 b$ f0 ideciding whether to take the class.
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; m9 L( K% `: g: H4 j"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
9 D) A% P9 g, N" K* @told her daughter.+ n/ |' b0 Y0 S2 h
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
, W; D! X. v; a" u( W" Z" x1 Wclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
; ?4 n3 ^/ [2 Q, U) c4 u4 A' Wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without! B; ^0 X% o: a/ n0 H4 B
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
7 d; }5 |0 X: _9 Y' Xrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. h: h! _3 z! p# j
$ A+ z+ E& X1 x: l3 @$ HRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
' Y6 ]9 u; a' D: A0 ktaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& T9 O( E9 W& IChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul; q: \( Y' E8 Z7 ]
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
: r5 i0 z, o: Q- Zas many languages as I can." [2 s( f5 q0 S6 |# _1 s
/ T5 \3 F' `0 oAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
[2 i- u( c3 h: v7 X) i( d1 ^skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
2 Z( `; p& E3 U% mmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
3 x% h& r# f. W1 ]that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" e. ?0 f6 h& |- M! C/ rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
. G% q. E) e4 R" cschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking) C! r4 M! _2 {0 I
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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% ?* F1 Q% F9 D' S4 s; Z9 xChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer& n0 B& k, |* t& `- [4 S
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 q9 n# H; k6 L; v& q' K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said. q/ L6 b9 C4 M6 y
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
" q, \1 Q. j' ^; t+ W, U' }) wbecause of that missing certification," he said.; H+ B9 ~" e! b) t; t
' J- w6 A$ I# q* K6 F& kThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, d: X6 r. H/ Y! P+ C: j& B8 n6 T2 Ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia+ A0 x3 O) P$ k! m) G3 \4 M. o
Society in New York.* I% J, K0 \# w) b
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
- @/ ]- E a: [7 C7 Z% QChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" ]) _+ {8 J/ l. ~
the 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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