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October 15, 2005
4 O" S# e6 |! `# ^) y4 P0 F5 sClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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0 i. X1 A8 K0 c$ @3 t& SBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 h6 n2 f4 D% f5 v. j- U
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the' J# o: C, Y/ x! q" [5 w
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 u. s) j2 P1 q8 m* iSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas1 K5 N7 m' t9 B6 K
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 [1 ?# V2 I/ E
flag hang from the wall.! G5 v; @2 h" M/ ^$ V6 {7 v( z! Z5 r
( v& I2 a3 p3 B6 H8 D y( I8 _- l1 iOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
$ n" F3 J3 T* F, panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
; z6 X: z6 G/ @0 L) G3 Q/ |practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker# j9 b* c8 d( a
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 V- v2 }* I7 @! H* D; _6 Oare already choosing it over Spanish.' p1 D8 M' d6 k
2 j% U3 A/ U" k9 s7 O"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: _. Z. V' B1 Q6 x5 W5 I4 J! I' A
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city) Z- A i2 f0 K; w
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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4 B* t! Q) Q* c; b" }' OWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: f+ q- }7 _2 u+ c B( ?# q( Eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings u1 r" z* W+ ]& n; c! a/ a* W2 `: W
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. x2 q0 c$ E) s$ \( J& q
one of its most difficult to learn.0 A _6 b& t' n; a1 t6 f( l
$ r, p8 D9 P7 l( Q1 |# [5 m9 t8 \Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to9 H7 J# ~; M$ p$ S+ A4 Y$ b5 Z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 T+ u1 E3 B# V+ ]0 f6 ]studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& L; f: W( i4 K0 }; ]+ NLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ F% B3 V1 c( e! qTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on7 T* P- ^6 ]% P3 A
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
U8 m. w6 I6 {: m$ aimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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/ ?2 T. q! G2 l; r) pAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- O' I' e7 b- oChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country* x5 ^# z: R) v" Z+ f$ G, R
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
7 m4 s4 p' H' ^ tdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! f. ~* m `8 F" H
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
* m- t7 s6 r8 ?+ R; aof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. G6 ^; @4 \" `* j* ]1 Y2 o
) f5 ?- Q2 K5 N- r! b- n"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 H$ E& t: W3 Y0 N9 m+ i
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education' f1 R \6 ?2 E" N/ k
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we% f' b5 |; Y+ F: h$ ]( c- k
can." 4 T7 @) u1 a# O1 Y1 {8 r
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
/ x J, P) {3 kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
% L1 o" P/ K6 C. n, x2 r: M- ?years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* \# u z9 n$ O! M0 h, YInstitute in Washington./ X4 @3 I$ C: |, @# x8 T
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( F$ E0 | R+ f7 A5 [aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.0 o- \" o) t& P( p r8 F* Z
McGinnis said.1 w0 G* K' E5 |, V; E8 R
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ L8 A9 G) V0 q
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ m* f" z' X# j, o
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
" v! [. [/ @) |" o: k! c3 Ichallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."; M! A5 L9 ]1 A3 A; u7 g X
, D" s7 b4 P3 y3 n! M$ m8 D6 hUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
5 K" u) N% q; B7 f+ fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
( v( C& @2 {1 }- X! }" Ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of7 w" b7 ^2 h# Q0 r0 V
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or% B3 L9 ?0 C0 V
on weekends.
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# |( r8 M# q+ t" I6 p) `! LThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public0 y# d. s( Q/ D
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 T( M+ U: F% B9 [9 ~ hstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
* U! e5 p& J0 s# H1 J5 n6 [proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the" k, l& @# T. ?) p* \+ w
competition. 5 `3 g& e8 w- _9 [4 j M. W# ?% X( [
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
% b2 o8 Z+ s+ B6 h# v8 Isaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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4 z! W& E3 |" t; X5 T$ i5 M" h" hFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" p5 C7 d( W2 M. m( L$ U6 G
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse& R+ H& r5 v/ i/ u- J
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; `/ i+ D0 a: H, X" @1 V3 u8 H
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students" E# c8 }8 b% ^4 V: I1 \
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' F+ W3 N5 o7 d/ a9 g2 ~. o
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this7 p& G: @. a! T% S
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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. ~$ Q% y: m/ Q1 V: j; c"They have a great international experience right in their own0 }7 V9 M0 X7 P% C/ y: u
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
: l+ K( n: a/ B X1 }Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
- p) Y" V, o" H# a6 {* v, B1 H chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
g! z' I) `7 f- ^9 y' \( y* U: t6 son an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! y. t& n% ]1 v( H4 Nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign8 m& ~4 w" E( {0 ^ P3 X
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks! k4 F, l+ P. f: v/ \0 A
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
: d/ ~0 J0 Y; gaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
* w# X" L3 F) g9 UChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! g4 l4 y/ [8 v/ ^$ |
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
( Y5 N0 ^8 J% l5 U; Jgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before3 o! i7 b, I) L' z4 z$ d+ a( F2 _
deciding whether to take the class.% ]# W: w" e; S& H) ]; E$ E, c
- d9 T! S' W2 D+ Y: ?"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she) I; Y2 p$ [0 ?& D* ~& S1 x2 W
told her daughter.( y, S7 \( {% S6 V1 R; q6 T
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
2 K+ ]4 @' ~' C5 o8 Wclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
& z/ L5 X: m9 J: v. \+ U) C0 `/ Gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
2 v u% q$ O; V5 Uoccasional frustration.4 s" i. ~, |8 \( i1 l4 o
' x% e' X1 I$ Q( c+ v1 e"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ e7 Q6 {* s: hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.2 G$ {8 G/ ~2 ?- I5 k7 o' K8 w% Y& s+ q0 x
: B3 J/ Y, n- l4 ^1 D0 @Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
/ ^$ l8 M7 z, u1 G, g8 p' N/ Mtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( e' ?7 H l$ D$ G
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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8 R( p5 y3 b2 d' |"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 @2 m' e6 p' D8 \
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
' q V" b* _! ^3 p! D' jas many languages as I can."
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7 P( I' V1 N% a) _6 M( IAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
. R. \# F9 Q" @skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job1 |1 t8 a D! O( a: r$ J; J
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) i0 i5 H* k2 q. z Y
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program/ V; E. X- s2 u; r$ r# v! Z
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 _0 s0 C& l2 A' p% S. u$ @0 m
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
- Q' b0 i1 g! w. D4 C" M! u" i+ y, atime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
- r j, V2 v/ I9 Uroom.
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" h0 D6 U% F% a9 BChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 T* Z" \% c7 c5 Z. @: {$ W' ^9 }
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American V r$ E5 G2 y- ^
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; h/ w; Q, B. i8 z
because of that missing certification," he said.
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- X, _/ G Q/ g3 n6 T) i5 jThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,! a( ~% p7 Y) [
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
2 b0 ?" P5 H! `9 g, JSociety in New York.7 \0 e" N& ]; z% c2 a4 r6 }
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
, o. z7 O2 v6 E* Z- ?8 M& d6 z' xChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, q( h! d+ C: ~2 @3 T! m; {
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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& S2 G9 p$ k3 E ~, a"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" ], N9 |( n- @; D' d5 U. f3 l: B
own."
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