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October 15, 2005
Y0 R8 a/ O' B; n5 E) @Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity2 Z6 V( s/ ]( {: t
9 D/ ~0 d! ?' B$ A1 SBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING8 P( x% c0 x7 c8 a& b0 e
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
& b5 I5 Q B( v% u$ |+ ^+ m0 eUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary* _1 g$ z t, K
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
9 _$ @( R7 L$ h( a( D$ b S" Ddangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
: _2 B( V" U4 }, @9 tflag hang from the wall. A ?$ K# e. b1 E# v/ r. V" S
! e* W6 K0 N/ m4 ]2 D K AOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one9 n/ ~0 D, ~8 E3 o/ f9 r" ]
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, Z: \( D- o7 E1 z( K+ z" B
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
+ @5 I/ y+ G1 T) |6 X! g; qboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" P' i9 ~* Q* z2 n6 X' f( R( G- ?
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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9 q" R$ }7 X; W+ Q& X. n"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ t C2 y! `$ G9 M% R, w
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- e2 C0 d+ K4 w4 Toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". t- ~% H' n2 ^" n ~( @3 p
9 T6 V! m* s& s7 T! i: jWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' G9 Q1 d, i- h2 _$ D+ |5 |
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- G- p5 v( B0 N/ Sto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
9 V9 l) D8 D/ j6 y2 |3 Wone of its most difficult to learn.5 Y& A2 o2 ]5 x/ t
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to. s# e& n/ w4 z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 z" W, O2 O1 @- \* ]studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
/ `& N7 l3 D4 v8 X0 n, K. GLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 @; M+ q" a3 I ]5 T
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 B2 L) v5 ?5 y1 Z
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to+ a1 M9 Y9 F6 q& x0 F- [3 R) T
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
" T! \9 f; ?) i3 gChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country0 H, g5 T& F5 q0 K( H! Y) ^
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( l- n4 \' \- c* O6 y: H( n) l2 n
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" H. O+ G$ I. [# a' zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 u3 E4 ?; Y' ^& r3 E- |; u4 D* p! s/ dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 I5 ], L7 ^7 Z4 N: }$ V: `. h
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of8 X% O8 U9 [ G$ v) ^3 G2 y0 j8 Z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! \6 Z5 p8 }% u9 U
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, c) C( V0 r1 D1 y9 u4 L) ~2 X
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from2 d( V) M- t4 |; U# ~& ~: R
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10) F+ ?3 G; ?3 e
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language! O# t6 d2 y/ s# Z0 _: d3 h
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
, u# X" I! {- y5 a/ i4 varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.) Z8 E' i7 W/ N$ Q5 N2 ?& D2 `: c
McGinnis said.( `+ U: a y; k& j; o
* N5 j6 T: @' ] o: B" I"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; T8 N" M: z: @! ?- P
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) ?' j( Q5 n. G) a8 r6 cready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. d* K4 W v5 Z5 [& mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.": R& P; u9 z4 V H) [& \
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
. O6 F8 b: g' v0 b! F f, ~* ~secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- J( t6 I' ?5 Y! z: Ccities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of+ A# A# [4 L1 R/ u8 R! m/ j
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public, m% K* F7 W" Q0 I1 J- T- |7 k
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 a, V) Y# E9 O Z, B3 rstudents who are not of Chinese descent.5 @7 O _) [- e% |
, J# c% u! q0 O& r* x6 c! bMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said, @6 ^2 w3 [4 w' N2 r
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
! x6 S; p0 @8 }3 K- ?competition.
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" c9 A) a% ?! z9 w0 \"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
3 W' x8 p ~. B+ bsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."3 Q p4 M9 A) b6 f2 @, K. i' T5 I
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly, r$ P0 F s% ^! I& q v. B2 O
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- g4 e+ z7 H b: Pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ M' u$ S' t I1 o9 I2 ]kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: S0 b' e7 p. {" Y8 N$ {
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
+ G! k+ i+ o; Ythe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% ?2 d) `, S9 p+ |! Z# qyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; ?! a6 t! E) G6 p8 I+ u$ T
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"They have a great international experience right in their own4 A3 L G* f6 X, Y; `* E6 N2 y- J- f
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' D. [! i% b! d$ t; i2 ^5 j) VChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 k3 h+ D0 \) \help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
K; _: j* \9 p& ron an equal playing field."8 y6 \; K4 V4 O+ b# q
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& ]2 U7 {- h! x+ D- iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign) y4 V/ f4 S- q6 j- i0 w& G( v# R
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
' ]2 j6 O: Q+ N& J1 o/ UChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
I& r- } c$ k9 T6 Z' J% v4 @average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
s. l+ {+ ?4 n; C% zChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# g0 `8 Y: W) S# {9 J8 X q
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth# b; H) o6 u! G; N- W
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
% p# B& N7 g1 Rdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
: Z# g9 ^) u/ @# h3 {told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 u4 ~5 x" Z" D& Rclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 ?5 \' |$ W, s8 U7 I6 r( Nstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without& J1 ], v2 U. H- I0 x2 m, r
occasional frustration.
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3 |4 c% x8 a( b& \' p"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, A( p- D% P8 `9 K5 z D* I) }recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class." D" [3 B' N1 i* C3 |5 M+ W. {: B
* ?" g) M; j! n& l) C4 G, QRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he! U5 S. g- x, ]) ?8 z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with. x1 G t r0 s# j5 Y2 Z
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
7 J) d3 X' S0 T2 B8 lsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn6 i, N* k- e5 a5 Q
as many languages as I can."
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" r+ ^7 c8 h* X) H% i: ?) ~# f5 vAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the1 Q0 V* i! u# N' u( Y# P. S- Z6 {
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 M# ]; a' f! m. }% H% T9 A
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like- F" t2 W# Y/ c- q, r1 ~
that," Ms. Freire said.6 F' x! b4 d3 `
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program" o! }7 C6 H# e3 k
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each, z2 y& O1 W( m5 i$ _! w6 C& |
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 n1 F% H+ {0 o7 B' f
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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$ R2 O. o \: Y" O' ]1 }% jChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" |; n( h$ s) p/ p
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 P7 n1 v5 `: G7 v' e/ [
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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5 J2 ]3 x& E0 x8 j4 a"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
1 a# Q" o% n7 _0 Rbecause of that missing certification," he said.( e1 m! V4 C) w' p% c3 L
: L0 y5 M C# H" bThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,1 r2 W0 n+ \. p! ?, H6 P; I1 g
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia4 M* q" I2 ^7 F0 w1 U
Society in New York.2 a+ B, u1 J6 L* w4 W' ~
$ r$ F c; `7 F# }& ~ b- D p" @Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 }- l! S! D2 J$ n$ v& J. C6 w
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from+ R$ D. j- L: X
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ ^2 Z1 ?6 f' n# c
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
3 _7 ]+ H, f3 z p wown."
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