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October 15, 2005
1 H; H/ Q; @2 {Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 a% O6 V" O' G4 g7 V1 M' l* k
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, \' J( i9 ~: h9 P/ A/ u
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. k: z) l8 G1 l9 G& N W& w& A8 V
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
6 t8 b6 C: o8 h% B& P% V1 Pdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
3 R1 j% s4 @6 Yflag hang from the wall.$ N0 d8 H* Y3 O
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one- Y+ R5 x7 e2 @- U! j- L, E
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
4 ?+ w6 Y: _* S" upracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ g! z7 L+ U' @0 Z" k7 Z* a
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students2 J5 l0 \3 |( |' \4 n% G
are already choosing it over Spanish.6 ^6 v7 h' k2 q# T: k) l4 v' Z
0 {1 `+ ]! A: |* M. q3 F, r"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 v) O! Q+ q% xat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 [% b+ \2 @" I9 o' D3 E
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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( C( q8 H* v& [With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' n, @) ]: {7 L/ G2 b
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings7 {- F; z2 [$ a! [4 ~) A
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 o5 r% H7 `8 Y1 U! o. kone of its most difficult to learn.
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& k* j9 g8 E* ]5 d$ rLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 P$ e+ q" b9 j, |' X# e, L9 [) J) g
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students" B* _8 e8 N4 v4 l. L2 a& j. t- X
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
8 ]: V r- G4 X" ~; o! ALieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; w# H- _9 _" r/ C; F9 M1 r
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 c& Q1 D. ~, `# b% m. k* n% M
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
5 b! Z' Y, O/ |/ l" F( J: }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
" W) ]& l1 o9 Q+ L. LChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( E1 s( W C1 D8 E6 @& \starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
8 B9 L; J2 }, k6 A$ U) u" qdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! r$ X5 t$ d! u6 b: `; p
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
1 C0 b' V9 S, B$ w6 A, L& Zof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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; S9 o1 O" `; G$ ^"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of9 \& y9 _0 f! m4 j/ A6 Z& c
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% x: Q3 K# W) ^* R4 `) eConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
5 m, w i& u: T6 J9 X, xcan." 2 h! `: s9 U$ }6 A4 w9 Z' ~6 x
" X c5 s+ ?, y, r/ }The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 z+ n7 y& z" R7 Jelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10 f1 [1 T9 t$ C6 N0 q% P+ T
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, ~/ V6 h+ T9 }: b# FInstitute in Washington.
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: {! ~$ ] L! U! a8 M8 [4 T4 ?0 L"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages+ W* _2 M& {. N7 ~: _; b; c
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.' |$ Q: ?; f8 m) T* l" F
McGinnis said.$ y. ?1 U! O- Z B9 N! I& Y" L% Z# r
6 _1 F3 p3 [1 F# _' X! M# R8 b"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 a T I0 S* j1 ^" N( mlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 {% j% K9 `/ F. d3 ?" zready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
+ O: D+ c) \6 ~! g. J) Schallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and& k$ k, S8 K F
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
( D/ R' x8 C5 z+ ^2 [cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# v/ H+ C* n: U X' b ?# q9 G) CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
% q! y+ s# n2 y; N8 m5 con weekends.1 {; d( I) O. ^0 t H5 ^
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: ~% O! u6 K3 ?2 ^schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
/ V2 q( h8 |7 i4 Q) Y, h* Tstudents who are not of Chinese descent./ z2 ]( ^9 C( E. w; F/ ]
- [. {0 u: _( B8 @# UMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 S5 o3 M: z" k6 T+ Cproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
/ i/ \) J4 {+ A2 x+ E+ F2 {/ q3 `competition.
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- u- u! f( O& {, x3 k6 Q$ r"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# |3 d Z$ b4 S& ?' `
said. "There will be Chinese and English."# E( \+ x& U0 L# g$ T( I* N4 l
2 Q) y W* M/ T5 b6 S0 ~From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
( u( M2 M5 G9 [5 uall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 {2 G" R: x8 O5 c& Q {- s4 o c" uschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from, h& y3 z! C. c$ x
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students% Y% [# U+ k& ^* b. {9 C( j
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
% F* U) M7 q2 x6 o% r+ \the school system last year.
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. T7 S. ?8 F% V5 c; p# h/ JThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this ~! \4 C8 g* m! K8 X* U1 a
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 h C9 u9 f8 T: q2 j) {
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"They have a great international experience right in their own5 W y7 R2 E0 E2 F. J
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago H) B4 {# e, K8 D) G- n+ S; \
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! D: t0 q+ w1 {2 C( Y
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
' H) m7 g& u o) `: l6 [8 Hon an equal playing field."* {, w3 j/ j; v' m3 g1 c
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
' O) J. ]8 O3 s, Mclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign5 l4 J9 V- t6 P+ g
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks: Y/ t" e: ?' \4 a7 I6 N& |
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 @+ [0 D% f5 t( _average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
7 o0 E' |! s4 P2 [Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# A4 a u' T+ E
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth y* |$ a/ j- \
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before2 ^6 q- S$ |' ]+ j& K/ m+ r
deciding whether to take the class.
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* u: _" b5 r9 }9 |"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 u" u+ J# \5 p7 Gtold her daughter.' j: L/ p9 I" @6 N% G4 v
& z3 {, y* b2 U/ P! r2 _. mSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite$ x: H: J/ _! h! i6 _; ~6 O" L
class.& Y$ w \; a- T6 U
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& A8 h$ Y) t: r8 o* W3 G
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# Z/ p) p. ^! x1 ?' uoccasional frustration.9 B; X* o& t3 g2 k# d" e, M
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 [8 R ~1 y% o7 G" srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.; W9 m7 V; ?' o0 ~- `2 N
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
( J# Z ^; ~$ s8 X+ ~) xtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
9 }7 I' S$ ?- aChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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1 j' f$ B+ }8 N6 ?( L* n z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* A; T* i, J* n; gsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn7 q2 x3 g- K5 R
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the9 X2 Q& ?. o: a& Y9 J
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; _: ^3 b' Q* y& K4 ^3 V3 x2 P2 s
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
. G9 N3 s a) y9 p+ nthat," Ms. Freire said.
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, W8 t: T3 V( \- Z5 `3 {% d2 ] l# BMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
/ s9 z0 q0 W8 W2 L) C# yhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each' t; N- I6 w* y
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 o9 T$ S p3 \: Z+ o2 b# Ptime from classes like physical education, music and art to make) E8 j; Z& Y8 L+ M O' @' l3 Y
room.' ]6 D8 {- F0 \( w
8 h) E. [$ h) `- j* bChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% }" }- _! ]3 m/ n" N; r
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) k+ e. k- ^* ~8 P! f4 ]
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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1 g7 \( Y# Z, D"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified9 w9 C9 ~$ L: `3 k
because of that missing certification," he said.( K' m; z- q1 }7 b$ a8 K! ?) i
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,+ B- ?7 S9 D( l7 R8 s, s4 C( f+ F; v
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% Y+ P& l- \ ?9 j+ w" {# p' ZSociety in New York.0 ^; @1 R* P7 c$ b7 }4 |
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 `8 ?: R: r5 |" i' f! {. yChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# |/ l5 v; l2 V" P ~5 N" q0 R
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.8 h [' K! R8 z: o. s
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our! @: B* [( @! Y a* \' C8 @0 s
own."
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