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October 15, 2005
1 q3 y/ h; ^1 ]. m. H$ s: H: T! ]Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity$ W/ O! Z/ O- W0 w2 c$ S# g7 W
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING/ c7 _7 l9 y2 h
0 U& a! X6 c* x! CCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
/ @/ n* W0 G1 |$ i) AUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary7 D! } |- g4 O+ O
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas6 ^$ `9 {6 I3 w: z
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 h. w' q# y. I1 M- q" b+ [flag hang from the wall.4 g1 m- A9 b$ m& D' C" l. c* {( V. N
7 ?( [" E n5 F- x4 h& W: `! HOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 g' B9 R- ^* J$ {; b1 g$ }; U
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
# u: T1 Y: X8 `4 ?0 C. H) upracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
* A" P x4 M! Z7 h I4 Oboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students& X5 K6 r$ g+ R' u# u
are already choosing it over Spanish.+ v; p F' c5 }* R+ |
1 y5 ~4 B3 m/ z1 H+ u0 q. f"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# _) B1 Z" L( H# U! C! v9 g
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& K0 q+ i, p5 J7 Q# G8 Toffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."! Z$ z, ^# F3 y) {
H4 _0 j2 x, d. W C# @# g6 ~% sWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 Y3 q6 m5 j4 j- U( ~schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings! O! k8 `" I/ u& l# z' I2 D
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: a9 }7 v! v2 Mone of its most difficult to learn.! z8 @/ P5 W& J: H* v
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 j3 ]7 p' E/ y% ^4 \public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: g# A5 m- d* E D( n# Lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.* W$ j7 h: C- r+ ` y
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of- t% h) _! W0 B5 b
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 T j% B* v2 k5 G* p
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to8 `/ u0 j7 z6 m* @+ Z9 m2 Y: z
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
; D7 B+ e3 I$ O8 T8 Q8 ^0 }Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. h" m1 Q6 _: l4 _
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to4 [6 u) Y3 n, n$ B! g4 {
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 E7 n% T O( scurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# U$ r; b( r4 |0 f! J) y
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board." [2 I: N9 C: H9 R0 Q. q
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" S1 ?4 Q+ R* f) f: B0 y# X
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 a: v0 n( M/ UConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we- S' D3 Z4 t [* Y
can."
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5 _! @: B8 A' D% [: X1 TThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
9 Q q' W z7 q' k8 n0 H. M7 Y5 [9 Delementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10. A* J8 a6 e( n, N
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
! Z+ U+ g1 s" r3 qInstitute in Washington.
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0 }3 |4 s4 T, \: N3 p"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" h* t) B+ m# _# W$ Y( y6 Oaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
: x3 J) U \5 T. C& C; o& o% hMcGinnis said.
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2 O# D$ z$ }7 b1 Y6 E"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
" l. M, [5 d: wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be1 L Y- V4 K- B2 n9 b l
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a$ c3 ?5 L0 U% F$ J4 R- Z& D
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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8 C9 b3 V9 T/ X$ oUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ Z9 i# G- Y' s- d5 J3 x, ]
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 G: y7 A# J" t8 U: g; J7 ~* Y$ M
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of; m; ~: X; q& E! {
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or5 @4 d6 T9 |+ z- W
on weekends.7 r0 d v& C! W! Z
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* W# s6 P$ m9 P
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
* R) v0 ?& p5 ~* y; Istudents who are not of Chinese descent.: ]0 U5 n9 `" `& `4 k! I. s9 o. t
6 R+ ^0 j6 @' ^ ]- C! dMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
0 {, G! w0 M% s; @* m/ qproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the1 y v/ [7 w/ d- F1 ]
competition.
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8 B, w0 i/ r/ |/ R1 A y"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ r2 ?# R; j+ f) u+ t/ p
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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2 p# ~0 f( A( I2 g1 OFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# I3 A" e1 J9 G. w& j9 kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
3 n: I3 L7 u0 ]5 u) Oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 t- ]: {. [& Y8 R- z* ?4 ^kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students% u; s0 }" k. Y- x1 Z
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& s5 N. M; _, y6 I& G& K
the school system last year.8 u+ B" B! `7 D& h9 P, p0 s
3 u; b2 b, \( o1 B% b, ]The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this. d* D/ Z* v2 w4 O
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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; j1 d: T) D/ i, d"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 Z) [- R. n i# h K4 X2 K; c" ]+ h# Iclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
. q( F2 ?5 J+ l" x3 E# g# ^% G* {Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to9 t. {# A0 Z; F8 L G8 G
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
9 M4 T( w) q3 k7 S {" @on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: z9 O5 s' E& P) \( y ^; Aclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ |* Y3 F2 b. _! H/ C2 C8 IService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
2 f- N8 I9 P5 Z+ B( c9 u/ o3 pChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An' @; O V& B! b7 v* o( m Y4 D
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in9 P1 E: u; a( A S& ^4 f5 W9 b
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) V2 w) p+ J. N* h xinstitute says., \/ D# m; s; C ^$ m5 E5 x1 n
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth2 c/ t# T9 _9 l( x7 x4 E7 f
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before( Z$ o. z, m; [: D* \
deciding whether to take the class.% N, m; P8 z" H
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( I- h9 d+ O8 n* u' ?
told her daughter.
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! u. s7 I( }. r6 eSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite1 \4 `5 ^" x7 _. ~1 \
class." j8 k+ M6 Z- e/ x/ l) ]# g
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
/ t9 f2 }+ w2 ystudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
1 ?5 |# i9 L; U* L& @9 {4 loccasional frustration.; U% j; }6 h7 Y7 V' ~1 v
% Y! b% Y- }: y8 Y. ]+ P* Y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! K \; a0 a8 V& }" M" C9 v/ trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% q9 B& H: u: _3 K/ ?
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he" a& ]8 d: P( h! K; P1 B
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
U3 H6 R' n7 I% Z0 fChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: @) g4 _8 V4 Q4 |) i) K
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
! a' @0 v& R6 l, r9 Ksaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn* }) ?, A: \' G3 C, Q) h( V) v* N
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- X4 V. D5 G, g) u' {skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job$ h- L# Z) Q3 ~ C
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like# W8 s: |- u3 X* b3 _
that," Ms. Freire said.$ J6 z( K8 T/ w/ \* A
9 v# f+ e6 h3 k$ h0 W; |Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, u0 Y' N/ B( X& O/ _% q7 [+ K* K- x
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
2 V4 @7 t' t" mschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ \* p v' i3 `4 ?! n6 E1 C
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
1 H5 u: T8 w4 P* H: `6 zroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* @: w3 X& E& o2 X
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American6 j/ y# N4 g) H8 ?# N9 G8 d! \
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said. R7 d: g0 r- r: c
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
) D0 b) R8 _8 K" rbecause of that missing certification," he said.* b l8 h( M7 w
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, Y7 ]+ A' c. D- F1 [
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia2 V Y1 c1 G# z2 X9 Y
Society in New York.8 L% y( ?7 j( [5 [% B
8 k% \/ x/ c' b! i8 E) P! k0 TSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
; K: k! n7 q2 i5 O- W7 FChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 D5 \. W, N# o2 |the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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, S$ X9 A2 o3 ~4 ^"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our. h5 b5 n S9 B& N
own."
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