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October 15, 2005
+ t" e/ [. q1 X9 [- Z% ]Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity7 k8 v7 c1 A8 U2 c
0 b/ T9 X+ e L7 v* O1 L2 e( |3 } a9 bBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
( D' M. B5 ^( `; K- C1 |United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary6 n$ T8 [9 z/ a) j* d; J
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 H$ J& Z3 t/ L- {5 Hdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ L. v/ \0 C+ Z3 B4 N. yflag hang from the wall.; `" @6 ^1 ]1 M- v) z0 D$ O, Y) s
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
% k) _# i/ i3 |+ G) Fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders7 W9 Z) z7 r. O
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker' F( c" x( t# s% e+ R* |
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
; F( k( O* c5 ?# T! e& {+ Dare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 F1 w. h9 n& f7 h: Y: a: e2 c% ~at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
) B- v) x% X* k& N) n) Moffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.", H) F! L& s1 y
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' k5 _8 ?6 k4 v% S3 |schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( j6 q5 f( v( I7 V) l [2 d$ g, Y
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* `% i5 O2 r$ U4 V
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
3 C; T- v/ I5 ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% E/ A6 ~8 |" f
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.' L: f6 X k# g" j6 X1 d& l+ [# y
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ `; k! R, I2 u% |% e1 e1 ~8 s
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
' ^2 w q' [7 R6 D: OChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 s) |- c# s6 [
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.$ U- }( I( @8 N; ?1 A
* l1 D2 v$ u c3 DAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement4 M$ o2 h. M! P0 |) N$ J- v
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 {- @) X7 X u0 n6 Z+ i7 }7 B
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
7 l5 W) J, j& H. g' y) j# b; [develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! C2 B* @* c; k) Acurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
* o4 B( F0 L' [2 {of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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7 z4 x1 O& y4 i; [1 @) r% x0 B0 l Q/ |"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
$ z5 w. O, U2 T9 A9 }- espeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
+ R9 g: w7 D' y- T& A) ~Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from. R8 O6 _" a; U& O+ n
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 x- P7 \, e; fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ H- R$ l; L+ Z: n- QInstitute in Washington.. X$ W* H* `0 k/ w7 z6 r
. k% c5 ?3 S/ j"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages4 |. ?6 A0 i/ \9 l" q/ w
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
4 N4 k) H h( B; ]McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
c/ g1 t9 `4 r# ?3 ^# r! b p% flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
+ r, c7 @" I: hready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. Y; b; V9 H: [" q- X
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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; R# s9 y$ U# g4 k; |9 \& [* ]4 G0 z$ RUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 N% V+ i/ M( _ m' osecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in l$ r* a/ i; F' \
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) Y) G) z( w, \" l3 S% eChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 A% G; ]+ b. M' Oon weekends.
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' a* A& T( [7 R) `: |! oThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: H6 @: U0 f% ]1 g
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
! C8 M* c1 Z- \4 cstudents who are not of Chinese descent., T2 f% g, _* J8 M% d+ v
5 l0 {" g9 b8 V4 o3 Y7 }Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said+ G1 O, X6 x7 \% |
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' d+ l* h. ?5 ]% J# m# n" |6 I$ P+ pcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley6 y j8 Q. J+ R, o0 _& l# h% F
said. "There will be Chinese and English."( s; P8 f) v1 G0 N
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly2 S9 N0 f6 a+ C% H. ?8 V
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: e5 q5 L3 ^( H: kschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% E1 w( W/ ^2 V4 v, F
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
/ j+ Q: e4 J2 D: m/ `+ \' ~' |who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to: a6 l$ p3 [* d! g. z
the school system last year.7 ]3 I, Y/ w% A" J( R
Z5 N6 q. ^* F. I1 F4 EThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- c/ W' H: j* t( q0 C7 ^) B
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year./ P3 h0 b# B- ^% }3 w9 c
' w$ m) J1 {0 n0 F5 B& I"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 q9 G/ X7 l$ aclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 V5 R# E% ]: E, M. }. C1 Q7 d
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
& L% L5 {3 J0 f0 k" Ehelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet2 L" s$ v1 C. y0 @9 L
on an equal playing field."
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7 l+ _. C3 A: V7 P0 K) i* ESome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
}7 h& z4 K- Yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 S+ g2 {# V K! B V2 P5 _
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 G m7 v- a, P8 l3 l# E9 O; EChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
) B) z! m8 x7 N4 J$ r% Caverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in6 J& {2 q" G4 \7 T* X
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
( ?9 p( T' b9 c# r& b$ l, Sinstitute says.
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: s: |! N3 c2 P# c/ NSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth$ F; }$ U' {/ I
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
4 \3 J+ V4 S" C* g$ ^" Wdeciding whether to take the class.: Z. J$ d6 O/ e( B" O1 m
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she7 U K; ?" }2 y
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 N0 e" `+ X8 A
class.
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; ]3 S& l4 H# R, a9 \0 RAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 ~" T6 ^9 U0 o- O: R
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 p! B$ P G% u2 O% \
occasional frustration.
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6 O h+ f. V$ {0 I0 d5 E6 {"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a& b2 ]+ u& @# \1 C
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he( v3 s' o5 q7 P( v( {
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! K$ W* x H2 X M+ GChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
% F& w+ _3 i1 M, { ]0 P# Psaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
' {' q. a7 P& _& v& Vas many languages as I can."1 j; @. F5 p3 b
1 E; C: g# I' g3 h3 A9 p2 yAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
0 Y4 r. b E. Y- @# F8 K8 S6 @skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ u! q9 \: V1 e! q1 K
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like8 E" L5 f! y) K
that," Ms. Freire said.4 l$ [( F9 x. W# J" w$ k9 f9 O8 o
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program1 W2 u. N' M. m% o1 _% s
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 v# a) X5 f% n# M. {% m: m0 cschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 y: L ]7 F. U& y$ ~' T. ^' m) Ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 Q; O n2 R1 @+ w0 o( kChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! v- n# w, A5 Pcollege, 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& z7 [ v3 {0 K6 I0 S
because of that missing certification," he said.
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" l( q* U4 i3 K! C' U/ y2 x$ g4 \The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ u" D- a1 I8 ^7 ?$ w4 I; _
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
' t; H% ?) B; s+ F0 eSociety in New York.' q$ C7 q& U1 M! Q) T& h
w+ H/ T8 J4 ]* Y7 l0 C7 ^Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the M+ M3 h# J: ^4 y9 h
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
% I# ^7 K' y$ {1 Gthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 B* l" @5 v1 ~! j
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
* E0 `( F# Z+ T& i) @/ J: a) [own."
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