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October 15, 2005
! D% i0 b9 e: f, PClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' m. _ N( H! l3 P# Y# S
1 e8 {. V) t" }1 Y5 XBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING; ]1 v9 K$ s/ A+ e* J
5 D$ Y: \9 j8 [# Y$ mCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 u( Q$ ?5 G- z1 ] [
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary j" K8 E: O/ W
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# n2 U& `. f0 V( l. R8 a
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese5 o( M2 U; \1 Q! D
flag hang from the wall.. x5 R+ E7 c1 J
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one2 Q+ }6 [, {% H7 Q, d' h
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
& G) T8 d2 Z2 Z2 Y* rpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; ]: U# h; q1 X9 y1 \2 \3 v
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% [: q! q+ o6 R3 P* m2 n% c3 _are already choosing it over Spanish.! d' |$ ~& X1 U+ ]( q
% H2 a1 W1 N7 S"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 {' Q" D' ], gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city: r2 k" r2 k y1 W% O; X1 W
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
# {" B. k [( z: t9 |: Kschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
0 _! ^' r j! P. E L) ]- ~to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 N2 R; X! G2 k/ u! Uone of its most difficult to learn.# a. { C5 A( O; ]/ K6 W# ^
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to3 Q6 Y% x% q8 v; ^: t3 u
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ H) ]9 E0 k7 G, H7 b' a5 X
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.9 A( k- [' z) h* R9 L6 i ~; }
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of! x/ P1 Y( N3 W' e5 }8 e
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: o$ H6 \( i% |4 j7 d
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ q; ?2 O4 q8 ^
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.( m1 c/ L, Y% A% I) S
( w; Y' P" Z) t% d" j6 NAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
2 U4 A( ?7 [ K5 T; sChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country9 E) D, }( q K: R- z) {& S2 r
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to3 x: O2 S8 I& I4 H6 l
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( P: ?0 v6 a# C. X$ C8 M! e
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 \5 Z( ]+ s4 n/ ~7 Q
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) a8 H4 S H' N a- Q/ |- z* c' [( n
# @- I7 `( {6 X& v. `' a. @"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: t" a* ~/ T! U: R! f- E
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ b# ^1 ]3 ?# n3 X
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
( d: j! }6 @: b9 }) t" Jcan."
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) S2 Z( O: o, ?3 x* g" IThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 q& G7 Z; Y' o5 melementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 k* a; Y' z( ?% O, e; gyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
! I9 y# A1 l, z$ E8 H7 I+ oInstitute in Washington., {# M4 z! q/ Z. g( X
2 X: x4 j" O" ^0 n"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
* j/ b7 T/ a4 l0 u+ Qaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. V# ~9 k% R( T9 o3 ^$ dMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 R5 L9 ]4 l4 `( }4 Nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: k2 T( r# }! r. d. m% u0 R( uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
* a1 a) P8 w; ?: t2 kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do." n ?) C/ ?' Y, L' i1 M
$ } Z& L+ Y0 D' T, SUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 {& _& }; v" [+ y4 Q9 @
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# S7 G7 I. i; G9 L$ w3 D: {: l# y( G" pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! i" t( {) w [' N3 xChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or& @. z% Q3 O. A9 i6 P
on weekends., v3 [ n8 k+ y7 j( f) M
# ?) a: {8 `$ z# ^% HThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public' p' \$ W$ y' e1 X. a+ `5 Y& Z8 j
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves: A. Q: U2 T' L5 \
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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- G% ?0 f2 M' K+ h$ M1 k: V* wMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 `, l) Z5 O$ fproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the$ Y6 V$ _9 Y4 X5 P
competition. . ^* l) v0 n8 l1 q/ F7 b- b) D# M
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley$ o. T* F% ]# M6 L* o i
said. "There will be Chinese and English."! H0 H, D' W# d
! N* L0 q6 d! V2 W- o. l! VFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
* u2 a9 T6 O: O! o0 ~; d- ?all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse( o& w; Q* G1 ^. W; Z* m
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
3 v' O0 N( c+ N0 R: ?- h/ {# a: ^kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: ]) J3 o. V( T: R
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
9 K) s. _$ R; O& Fthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( q) I3 f; V9 o0 o# X# O7 s
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
7 d) F b" @2 d2 Lclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" h, R" B4 b( |& t& j3 N- v
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
E# t1 @; J Z% N! t K* Hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet0 |, k9 O# s' E+ z4 U( b
on an equal playing field."
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0 A4 h2 b7 r8 `- o* a/ FSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese- c8 F& [9 Y4 r& y3 M+ w
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
8 W4 z- M% r p; VService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; r. h; H, k' P; ^* BChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" v1 h% }6 w5 r& paverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
0 k" N1 K. _: p+ ~Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 B* \3 B: d* ` h. g/ {) @& J$ cinstitute says.7 A$ N( X D+ {$ {# d G
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ P0 X: |! E; C" F. G \! Y
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 p5 p, Z% u7 C
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she! R& A6 T& {: ]0 t0 g% e
told her daughter.* |! x) Y. q/ L% J# n0 z, G
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% f4 U+ N3 s! A( l; Y, vclass.! r8 O) t; l- G$ a# }
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
3 ]) L1 O$ g1 G7 K. U4 Wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
3 j( d; q* f; h y) R! _5 @occasional frustration.& Z4 o) R' ^1 `$ F& S' H
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ b; F7 X- f; G' H4 y' D4 {) K' E& |& yrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he: M" b/ I! q7 Y0 D* M- j
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with S' v- t/ o( [7 U9 O( x9 j! y' a
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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( z; f2 f( q; D; K"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul M( T, V- m2 }1 [& n
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn% i* \8 F; B* X8 U& b7 h) [
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the6 f9 b" {* n/ X/ p! L! Q
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job/ B3 ]( M1 m1 A$ h( U0 A8 {4 v9 A
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
4 N+ s$ z3 m4 pthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
4 r' T( S1 i) _ K: {( fhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 J9 J6 v! F1 \2 U( V3 [
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
1 P1 ]! ~7 _- E/ W3 y9 |! G8 s3 k4 O ]time from classes like physical education, music and art to make6 L ^1 l4 a( ]3 W
room." p1 S: R* i; I+ F1 g7 I+ U
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
; U$ j4 s* [8 z" w3 }Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; n% ]! H9 V5 b! _
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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+ u% |# \( c8 f; L. N2 }& I, @"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ j& R3 V- K! r* t, c Ybecause of that missing certification," he said.8 _* S: j, I t/ L" s+ E7 [7 |
! F. C' `9 D' A' `: p/ b( tThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,7 h U, t. D) p; `
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
; z! t4 X5 I( G, X; k' V2 \5 m2 iSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
1 |/ \7 B# m9 K3 HChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
# z; W/ \9 N+ D$ @; s+ \the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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8 n9 v" a# o7 ^; R4 J$ U"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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