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October 15, 2005
1 Z( v2 \$ f$ u3 u2 @, m7 J2 ^1 kClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING, z4 [ U. x- k) o- j# w8 r
! \6 L0 F3 k8 R. N) VCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the' N- y9 i- t1 C: ^/ J
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
2 I7 L& v0 Q. l0 C5 S9 U, u5 YSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; q; a6 s9 V$ H$ a2 d' p. z4 `dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese* w/ b" L7 X4 G! [
flag hang from the wall.
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/ I, b" L( R6 Y3 F- E; G9 xOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one1 [ B7 h! D; j) }, e; u
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, @0 Y+ I5 X- M6 o- n* R3 V
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker j5 J+ m9 C) n/ p/ \( F6 M
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 Q+ N& {) b) Uare already choosing it over Spanish.
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' t7 P8 f" ~+ N! L7 h7 B"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* a* J* P$ W; c) t" v Q) vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ A) ^4 N( C: {2 i+ U J4 I1 L
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 \' L9 s- m; M8 _7 [+ Q& L1 Q' |3 n
* E- z( u, s4 p2 a, E; T- uWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& D, X2 K* x* M1 \5 [
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 m3 }6 x6 Z8 [+ I: |) D/ X R$ Fto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention2 X( X' ~5 r* I, m# v3 ^$ l8 w6 u
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
! s0 P' H @& s1 D: T, Q$ `public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! m+ [4 e" v0 O4 ]) |
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 |0 Q$ H( |- M3 R3 Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 ~5 m, l" }5 M, w8 B4 ATennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on! Q& ?' [1 }$ u( l5 d4 S; l
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 Z% |" X* x6 X8 P- v+ Qimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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$ W7 {. O+ p' k1 d8 k9 X2 M! @After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement6 j+ G2 S. a/ ^& ], z% Q
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 x$ `5 s( Y+ b2 h4 U
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
2 S7 p3 p" m k$ v8 s+ q7 {; q; g6 s8 C Mdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ F6 l9 Y+ w0 ?4 \curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
" P: p0 P. o) h$ O# ~1 k/ M0 ~+ Tof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
8 _0 q* `5 K, zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ Q2 z) k/ C6 K
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we4 L8 i; x- J f
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from1 D& H8 H. i1 o, l1 E# g
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10! J* }7 w# v' P1 Z) @- _% ^
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' [% r8 [, Y/ l/ f0 l. {. H
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages. a; p1 \/ |; N- _
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
' m6 I) K0 Z7 VMcGinnis said." L1 y2 [* u8 D* g2 |/ f! w
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 J$ O1 [7 I4 R$ ^, W: S2 m. p8 Y; E
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 i6 N( m, u/ ?. I
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 z* m* {/ K2 @8 O( U0 q! Vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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; J/ R% U8 B9 Q8 u$ OUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
E; z, B' T& d" Y2 lsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in6 p: ?7 O- j" [0 G- A% l' c5 c2 a
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of3 e: h/ Q) I$ S! U. A/ n
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
; A" T5 v# a S; ^9 Xon weekends., C8 A4 S, R: d p
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" @4 a! G$ A! B. e( O& Bschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
# _+ f4 @7 s0 X7 X. U) Vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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1 a) }" c+ j( W; P8 w. cMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 d1 l9 `& k9 f/ G+ q/ mproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the0 P: M/ {6 e/ O. |
competition.
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+ U7 p" H% C. u6 y5 ["I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 ?0 p& s; m- z1 V) |7 gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."/ [( [( q% w: `- R
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. D5 |- A$ X3 M
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse* `6 O% `% m3 T; h; e0 v( Q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
1 w$ R; q: A" |) J( [5 L* ]3 tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
" Z0 ]/ E0 t+ o. X! G/ d5 o2 d+ @who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to" l8 O/ H; y0 }
the school system last year.
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}2 Y/ k) J0 |, B+ l$ G8 u, zThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
5 P z, _8 R2 n( [# f6 K7 Yyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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0 {6 |4 e4 ~" b* W: u"They have a great international experience right in their own
4 A# U1 I, P- T4 `0 f% }classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
& B3 p/ a5 A' M( V uChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" `/ \. ?- {' P% J1 @ I% H c
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet! G1 h. E$ {+ k4 @
on an equal playing field.". M/ S5 A8 [, z1 h+ D+ d a7 x
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: t9 O/ [* P# eclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
0 O# h$ |0 R4 e! G a `Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 g" H' B; j! }4 t; W" R% CChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 a7 |, R$ h; g
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in d6 e9 t" @! ], v
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
7 Q! D' e- v Z0 U- r! M, y& u& oinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 Y; A( ?1 X, P+ K Z( `' h" Dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- _" g0 s+ N& f" y
deciding whether to take the class.. {4 l# a# w- n z( {2 `
}9 K4 r9 Q5 d G"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( U$ [" j# ?7 E6 @$ y" N) _- N
told her daughter.
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! r& b8 x, K; G3 _Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
& J3 ]' u* F4 oclass.8 Q( h, x* t. ? G S6 [' [
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 Q& h+ K; F% T" G& t5 ] J3 a
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 E# K7 X: b5 x% Y
occasional frustration./ T$ { L6 Y1 e' P! x
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# i) [0 b, b- |1 _' z/ w/ [
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.- J9 X1 ?0 f! h1 f7 L: _. s& A6 E
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
1 n$ T, u- X; P9 |0 Q3 [. {taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with0 m# n' T, {0 H" k' q0 g3 y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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& e) W) b4 a$ H5 Q"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
% p( c8 M. N4 w, @said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 F4 u! \0 J& Las many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the9 Q8 G: P; @3 T z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job1 t$ N% o& j# X/ x8 v
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like7 p: k" ], x5 g4 f. h; c B5 U
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: M! B! u# r O* L: B# k. Y- B0 Chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each+ q( m9 @& C5 ]2 c1 |$ B. L- D
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 n5 X; v: h d# ^5 a
time 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
* k9 I& ^, ~- h8 @( _Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American( \3 `7 |, B$ T0 p9 G" F
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ s" c5 K2 E. D6 `: b+ j
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified' b5 ]! W: \! g9 a: c1 h" Z
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
: Q9 M& @ k! i# ~said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia! o4 j0 M# K$ u4 { V; \! y$ y
Society in New York.
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. T' Q) e s' k) y6 F3 ASix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ m# ~& [6 Q9 qChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from P: [6 m/ O5 H/ f8 ?) L# e; T
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our! E' \5 R3 H" c
own."5 q8 r4 |1 h# H+ r2 W6 C
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