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October 15, 2005
/ J. c4 u, z: C* k8 v# W* p2 f+ QClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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0 w3 l& g7 k% s; I% RBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING9 A9 @9 X' }4 R. s+ ~ y
, T' G* X3 r7 N6 Z8 I8 ]CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 j4 e! C$ y3 d* \' r, O
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary( F8 t: Z0 Q f( V& q/ S
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
) T; [7 ]+ k$ I0 Y S9 j4 fdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ j7 k- ~% ~: k5 f5 `3 x* r( @flag hang from the wall. G2 o5 y) l' t, c
5 @/ q2 H: Q' Z- Z; q& WOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 O5 a+ c+ N/ f
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
9 V1 E' p" g1 O" X! ?+ fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, {5 k [7 r# @8 W$ r) q& m
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 D) \- n5 o* n" X' e# s
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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2 t1 z% A( B5 p7 I9 h"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal% G" ?) R6 Z) L! N/ _$ I; k
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 z& f/ q8 `% b, H# C9 ~- m6 koffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" E+ V- y: r( T5 U8 Q2 O
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* Z; |. x& M' C6 O
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
+ x9 |% w0 R. R) Qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 [* P( _, _8 c9 ]
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
) }# N! }( T8 qpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students5 h# W7 l& }: x* h7 \
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 b7 W# Y5 }, z% _0 ELieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
& F+ [8 F9 k' ]" X1 |6 w8 a0 rTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
! m: h$ x/ F7 L7 l z3 [Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! r B9 f8 u6 t1 Himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.6 {) Y6 x' `' y: A
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement/ R; L9 ~7 @! ~: B9 Y' S$ j q( V
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
$ W- j: I- h' U+ p3 Qstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to6 r& H, r. T" Z; Y2 z/ E
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% o% b" L% x: v" Tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& }; u: x: r0 e2 v3 }# Yof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.; m5 H: r* M7 c* `/ {
5 ?4 X6 u# e* z: W1 r$ I/ w"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
" `( k8 g2 y) x3 g* c" m* fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
E1 ~3 A+ j- aConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" ~ X* e( Q+ |( y, ?7 Ucan." + ~; ]: A3 b1 z
5 i4 w! S: S) E' u" d& PThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from' G9 r- ^7 L6 z$ r7 n/ X6 K
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
8 H3 L& U( L1 |$ ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
, P7 @1 X, g m3 `Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 N4 \( ~7 D3 F% n% _ Faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.' ]2 P6 d( K) z3 m' A1 x
McGinnis said.
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' Z& g6 o. l$ o! {* i4 ^* v"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
7 T* H$ |! t3 G2 y0 {" Y/ o8 elongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ e) I+ Z. J* f3 [$ `
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
, R7 O" Q1 O, _% N4 S) hchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 j' g2 O3 Q3 ~ }) L: O. a* i
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
: k/ `/ J* Y9 U! fsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in$ b0 z/ n& f% U. P4 z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
1 J; u( F' F# M" a7 X% pChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or+ n0 R. \, l& X: u; p3 w- m
on weekends.' |2 S2 O, S5 {0 v) l
; E# E" l+ G1 A. TThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 r! L' _! A% U8 `! x8 ^. e+ I$ U
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 G( F6 {% _1 L7 ]- R: ~+ Zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; Z+ F( O; x4 U9 Y" f
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
* @$ D! H) n/ T2 d( v pcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley. p4 Y: v0 S: l& ~' Q# Q7 e
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly8 J i7 A/ K5 S
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% p8 G7 A, t+ b
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# J' v" R2 ~/ y9 t3 i2 Qkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
" j, V# ?1 p- r: D" A3 Y4 Xwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 k. m1 s) _. }the school system last year.
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s( s6 l" u/ e# t% o0 O( fThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 x% X6 C& r1 Byear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.8 x0 A0 F, ~' e' v1 r& } Q
8 ^1 ^1 t( I' Q$ W: R, f5 W"They have a great international experience right in their own
. s$ n( o+ i, Zclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
: T" M4 ~+ S$ d: ~Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
- J' ]3 X2 J9 b! I$ r% c0 L" r$ e6 Fhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
5 n9 H& j+ Y, ~. F# Ron an equal playing field."
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o8 S$ u4 K; I& |$ r+ P* s- }& q* QSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& n7 }0 Q/ [/ i+ Cclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 w1 c w( S1 w0 y% B& NService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
+ ^, {0 z8 g# _: _' t9 qChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# K* P/ l# t$ L: t0 e
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
: ~, T4 k k) [8 T0 u! A' yChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
" f- U3 n1 o, A2 c3 j4 rinstitute says.
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6 K3 o* H" q8 n2 B! FSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* n; Y) v$ A% f# Hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
& M( ]; A( }% n) ~3 X @& u( @0 sdeciding whether to take the class.! g1 o9 {5 Q6 _& U5 J
0 e5 {$ W- f3 {/ d/ M$ }8 S1 ?9 r, d"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
8 R1 ^& d; l6 l) l1 N4 Ttold her daughter.$ |/ G. M; _$ i
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# Z/ Y; a$ O1 Y
class.( T; t+ W# ~+ F) G2 X3 V- Z3 b
6 j5 \ C4 `2 ]At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are7 V2 U$ x: A" T: W& t
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 d+ u9 O$ q* O. B) I
occasional frustration.7 N- h0 X5 }( F% ?4 Q+ e' u
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a" |3 g8 c9 j6 z7 v$ w3 H, T* _
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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% u% o; W3 x& Z% f# }# gRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! Q. A: G& I6 `) e; x" |% V7 k( V5 Mtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: O0 g/ ^+ C0 v2 R
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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' t7 \/ `; `3 ["Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
! R$ z) [! L1 J3 g# T6 n; x- Rsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 H0 G f2 f. ]6 N
as many languages as I can."
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! L* i* R' S' G- NAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 B4 _0 @. O' r# o* o l4 ?; ~! jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ a1 b: x6 d) s0 D* [' E/ c; T2 t( Z
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ Y0 I8 o" F0 Q& \
that," Ms. Freire said.! ?* m7 n7 A8 l
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, \* o9 X8 r4 S; p# C
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ ^$ z3 q- S" @5 f l2 ^6 m
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking8 _; `' [$ }/ ^; a* q% C1 e
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: B& Q7 Q( L8 v2 G1 f2 x
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
3 ~% E5 G9 @) w5 h; Q* T6 [$ G) P; IChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 t. b$ N+ d8 n) | u
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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- ]; b2 I/ D+ Y }8 H6 `"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ b# Z( }. K- L/ Q: p2 `
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,: O6 f [* J$ ?$ e# B/ ] Y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
9 I7 g% K8 a# ^8 L- E$ oSociety in New York.- t A6 t$ V: f! C
7 B9 g2 [ W4 U' e- y6 c9 s7 {/ Z5 |Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% v+ g% P1 Z" b
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( L" f& K) u6 R* n5 P" w" I; o4 fthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.( t. q# [& R3 o% d4 D# n
! L$ r/ b' v. C9 ^ Q"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
5 F- W+ ~0 p& _- ^. Jown." ]( \+ I8 J' Y# O: l1 o
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