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October 15, 2005
! d7 c' _: j9 }: Q' RClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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, S9 v5 i4 \- R$ {By GRETCHEN RUETHLING }( T2 F+ l9 }; a2 {1 P. m8 h& x* l" l
" M5 |$ \& S4 _4 M: `; _CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the' \/ m1 m U: K' C% r6 F
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary4 O$ ?! T' ?: b8 J h( O
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ ~! h9 t" X$ p c% C: ^
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 j# B8 @8 v( n6 B' {/ b' A
flag hang from the wall.
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' E7 N. U& m& n2 s* ~' S& iOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
& d% W" ~) C$ banother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders7 M; j7 N- X: l6 j, Z7 R# J
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
" u7 H8 ?1 q, w' \' Bboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
7 M7 S+ S, a O4 V' ?4 m1 Dare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal/ j* N4 E: J4 y" f7 \7 e! i
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city) G% i" ?) Q+ e" L8 h
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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T0 u8 H& Z6 ]- i( {With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
I# c% q, D* Wschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" ]& a3 T t: W
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention; S# _& ?; k0 s! n: B' T
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
4 |2 D# V" j ]6 npublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
! M3 _# O4 S, Sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.- `8 b/ o) [! }: p' Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
) X8 U' Y- E' fTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& z( c- t0 T$ o2 P: j. A
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 \: j7 T0 ?2 w. p5 C
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.& ^* ~6 N4 H4 ^* ~) k
7 {) |( u" }, o) cAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 ` _5 ?4 e/ w1 \( X
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; X8 q8 N' Y: N! Z8 Ostarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, S5 |7 h2 n3 U; j2 Ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
9 b1 `. V4 ~. p" K6 P8 P3 hcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director' ] w, C/ ^( A9 Q
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 e0 m7 s+ O5 F2 P1 p, }
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of4 F- }' y! [; R. l( V' p
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education2 J% S$ @6 Q O9 K' Z' i
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ v B8 j6 j& D5 C9 R* R
can." : w2 q8 ^) z6 ^0 b/ g1 O5 o
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from5 l! }1 f' J& _; F ?0 d
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
* H% x! C- O1 i6 U& e3 i; dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ S0 n7 L$ n _- k, MInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; o7 K. Y9 n, \aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.- _7 v: J7 h, }1 b5 w3 W! h
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical- {1 ? s( d5 Q h
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
- J: _4 ?9 j" g& s7 s; [3 L U/ \ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a+ y. ]4 p9 x4 {( K9 m7 a
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.": E6 R/ o. j" d$ S' s5 l2 ~7 v
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
; E# M- ^9 Q' c5 v( w. i+ ?secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in! V$ i' q8 _1 T# b
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 B% v$ P( v7 m( B( @3 I' LChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
! d" Y- O7 g) r; J, y& gon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
' R- _5 Y, n5 [& \* L! }* f9 ~schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
$ c( J& N0 r! ^' j3 m) P; Dstudents who are not of Chinese descent.3 ?8 i* u& t5 D' d- i1 ^
9 G7 I2 r6 {2 h5 C: F! yMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! G' l- ^2 }/ |# S% b; S$ v2 Dproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' b9 I) J1 U+ J. c
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley6 A& r& a6 N; n. L; \6 n
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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2 }- l9 s' j' zFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly* m7 X. K* B. o, N) i+ z8 l
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
7 H- L* S: M7 [4 c& `schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from \1 M& n( L2 Z/ [
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
9 x# w* q7 f# V; H( P3 Lwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
4 k1 M9 T- n) Z4 y6 u, X/ }, Q" u4 lthe school system last year.0 G6 E L5 {2 @' S. [7 N6 v3 A
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this a0 z- g2 a7 t9 ]
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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5 Y# ~2 f5 a( h8 H; n2 w"They have a great international experience right in their own
( p9 B! l8 U2 M2 {' iclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' a% n% O2 ^+ q& x
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
$ [$ b- _9 i# E l- |; |: T# |# Ohelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet' F& |' M) c( S8 d& R; S4 S& l' m
on an equal playing field."( y( ^" T8 R' `! u
' h% S, b; v% y7 bSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, M% T' r1 Y* ]7 W- u5 o; ~2 Pclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 k& g9 ^' g2 ~: M2 H0 EService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( K) S9 o1 p5 B. w2 g1 Z% F! ZChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& S% }8 V4 ?. O5 {& `& aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 V3 R/ z+ |7 f
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* Q2 [* r! b: B9 C
institute says.( i# y. q+ _1 f, B# I9 @' Q
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
! V9 h; Z& ^% I7 R, \, R, P( }grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before+ O0 M7 Q _* E4 X$ Z0 X- A
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 c5 M9 U* s1 V7 T+ Gtold her daughter.2 }# k/ h/ M! b- L4 H7 ~6 f
9 m% X6 H& ?; l; S& c0 m, @3 uSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
+ u z6 g, ?# vclass.3 L1 E+ O7 `8 V5 S# z
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
4 Y/ t$ V0 j3 fstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
p0 k. K3 ~8 U( s$ t3 H, Woccasional frustration.- Z* u/ K; i' @, N
% }! D E: u) X/ }2 k& p! O0 R"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
) S" t, M3 M' erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.. ]0 C' e0 `6 F, l+ p1 a: i! T
# o! }% ?& C, K) i7 s% u! ]* @Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
3 b3 h7 G' N. T/ x" [$ ~taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 F: f! X# }% \& ~' ~' {
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul6 I8 p( t( l/ a: ~0 X; ? O
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ X' h; c% F" H8 M. J; Kas many languages as I can."
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9 b4 Y% Q5 I5 _5 x# h1 g, z ~Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
2 n' q& d' A/ s4 Q. ^; A+ t7 S, V; fskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
: U: ^, R$ y! f( Tmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
7 n$ j: G' @! u _1 N+ a: J/ z5 kthat," Ms. Freire said.
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: Q. Z4 U9 i+ k/ R7 q( i( wMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
# U7 ]5 D8 v* T$ q4 `here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 J( j( M @0 m/ c% f3 Z
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) P: W7 B3 P+ b0 s3 r2 q5 _1 @time from classes like physical education, music and art to make4 e7 T n# {8 L( [
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% H6 `0 t5 `% i
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
: Q9 _/ G3 V6 vcollege, 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' t5 s" l6 K l+ n M- _% D* ~
because of that missing certification," he said.+ s6 K# e% r. X$ a* n0 H# S5 D6 L
- a e; S: `1 `! u- G# Y0 r" H, aThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,- Y; v7 \" \5 X6 m* T5 B
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' r) T! W* Z$ v* ~4 q
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' L( ^: m2 ]5 R8 M! |
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
% }/ ]0 i; r7 p5 othe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.3 C3 x7 i3 f* P9 a) _. w
+ W0 Q1 y4 I+ X1 [6 ]+ H( b"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
( x/ |4 Q* }) t3 x4 Zown."
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