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October 15, 2005
: H( W: w% a5 \5 pClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 I* I$ F, d) S, k5 b3 V0 d
) \* M" o" T8 B4 a, qBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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- d0 X5 @% }. r7 Y% X8 C% Y' N+ J/ [CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& H& N1 q# h: N. e, U5 r- X
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
2 ]& t) `) ]! ySchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
" U" U$ p W* ?. M& Fdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese6 e# q* B" ]* P- {1 K+ e
flag hang from the wall.# i4 r6 O) e+ M' P( f! H+ b0 L
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one; b! U- V4 X7 q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
0 V2 U/ h: C) P J2 q3 M4 ipracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 k6 L& x& {8 V+ k( ]4 \! uboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" t0 n# s e ^2 o/ U9 C9 T: @7 @
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: ]6 o, t! W3 w! h
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, A! w( ~; @; A! X* b
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."+ V# I# Q/ C* n% w4 j/ B. y
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,* e. c5 w# y7 R
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" U, d9 w1 s" L" S% X- P3 t
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 v6 N/ j5 W) |
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
, j; J6 ]5 e0 {2 x8 Z C, [public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 h2 ^/ y- B& C) O6 H# Gstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
3 d2 ^3 [% i. `# f* M. V8 y" z$ TLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
9 j5 q3 ]- x* f" K! RTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on7 Y1 n8 a/ h, a8 p& K2 @2 _9 E
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to4 d! K- j5 m; G& a! w2 U/ ^/ `
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.2 P( D# B, Z7 R( d0 ~
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
3 @# {4 |. r& l8 o* L9 dChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country' N5 {8 D+ O& N, N
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
2 I7 n& d* i M J$ D8 ?1 xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing& G: _( i# a3 |+ ?" E/ f9 j# e" n
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
8 E. B. X. e$ i) M: J w/ Lof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- o1 ~, N' ^% S- _ ^& Y8 k/ P
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
, V6 P) c |, I, Z6 `Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
$ r1 a# z, S! a3 J/ | Ocan."
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. l* e+ p) N4 j1 S4 hThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 p& [$ x4 Z; j" a/ qelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, a6 c+ X- Q) t7 H1 Z! z
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language2 j+ t5 K' `$ B# n' K
Institute in Washington.! a. g1 S) V$ D8 p) O# p
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* ?' Y2 ^/ u+ i" a* c/ u
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 x w0 s1 _2 W" Q8 F7 ]* A
McGinnis said.
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$ N1 _' K6 D1 v+ k, A$ Z"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical t; X3 t% U1 E* A$ B4 P
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be! V0 B6 {8 q! Q& m+ F- s
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
& ~2 l0 P" `$ U8 ?challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 x1 I( G; @ U9 \" dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
' f1 j& V2 c5 scities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' T3 F# A4 m% X# f7 w$ HChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or8 T# }3 L/ M( r e) x7 T9 S
on weekends.
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: r R2 h' e/ U1 H, n3 rThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 G" c0 {6 V; V0 K1 f: V
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves* P. I A- j- y% W) r( x
students who are not of Chinese descent.3 g0 Y% J3 i0 t
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
0 E* [" ?% }4 s4 P: l% A0 W- J8 @proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ e2 i7 i+ N: p9 z- k2 ~, Ycompetition.
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" }7 g3 m. c" y& q" T5 I: \; W0 {"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley- U3 {4 X F( E0 C/ x
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
; z3 Q$ Y' `) x& D' qall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
% E3 ~) p) i6 a, Yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& |/ G3 U) }" f, ekindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
8 l& L! r' ?9 y! N6 n9 {+ ^& X8 Pwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& ?; z3 W( c7 Bthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
1 h+ W7 }4 M7 y: Gyear 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
; J! j" q2 I! e8 Aclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago0 B* o; ]' G9 o# W/ Q
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) H. m. Z3 C) d5 q; v" Ahelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* `3 b# j$ G/ y1 Q6 U0 @
on an equal playing field."
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1 _) j' e6 o/ ]0 |' qSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! O5 z8 y2 a% a- c. v( Wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- i i1 ^& U: }+ o7 zService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 r( X5 N5 G. v1 w, p
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An5 O& Q/ D. W& m( I- N
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; L* H, Y5 b0 D
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 e' h2 _( _5 W1 M% A8 j
institute says." O( q8 n0 f3 l6 W h
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" Z- F# m4 n/ G
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before$ Y# _% h9 t g: h
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( ?! z' ~% Q! Z9 ]
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ n1 [' [- X8 Y# D' I! B5 j
class.8 M0 k: ~8 Y4 z" s) Q" f
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are! E! C5 Z3 L$ T3 x- D
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- V% h2 Q/ Z+ ^: o# w" @
occasional frustration.5 r+ o( T. w! h- F/ q
# v! @4 t; D% Z3 A! x"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 ?" r, } Z b- C' Mrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ L; Q8 t o0 N
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
' {) X6 _8 H- V! Q% L- w& \: R# w1 aChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.+ G, ~5 R, p! A3 R
" @5 d( K- X5 @! i* |) S! R"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
" K V2 N5 h8 ~8 X! m' {said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn; b# p6 v8 r4 ~# v% P
as many languages as I can."; ?; N3 [5 h5 p9 T3 `8 D
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 g8 Y; A$ B! K, f5 R
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
4 q1 H1 _# O) k r/ Xmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like% `$ U4 A3 g; D' e) @4 k- v3 _7 x& t
that," Ms. Freire said." w5 c A# {' h6 m% V% x6 M
. \, ?# o, G) g: U" X& X( I; W5 KMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" K* ~: L1 L; [5 V1 yhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
$ D9 U4 e" D* g: L) T. T! A1 Lschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking7 c* H- W) ?8 L5 ?, I# B. G! F! k
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make6 E7 c4 k- [5 ^. v" G, B( U6 t
room.7 ?& g+ _- S& R
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 z, f; e: J( C: z. X8 MChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
4 T9 R1 Z. [% N- w4 Z6 lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 C5 |; M3 J* I) h
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified' K9 B- P8 T* B2 O5 [- k
because of that missing certification," he said.. A$ @0 K# g1 d7 X8 A$ V
5 ?% b. T( }9 P3 y3 q* H0 T' `% Z$ GThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( u* O3 b7 `/ \! ^( |3 s( f; I
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ e* F5 U! d3 [6 f. x5 l
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the$ D9 d7 } G7 Y1 D+ d( W5 j0 D' F2 p) g
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 C! J8 l }6 _( G" Y
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- Z, h8 r& g. m- f# E! D8 F
own."
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