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October 15, 2005
! W3 Y) R$ J1 J2 kClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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) w( r* c& @0 O- i* X; nBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING8 @2 P5 S2 g4 Y
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the1 e2 c9 E a% v! D `) d7 m
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 ~. o' m+ l" @4 \$ ]
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; w# K. b7 }, [ |. t. Udangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) Q6 J# {* F- h @( |' X. p T+ ?
flag hang from the wall.3 t; n5 J6 u, w8 J5 w
' N( [+ O7 }' o* G, s0 NOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one# [# L8 ]8 q1 u5 A0 a7 K, ^2 C
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders" Y' A" u9 {3 U0 g: c4 O' P) d
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker8 |: s$ i! R" K
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students& e3 ? |3 s7 Z- U% J
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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/ \8 q3 \7 ]$ V4 [, y0 F- x"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal+ l! }5 M. U! b9 L
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
) C" a/ q. p1 N5 B: r) u( u: t9 hoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: R, K- X, ]- [$ |
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings: m6 v/ K) |' B: {4 }; m% F
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
u3 u9 W7 b3 @) T mone of its most difficult to learn.! c4 A# Q% q' e& T: {. ]4 F
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* Q$ Q. ~% {3 G# @public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students* u8 H9 M$ @" {3 p# Q6 [ z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.# N9 }$ e' ~/ R0 v7 ?2 A8 @+ G- g
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of! u8 {! i$ S) `8 L9 C1 {0 J, P
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on" c6 ]2 v$ H& W! C5 j% ?/ d
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 l( N. W" H( i D
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.5 {5 l, E) a# O9 u1 q
) c! I" S& C3 k' IAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
@' s) m4 ^& D- q% HChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
* e- O* }3 \; S, g: ]starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to1 N" d1 i2 E( m. U) i1 X- ~4 [
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ q& V0 S9 g- |2 y/ P2 c* Mcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& j8 ~6 v/ k5 ]of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.; u7 }4 b/ K5 s9 s
3 w! P% W$ }# |"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; c" V ?7 L0 f( A7 uspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 q9 Q0 a, i* c* G4 C- R
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we0 Z- L* f( z' k3 j, B/ B$ @
can."
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% r, X3 J" O* Y& ]% DThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from* z* @4 C! x$ B" t
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: G3 w2 L" ^5 \9 R+ d5 Jyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language: t7 a- k& k9 w+ I$ G
Institute in Washington.. r/ r( I5 Q0 z" `7 Q; \: X1 E
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
/ Q, p l1 O3 F9 A$ h0 G% {aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. y. t% z) s2 \McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& A8 T; O8 |: p( O
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 T1 ^6 c$ h, Z" _+ D8 @, pready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. D: z) [6 J$ r7 K( {5 G$ q' \challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") n2 v V. L1 }6 H& z
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and) t) ^9 ?& S' `
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in* ?) P, j& T8 B4 S; B1 ?# s
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ w" s; n' }3 ?6 VChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or# ^1 q7 p9 M% v9 O6 E
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public; U& z @5 c1 C s2 V4 _4 z1 f
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves3 O% U8 H) l4 z2 d# @; I
students who are not of Chinese descent.# `& @ x$ H0 G0 x( W" A& T. z/ ?
. j- m# u9 p; i( R! k7 B, NMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, m1 F: `8 T1 D- x7 ], j2 Gproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the2 u. k' z. x% M& [. }" x! c
competition.
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) v5 K, j, f1 |! t% g6 Y9 \"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
) A+ @0 v$ [! S* t' r0 z. jsaid. "There will be Chinese and English.") x& `3 Z& V2 Y. X0 t u7 J/ c
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 h! F* q" B9 q1 mall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ U0 e6 L( C' I2 `! B4 V5 A3 Pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from9 D S' W# {' y; M% d
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% ^2 r# n8 V5 Gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, S( N" m6 Y( c9 B/ W9 y; |2 gthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 G2 G/ w) m! _5 Hyear 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 O# ?! D3 O. N6 X* a
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 V4 x2 P; u; kChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* W/ G3 x% @) X, ?$ m4 ^& _; Ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
' Z F( W B; S* F. u1 _on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: ]5 d8 v) y/ S% u$ K2 Z Mclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
|0 N5 M9 g$ B3 u. o$ ?2 k) ?% xService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks5 E* L: ]# `% v$ i& u" E$ f
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 B5 s0 _- }) ]. l4 L/ `! n
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in I# t9 {0 M- j+ t0 b$ ^
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
4 y1 M" p: M" n* p1 zinstitute says.' E) E* N1 O+ h7 ~" N/ h1 P
0 Z' ~, l4 r# v" fSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 Z! l9 d' a: P0 [! ]4 D. _* xgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 ]* ~1 [( }, |# q4 c7 S, c8 U8 B; gdeciding whether to take the class.
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. `# H3 P7 N1 ^0 S, J"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. N+ O( ~' } X3 O' A. t5 ~told her daughter./ y6 N# ^; D* T7 Q! v; }
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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2 q' ~; ?2 ]6 b/ x tAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are2 t3 N5 [2 I0 }0 y
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
/ }- z' a B2 Z5 e) Loccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
5 ], O) Z. V D9 A8 J1 Jrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 r% O \1 B8 v) x+ G" ]& _" d
0 u: V7 t8 ?5 G- a% SRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 U# {4 z, N7 D# ?5 Y, r7 e
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 H# b+ j6 K2 r) D9 q7 c# S
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.3 b$ Q+ ?5 }! T5 T& u) \$ x( u$ J7 i
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ Q1 ^+ K) @+ P, y8 W! {
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn! `8 c0 i2 L, ?5 v! N4 R
as many languages as I can."# R" d2 H3 Q% ]6 _7 L& x' d2 ]9 c
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& k6 J$ Q+ Z( @3 f- y
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- X2 ]: h) `) T# R) O7 s
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
2 B. E5 B2 ]" a: x9 E2 Mthat," Ms. Freire said." G+ _ M+ v. A5 ^4 S7 f6 {
+ m2 V1 N' [7 P. H9 _Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) L: D( B* p# H y+ Uhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
9 P9 V1 S1 |7 J5 {school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
$ K6 c3 c( i& m% rtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make/ u- w5 }/ {$ l# s0 H4 E' }0 z! }
room.% B! \5 l+ N: C% \1 k
8 B; o, v5 `; [- U7 q; v: `9 }Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
: ^: d) ^5 F) f& P7 b" ~" vChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ U1 j! K4 F8 m+ |+ j
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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/ D/ E8 Z( l2 H0 z7 W% k* n: c"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
* i2 O* N, K" h2 I; r nbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* o. U, I, C1 P, p$ L# T! ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
2 `* `! O* @9 e9 zSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 v' K, Z% @$ r5 U& X) Q4 m E! e" RChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from M# o, H! X9 o" T$ Z2 v2 f! d; z
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; G+ a: T: d. q4 F3 t4 R
5 O6 Q5 ]6 a9 k: I6 W"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 u2 ]# @& i; \- Q( B' h
own."
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