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October 15, 2005
5 g! V; I; c. b/ f" r) [Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity6 R6 }7 A1 b$ t; U! I9 r( [
8 N6 Y( t, k( N9 T) Q0 W& r: zBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the4 W( w3 Q( _- D) b4 ~# h
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. r2 _1 j6 C) v' f8 q! R
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ n2 h8 U" r( w
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 R4 ?& t% o6 o0 Wflag hang from the wall.
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5 m9 B; v* X5 c- \7 g# d8 I/ jOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" p% P" `1 {5 f& _
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders# K' U0 N" L& C+ O9 L' _ m
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker" i# S+ y" C$ c, {
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# h* O m8 u0 ?* J
are already choosing it over Spanish." _4 m6 c+ x8 U/ t
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 ?: X2 U% c! r/ r4 v; ~at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 `( b/ ~+ t+ f; W: Z6 F# j* V, S8 M( moffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."! z1 H* f4 p; R2 }3 m
: {0 x7 x/ v) U. L! H6 T& BWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
. }. U T7 x* r7 \: N8 G# \2 [schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
# U: ~7 |- e# n7 bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
+ Q. |0 s" k3 X% \one of its most difficult to learn.6 c0 \& b' g/ a. N
# [4 d8 P' r: _/ B/ f* `$ `Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" X+ J! ^% N8 {. r, hpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students. v* W! f! s8 R# y. I: A
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 y5 l( @* K- g) |. LLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
3 U e3 y# \$ R9 F9 z( G! pTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& ^# n8 p/ v4 T& f' u
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to5 B3 ^8 H0 A) e" S* H
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.9 ^; p+ m5 i% {# ]- X1 R2 J
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ t: l( ]$ X/ _ XChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country# f: j6 q. B* _0 i0 X" ^0 S7 a4 ^: u
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, z- A( R) `6 T# b4 Tdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" W1 X; q: Y/ \curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director% c, m: l2 A) g+ f
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
]3 b, w% z1 espeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
2 N3 r `' r1 l. E. J# Y1 `Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from9 _* M/ B1 A4 q# ~4 j( m) w
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10% Q6 P8 _3 A6 h& U! ]& N* Y6 |
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
. \ ]( _$ L/ `Institute in Washington.( d* P! Y$ O5 p
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages: I1 N6 N5 S6 \$ r
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
+ o; {7 Q4 Y$ C- b: c9 B7 I( {McGinnis said.! V/ x8 J1 U2 z
; {! E6 P% W( j4 _9 D# o' t"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ H* z: o9 L: C/ d
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% l3 t! j6 D! W/ H! j6 Lready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a- P6 O4 N. G) l; W
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
& |/ R: ~! p( H. f/ x2 I# J- hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in* j; E$ r( J, s# y' M# {
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of0 b. p8 b+ F2 I7 f8 @ h4 U
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
, ^" w" C- }& C& I5 |on weekends. C( Z8 t. x7 q) Z7 D
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 f4 v& Y( M$ d5 V5 ]
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, y& N4 l- e- E ]students who are not of Chinese descent.+ }) H4 s3 W+ [9 W0 ?8 o1 z
M7 J) Q+ y5 e8 m VMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; g5 _4 }) d* @- q5 a; Z" u9 T( g3 m
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 E3 \9 M, l+ c/ y8 [
competition. ( B% R5 t& x8 P9 g% ~4 S
$ F5 b1 M7 h0 A2 u% z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 m% x1 C3 w# P. V8 x% o) q( U
said. "There will be Chinese and English."5 b9 y* k1 n2 O) j+ C
' M2 q$ A/ L) ]0 g5 i* vFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, x6 P$ e- f3 X+ |& G) Tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 v* H( O7 {" {1 P# K' n% Gschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from& M& [* y2 M! w) A5 Y) Y8 T m& |
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 \& x% _. t) L$ c' q' `; C
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, L, m, a! M$ `- E0 H& cthe school system last year.
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4 U3 R) D( f' f H" Y) q: |& hThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
; v, a& N! H2 pyear 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
0 [. ^; Q3 D$ J! Q% I' i. D6 G! @classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' N& l. D' J9 o) Q) w7 Z k0 d
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 E! t& N8 r( }( f; V/ y3 v
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
0 l& Z! Y3 b Q2 X) p, c% j- I; Hon an equal playing field."8 W5 j( \7 l3 c- }' H; D
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
' C( i$ z# H' f; u5 ]; M I7 Nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" q6 Y8 p1 Y, f% r- M
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( {5 J3 w8 N# U1 D5 f! ~- ?Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
# }1 X4 g- `& Z$ b/ faverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
) J+ f( U: W1 J8 C2 R9 m, z& ?3 QChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the4 B0 U6 t4 g3 J
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth' { C$ Y) \# Q; }* {3 r' B
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before" ]( o3 r% X) X% R. @% @6 G& D
deciding whether to take the class.. u$ w/ I- Q# f9 s. z" b# U3 \& p
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she7 ?' Z$ p$ t |6 D
told her daughter.. G9 u, [( b2 G6 g/ z- F. j9 v
3 O- n% U9 n) u7 e I8 }Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
c/ R* z$ E, @& Mclass.5 N2 i4 G6 @" ?7 p
; i$ \+ O, q0 M0 Y& O& YAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' f. u1 O0 T/ }. Hstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: n: a# Y8 b% u4 Z, I5 W
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
( g; T3 U0 Z. h& _& X' a: t4 lrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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+ C8 e/ O8 f/ C# Z7 ^Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
# {9 O3 D p6 u% d$ R7 U* F- L& l7 Wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with& q8 Y* ~ Z- U& c: S p+ G1 ^/ F5 g
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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& W& F6 ^" Z; U"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* `5 Z7 D& p9 |6 k) ]said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn; t$ J1 W' N# c: q" i
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
1 M1 S% [. Z2 J+ h& r1 y9 xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
0 d2 U3 L( ]$ l/ K( h) |' _. kmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
$ i) z0 [+ t$ B" i; A# h! N. @! |that," Ms. Freire said.3 B2 q; C4 {: ~$ X) ?6 q" B
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 f1 C6 e9 n7 e' Ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
G- q2 h2 O8 p& E. m8 zschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( p9 f. m( T* ~ T
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make$ M- @- m0 h7 n4 S) b( ^; ~; W1 `
room.
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- O6 y6 A+ Y) cChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
: G; k+ [: K& o2 H A8 [Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American! m7 F; M5 o% R- A
college, 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 qualified6 ^7 j% ], h0 ?5 c& |
because of that missing certification," he said.1 N9 j& w2 ~2 D) _0 F, |
" |) l0 V5 j9 x3 K: }The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,- [2 A0 Q% C0 q; O. l( A
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
; m) x/ N0 ]1 N1 F1 L0 `$ c0 ^- ~Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
1 _7 G4 y5 Y# l8 d% w/ |Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from7 F9 |8 `$ O# D; r0 u
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 c% d9 Q+ j% E
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our! Z; W6 f6 u/ T, [; \, m. G
own."- K& {' w: L, O3 @/ L9 J# e
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