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October 15, 2005
S3 j& Y0 P X( m; m5 _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity8 @- G+ q' P. Q: ~8 p2 G
5 V' `, D0 |+ G7 n& kBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the- ?& T. R6 c6 U# U
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( e4 {# r* P7 h Q9 |7 X1 ISchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
4 }7 v# S, `' n5 edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
* F$ v+ m4 i9 z' ~ B5 b: E2 Bflag hang from the wall.
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( ^# i" B% P" }% }8 ^0 lOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
! ?% ^& ^9 `) e* N' {9 ~, e$ l% tanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
2 o) A2 `" i+ l' u! H, C( _practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
. {, r; { `- a4 L7 pboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
; D5 q+ C1 w7 V' [are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
, ^# P) R) R# v7 C1 p, N' O' ~' F% jat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 o1 {' v9 q! B9 }) joffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 I4 ^, N) H g
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
; s, Z: n, P- |9 ~. nschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings/ W+ [ Y6 D) _* z! |& m$ ]
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ S. ^5 h |, l! c6 P$ Q* y1 A6 @one of its most difficult to learn.' {6 c% |# g6 I3 Q5 u
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to4 l. P% g# w& j; _) C! D" }% K% D
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students4 Y, c' |4 L2 n# _/ q4 X; } ^$ G
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.7 ~$ v- k7 J, Q6 I; n1 o, V2 z3 ]1 H
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% S* E7 D0 a0 A, e: iTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
& d8 j2 @ ~% d0 ]8 Q2 f) pChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 u) A( w' y1 q
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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/ x8 ?! O( M* E) R6 wAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
3 Z- {7 m9 ], F- X- h! e3 Y/ C" SChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country: w6 {3 \" K' l9 q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to2 V/ C! u" v2 ~: j6 _& M
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ h Z2 B: I [9 ?" ~! ?curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
@( ]8 T7 D+ q: u6 Iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. C/ n% l$ K0 L2 v: |! [4 t
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
X/ J8 x' z+ v5 t1 c# X4 rConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! m5 K1 p# a' u( [& D! a
can." ( F& n5 Z$ a8 f6 M% l
( w+ s6 ~& ~0 `# KThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from f! N* v9 R$ I" s
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' d, f9 ~; k1 u/ e, K1 R: ~/ l& \years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; b6 \6 v( L: ~
Institute in Washington.
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/ L. E. w8 ]+ L! \" X2 M"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# y c' K$ z) I% y) x" Earen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
* u0 s' K: N" q' v6 i, \McGinnis said.
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# z8 q& B( u1 l$ ]9 a6 }; d" k0 s"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
6 d: }9 e/ ~ Dlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
/ J5 Q! h/ F6 G$ F8 Z) Y, K6 Q2 kready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a0 ?6 b& y; [) j
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". F5 m) |" S9 M* S7 C. L
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
\/ R/ z( \0 e4 B" H+ u+ f. dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
3 k+ D Z% r( @( T- v" \cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of1 S$ G! {3 j- _7 d1 y
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 a6 |5 j; }/ Z5 w7 n
on weekends.! o) p# R3 F) _
. X0 j! W3 t6 c. z$ {The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* f' k" b4 p+ j9 R' P, dschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
/ w) U' c1 B: @ a) tstudents who are not of Chinese descent.3 `; P8 W% }: B3 J( h% ]
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 \/ h9 }6 ^" Hproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the L/ \! y/ y, T
competition. 6 q" Q6 K: O, d% @8 ]
. P9 V ?& f4 t" m! C"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley: H5 J5 k9 I$ w7 r Y" U
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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9 S4 s$ m3 R7 q4 ]$ M. m! G3 N1 w1 oFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly! m* z6 W! y' X' V3 W2 M7 k. a2 J9 B8 O
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 L; S" b) i( W$ [# g
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ o) J2 k, c6 i" ^7 x2 X( zkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
% H; \' o- v* g' J4 k wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to- R$ |3 s& |# r6 j! ]) I3 N2 x
the school system last year.: I/ @" a$ |/ `' M# ?
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
0 l+ k* `) u7 k7 X5 X" ^year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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k2 k; \0 X7 X* c"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 n) Z9 U1 ~4 K6 s- u- j* Wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( p* g3 r! h) a, }& _9 J6 d8 i4 gChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; ^5 J/ L. G' X% }$ K: k$ a/ fhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
, f" T1 j4 X r& Hon an equal playing field."
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2 v1 x8 X; A7 C% _* {" U9 {Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
_& e$ S( F5 J- J% D8 Hclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ r) c W$ D9 w2 A2 Q4 VService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks9 F6 h8 Z# y5 I- Z3 W9 n
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
- Q3 \2 r( D3 V. w" y& Daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
+ U, ]- h; _* e: b: D0 v4 ~6 _. sChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
' A9 b( R" c9 l" }2 H4 g& Jinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth6 u, _: L! B( c, |: ~9 c: W
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! L! `. B6 v9 _% k. |" g
deciding whether to take the class.
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( E3 U+ Y: A$ ^& c! `"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 P6 }1 a0 ]5 }8 s- P' rtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite4 J+ j# Y2 V& |, d1 |3 }; q
class. h; R! n' C$ z% ], U7 \
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 F! \6 \- L9 j9 H6 b% sstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 `3 Y) V& X6 v, s" o* X* [* Qoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. T/ e& f# G" ?8 A% M
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 s7 ?& ^% g4 x+ Q( e2 ~taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with9 `0 p7 H) S( n+ W& r/ `
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
. K) T8 p) S; x. ~: _) l6 ?" zsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" s4 O1 a) l: P Z: P8 _0 B9 ?
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: C V I* D/ hskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 N6 P! q* V7 U( q
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like& Q: ~4 c* L+ d( n- e3 D( `: }
that," Ms. Freire said. i W( S9 r9 w J, |# J9 j
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
' {- ]9 G4 y9 H' fhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each& c+ i; C: S" C9 E
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking* d. D0 m& Q7 }3 b& E: ~
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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' e* O2 o% L+ f2 X$ C) ]Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- F8 t5 B- M7 L8 Z1 Z) VChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- U7 ^1 o/ r/ ~) r8 {1 hcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said." N- y# Y" l q& o
& |- h5 E$ n- I$ n. X8 e"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ x, z0 i* a# W* X6 Z5 R) Ybecause of that missing certification," he said.3 C; z& h' Z5 C/ {8 S k
% N$ N4 P. x4 R. K& cThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 r+ r& }6 i/ J; Qsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia g* r5 ?) K# a" O) r+ O
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the4 _) X0 t' N7 h
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: M" \- R$ j- a6 L5 ~+ z
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: q: K" F& R' o. I! O
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our$ w' d# j0 c# w( m7 [+ a2 ]
own."
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