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October 15, 2005
! |2 z, u* B8 ^2 t6 [) D3 oClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING, A0 ?' U/ C4 L4 p4 M$ k% h
$ z# \. g9 Q1 b, r5 Q& p1 gCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the# k% g0 |& C, R
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 T6 w3 \0 z- Z, `$ Q# I; bSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
, D$ }& `7 U, ?6 c6 Sdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& \* B1 b6 f& {: c: G- _
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 P1 ~. H4 D8 f% ?7 `; P9 _another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders$ Y6 k! X& Q% V1 k
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) [, H3 B3 L1 r3 A" kboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students5 {, J/ `6 {$ O9 C) p. a
are already choosing it over Spanish., V. p m& S9 r# Z4 ~8 R" b; f& w, a
! e/ O' ?, X O3 l2 N"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal! s1 t5 w4 t( k5 T+ h! |& Z
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
3 w+ W5 s" e. J$ ?* Soffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: V; G( @ C; J! T0 sschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& v0 v% r9 f) U. T; @8 c0 zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: k" b; H* q/ j4 t
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
5 e* m+ b4 k/ H0 fpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! J4 F" [: ^- F; s
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.4 b3 g* n @4 e0 c
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
4 E* e! l1 _& c6 v& C( C/ X% b. N% _Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- |# d. W5 w6 f" p: _. AChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
, M2 }6 u- M. Gimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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( y( `9 `2 s/ w6 \) q6 N, S+ MAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 _$ ?3 I" O: i4 F$ z+ dChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country9 c* Y* ?" S; C/ A# o# g
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& H" H0 r0 C# [6 Tdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 U. W4 [+ O& |7 e% d$ R, l
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director& n( ^! g/ |9 C# w
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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! f+ h; A8 c; B"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of0 P" m0 B/ K, D% s+ N u# P
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
3 w8 I2 }4 _- K7 D6 MConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
' a- B! H, H, Q$ W4 P ican."
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8 W. c. c N5 a- k7 P" jThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
# r: g, C: K Z0 ?elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 o% I. E1 E2 d8 y" x, Fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
: w1 Y* |. }, v0 @) E1 m$ u$ c4 eInstitute in Washington.6 [& m5 d% W# B
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
3 W5 i3 c1 f% j% R' Faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
) N- L2 C9 N. n _/ VMcGinnis said.
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/ Q6 q+ h8 M6 L: @: \5 j"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical) o4 N, d& }9 P3 V9 a: R. ~
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
2 a+ ?) Q! w$ Z- S( Uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. |- ]" w% _" a3 [
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
0 o( |6 x L* I0 g, A' ~secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. k9 ?% N0 ` u
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
, |& C; u4 m# H! ?& aChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* g6 g P' ]1 ~+ q
on weekends.
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0 P$ S, e- `8 FThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
6 M( g0 `2 V, @5 U& eschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- s' `7 T& g- k5 K3 q/ F& B7 ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said0 Y6 R3 u: e) _4 \
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 w, n3 w7 T9 `. y Ccompetition. 5 L. w) _5 e- y# d8 e! }1 `9 z
4 D/ A8 [% k9 z! @/ k/ t"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley& d% }# l6 r; |) g
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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- Z/ c. `' B3 fFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly' l1 ^9 K4 t! v) L. c, [% r! a
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
8 i8 A b: V( c3 D, f8 Hschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& {* }5 ~' s5 m, d2 zkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, ?6 Q; [ p9 J' ~6 t1 l
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to9 h2 T% z% r$ ?8 m8 \$ n
the school system last year.: H; w" Y: p; D6 X( A& q0 @
8 M4 c- d1 ?. X+ P( cThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this* M0 c, z6 h' x9 Y/ j
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.+ `2 ]1 K d+ j2 b; K! z
6 x! R3 v6 X% J; M2 \& E"They have a great international experience right in their own
" U& m. p4 I8 C( D7 |3 a xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, @- x& ~ R! |5 O7 k( f6 A4 D" F
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to% p6 N I& `* V6 S! c
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 _$ e6 B! j4 g' d2 ?6 w+ M
on an equal playing field."6 p5 x- M" y8 ?3 E4 r0 t. D6 z
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese* Z: V* L5 I3 O; ?* Z5 M5 S2 B
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- [+ t) C3 _/ s6 E
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks& W% G4 ~% g$ A" l. T. M. `. j3 M7 J2 m9 r
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' s* J2 {8 O# l' ~* Y, ^average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
: v1 A# u: l4 r/ X" ?2 zChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the3 R' F2 |( l/ V: K# N% U% i, x# N
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth0 n; ^% h. v8 r: W: Z" V( e" R
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) w# ]* _- @/ l- A$ c6 t. U
deciding whether to take the class.' j7 F# n# y( X8 n* l
9 _1 ~, |" T8 T1 S3 e% T% f"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she! A/ t9 N! l; O F7 q4 h
told her daughter.$ b" N/ Y# @6 F
% d9 A i' z4 b7 S4 P/ ESahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite) x0 [4 k+ {$ M J6 T! }" r. n4 [
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. K G8 ?1 @5 c6 ^ O
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; k% U) I/ E* Doccasional frustration.
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* }! ~% \/ l+ P7 \* C4 M5 a"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
* l+ A: v0 D$ Zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class., h- o- R' n# Z6 Q; l
7 o% v$ h+ k% F. t9 |+ q+ u( URaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 p$ x% W$ M4 z: @' \3 p0 c8 [
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with" Y0 i `" [! y& e$ ?3 k6 ]
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. Z( A' L- r$ j6 }* Q' P
9 B2 U* v( g& r* _ |3 g"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 s* h4 e( x$ O
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn0 x5 E7 f, B j
as many languages as I can."
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3 m- s% C3 O+ t: l+ P2 v' }Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the) o: ?! E' r5 b/ h
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
' G5 u, ` P" C) J+ T. |market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) Z8 g7 v6 p) N3 p" C8 h" e
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( L2 H8 q9 e! n& e
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
. L" r7 y, b( _4 l, V0 B& Qschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
1 a# i2 P- Y; S( s9 @6 itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make/ V% [# |- B: }$ V, V
room.. w* R2 a$ Z0 T ?2 z% ~
" o9 X2 U0 ~9 D& j* q9 K* F+ RChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
: b( g2 u' r8 n7 q6 _- BChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 h" k' D7 n# D6 \5 e+ E+ r# y5 ~
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' a) A/ M: n9 Q
. N: C: v {7 w% ]: g/ Z1 a' Q"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
! w2 u/ Y/ @/ U0 n" K5 rbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ K) M5 S% T T! @! d
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia0 I, j, I# g5 ^- u& s
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, U. E$ u8 a" g3 w& Z& v. Q6 Y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) u( P( ?' B7 j4 |8 b
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said./ J8 n) ~# N8 D- B& h
; }+ m1 J: V( V/ p' \"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 ?; Q8 e# {, L+ f2 K+ n" t- }) r
own."* o4 l1 t0 C, M' q: _
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