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October 15, 2005
]7 {" Z8 o: B _, r2 o! ^Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity& N& \' a: ?, W: A; U! B" L3 P+ o0 {* O
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING! u+ |( T7 l7 ^( r$ p, _6 o# G
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the9 G$ K& S8 O* F( _
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
N( `' l% F1 HSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
( W$ ~, Q, H }5 cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 r: C- a0 s, O2 T$ `. eflag hang from the wall.
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% F8 H2 p( j6 t! U* V4 X) Q* sOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one- G, o. E$ x$ u9 {
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders" g I" Y: E- E/ v/ v! ~
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
7 A8 H2 H: o- cboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
5 D; D' r/ e7 K- w; Gare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
3 u+ l# p2 P" Y4 T" l! [( pat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
+ \; Q1 e) Z3 \3 o- b5 h+ d1 Aoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' B7 e5 U1 |! R) M& jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings5 }+ x& C: Z( F8 H9 [
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
2 ~* y; M8 T. }& {one of its most difficult to learn.1 J! f1 `" ]4 _ O9 S6 U
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
! M( K0 s! R0 c3 Z- X: H( r1 Wpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
9 X7 Q% ~! S ?studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
h% P, R# P. FLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 ^- ?* j; m O' a" w1 F1 XTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
( \ I9 g! H( R& h. FChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
/ r: K2 I1 b% M- w4 b1 Pimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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+ e2 m! G! [$ |; OAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 ?- h" _ h3 w' ~) @1 J% m
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 l. T1 m& J. z! bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, u) ^ p. C, c) {develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing1 k. T) ~7 Z# e' W+ ^
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director G2 f n9 ^( u0 f3 L$ V
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.7 L6 _8 V* F ]6 {: Y
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
3 o) @- O% v- N7 _speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
$ L$ y4 O6 Q0 P: {Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
* F: Y9 B) B0 h- ^7 Ncan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from+ J) \3 y3 R( m4 ^4 d2 x
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 103 b' I; S& ]# x0 i9 K4 Q* n
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language( L3 y0 G/ k3 N: o( w
Institute in Washington.5 ~% o. u$ S1 d2 _! a4 t/ O
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 g) |9 y9 X3 saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
N9 Q& v D! y! [McGinnis said.
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% E" r" l7 H3 s7 Q3 W" F& M) y2 r5 ?"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical4 p- v) E, V% B6 ^9 a
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
. |6 Z! r. J' A- X Hready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
- K& r# v/ v6 J/ zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."1 k/ u( X9 v: e# _ ?
4 r8 ^& T( l; bUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and2 X* I7 G' T/ s1 m4 F
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
7 J( S" x: P. Z; r pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 {" f) ^5 L' }- }$ Y4 DChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
1 F+ p- V8 j* z; H4 b/ [; Jon weekends.
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- b3 t3 w& n% x; t! C/ e3 q6 vThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& A6 ^ E4 y- k) F) B5 p) Aschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
0 n' E! n7 Q( n; e3 T7 x$ X9 D5 \ ~students who are not of Chinese descent.. y. T+ S5 F6 E
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
$ w: C- ^! s4 `# ]: G, Dproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- ^* l5 g4 h6 ~0 A$ T5 Qcompetition. " k# i& } Y0 ~: I! S" U8 u4 }
( u0 y& @/ m g"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, f1 i" o; \7 k6 u- p% U; Tsaid. "There will be Chinese and English.") e: i* y# D# S! R, s F0 z
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
1 x7 r/ g |& u8 R* E; g+ |all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' ]/ J. z1 B/ F3 I7 yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from, h; H2 u8 R5 f! S
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students+ B ^! \3 \2 w( W# t9 e
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to3 X# Q: ~) b% y% r2 a# g# e: T
the school system last year.) Y7 W5 `" _$ O: o" {( E; k* W3 i4 Y: }
+ R8 z! G9 a0 d4 R cThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
" W! o2 X0 W" c/ P1 k. eyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 S+ S' I# E I" z& V
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
; y8 J" p* G" |6 p- {- Kclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago% r. U# Z1 j# m/ z( z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 s# } ]8 o! M: G: P% [help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
+ r/ c& D: Y9 K1 d, F' Don an equal playing field."3 L( L2 |3 O# `( c- D+ F
`$ X% |' ~4 A8 f/ m VSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese9 y9 ~: Q. U L+ L- `6 H; g
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ v0 @$ F9 n1 j
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* A8 W3 o( o' ~+ y! ^
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* u; h' K# e0 T- A' N, Z
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in" M: ^+ i2 N9 O) K
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
/ b3 x$ s. ^/ R/ jinstitute says.
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- p. F- E/ z) i( c% MSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth/ w. G# a7 S1 u L9 ?( ?
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
9 W7 X& \" Q' V+ {deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she, S9 M, t' @* s6 k, {6 Z0 J
told her daughter.: O) }: ~' O9 ~3 d# P* [ q4 _
; x+ w5 [8 H7 k3 }5 I hSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
6 [% q6 r1 `3 H* ` r h7 ~, |class.! O8 i; O" o% U5 R
( {. j* c/ F, h, Q* |" q; NAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 Y' y+ m$ O5 b+ W& l) D: \7 Estudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
% M$ V- W" {# t) @) ^8 ]occasional frustration.3 n1 {; l; P) m
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
9 I3 ]. ~2 [2 h9 x& A8 Trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.8 W% g3 E5 T8 K$ `9 L6 s/ B0 ^( M
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 W- l" z# U" k
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
% u. E( d! W: ]+ g+ @4 R% DChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.1 b; B% D8 E9 r. J. N! f1 c
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul0 e* a( o9 k5 T
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn' h! T/ s1 V8 J# t" H+ ~9 {8 l7 a
as many languages as I can."; L6 T; }0 e' u2 y8 w4 [
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the0 Z; g. P1 Q& \" p$ ]9 W: Q
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
- a0 s; @1 w( \/ Y! B4 _market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 z. I1 w% T' x
that," Ms. Freire said.% c- w3 \$ i" x7 x/ ?/ s2 z$ D! m
$ p( N/ L2 x, m t. m7 pMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program* l4 v) D7 f6 ~- R1 S" L1 _
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each" l7 Q9 M$ k# \3 l
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
" V! k1 ^9 s7 h5 vtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer$ H" x$ o% G' Y5 [0 w
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American( e& z6 D. P3 {( g r% }+ s
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 qualified! |2 ?( L6 W! ~2 A7 o
because of that missing certification," he said.
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9 M. p) e1 A- jThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,& I; r. D: T7 x, C& D M
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% O- q7 w- V$ A$ L$ ]+ \0 |Society in New York.
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$ L! m2 i0 o. nSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& `+ g! E" [8 M$ KChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from; m) s( b: K9 t4 `* ~
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.+ n) V9 y* r4 h# W. C
' h8 O- m! Q! a0 e1 `" t"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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