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October 15, 2005
7 Y$ R p6 P+ b% e- l h8 k" IClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity0 {- [3 U2 ^/ k) h+ W7 K
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING, P; F8 g X0 M) e- S/ l/ K7 L# X. f
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
) P- t( p2 e0 P1 ~# R% zUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 |, ]# X m+ _
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
& g( J9 h0 L: P3 R, h/ pdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
; i: Y s3 G6 @) @; cflag hang from the wall.0 v. R3 M- r+ A# ?5 d4 W p6 q
" i2 }- `+ M+ f0 b; M9 o0 ^0 fOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
- B2 Z) k9 i# h/ u- wanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
2 F4 [( `) s* ~ n* T7 jpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker6 p& ?5 l [% `! n( Q" p) p! N; G
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 L% V, r1 W* W5 e" n% ~. t
are already choosing it over Spanish.9 X) N3 K% k& z) b$ S7 l
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
6 ]! o8 ]3 o+ m; x fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city* s. E2 Q R+ U3 A) A+ d
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."5 j: _. p% _5 ]- s) g: X- P! a& U
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
% w* n, a* ?5 pschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
X3 g5 t/ \! P6 J& ^- ?) n2 `to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 E6 m# q5 e$ J$ K3 N. P6 O
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to& U* I8 ^6 `( Q! s1 {+ T" s$ { G
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ F! c1 Z: L/ _
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
! H M# w' f$ \; ?2 HLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 M2 r% R: ^! A& A+ H9 ~Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 |- n6 C0 L0 t8 B. i9 N: \Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 Q0 @3 a. w+ v1 {% L& L
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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2 k/ ?" u+ c/ MAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) n+ w6 ?# g% Q* cChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
4 c) F& g. n$ n# qstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
3 b5 Z" F6 ^6 k0 x- ~1 Q4 zdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" ]" ^) k1 N7 p2 R: ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 v) \: D9 W. |
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board." X q/ ?0 a: ?) e3 v, W
6 Y) O3 ]3 F- o3 \! x5 ?$ R0 k"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# M1 f/ P) W" \& ]& l8 Pspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 M# p9 W7 ^4 U" |$ O7 ?Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! [# X7 V5 Q4 c- I: y6 l& g! o
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from H5 P" O1 }0 c$ ~: I, q y
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10& [4 q6 P8 }9 F. |7 L' U( L
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
6 L$ ^( ~9 \3 i6 g' E6 dInstitute in Washington." V3 i; z1 ]+ ^) B# ~
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 S0 w6 k4 p r+ f, Z \0 b% {3 y
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% v2 r" n# g* E) m8 \McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! p% r2 O* c9 @5 q& Vlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
0 u9 j8 e- T1 V0 B6 x( d9 Sready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a) b0 A# e1 ^3 M4 u( X5 Y7 a
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 C7 ]" h( r+ `2 k/ f0 a
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
$ U, i* ?8 J% i7 M" mcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of+ N5 U" B4 v3 v4 G, q& \
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or, G) L# z: w6 T! c/ D
on weekends.1 X1 s2 }2 L3 A: D7 l# z
) k" a% W Z0 I9 SThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* G7 z: \- C) ^% q5 J- {schools during the regular school day and primarily serves c; ^+ y! d+ m$ X( X+ m! f8 K1 T
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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6 D! u i4 C4 ~) N( w! NMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! l# M7 m% K% ~: i: bproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
: I* C( \8 r6 N$ b$ {$ Ccompetition. ' j, K/ ?8 R$ P |1 z
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
" ]- D+ k/ Q# v6 |+ Isaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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* Z* V" f+ | C* H+ D0 uFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
/ L% j% ?% w0 N- g% U# \. h* kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
& \+ G- y9 \9 Y9 M2 C- V; t7 T1 Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
6 Z" n! G# y) H1 m4 c: q$ z& U/ Ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
! A; N$ i5 |. p3 xwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
6 g8 l/ W6 C9 f4 Wthe school system last year.; Q1 {) D% @2 P6 p9 e' v& |
. r+ V/ k2 C# g2 K" r1 [5 p" oThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% {. L% B; l5 k. N7 ~3 x' _/ Byear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.$ }) l+ x g, p5 X2 D
$ }/ d& O$ V* Q) q"They have a great international experience right in their own3 J6 l O+ U% S& G- |& I/ @' p% F
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago& q, A T6 x; l) k3 K2 R% y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to: K$ A& T8 \0 \# O1 d
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
# ^. y# [ j, l# d4 \on an equal playing field."
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C$ M" Z0 h x* Q( d3 Z0 C+ N5 sSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese1 f5 Q" c- Z' r. E Q
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
; J. h4 ^, X; E& u* BService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
0 i) c5 Q, w: V! @& {4 uChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* H/ A2 U! L/ ?8 J( ?; ~. [$ F
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ _ ?0 x% [# \2 q6 `Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 o1 F" Z! V$ b* Z/ N
institute says.. w' J0 F+ m8 ?
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* N6 v& I& ?2 a" O+ rgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 ]0 U2 B3 n3 d4 U
deciding whether to take the class." ]* i4 T4 a$ D( D0 x2 K
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she0 }: c6 a% }( R% L( Z, u% n- |
told her daughter.$ v+ m1 X7 ?4 ~; W- e. ~* W) b
5 W+ f% ]8 ]/ I. O7 Q- z8 QSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
* n% t+ l& O+ \# b6 V7 m8 Vclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' r3 ?5 p. l4 s! i5 l" l" Q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" r( q8 R0 ]% T0 {* {. T! Joccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
) ?, K! J# }: V \; Y" ]8 v+ ~! m* vrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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: b6 u# @ d& X( gRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* |& Z6 M& H0 f+ C) _- W5 B& Ktaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with2 l% {% x3 ^6 z3 o
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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5 ]& z K: v p4 G% ]7 }"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
$ i" ?& v9 F0 X9 Bsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn! ^- m) _3 i$ b
as many languages as I can."- t8 c2 _% T) s/ f. |
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the, S- g; S6 @+ e: |
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job( T4 Y2 N1 c7 L) \
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
\+ |* Y/ M# L% o+ e5 Cthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program5 b) @: x7 X7 G9 ^
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 T4 g |* Q* D% U' ~% _1 fschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
# W! H9 E9 n. o- f2 ]6 e- mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make0 h% e+ i+ U/ k8 Z! U3 ?0 y3 X
room.
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8 d3 Y5 x! c9 O- G0 B5 Y3 w6 U2 NChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 _" H5 n; u6 B$ u8 W; u& q
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" W; j- | u5 kcollege, 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 qualified5 n3 a5 g: r0 v3 e3 ^
because of that missing certification," he said.4 g) d: Z# Z* ~6 F, I
1 D7 e m- T2 }% \( g. ~+ fThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 l& y: t6 j: isaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
! M9 O" o. q- b5 PSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 b' ^7 v3 C( J+ s6 \Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- v6 Q! t6 Y# n" bthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. T& ]# F+ W7 `3 q
: b; \' N+ X R! l* y"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
0 k5 `6 w- m+ p: ]* Lown."
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