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October 15, 2005
; z# ~; `, d8 l7 C0 h4 n2 Z* YClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity2 B4 n2 }, X3 Q" o+ ]: K+ R
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING; w# Z% J$ \6 Q* T' i
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
9 L9 h- |2 a) H4 k( p( _& ZUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary1 P1 D. `. r) @: R
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
i$ d9 |4 C+ c4 Idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese9 a" Q' r# @5 h8 k
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. L$ s8 K* Y" m( V8 o0 o
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' J$ { Z* I& M' z- j2 O2 r
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker1 G. _ L) o3 P: [& }* X* l6 K ]
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students S& \& {& l3 q- U6 @7 J. w
are already choosing it over Spanish.* N7 R* v$ D ]9 F) y
b5 i& d4 W* O, Z* c" V+ y! Q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
" g- d( O' f$ r$ Y5 ^: Eat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city) o" U9 j0 @# o+ H/ i- G; U, t
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* P) E* j/ I! L+ ~
' B# G4 q7 f, yWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
) x, G e% N+ M; ^0 kschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
' C- C5 E( G9 |3 l4 sto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
t+ [5 x- K$ I- G( X5 ~one of its most difficult to learn.& E/ K+ Z8 u" j" m4 }
( _# Q2 |" h1 F- x6 LLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to! N( x- k3 n1 j* f- h1 u% d
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) n. A" D8 X+ gstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.& s, O8 Z, T' K5 s3 c2 k
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 ^4 ]1 J. I7 Y7 N* gTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: g! T: C( y* N0 S0 T8 YChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 G. N- s+ y! e7 @
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement1 `% X$ Y# n$ e' a" z/ ?+ s$ O) C3 g0 \
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& r8 ]% R" `$ V* W
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
) Q/ k0 R3 R! }) j9 {; Mdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 Q* Y4 Y1 U2 i$ f; b
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director+ S0 U$ y& b! L" h& o
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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1 H% I4 E; q6 f/ T7 U; i1 r"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 S, y6 @/ ~8 d+ wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, W0 y; s0 W2 F+ l+ ^
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 T( N. t$ V1 h B
can."
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- N- L u4 m% }0 zThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
W7 A4 f' U4 m2 r" a# p { Telementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
/ f8 g9 l0 K/ g2 g) }; ?years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 i7 j. E" t/ x: o) }
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages: O6 Z2 _1 y ]& ~
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.+ t% @" u3 _% @3 Y
McGinnis said.# d& |' F+ r) c% g% `# Q% D
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
, l. a2 I6 ]- s4 nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' \1 l0 P+ ~ I4 U* y' _( f
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a ~$ u6 R5 }* {9 \- ^
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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" j# ^" p1 w: K* \& S4 r0 Z' AUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and1 ]! m- J" v2 N7 i. h3 C9 z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% ^8 r5 J: _( Q, ecities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of1 n* Q. ]3 \: C1 c9 @" H- i! v) S
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or- M% \* P2 a/ ] k! F$ E6 `2 F) @
on weekends.
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& { V- q! p! B7 ^. W/ T' p& tThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public, `7 `7 P4 J( ?6 ]* R
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves! ]% r& }$ ]- @
students who are not of Chinese descent.; J0 B5 W5 a- V6 A! N: |
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said/ q2 n9 C3 J- D' Q8 L9 {7 M
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' T; j6 d1 l0 c8 a* [% q9 m3 Pcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley* T6 c9 w$ M- F- k
said. "There will be Chinese and English."5 u/ y" s* [3 j3 W1 I* w7 ?" ^
2 m/ u6 R8 Z/ ]7 o6 ?- t' C6 _From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly6 V7 F+ H. Z! Q" d
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse/ ~( z/ u% x- f6 t$ I/ a5 L
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from6 `& { V, j6 F4 G# t- G
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students$ Q! A$ M/ `9 T P$ L7 Q
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
: C. X) X2 h5 e, J9 u) q1 _the school system last year.
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* [' G j4 G! }; O9 rThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( m6 e, y! A' v$ {# p" y/ C m
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." J2 [7 O; T- t) V% P4 @
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
$ W7 z# P5 x( z& z0 s7 m" I+ d4 z J, E( R% Eclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" a7 G8 d$ }5 F! C' Q3 I2 SChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* T) y6 u1 z# `+ P, d2 B$ Z8 ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 M1 X' e3 c- ?. b6 j4 k
on an equal playing field."6 b$ p7 M# t8 P1 r! i. v
* W1 n# ~/ C3 v b8 pSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 b- Y0 |9 W" F6 d5 [7 d/ r' v6 yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 T) |3 l b: E* Z, h3 Y# R0 [6 oService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks$ X- L) f; R# s
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 J% d+ F9 A# C! b4 t% J
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in' v9 p s1 M# V7 [9 `4 M2 i7 z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! e- F$ ] e" g% N2 g- `: zinstitute says.
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& I: {7 V! _) t; d4 gSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth3 I. u2 T# I; Y2 u" a( d/ A
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 S9 h2 a) ?+ G, Y; {deciding whether to take the class.! N: e& B4 l1 `
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 J$ m! m i& \: X& {0 E7 u
told her daughter.
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, [$ g P1 v, p8 |3 h/ O* w$ T; aSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ D1 q A! I0 d- R6 l) O
class.
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9 @" M) H N5 P2 b# uAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are& i2 W! @* l- c) P7 ^5 p& g
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without! n2 _4 c/ {% s, q, o
occasional frustration.) I2 n4 O; V: {* [
z7 s$ ~# D1 k* {5 ~"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
6 s3 X v9 d: Q. qrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he0 o4 n$ X9 d/ E) J
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: _* X& z: s, k
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.) G& D+ K" d* ~) `$ M
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 m- J- p- I' M. A, C- F/ Y8 _9 c4 V
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- d3 ~1 W# U% g1 C5 m7 M+ l$ m
as many languages as I can."- h; w' i3 B& Z& H
T0 F2 p, x* @# z$ a+ O8 o! R7 IAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 X' q4 A; T0 D7 @
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
: l7 x* Q! A2 Y) I5 _market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like x2 h% I5 u# [$ ?
that," Ms. Freire said.
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" C9 a. G# C: n6 XMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program5 `" p' F+ c8 T2 t: G0 h' l
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 i* A* @ }* [3 u; X
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 g, B# E- _9 {3 j6 i F: u2 htime from classes like physical education, music and art to make+ B& X* j1 K/ v3 p
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
: r' h9 m, v) m3 c R, S5 h* h7 ]3 RChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ G, {. R3 D. r
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; m3 ~" @# I1 S
5 G, y! N* _; b- l8 n( |0 G"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
, d6 i+ t9 k" V& J" R" M# zbecause of that missing certification," he said.. X7 M J: k9 g9 t; g0 E# G
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States," U/ b. q1 g4 m" Z- r3 [
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# O( x, d0 r9 p, ^- o, O# s
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
+ R7 i- l& ]+ T/ U l5 tthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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+ N- J6 W# N, ]6 O( V3 k" z"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our# s: s0 _9 D4 I3 `# `2 N
own."5 L. ?! T- y0 s9 K, M8 x
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