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October 15, 2005
: {' V3 [- T' g. @; v, W! cClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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. s0 i9 Y$ p+ l: D eBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the" }; p# F! J' D
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
\1 u. A3 L( M) s% D u# _. BSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 U- E2 a) _0 {/ i1 Y7 C/ k8 U4 Ndangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ |% J) p6 c. L3 Lflag hang from the wall.' ]1 Y& s! J( e
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
/ o4 t; u0 _ `; janother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
6 @5 \+ |9 u, a6 opracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker9 E/ N, K" z/ ~( o, I C+ D
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students0 y' n6 @6 m9 X
are already choosing it over Spanish.6 l5 e* x( U! ^. K7 n8 d- x2 d
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal7 {$ `& G( q9 `" r+ Q9 E3 x7 J
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, U3 ?8 k! t7 v
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ o# |& [' [/ q+ e& D5 K% `7 d
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% T: ^3 o% D! d1 b) k, i* G
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention- c% v: S5 @( I/ D( |
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* ^; U( P5 a9 J% ~9 l) O/ ^public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! P4 }( x" P' J* T: w6 o) _
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 G& O2 K' j1 t% [Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of) [" W! H2 S# ^2 ^% q* ]
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# b" Y* Y% ?; h- b$ ?
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
: Y! w" e1 L2 iimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.% ^" G l! {+ C& ]1 F
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
8 i# N: v9 H/ ]5 p8 y: c5 u2 lChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
M' @, F9 @& a* N! d h! ?starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, G( ^4 N9 t) w& Sdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing0 A, f. V5 O0 q9 e% Y! Y4 @
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director; V$ V5 L, R. j- c' P
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. K+ B8 Z' `8 {3 E; f7 @+ N) x
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education2 i4 @: z* L; f% M
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we5 Z( [! V' ~* L: A
can."
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4 l7 J2 Y7 w; ]% s& W5 ~2 K% \The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from2 Y; a2 d) u. ^2 R) G: |
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: K: t$ U3 e0 n2 ?& Tyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 n) G! n1 e6 q; s# x+ E7 J6 m
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 E9 b8 O3 \% u7 \' c& l/ daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! y" Z9 i6 j& u _
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
1 @) ~' d' Y' c8 `: A9 I+ tlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) [* V+ }+ H2 n3 ^$ ^% p1 Tready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
7 B7 T4 P4 |) r" r% D% Gchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."3 \# f4 h: z6 y
: w4 {3 i; ^1 }4 T4 f: \Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
1 [) b# Y0 L! L4 ]% {! K+ Rsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in# g1 _0 L7 I' C* H0 A
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ s! s1 U3 l( @- m* m: \/ f3 ~
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
6 u6 Z# a1 i+ B1 J+ O* yon weekends." r8 g+ F5 z5 r7 w
! E: ~4 X5 h5 m) mThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public% r$ L2 v9 F" G3 C
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves# @6 C% E$ l5 i G9 v/ M5 d5 z
students who are not of Chinese descent.; v% f" y' l9 v5 O6 w& A7 R* m3 p0 h
+ J* X s" A* lMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said* v% {: m: R2 }4 A
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ g$ T4 b$ S7 F+ x7 y. d l( Gcompetition. $ z& R6 _! @) j4 f8 ]
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley8 P5 w% j& Z/ ?' N# C
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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2 x0 ~- N# e9 _9 x2 }8 ^$ P GFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 R! O! L- o* h( V; t! O7 V. A
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ ~' \) K, x# C9 \
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
) ]9 W1 h* ^4 jkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 T5 N' ?7 N, l/ \) v
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' ]: I3 y$ k: R q, y
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 b- d a) o, O0 ~
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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- n" f# H9 A" t ]0 n+ e& |8 P"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 P8 ~0 n4 R! ?" Uclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 B( H, E2 z# Z( e% _Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
& }5 s: S, C; \9 k4 zhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet1 ]! y+ t" M& p2 x0 P* c% r+ `9 G
on an equal playing field."% }- r6 ]( R* `3 Z
: r! H4 x8 q: NSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 X& \8 v* F9 a4 J# N6 r* o
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
2 H r8 p. ]1 B" SService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
& @2 x) t/ d1 N4 r$ M; Z! KChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
# d% w+ c: ~# i I q& z9 u9 paverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% d5 F. j0 N& eChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- w* j+ R. G o7 p! h( E1 z2 o
institute says.# y3 d" S$ a5 K( |# Z+ f9 A5 t
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
$ \5 Z# K/ d( xgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, m$ |) |9 [) t
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# l4 W' x& K" f; a
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite1 m) o$ X8 \$ F* G& T
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 e8 q% w3 k; w$ }. D' y! y mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without# U. z4 z1 R4 U! ^6 M5 {; m' Z
occasional frustration.* I0 g& L1 Z# \, I) @
" [/ @# V6 l9 Z; v+ T" _"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
3 s* E; L# J. L9 D* Krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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1 r) a1 i: R$ P8 M" r$ L' _( jRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he3 W- C4 a3 U# R K9 I. a% Y1 k% C
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
" t& T( Q4 [: C+ g; a- RChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.$ q/ D6 y- E% j) h' t# s
; w: v. ~6 X J- [& B0 c"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
; t2 l. k, O3 @( ~) ^& B- [said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% D" r b/ k8 B8 W) Qas many languages as I can."( H P/ j5 W' J% ~" q% G7 C
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the; D! V1 Z; A7 R) C5 v% ~& @& C
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job) m$ {! U. f! i& W, e- |# I X5 i
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
8 d* m! n, ]* F2 ]& x! I; ?# mthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( D! ]: X2 f6 T" c0 e( z/ Lhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- `9 K5 x( G6 G' I3 P0 Oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking! [( `( ^$ a! W4 V, f
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make1 ^) [+ I/ Y8 F% q% p
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 g! f7 }" y4 J( F$ p) A! ~
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 A% c; r9 U3 Z8 B
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- ~' W6 N6 }/ V1 e2 C! M y" O3 Z
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
% M- d4 r. Z1 B! fsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia3 ^/ k6 b& G9 e2 a/ }6 M% R. V
Society in New York." I. e# Y/ w+ o( d/ I9 V9 ^9 g
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# B3 r# z5 Y( z: C0 W3 s) o, _
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from f0 Z6 c8 o. a8 p
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.8 M* a) I1 J$ F, w; s# p
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) z% ?; ?8 r8 o2 Q: B4 f: W' M
own."8 j* r& {5 F$ V. R0 X' V0 b( a
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