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October 15, 2005
' F* `' ?0 ^8 A* K2 u0 }: AClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity; B0 G: X! G/ w: b# _& `) @) n
# i, G/ q) Q5 g; I2 w4 hBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
. ~1 f: N- F g+ ] i) ~ ]) ^) t! OUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ M. F9 ^" T2 G) |8 _7 a- H' m. H
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* J2 M! W2 {/ T6 @2 o6 t- _* ydangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
! S& i, [ l7 o6 P4 U$ I5 B! Pflag hang from the wall.! `1 U. i2 m7 ~: S0 N. R+ Q
: {0 S. F0 r+ aOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
% j# B* N. N& u% O; k6 manother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
5 n, i3 W/ n7 b7 npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, _& c0 ^) D) aboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 r- I7 T0 ?7 @1 q+ m( \" F
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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! z% ~* x, j1 w! v( J"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
) d& X3 L! b" w$ l7 Mat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 d; z. i; q5 n1 Q" m* _+ {
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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* A4 t" I8 N; G, y- EWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
2 |9 x9 u" x/ U, M6 ] `schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings/ X' P) G1 ^, z# Q! H& D% m1 a4 `( X
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
& s! ?- K1 h: o9 {one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% B! N- n4 u0 {8 D7 \* n" ^7 i
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 e2 d# g1 y# Wstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I." \/ T) N# o% }# R# S" s
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
" V2 _- w1 y; sTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 |* u; g" x$ C! N' SChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ Q7 t1 ?. d k6 D! t5 g
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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, B8 C! V; S! s) L2 A# UAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ w( a' I1 D6 z" ^. e( G+ p6 ?9 q
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 c7 r0 r% Y8 O- D
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
. `* o$ V2 O# J$ v! udevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# H1 p/ {" {. y/ }6 |) p' X
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& O3 {: d7 N3 K3 F; a" m: E% O5 nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.9 o8 A' F Q7 Y) ]' X6 r5 |" G+ U
* l- n; S7 i' C+ I"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- r5 k3 c* }- w3 v0 e9 A
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
$ W/ \& n# K$ ?; DConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ E) T. k1 k# Z, c3 c8 g
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from* C P+ s/ h" |
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 102 t6 }* g, Q& v2 Y; n; V
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language! Y/ \, l* J6 e/ r3 O
Institute in Washington.
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- W, P- N o$ k6 R' F9 p+ T"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; I6 C, s2 E6 ]; z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 K9 I4 P* F/ e9 [& FMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ B3 |! u9 I1 Z1 r/ X- B# ~longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
. T0 I7 _1 Z- k9 v% s7 b. T9 ]- F( qready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a+ f: x, Y5 z3 M
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 U g- l# B6 o2 S7 T% F: g* _, m
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in5 |2 P% r0 g( c& Q I* J+ i
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
. F" Z3 p/ u- D* b( T# W# T" zChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
* ]; W, q; m/ ^# T9 hon weekends.( _* F( u; r9 d3 c: n+ @
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
' j9 V" f+ X8 {8 ?schools during the regular school day and primarily serves' M: M; v; i# [. E `
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
6 q. [9 r, W% X- _1 Gproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* W4 O, G4 G1 O2 b' O7 H$ j
competition.
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" k3 V, O! P( w( J% p0 E# N+ U/ W"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# r/ T2 N7 C# A$ b2 Q% i- i) Nsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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/ v# c$ L2 A- o1 F# c( C9 HFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly; ^6 O; o# ]2 ]2 z
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse- [4 r4 X. V) C5 d" B( y
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from7 T) p7 Y* u7 w& G% H+ V
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
; h& e0 v4 P! u, A# o0 dwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
: G. K; t7 c# k% ?5 sthe school system last year.
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" Q* H: m, I4 j! T, z" vThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this9 S- @& W) \4 ?" K- V: j' s' l
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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! M/ g* W4 E3 z, j- v6 r"They have a great international experience right in their own
. G- ]6 F d0 F8 r) Wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 w, y6 q3 \! VChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; a5 c- _+ @* J% g6 }4 D( l5 }help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; J4 v4 y6 E, J( H
on an equal playing field." f$ J* C/ h4 `% o) E
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; {- f% V+ J8 h; h' C
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
+ W6 P! t; ~! i( _Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks" D7 F: T9 W$ w- |% [
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An6 S1 G/ I* f1 @8 E( h
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 x, l) N% X! G, b8 ~Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
, p. r0 X+ C Y' X/ C$ @7 h+ \2 pinstitute says.& @. g! [6 y- C% }+ o
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth3 N$ h T' J+ d) W0 z* U* W
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
. H6 Z+ y* V+ p; }# ]8 Edeciding whether to take the class.
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# a9 \! P7 G# T! e9 ]"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* C# E3 }* i5 x. atold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
4 ]) L. Q; w4 O/ a) \8 Oclass.
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# H. N' j9 u& h1 NAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
% J: e1 Y; _+ }2 L& l& v2 istudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
4 X0 l3 r1 t* @$ Voccasional frustration.1 n$ N! E5 i: {
) \4 J2 m) R; j- p3 L) A"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
% [; t( h9 ?" d' wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
6 ~8 }4 e: S: | z Q! p, X: F8 ]taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ B' K2 k! X+ [( R, V2 p3 Z0 _4 o
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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. G- `" U( E2 V6 M1 L: ^* g$ U"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul( {7 p8 G, y3 w% b* ?: {8 R
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( m, F3 P, Y/ e; ]( i+ @
as many languages as I can." ^5 i0 M3 W. `4 p
) ? M+ {6 g8 |5 q- JAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the+ Q. w2 ]$ a- [3 z# x4 \3 m
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
' ~0 |+ i+ H# g: y# x! ~2 C( Omarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" u4 ~# C! Q p9 w1 w! Qthat," Ms. Freire said.# K' e/ f- {; c5 C
( Y8 O8 P' g4 N) f* p1 S. I: g; r- C. rMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: @, g: V( H4 Zhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 i( E, w! o+ J2 ?school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 {. U" K9 D) H0 v" i3 Z8 ttime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
& D5 \& o5 q- ~room., @; m9 D3 c- O4 d2 m
& W& Z' L% I# K0 i+ u! CChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer4 o1 N( O: k; r1 Y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American6 w; z5 i* Z8 D9 `7 k
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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; o( a x b, l% |3 k6 Z$ Q4 u* K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified( h4 V& A V, o# J& G0 `
because of that missing certification," he said.% C3 y8 s1 N# N5 e9 C% r
, ]$ h$ x6 S8 U7 Y h. v7 @/ MThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,$ ^) t( F+ {' |& f8 v! W
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% n1 K1 _ ~9 @; p4 y7 ASociety in New York./ K, e( y! @$ s, p" @% B& ?
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ ^% R3 C0 E! \3 H5 v4 ?" E+ ^Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
) j0 n; o7 X3 P% J2 @3 ~5 X. }the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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1 i7 R/ n% _2 V"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
9 c- m% P" v' j1 qown."
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