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October 15, 2005
) S: Q( a8 d: K qClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity" T3 R& E- N+ n% p N4 Y
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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/ [ a; p% G! WCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
/ J* L. j* N$ U: YUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary: t/ e7 a9 B# g
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 l* z' P$ e2 c# L6 f. X5 Wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: p; K+ Y' W c2 `7 V" F+ @4 t
flag hang from the wall.2 h& g# R1 p% h6 [, w8 b
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 \( M: Z: m. [. A M* s
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ i& m" k" t- `4 j
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
7 {% f1 @* w1 mboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students9 x7 \9 S7 s/ F. a m" E
are already choosing it over Spanish. [" k; p, L) b/ I
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
+ H: y% u z! P5 gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
( {- R! X! o: {$ P3 [offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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. X& D! G/ V Y3 R6 \- M$ mWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ Y% m% T: `, Q A4 D( [& k
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings, \# o% n3 n9 U- R" U( Z7 S- l5 `
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. X( Q+ o6 u' R
one of its most difficult to learn.. q4 M; J5 f" x0 T: ]0 l
9 s% e3 G. J; R9 U# fLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to8 E1 r% b* D$ W) S# y
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 p2 Z/ e. L0 _2 |- e3 `- ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 q# U2 t' u1 V) wLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% Q( r: Z4 y) CTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: A2 [2 Y' \: z, n
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 z3 x% k* f; e- ^" t0 L; _
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." r d; o$ h, e% D" ?8 [& W
1 M$ C9 N2 G4 i4 M) B( d" NAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement( Q' n* M r( J# a d
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, @6 E6 w: D( ]/ Z! R/ p, Vstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to3 G( C# _! g }- }; V; Q8 A
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
; g; `5 }# r" E5 Ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
' t, h) \5 ^" A. M7 pof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.! \1 g7 H; \2 D/ t" Q
]" e( z0 G7 C"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of. O& }9 j3 V6 N* [8 p/ ?
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& @, T$ I. }2 c( A& b6 K7 ~- ^0 YConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
% y2 w7 k9 u; @$ ?can."
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/ m+ j( i, p( W5 G* h* p$ y4 v/ B% g4 yThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 }7 q) ?7 V2 t! B3 b+ ]5 }) O/ z8 I: [elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10/ F7 Y+ X3 s. k% `# L3 M- h
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language9 N1 v! ~3 B( z- y B: q a
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" ]/ n# g2 [* J2 S4 r U6 D: V$ Garen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ g% q1 R, p/ ~" K- c8 \McGinnis said.* C* @6 `: b8 ?( q* i
5 p7 [/ @2 H3 [5 y Y, u"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
. [# Q* c3 g) |' t9 j2 K0 N9 nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( d% Q3 O4 V* @; X
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a! G/ {/ v$ ?; I* `! y1 v" b
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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" V2 e E, |0 V: ~. O5 F. {* QUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and# s7 ^- J; i, y/ ?4 h' ^& y
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in% D8 T7 l! L; Y' W1 R: r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 D: X* j7 u) [: UChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
7 d; C7 u9 @4 y4 d. j8 qon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
! X# a" a: z' A. xschools during the regular school day and primarily serves) I& c- J q- C9 W6 q) J$ t$ x! B
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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1 _+ S3 m6 j- aMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 s5 p: ~) G4 [! s3 U! {
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ e' R3 v+ ], k [9 `competition.
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7 N- O, r$ g# k: E4 M4 C' {"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, @/ D8 ~: s7 ?2 `5 esaid. "There will be Chinese and English."* x! @, s% D9 E5 B( I c( o
% F3 t+ b: d6 D- ]- `/ Z# [" d2 VFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
& [) B$ G, M( G" L- z1 [all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse; o5 n5 c2 p3 K, f B# a$ ~+ |
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from% d7 |4 C0 W& Q ~& F9 S, j# ?
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students& m% X% o( G5 U' M2 o" \3 ?+ O
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 f+ b3 p6 z- ?, O" ], {the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this/ |9 J$ B9 x* a( c& Q+ \/ |( C" _6 a
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own. p! p0 Q! D, Y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
9 [8 z; {6 g, [7 d8 @ C" l" x3 _$ H. PChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to0 f' A9 M$ I3 O$ ?1 t! R2 Y/ W
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet2 h* b% |3 X S" l" b
on an equal playing field."3 m Q: T% ]" t& L H
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese9 \8 C1 U: g- G% k6 {
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
. Q, Q9 p% a* H, U; x: g+ LService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks) Q$ G2 E2 u+ Q! }
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An4 o. a: S, M* ]' |
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 A' t) u4 z G, d
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the$ n2 V9 X6 h q6 o
institute says.
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3 F+ ]6 M e9 |% I, T) V# W. YSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth$ r5 e, A9 D# w7 c% X6 Z
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 ~& k% U2 ?1 H" y+ m! J
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 p/ x, F4 D+ I4 r0 B6 R
told her daughter.
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& }, I$ B. ~5 a. C2 @Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
! H- ]( a( q* a) F7 w/ ^class.) W2 `& n" ~" [
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
/ a- u: H/ j- h+ g A5 D" G) ^studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 T, s4 z! W- o- E& }& @+ Koccasional frustration.; g% j2 o% U: N; K, [9 ]5 D
8 v1 h+ m m% k+ Y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! D/ |: X; W# H% |recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.- ]) U3 s% n0 i( m# ~
1 |8 _5 z7 e$ x6 Y6 Q2 [5 b1 oRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, ^1 P3 g( h0 ^" d J
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! }$ h2 |$ l- a- ^8 t7 DChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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3 P8 M9 B) H# D/ N/ O"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul8 {" O- f- G- }4 r
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn C0 i1 o( l# U2 d$ m9 j& N1 x3 Q/ T
as many languages as I can."
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2 z% I# H% J% J1 e8 Z# UAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
0 S/ r0 _ b! _7 P3 e) \skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 y$ T; d7 k2 c( y1 N1 T) ?market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: U3 A. q: t* |, C: U1 a
that," Ms. Freire said.2 o! e7 B6 n( v4 U) x8 W
, N0 j8 T2 N9 E p. t' fMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program+ L+ O# S1 s6 h3 q# C- U
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
" w& u% W, g8 A0 Aschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking m8 \; [* P( ]& D8 L% c" L
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make2 [$ z- ~' {' e u: D+ m9 `* y
room. R! [( z: U$ R# v8 L' ~6 P
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' z7 R& m0 X: d% D. J) aChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
2 N8 g5 a+ L3 {* R2 i6 Vcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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0 F2 P: x) @+ `, G5 X5 S9 w5 i"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
2 y' h! J/ H; S1 S& a+ ibecause of that missing certification," he said.* y; u B$ k, e. N
! ?5 ] w7 _2 cThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,7 I! h$ O& [6 P
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia- f/ W4 b4 s+ m7 W! A" f* B4 f
Society in New York.
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8 D' ^( l0 q/ R0 m7 f0 Q! |Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ h& @$ x% x, Q2 P1 C5 t+ Y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from3 K2 [! p( \3 \- m. i; ~( ~6 }: k
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.. I7 l) C8 Y7 `5 l
5 [" e/ F, g* B$ ]/ }3 L: q3 n"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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