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October 15, 2005
( u t6 _9 q" ]+ b0 m' JClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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# G- h: D- m2 GBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING' {, J1 W* `8 L; e0 B2 g5 M H5 w
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
& V5 b2 Y/ e5 x% k# v6 P$ QUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. \$ O9 n# S* H* N z+ |School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas, M* M# k: j4 i" p# e8 v Y
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese3 X0 j- f. b& y$ K. u$ m
flag hang from the wall./ ~; o7 C o* ~" T( q5 `# g" h X
- H. U& ~, ]. N1 B; R8 d1 HOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one- C& q$ e3 G) W6 K
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders$ ~- J5 f) ~6 d' T2 z. v* A9 g
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker+ B( Y7 H5 H3 ]8 s
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ L% `1 Y0 C) lare already choosing it over Spanish." H- W3 }6 W/ o
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal) }/ k0 e( J1 |
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 F6 M1 X( \$ J2 Foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."+ C x- Z. H8 C3 V( `2 L6 E- D
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ | p1 B# _; R! k7 c
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
( e9 {, T, y$ P Y. Jto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention1 G1 i6 w4 Y9 o
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
7 J# b5 C7 P0 o' k, ?: o- bpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- R0 y: A! E! s+ M: ustudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ T! A5 r d, \' h5 A5 ?% n
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
9 L* f! u7 H1 qTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on2 S8 v& p+ Q8 q7 I% d1 \
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
5 w# D4 H6 o# I0 I! ~improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.- Z+ g2 {. z" F% d, |, t
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 c# o5 b) K5 s8 h4 L2 a/ P$ qChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
- W, n4 z: J2 Dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; N% ]9 T% U# sdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing' R: V/ J- D6 f
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director7 ?7 s O! `+ l+ v
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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# x7 A) I: a6 v. K* }1 K7 i"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# X8 ?9 T% O9 w! r3 @- m
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
) ]$ i$ J, K+ y' `Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
' [& `( i' K; d G8 _can." ) v$ d; I. E2 S* f
7 ]7 ]. ~' D) u: t2 m. Q- PThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
& E% r: l, \, R. ?. X8 k6 melementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10! V4 R" _ P- e, y! }: Z% v: ?
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language# I e. b9 w/ {9 j% D9 ]
Institute in Washington.
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* \" J- c+ k% K* X. H! ]$ d"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages( ?0 F( z" d t( V M
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ v' K p! T9 i# Z4 K4 U3 Q% T' iMcGinnis said.9 e$ J2 a* ~; E# k! P
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
/ m! b5 t: ^! m* ?longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be! H5 |+ o# P3 q, j# ]4 T0 z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a% k8 ~" k( Q, l0 I3 W1 o
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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9 h% G. z+ \! _/ a! EUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and1 T" a, B: v. { Z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ r; x* E# m, L; f8 s) y' B9 ^* t
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of* b) ?. A6 z1 J1 e: b
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
, V4 E) O9 Y$ \* _on weekends.
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" _9 x2 S- Q& i. QThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
/ J% K: y" Z4 K9 ~& m# B* Zschools during the regular school day and primarily serves) \' F. c2 x) O2 ^
students who are not of Chinese descent.& F, d& |0 z% ^1 e6 B8 a# P4 E
0 l+ P+ x) ^2 Q* O0 |. dMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said0 f8 h7 a t* a5 U. e1 U
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the8 |0 ?! R: G& O% c, s4 v/ Q1 g
competition. $ b% [' q2 @: s, h; X& R$ i! p* \( R/ Q
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley7 K ]% h4 c9 V5 a! V
said. "There will be Chinese and English."3 t" G* ~$ a+ F4 X( T
& G7 H8 T) }; s. _2 Z3 X' S! z" qFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly) u! I% F) J& o# |/ g# f
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
8 b8 ]8 e* y; S o8 r, x9 _. Sschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
5 N. F6 s& k+ e( U8 P0 {$ Okindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 y% R& \# v: T7 T2 w
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to: i9 y+ ~& u" p
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 ^* {; m, c, ] Oyear 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
# T- Q2 K5 g8 O8 Cclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago: R, N/ Z$ V# f0 x! h
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
, k, g9 x5 v5 x4 O3 M4 W2 Dhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
0 _& Y; }: Z" m) r3 Aon an equal playing field."; [9 i4 n5 `7 k8 y
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese( W! S$ t1 V* F X% L/ Z- e
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign4 Z9 T2 I8 g1 _' b; t R
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
1 S( z& V, O- t* w0 ?# \ y, [Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: L- j' A% b# J5 E9 a
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in* _9 Q& C( z, T3 c$ M8 d
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the# ?2 y, I4 |' u" O$ M3 b) _" b
institute says.
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6 p. @$ A9 M. q: @& XSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 P7 T) X$ i$ h/ p' Bgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! g$ h! C6 C9 P ], H
deciding whether to take the class.
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, d/ n1 P& {9 N5 h"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
" |6 R- t* {5 V/ gtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
j/ F1 s3 |" y6 Oclass.
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; d4 X1 I, X! i4 ~% A0 f2 RAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are6 c/ k7 y& d$ b" ~4 w+ k( n( q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
: h! p+ G- s$ X6 d* xoccasional frustration.
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3 `, _8 p& H) h8 T# P o7 T7 M* J"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# O+ M) Y- m& c, B3 D
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.: J6 f8 O: V& F6 \& b1 m
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' ]5 @0 }$ a8 o) o# d
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with+ k' J- i& ~0 H( {
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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8 Z- Y: Z) W( K" J6 ~2 |: M"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
" f9 L1 S2 ^' msaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn' T/ ]& W( v$ R5 U' C
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
5 D2 [8 q- j' B/ C/ L% N( }) w% {skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 N( o8 F- Y: f! |
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
$ S9 y) W1 s) y& a& d! G* R5 S( kthat," Ms. Freire said.
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. v+ m; U3 \" P6 y4 K4 FMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% U, m' _$ z! [" z* x
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each# X( M6 w8 }: w U& K& |
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
+ ~( G4 y2 b; i7 C4 ltime from classes like physical education, music and art to make" S; z1 _, W; g6 `
room.6 R y% j' y8 V, s2 O
& S+ x s' A+ H M( Z$ s mChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% i( J) I6 y, R/ [
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
2 F! f2 x6 i. K7 ?5 y7 z9 k9 Ycollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 C8 C }! Y8 a2 a
: a7 R) F1 x1 s"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified" |; Q' `) n& X! T, u7 d! ?
because of that missing certification," he said.
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- h! {% B+ P' E+ bThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 Q! P' ?- w- Ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) F5 O) _( D8 j& N
Society in New York.! V0 H: ?9 q, [
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 ~9 t: } h1 X
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
: S8 t) Q! \8 H0 X3 y( sthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our# o9 s8 ]* M! M% w3 m7 [5 k
own."
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