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October 15, 2005
$ [0 w8 [* ^. xClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# t3 m0 Z* c6 f$ ~. D2 ` N9 c
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING: v$ E3 v0 @3 P4 N* w# K' S/ W: k' M
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the( _/ Q, I( Q3 j0 L: V7 K4 e
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. Q% c6 q; s, N1 w- p9 @School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
3 J, a2 [1 Z7 cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 p5 }# Z3 D9 t9 j5 c# B, h; d
flag hang from the wall.$ Q+ o" l& j2 C2 _ u
) `2 m8 n" h9 g( ZOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one# e2 J- x+ i1 s, }5 U2 c( w ^
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) R6 r, u! C/ ? N! H
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker# q4 ^6 {$ ?3 c( m9 e p' b" Z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students7 h: t/ s( q$ L6 }
are already choosing it over Spanish.( u; c- D8 S% S( `3 k7 s% E
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal) R( R* [' Y0 c& i2 N8 y- \( l
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
) Q& v' ^) ~! Z9 \. s6 [offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."; u* j/ _( j( A/ q0 ?
% T1 {1 E s- {* y1 h; M8 A" EWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 {3 G# t' F4 I6 T1 T. M8 n
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings7 |; q0 I& {; m; ~2 U
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. W* m) N2 {1 G, } U7 P+ ?4 p0 p
one of its most difficult to learn.
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) {. f% K% B3 a" |Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to9 T8 [. p- s5 \9 g1 K( c
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students: B0 z% M" x# J( Z% a
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
5 b I# Q* H3 Z5 Z/ a z- N% ?Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 ?1 q, l! x% B, X ?$ hTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
0 C3 j0 ]/ t8 A8 i+ V) e M7 ^Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
3 O0 W5 \$ H) x) A+ q' C7 z4 Bimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." g& J9 W' G6 U' M, }" M
j1 H7 k9 b5 b2 j- Q$ h7 ]' Q$ EAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ Q9 e5 |% t, G! z4 I' Z; o* h* MChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country5 t5 ]9 H( c. E; I+ G U
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 O# D+ Y/ L: ndevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing9 R8 @, K4 _/ ]& B1 U
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
8 N6 N: s: V: k) B! iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
' ?! N% K$ {9 lspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education: \! k/ B- u$ Q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. o6 i" C+ a4 J
can." " J c! g% r5 E+ w
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
" g: p% a& d- L, H' k, n. \elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ C1 b8 N% D: K6 j" fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) k5 N/ n ~/ E. A* ]- XInstitute in Washington.; f/ e3 a- I9 J1 Q
2 v- z1 W K c- ?3 ?; X"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( m0 ~& j- D( N8 T! xaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.7 m E9 `5 e' C D4 g: i
McGinnis said.( |# d% E9 H. @
g: b" P' O5 O2 s/ U% P9 q, j"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical8 E! s3 k9 _2 l) d: r( p: P- V4 Z7 o
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) f5 E; d# @2 g. l8 {
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a$ v+ s5 w3 {" k1 B. {
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.": w- P |3 ^/ `8 {9 ^1 f: D/ e
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
/ ~# g0 @/ }# E( ]secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in, ]+ w& {5 a) D: x7 k$ Z# }
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of6 N! B4 L6 R" G p5 z* J
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. p" R7 Y- Y, @' S5 o, V$ Y1 f( zon weekends.; E$ g9 X9 P; g1 t8 p+ p
: f5 c6 b4 A) t- q0 yThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public+ s* i3 P6 R: ^7 }3 ?
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
' T/ G. j' S3 l; d2 ]% j5 T9 Ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.. j- D9 S% G5 _/ A/ D
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said) ~3 o- t& N8 K8 }, J3 @7 ?
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# V0 ?. ~% G# l0 i! l0 b
competition.
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J( Q8 a6 p& u' B"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley, Q+ o% [, P& y4 b: V
said. "There will be Chinese and English." H% A7 N2 F: }/ U/ g- d1 M. K* _
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
- d$ e5 Z4 e( Uall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
8 G$ g( @8 Q# z5 T7 `: d) Kschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from a4 {$ O) F$ E3 c; T
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- m# A Y. _# W3 ^2 r0 pwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to: i6 w/ `) X2 K) O% m2 H
the school system last year.
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$ a _: c# S0 J, ^+ x5 ?The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. Y. k) s1 d% }! V3 u& o. g" Xyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." W+ ~: I- B" S* G+ ^- }1 A) E2 f9 a
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"They have a great international experience right in their own6 r2 V% A: z% H& {5 q3 t; P n. e2 n
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
$ K# E. _1 e. bChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
+ e* E% \* O' n7 Y0 Ihelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 E: O# ~4 U C
on an equal playing field."4 i- c$ o1 R7 @" b- p: i
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese6 E0 \$ }6 A7 v+ W% n! o+ w
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! m. r J3 c/ i& w/ jService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( _2 @3 w# z% h6 ^! F0 F; C, t3 eChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ W1 v4 a/ p+ a
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in/ I9 b) N5 ]- M5 T9 C
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
: ^8 j+ C- ^" F+ L! r: x7 D vinstitute says.
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# K6 h6 p0 y9 B2 [2 gSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
$ j8 R# }. Q2 \& s/ J6 Xgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! s# h) N& F6 \
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she2 h, U9 X, h: v6 p: V+ k
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
8 u* f- z9 d- l5 i& O1 Q1 @" }class.
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! l! u* s" V$ l8 S& cAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: J# Q$ B. F: L# K+ [( v8 e
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without! K9 Y. q, B; x% c$ r6 r9 Q
occasional frustration.: s! O; \0 n$ \9 s/ P& K
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# C! y/ F5 I/ O7 R; L6 R
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
2 B! ]) u* O9 H) h2 m" @taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( n" H6 B' b0 p4 j* T E! C# R: ^
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.8 B) @9 }2 o2 M, K2 l7 n3 j8 s
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 r4 ^: z# y' L4 i9 Y$ s2 s8 Csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, h' @! y7 [8 xas many languages as I can."5 f) h- x2 C. I
6 B5 Z/ M; `* q8 h( D: b6 X n: g3 }. jAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
. E0 {! l {. s+ b5 g4 K9 \skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 ~ X# w. f: J; g3 @+ p; K/ q5 S
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
6 C. O3 N' L* |) [% |that," Ms. Freire said.
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6 T) s! b, n7 w4 a, v% lMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. Z- T7 y3 _% M( E9 Chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
7 i0 T' m* R" J3 c5 Mschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
/ `5 F- w: e" f @* n7 ^time from classes like physical education, music and art to make; Y# n- x4 {2 d
room.& D8 U5 H5 p9 j5 U
6 E7 B2 |- ]+ m' U/ |8 GChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 ~7 d. k: ~, G6 O! ]6 C$ D1 [Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American! X2 R+ M& b+ M( b
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said., M) |: X3 k' _. I% u- o
4 d# }- \% {9 b& }"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ @# A- X+ p: R3 k' K/ o) Abecause of that missing certification," he said.
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( M6 h& K1 G$ `- wThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, e6 n5 k/ }$ E4 \. u- j
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% e" N" Q) ]( q, YSociety in New York.. X5 H0 v1 `' z: t" v7 \, y
# ^! z A' z: ~' ESix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ [7 Q6 `1 z8 h
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' R4 e& K; N7 v4 ]) ^' ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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1 h4 A: k3 k* V. l8 O* F5 S"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
% Q7 Y. m D) P" T. w1 Mown."
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