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October 15, 2005
; B3 U: }. k8 }+ [8 jClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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. g( `9 f# H7 I& i/ T) v+ OBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING' x1 P/ q0 b' c+ m% i
! ~; F Q! Y. N$ zCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& z7 o9 G. y6 S1 R
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary; J; f0 X2 b3 K# `
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
0 v- Z. n$ Y1 adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# r% F: {# @6 C6 e9 ~9 S
flag hang from the wall., z! N2 b$ f& A N, o
: r* k) u# H ]/ F iOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 ?0 F E, z' `4 h
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( }2 I/ N1 d! ]4 u; rpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
# c. n/ G0 b! Z0 T! `7 |1 zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students4 e7 C4 \1 [+ S. C& B
are already choosing it over Spanish.4 v" L& M4 [# j9 E# R
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
" |$ M; C) C2 v( O- [at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city% U) C, D7 u3 I5 d8 {0 _' {
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."3 \' G, H& x- v7 D m: L9 h G( |
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 s# V: U, Z1 b
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
% l# r7 x; ~9 f4 o% s/ dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention `$ X7 S5 I" [! f2 M {3 o
one of its most difficult to learn.6 _1 E# i w5 u: b& w
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
; V' ?4 o" h) Cpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) p$ z9 X3 `$ J; u5 u6 j3 k
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# r$ k, S0 e3 K! e/ [: ^Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 `$ Z& v& R' O5 s; I1 Q" o6 |0 g
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on4 j' n3 L# ]8 M
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to; N) u6 {. ]& |
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ S a) N! Y9 m9 g
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" P' X5 e4 M9 A9 l6 }% D" P
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
1 m4 I/ m$ v1 m; v9 n3 g, t hdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing9 x# H3 E9 A6 Q% f- w0 \
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 c5 }0 U6 [6 v: r5 p$ A
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.) a2 z: N+ Y8 a) h" P M
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- l" O, p8 n, u* |
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% l6 F9 J5 o5 k/ L. Y8 XConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we- a1 a$ C# i$ @4 y% I
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from( `; M& B- c ^4 f/ A8 n' j- a/ A
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
N2 O8 j8 _6 L1 `8 gyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; U$ X0 {4 x( p( W w* V1 uInstitute in Washington.
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( {9 l0 B+ w e"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages! g1 E1 U$ e; [& G$ [ ?% |3 D
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
) q/ v2 ^( D% \/ B, b, UMcGinnis said.8 Z5 t |# X* M" ^
# i5 M: |2 j. J' a. m/ X2 V9 f"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
g Q5 v1 e8 e1 @- B/ flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be. z/ Y3 Z( `$ u9 S3 Y
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' c$ _* ^' i0 schallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' v" }/ @: a0 e T% D+ X* J6 `; h
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% S3 @# A; s) j- i+ G7 F7 c/ f6 _8 ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
$ c/ m5 R5 l8 D1 h: T, ~1 v& OChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
; o8 l0 I0 D. Xon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public% f6 [5 e- ]' O1 ]
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves2 D2 K e1 o' s1 W$ Y
students who are not of Chinese descent.1 X" ?1 x" ?( r
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 ?! w6 j' o# s+ aproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the1 u. d% a" R3 x# I; E0 p4 w. f" t+ B
competition. & I; M1 k2 S3 ?4 @1 O
2 i3 v: _) F/ Y8 {$ d5 A"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley, r2 }) t+ x! I; H/ z8 |: f( m& }$ h
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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1 j9 a7 P; v# TFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. U& o. h. L, }* R' n9 Xall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 a! j, [5 A n: A$ ^
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from s6 |4 w& J; s ]1 I- c) s. A" ~
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students4 K+ m' \- _" X ?! I1 I; A; j
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
* C2 ]. ]- B+ p* Z' v) b: \the school system last year.
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) a) }7 k! w; AThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 P# {- H$ f, ?$ C5 M9 \+ W
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.% ~2 R Q5 q0 q( E a
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"They have a great international experience right in their own4 e8 u" g/ ~; \# ]
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
+ h) V) L2 [ n: {* w% L2 w$ T* WChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to/ M8 P9 n* f; ]
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 p# G0 h+ V) M' r5 {7 f/ C5 A# m
on an equal playing field."
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0 K. _( U8 h1 Z+ l: L/ }Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese a' o" F" K. ^( i7 C8 s5 r2 K( n
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign; }' _$ R9 o8 l: p2 E
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
3 A' j: D! V! u: a, S7 tChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An" x p. Q% c7 j) g7 @3 e
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 E7 q/ c3 m- y/ {/ B4 ^# k5 pChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# ~4 |6 F0 A q3 r. M/ R( h9 \7 Einstitute says.
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( Q0 P3 ~% G0 Q, B. Y, n; NSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
6 ]* d' g. Y1 r! N5 ^) kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
7 F; S2 F% `. g$ Ideciding whether to take the class.! ~! g2 U& R9 F' d
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 F) u) ?5 h; s7 h Utold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
& U' Z: W) }; Q5 \" w; X5 lclass.6 ]1 ]+ _# r+ x. J/ y. g
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are" {3 N2 s; s9 y1 E$ E" c) k, l( v" L
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 D' k7 ~) _5 [& ` N+ Y; [0 y, c
occasional frustration.# W7 |7 w: ~% R7 G
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a+ K* N# O# r4 i( W
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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5 Y% m( N5 q( @( k' cRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he+ e" {# F9 R, C$ V; U P9 R
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 h: n0 [3 e* m, j2 P( L
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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, j. c+ O% [1 w"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 @5 n" |% J4 L3 P) q5 y3 V
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 l W1 J* O2 g, m* Y
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the" i' k$ q- R4 s+ ^! t' Y6 c
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job H8 B- T$ J6 G, I, e
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like s: T7 W/ ^/ t+ |/ O, q$ o
that," Ms. Freire said.! ]2 |+ g! E$ x& s" d
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program! B8 f* o, Y7 ^# V! \6 l( y: z2 p
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ x- {! C/ k& E- |2 ?
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
2 q, A+ C `# y. q- qtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make" f! I5 \+ \+ d( P1 ]/ l' `: j
room.! o& }& r) |( d" D
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer- \+ G7 [9 M' @- D* `& O& [
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) ^3 n8 [1 {6 S: Q
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.0 t3 o4 d' {1 b( r% ^
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& [! q2 ?/ {6 `4 P
because of that missing certification," he said.! x$ W' L) b* e/ l! i1 E8 ~: P6 }
3 s! B' b1 V [* q" i& hThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
1 j. z; L5 K6 Q, I5 l, y: ~* @said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" k1 Q6 j) m, l% RSociety in New York., b1 W1 y0 l) \8 i0 a. n1 n! M
7 d6 a8 A$ Z( e$ n" pSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the. _) f7 V) r& j* D
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
4 [) T; a8 T5 Q6 kthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.- r' {4 T; u+ [$ x7 K' y
- i; K! F2 @/ d) S+ P) Z5 E0 O"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our) e4 q0 V1 t1 u$ T# X& _; T" w4 k
own."
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