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October 15, 2005
6 l8 ]3 L. O( ?$ I, c( BClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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7 @7 u J/ G8 Z3 R1 L4 v* \By GRETCHEN RUETHLING( _' t7 t7 W9 a# @& C; B; a+ N
6 j1 `, a+ a, J' {& hCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
0 r( P' D4 t! T5 H: z' JUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
+ I \1 X1 R+ z7 R0 v$ nSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: E% {4 c: F# h# L7 x, B$ c9 W3 Z( r8 [dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. M! e E6 f) e5 }# [
flag hang from the wall.$ ^* P( v9 y; B0 Y( w" P
/ @5 D O$ z- \ a, m' QOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one# R6 d9 S" Y$ z/ Z" ]# p' e( m
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 j% n | O" G8 ?% N
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- v5 e6 r1 z A" w7 L# C& h( `
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
% k8 w7 [- U/ l$ h- }& l6 @are already choosing it over Spanish.
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- h# N ^( H1 ?2 q& s) z0 [; N3 ["Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
3 Y* F- ^. p& ?at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city5 Q. ~+ F1 W( J3 f7 v) w7 E
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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. R/ `; h6 v, P* k# u& tWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: P2 e$ U' H% D0 J6 f0 Q8 fschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
6 z1 `. d' v, n: Uto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
: {; H4 j2 v$ B6 ]one of its most difficult to learn.: o# L; l. i# O
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
; i% D" h- [ {5 ~% Opublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students7 [" a3 b& I2 r, O% g# u
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* A# d% U8 w9 Z @ SLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 N9 h+ K- ?( x2 d! U8 @# bTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
5 x* k* U& ]! x7 W' V% k+ l8 yChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
* b$ x/ @' \! @- R0 f2 e0 v- B/ n, Ximprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee., ]9 J, s- u9 q8 [8 M; O3 z" W
# V/ i n$ u3 Z8 ]: nAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
) e1 F, V- R9 }. a! J/ xChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country1 e& U) e# y2 R. z
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
4 P5 i' }8 [* F/ ~& qdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 V0 t7 R/ v; A8 \) ]. c
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# {( @. d; H0 S7 X
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ F0 |7 R9 g" S* z9 @& Vspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 L5 B1 X( g9 a OConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
! C4 g( d5 W4 H3 k' T5 B/ Ycan." # z9 x" K E4 r U
- z0 X( D& V# p& w% o( [, cThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 ~% J t9 l8 @3 E5 }1 r6 f0 E k! Gelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 105 X% k4 h" w; H) k2 c
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 D( C9 q! q- l, a- mInstitute in Washington.
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+ U) K* b' f! t! j"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ p# I U+ ?# T. i v/ l8 [6 |
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 U( R5 D4 V& A' D) |3 W- y" i1 }
McGinnis said.& d( R% ]3 e# |7 b* p+ l$ h
$ I# n5 h+ m2 h1 d( I7 j"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
: r! Q$ s9 W# I: B W$ |1 w' |longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; o5 ^ m$ o+ _: M) ~. }# ^$ B
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: d, Y$ Q J8 l% W* Zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."# f# S+ Z X1 P, q
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
4 J) L$ ]% ]4 C$ k6 Hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& p% f. Q- P3 H8 d$ _cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) c/ u+ q: S( d, J2 O4 N. jChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. n# v1 U4 X3 xon weekends.& ?; m) D4 f6 j# H/ z0 Y
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public5 ~6 k' U# E8 D$ @
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 L3 P: g& r2 j. P, p# Jstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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2 i6 E1 Y/ g% `# c/ c' oMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said4 u$ Y9 Y! x- K8 a* [
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
: F( \8 o8 H$ {2 W% d; c+ tcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
: g( o" X) v3 t+ asaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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# c% W! \) b& |6 N* yFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
) J+ F5 k5 `3 Iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ P8 ?# [7 v- K2 n
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( f) o2 h3 U8 E. ?1 Y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students5 u* d* L1 J n
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to2 y+ W+ F, H% T
the school system last year.
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4 a D1 @$ |5 MThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' X6 e- U" B- b' k8 oyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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$ W2 _' A: z: y. }5 k"They have a great international experience right in their own" b$ e+ b9 l' O
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago* l% D$ ~* v w
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 n, M, }% f2 T- I8 U# t) D6 u
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet/ p" m' [ M r( m" v9 t
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese% g" u: m& p9 t9 l8 P
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
8 Q9 z. B+ T3 W7 \( R0 w$ @Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks' J9 ]5 l* m% R q ?
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An: a. F1 x& G, }' b6 Y' r1 K
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
3 I6 L3 g- J; g/ ?" G; y, hChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* p3 K& g7 h2 D- b. ?8 s7 |
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& Z! Q- ^ i, |" {. C- Y
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before% L' u0 t; X; {$ Q |0 i E7 _3 |
deciding whether to take the class.8 u+ ^" D @8 r/ v- D4 Q9 T9 @2 H
' k6 N& J* G- L) C9 j7 N3 W"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 ~, m& D& n! h0 p2 [
told her daughter.
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+ y3 V2 F4 L1 w$ C$ _. `8 PSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
4 P; v' [: Y* d9 o' lclass.
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$ D8 W- z. F- _3 w/ K2 vAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
" d: _) K0 F ?: L7 T! Y+ [, P; U' \studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
6 Y9 Z- L4 \8 toccasional frustration.$ i8 v* X8 }0 ~9 t( S4 F
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a& @. r) I8 u f* | l3 B) X) w6 q Y4 p7 U
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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; X. E7 w* x5 ]7 L2 x3 w4 ?: aRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he( s) q6 U. e/ J- k& C8 j) `0 l% D
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
% P, o' R3 y# X$ rChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: d# t( S# H5 H' L, y. x7 q
! H; u8 m/ s! ^"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul8 P& J' {8 a A& u2 X
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
' y# o' X6 a) ^9 C9 E0 xas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the! P# g. d3 h0 b r1 r: M
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
) t& _' y0 @: t0 _3 v1 G) omarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
; X" j' c$ V" [; I. A1 fthat," Ms. Freire said.& ~9 N, c" [1 J# w/ z" r
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% u3 k) Q) u& m% N |7 }+ m
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 H I8 J# Q, |
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
" @7 U# {4 ^- y& M( E% |& f# Z6 Ltime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 B! A1 ?& K& D, L. d4 cChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
0 f: b' y# ?" e0 q9 [college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified0 E+ G" E) ^, A, j# j2 i
because of that missing certification," he said.& y' L; [+ x6 J* y9 Z! _
; @$ {$ D$ t# `" F s5 d+ t% E$ wThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, K! b1 `) c0 E' u8 q- N
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
F0 a/ E Y8 i4 q3 ISociety in New York.% T5 T7 d7 s/ |$ g2 D @: z1 \
9 t8 Y2 s$ ~2 L9 ?$ USix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the4 x) v0 N( N# P- \3 d' b
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
; o. R, G. Q _, q0 M% zthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 P! X/ k: f) q
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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