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October 15, 2005
! ~& H1 T' J) ?Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 |1 B8 ^. u% P7 c$ n( BUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 P& {; f# P5 Y8 O" B P: \
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
1 t) w( v$ {3 A) Xdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese9 W" x h6 J6 S# ?) o5 G
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, Y7 ]3 z3 g0 _2 ~9 q7 ]# Y, |" Q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
4 K! C( A7 L, F7 npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
3 Q0 Z% d: s( Jboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
" l* _# ` L; ` ^* |- [ uare already choosing it over Spanish.9 f# J( v0 f$ e7 o
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal8 T8 [; }1 o. I) d8 c
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city' F. E5 o4 n. b, D& w; U
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."( S! b( M# e3 u$ I8 E
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
4 ]8 b: d# e7 Q* N0 D# eschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" i+ s& } x; H% _! i" U
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
& |; U6 Y+ T0 V& q2 F( y f" H& |7 Vone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to" B7 P2 ]% H9 t3 l( ~) f, G
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students4 u2 i' {9 L, u7 t9 L6 Q
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ A2 B( V# a7 O+ o7 P# B$ F
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of1 g5 I+ V, T- G% g% r9 j
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
( q: ]! V9 X; Y; N7 F- D$ yChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 J( h' y) h/ C3 _; e$ w" D7 p- vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. J0 m Z0 n! P7 X
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement% [& I1 l. v7 @* V% {
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 ^5 V7 [% r9 [# P5 x- hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! p1 o7 C6 l/ b9 v' S. T- a# Z8 f
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing& i+ a5 N! e! {% H% ~( k& N
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director; U8 T: u( D5 I. M
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of* l, w. ?( a8 o" ^0 S1 l0 j; ?
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 T0 G3 t- C8 I1 I5 ^
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
; K1 \# T: \$ [9 Z! gcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
* D! X, d5 h0 {$ ^$ L5 celementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
u4 d. ~ T6 C! v& ^% R7 yyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 h7 r: z$ ^6 q" w2 YInstitute in Washington.; H5 B: k9 p" y7 ?: a4 x0 ^
" S A- R; A# R" b+ Y"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( m" Y( i, r- E5 o: z& N8 Daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.9 C" |" K: s3 n y) V# m" z
McGinnis said.# @7 u& p5 c# `
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical* m+ d' v2 G0 c1 V9 \0 a% ] l# d! G
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# |$ x; K* j5 k6 m
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a/ {' K* A6 ^9 H4 x
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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; y1 @, g" y/ EUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 V c {9 I6 v& W
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in3 K( w. W0 O: ` J5 O5 z. Z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of: V2 n; Z+ X& a: q3 t8 k. h8 y
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
) ]5 G% n, b* H; B2 gon weekends.6 N7 H |$ W3 P
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public% `. ]4 A% W# f* r" J9 E) u& O$ I
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves* p( H: k. S, z0 P4 i/ }
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 Q0 _3 d% ?' Y6 s. S
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
, G; L; s9 E V: Ycompetition. - v% ]8 L+ a. h! _6 y0 M$ \$ j; f
: Q- Z; X$ Y8 I x. o9 @"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
9 S& `2 {( a7 X+ y9 A$ s0 [+ R/ ssaid. "There will be Chinese and English."- w9 a# v( Z* e X
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 d' E, U2 R9 E( K( i; G+ V; d$ Lall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: G, e5 D, M* W. F2 K G/ `+ T# E4 Mschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
) V* j+ E+ A) B- p! ?$ O% h" r+ [' `kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
. _9 Z; \* ^/ c7 g" e0 Awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 l2 ]4 S! q. q, P$ Qthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' R( x, i: Q6 \, A3 l- j8 p
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( S& F; K: h0 L w( \
' c; j( a3 T0 I"They have a great international experience right in their own* w4 ?- V l1 i# w8 b/ n: e
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
# {* P. e" y6 cChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to- x) w9 w3 m% U
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
T" Y$ d1 H: ~+ v7 I# F) Ion an equal playing field."
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9 |8 @" a& a0 w' }Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 [6 t2 M3 r) @* L# m, c$ U) jclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign: F( x; v6 g+ G/ g! z: x
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: j# s, a7 b4 q# JChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An! t. u8 |! R+ q; R% ~4 b2 m
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
E6 h7 q5 v+ m, E- M1 DChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# v. {: `5 L! O" c" d2 qinstitute says.0 a0 u T+ t; E5 u& K% t% @
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# U# a! w( @- N2 _" wgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, D* E! J/ v! j6 T5 p) U
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 i/ Y: ?% Z* K y) {/ H( }/ c
told her daughter.' V ]7 Z: {: n6 T# M& J( G
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite s2 s1 E d5 G! x7 H5 i
class.. v/ N+ v& x& H, b* g- l
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 b, [ D+ _7 p0 L6 f0 C vstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without, m# L' o6 V R7 F! w9 n N& {
occasional frustration.) i3 b& b4 ^$ x6 J- a
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a- F9 ~1 D& e. T4 b' x$ c/ X. c0 o5 g
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! u3 S C5 |6 a6 H$ }. x& dtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
4 f$ Y5 j8 c; rChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 E2 H+ N" q, Q% A3 O5 ^9 o& y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ g0 B6 L3 r1 h) \( aas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; o' i3 ?( |% _& K" Z! F, C( o Eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 n8 @( N: x+ ^) b4 x+ x# j% g
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- t. v' W: j4 x5 C! ythat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ ]. E0 b1 O% Z `6 I6 y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
T/ s0 M2 Q5 I7 p8 I) F: T3 [school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 y% h) m3 G9 ^0 N G3 k( D4 Ltime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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W6 Z; Q) X! s6 J; lChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer T/ P% A5 a( d. @
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American- q2 o" ^+ s, \; r2 H5 A- ^" S: \
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.* g- V( U2 P4 R5 W; D6 S$ s8 A
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 B$ H ~0 x; n# E" D8 lbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! x# R0 G. h6 a# a1 F" X2 ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia! T& z" [+ J' T
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 z9 W+ S$ |1 E W$ X9 y! ^3 {# mChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from7 w+ h+ Z0 [; ` p7 @* ?+ F" z* T
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: l3 U% J4 n% P9 R0 M
* s! K! _# ^! z4 E. N! |"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
8 @5 L8 J* _0 I+ p5 b* p5 E6 O* D. Nown."
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