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October 15, 2005
' r* i2 t7 w' l: H$ rClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
1 y7 Y$ l. r4 `
g; P1 i l; U: @9 HBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING. i- k7 B9 ~) ]5 v
1 y$ ^$ O2 U3 P) T! yCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the% y7 J% q+ |, p: W
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, O% K$ O# R1 i$ @3 n1 }) H7 H( t
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ N! m. B' ]. Z( R! B P4 ?
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese8 o9 J6 O1 ~3 p9 O
flag hang from the wall.( X8 Y8 ~( P# w' ~0 ]3 J0 C' D
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one' i9 Y3 k! G f/ @, k
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, t' q) M3 d# Q1 v0 j
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
6 w, {, |& e( M# h, Tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
; E& y& o% I6 H+ P; `are already choosing it over Spanish.
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, F( g7 s- K$ Z p2 O"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
. ]! I0 T( O9 E0 Y; Cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city: T. X3 ~5 S5 l0 O' _' [
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& u9 m# \/ q( K. ]" B- I2 p
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& r- D6 D3 ^5 D' G! I% @to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention5 |5 {, d3 H4 z: j$ q1 z7 R4 f9 c
one of its most difficult to learn.; n# \' J% g+ J2 E G
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 O8 l+ M, L- ~+ z8 ^public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. }% i, G! L; O" b# Nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# `0 c. N. e9 X( P: eLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of# Y4 x2 K! f: R; _$ r
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 B' _& U0 Z& X7 U$ r0 U. J/ h
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to8 O$ v8 g g0 y9 B9 e) R; o' S% @, n
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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3 T7 G% \ b% e) H& _$ x2 u! W& B( I( WAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement" I3 I+ z- l% ?0 k4 l5 F" l/ B
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& o! h( }, \% j1 O
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
8 W& v7 L' V' Q& Y& n/ xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 Y* B/ A4 f* ~# g) C
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& H/ P) P% z6 q. \! a( `of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.2 M! ?/ {! i0 D; c7 ]& f7 ~6 j: F
' F" b% p9 z! O"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
h; O& d; l' wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education Q: G/ R, L: s$ w5 A: T
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
5 m' I# I$ P! `( }# qcan."
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7 M! j0 L: y M$ Y! VThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from* V6 D6 m) I6 h% |
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( b# G7 }& d' _. J ^1 Dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language& a' a7 O: @; |1 Q! U# G
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( F. C$ K0 g9 n' caren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.% I' f6 P* G; Y1 \ U8 A1 l
McGinnis said.; K4 m9 i& j2 `- `
1 ]/ P7 A" B$ B7 v"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical0 j/ f0 M4 V$ S% Y9 M
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 o8 R9 r& u7 d: P F6 S: ~; \3 g
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a8 `+ {, S6 x% h' T. m- f7 }( ] R
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and6 y8 {. w: [3 T
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
4 h* {+ w9 P: [" I+ n: U( Gcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ s1 C M( }' Z7 N3 m
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ S6 x( X( o* oon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% m6 u \$ H( x/ qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves( A2 j3 P G* J% b' n
students who are not of Chinese descent.3 e- \/ R i$ E6 B
: x# D2 I" I6 w0 g4 Y# U# TMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said- a6 I2 \) f, P( h$ t
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the3 k2 a$ C* j ^: H. C9 X
competition. - g4 F; M. c/ d( |
' B2 t9 X& ^ x0 \" e$ h"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley3 {& F: _- L D" m* [+ V6 y
said. "There will be Chinese and English."/ G" X. l/ i& B4 ?( c: H0 ~
' t& ?1 ?' }( |& J yFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 J( R$ d. l/ xall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 x4 j# o- h9 \0 t2 J7 fschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from2 O( i, }! H( c `& f$ u1 e
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
( ~0 {; d, m1 T0 k4 }, }who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 N# A* y0 d* Q& v
the school system last year.% ?6 q1 \1 {/ J2 O N* v* M
/ n$ T- f6 {) A" |* \9 x2 o; RThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ X7 s, {. D4 |) nyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.0 k' g! y" C0 `/ H; k
' }1 D4 w; {9 {"They have a great international experience right in their own
: j0 G9 q& N& a9 k! Gclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago/ S; N* r& h+ y7 t5 [& z2 B
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 L4 b2 h/ S, O: T) F8 l3 V
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
6 P0 i4 H% A0 r9 ?$ X; ~on an equal playing field."
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% q* S- d- A( f" H8 BSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
1 P |0 y( q0 L# [$ ~3 D0 H# o) n* Pclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
+ ~7 k) U6 H1 ~. FService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* R+ Z G$ M/ h' X4 q, D
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An+ t2 B7 D% }0 G* r6 `) F
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 Z/ s- @% {9 `Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 ?0 f6 g7 R( U$ S. ?) s3 finstitute says.
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B$ S+ j1 `- T* m) {: ^) L8 R0 q% i/ L2 JSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* t+ U3 q" v3 @) h9 K: Ggrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
$ I5 S" |" c% }. S; I8 W: R1 Rdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* g; f3 _4 r% l T' C" [; v9 htold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
6 y" s6 A( v! N% G' T$ cclass.3 W9 b5 X* |4 z2 d1 m' ]
' h) y3 [ u" ]) R( O& @( B$ ^% EAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
: m, v: z0 W8 d+ z( Estudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
- d# d: |; b5 {# `, x: h- a2 N Coccasional frustration. y( A' b b. v# c
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
7 n+ P8 y: K9 N' Q9 ?/ Arecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 _3 q% w1 [' ^. g" U/ n$ u
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, G8 }1 V$ j3 t) P1 N; Q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with3 G+ Y+ f# Y/ s; V0 E( L5 ^# j6 }
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.3 Z6 v9 Z' w/ ^# x) A
0 C! M" C3 g. S' o"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
+ Q. p$ K( m' ?( n6 T& U. Osaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
. x" `% q5 |: }; C" Y. Jas many languages as I can."' v% u( M6 }1 f1 e7 H
7 j+ @9 G8 {3 S5 Z' i# U9 |4 U7 mAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
, r0 Q& m* _" ^* w9 dskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& d: O. t' [, e( X) ]
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ W+ e. P' T' l8 R! @
that," Ms. Freire said.
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. {; M6 p# ?8 }8 MMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 R+ Y7 U/ ?3 p( v5 V: m7 chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each* h, ?* a1 }; Q$ ]7 |$ b
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
1 b+ g3 I! W. f$ ]5 Vtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make2 y8 \/ n9 `1 D3 a5 y9 V
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
5 n6 h4 x+ s& @' uChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 Q& R- u9 w. a! a1 P, |
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 qualified
! t% `# Y5 h7 q) t, _) jbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
% Z9 Q5 G. P- I; vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia V3 X3 u/ m# Z/ G" K" G* K) W
Society in New York.2 `% e7 V% i: t. G# E5 G1 u3 L
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the o0 d, r% E6 S8 Y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
G3 K- p( i: C, ^! p0 Jthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; B" [ e0 k* a; z% W6 v- g
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 Q& Q9 l1 s1 ?
own."$ Z( {) a& [2 b! a
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