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October 15, 2005
) ?% |% p* n" W, H k" BClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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/ o( o7 e- m, h3 pBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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F/ q; `! o2 U8 M+ |( g' sCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 H9 |6 H# I. k9 xUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( J, f* T; F2 G& h# J6 jSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* U/ L/ T8 |% p% D% _dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese4 N' ~8 d) X+ D- _
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one5 Z& h, n& [+ |: Q! z7 m" ]
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) A; Y# U) G; m/ Upracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
0 v' r/ H, ]* F6 u# cboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
1 t% b' @+ W& P6 L9 O" ^are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- z3 c5 Z& C2 V# c: m
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city5 x) Y1 _. Z$ `$ Z+ \, ?
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."$ y. B' C! h/ r% V% u* r
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
5 T+ R3 [6 R" `5 \5 z, V# ^schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- u6 Z, G3 P' e- Z. u+ `to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention+ k9 T* ~9 r0 L6 [3 y
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
. ~$ b# F& ]1 W6 \# F% Kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
" X8 i% g7 L/ h# A+ pstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
+ A2 d. Q1 D. ]7 \Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 z& P) y2 D/ m( M' l: p* L: Y
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on x6 [9 w$ F9 i- }
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to Q# u5 i0 v6 `
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
, \1 l. H2 _- F% z5 @# x) TChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; D' g7 K8 g% z0 d6 _starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
$ q7 r3 D3 a4 z- d4 p8 gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing8 e7 Z5 E5 f+ y7 _3 {; s' g9 O4 E
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director I! ^; O% I, W" j0 G
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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$ Q9 |+ e0 N) L8 L E; d% B"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
& `# a, y6 O" _3 c2 o0 f5 zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
! Q7 K- ]7 ]0 `8 ]( }* qConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
7 e; @- N G) V* t" {can."
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% ^+ Q) c" ]% ?9 R0 V# ] k" iThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from/ r* D5 A2 @+ z2 z$ N, `# B3 s
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10) m# o* o2 o" L( ~# G
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
" e/ y6 R; @. q5 j* A1 jInstitute in Washington.1 i" \6 u' n0 f# q3 k
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 x' }: r5 ~4 N5 v! c
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( |% J* f5 Q$ LMcGinnis said.$ Q4 J: e' H. o/ H1 y
I. r3 U8 T2 Z$ X; u+ o"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& N9 T# ^; f5 W. j* d8 @& m
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ o6 a4 |/ O- j! h% g
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a8 @2 D6 `3 ~. |' h
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
" J; i& d" d1 a" a+ m! a/ s# l$ ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
8 L6 r! M# T$ }) Qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 J& R: R D4 L7 ^# x* \Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or6 x% X* N# }# _( ]$ t. v
on weekends.- M+ F% A) ^) v
5 B+ Z9 L7 e) b0 HThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* P. K4 ?. H. G, N+ o0 I7 c- I* k" ?schools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 I( w' [0 ?# P* ^& ^( r
students who are not of Chinese descent.0 ?4 j$ K# O2 Z
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
+ r/ g& ` n! P. |) Z# V: y$ kproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
1 ]& i: V6 E- x7 f9 k* ^* xcompetition.
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1 v/ o% [: S, {4 t/ O"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" J5 x- w {1 l) u
said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ E5 f: N- k3 d8 i
+ ^/ k$ E) @- A7 K5 v* |* m$ bFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
% M3 m! E% |0 ^3 o2 Aall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
$ T% Y/ K' x5 x1 d) u1 Hschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
. n" l' M' {8 r& h& x7 M/ dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students5 c, h5 ^- [$ F' w
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to j# Y S- \" O1 ]- G
the school system last year.
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9 V' z% c( f+ W& T- p) A0 yThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
c- q# p, E, M" N' c! \( f' Dyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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, |& H$ n1 m. y$ M% G! J"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 a) M! Y- d3 _3 l- Z/ oclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago$ |6 t' h6 h/ |$ e
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to# Z3 @! W2 f7 t' w# e
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 I8 B* B: z5 \" |6 @3 e) D& Gon an equal playing field."( M7 d% Z h" u8 z- \
; x, n2 `( e- X) ^Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 A: ]- q6 p& F- W, U( Z# U' u2 k- oclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign0 R1 N0 x2 ^. R' `9 V% O$ h6 n
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 l% n' P; j0 w3 f) y+ ^; u6 k
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
0 N$ k" T' Q) B2 `$ y/ r* [6 X! uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in% L' l1 L- A! y7 {; o' T
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
: J a7 |* j5 f/ T! Z& d6 m( N# s5 oinstitute says.
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: Y9 C# {/ k J( C6 d) D" cSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
" v9 h/ A* H3 tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. F" f" L' w% |/ ?
deciding whether to take the class.- z9 \ W d+ c3 V+ K( I4 s A
7 K( K# s5 {) l1 o: r9 `"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 V0 `7 E6 ^( J% G" V) G) k
told her daughter.
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& x) l1 w, r1 J- a8 @Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( p% Y$ s- S- ]; ~8 [
class.8 y, y: E1 |8 O
$ U0 X9 J- A2 PAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 u9 D" @, Q/ ~' T V/ Nstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
6 D1 Y( f& M8 f G% t/ D3 Goccasional frustration.+ u7 }1 g+ O2 Q' j; }% [
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* N# P Q) H( x7 Z7 \% b
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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+ C: P* d, j. z$ J" B; qRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 R0 N! ~+ w+ C& e1 P* y: P2 k7 utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 ]" v. P q3 i5 j0 M" P5 L& {
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.) a% n# W7 Q4 D4 J
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
& K; L2 [1 S! K; v- @, Ysaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 T, R D& V+ O) X
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( Z$ U* D3 K$ H f+ f6 j8 pskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
, {" h; m$ @1 x: e8 Q- t/ _* fmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like# K' [6 ]4 p& D( k
that," Ms. Freire said.9 C& O* B8 }( K; N6 l1 k
) U! R$ e& R) |: ?: V4 w/ `, bMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( {. X3 u- l. o- E+ N2 F5 r
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' s2 [0 A: n0 W0 V3 Ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking' F1 K- g2 P9 e* T# T/ q# g8 Z. g4 r
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make0 \& k4 o& B9 e; ~" E- n m: r9 }: y
room.: `3 _9 F2 S5 ]' ?
$ T2 x& o" ]: H2 E) t. C' ?/ S/ w0 oChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
r" x% ^5 c% }* b; mChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
4 V' x- l8 j6 D$ Q5 `9 Xcollege, 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
6 G* @! m) S8 \9 K/ U5 B6 c7 kbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,# P. b- v N: o i; Y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia$ q! Q1 X7 B/ m4 W3 _7 R5 U
Society in New York." V/ x5 {. v# A/ _: R
4 k9 o" s. T" Q* u, N: M, gSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
# w8 j. w, w9 r. v+ `& iChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- @! d8 x* c. @* Q+ i
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: b, |+ Q/ w) a) @. [2 D1 l) O h
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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