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October 15, 2005. U8 o' E' @& p
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 x& {5 y i/ w+ W% H8 X# K
- Z# D' D' g* d+ m- WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ n) D0 x8 s) D2 h% D
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary& J @3 M% U! d* e
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 n2 i2 e9 h% @' T2 M& j
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ E _# C/ w; Gflag hang from the wall.
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# |- E; ~( c3 ]5 ?& E K" JOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" F% `' \+ `+ e# Z( c: q
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( h8 {3 O# |% y" o% S4 hpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
) k9 [5 e3 v2 C4 y% u6 T) L- lboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
: w% Z- t2 t. p& W/ O- v/ \5 Dare already choosing it over Spanish.
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1 N. v: d' I" r7 a$ N0 L/ ?"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
' ]2 Y: u" e- Vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 @0 D- h' A0 {6 Soffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% D0 n' J+ x2 t1 [9 t; N5 c7 h
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% x- p' D5 y5 _$ [* V
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention1 ?2 }' e6 A; d( n. R+ x
one of its most difficult to learn.5 I8 q, p4 y3 \2 ?
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
+ E' N4 K& o% _+ mpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
$ e! X* E7 }0 q4 K5 c. h+ _studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. S5 j6 `5 ^$ _
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ i1 B$ q$ o& d1 }- n2 J) Z; OTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on/ k6 L$ \8 v0 n) k7 g# I# }5 J- X
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) O% }; y$ v" D8 U' w( L" u9 himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.: P/ x1 h& w- z5 J1 t
) v; r3 g. o! p, {6 x* L. }After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement4 [8 K3 J' m9 E# g# ?3 }: [
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country `, |* @# E- ^$ H! G0 M
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to0 c; A: J9 a, l. v* e/ \% [1 J; {0 d
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
: `% i) i+ B: |curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# |5 A4 ^) p" ^
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- Y$ Q# ^ `- _3 N/ u
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education7 O% f( @7 `; i Z' V- H
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 Y7 p3 W' K* D5 m& E8 kelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10# h# P0 c& k/ R; s0 N$ G
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 H! b6 l$ P, H) Q2 ? hInstitute in Washington.# ` ^8 d) ~! b( ]% \6 C5 r. z- J
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages) _% m& H( M W
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 r% p: }' O2 E( l# f' O1 ~
McGinnis said.
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$ D; B: u4 E8 D+ J0 n4 \" a"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ M' `& F' k# L/ ?6 f! i5 rlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be6 O8 P3 ]! F k. g% S) y- h* V& a
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% W4 V# {! b* ~% x/ a' ochallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! M% O# N6 h# f
) n* x1 P! p; ]7 L6 f5 \Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and4 K( u6 q& @% N
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# t6 v; C8 C9 b& P" I* U" Scities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of: x4 A- Y- O( X9 W% q/ ^5 y# J
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. S' ^1 K# f, j2 \on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
7 K; p- w9 x$ ~- M: wschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) z( R- j7 L8 ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
1 T' Q4 s4 i+ a6 B' pproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
* e( A. c6 C% E2 N9 e& `competition. 2 S0 C, h" }" x
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# Z8 I; I( ^7 O, m7 t9 o5 {
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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: B9 m' n+ Y* I n; NFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 p& ^: @# q9 H/ Yall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- I+ E7 R. t* f# F$ q% Y# L, n% N0 Tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ y! b' U" k8 u6 L* nkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ i5 B6 N& v9 c5 a G! Swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
8 O; m8 d" Y: f) [6 f3 k9 Qthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ Y4 J& E, a/ |7 f( x' F# Ayear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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7 o, p- o1 M8 s- c3 Z6 w"They have a great international experience right in their own
5 F& P w; g9 ^; x2 z7 r& `classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
1 P0 P, P& s c* ?" [ vChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
: Y/ E$ p% v8 ~6 O- W! bhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet1 v, |, B& J6 a. ?5 w
on an equal playing field."+ V1 W) f! r6 w# ^: V' b" Q( c
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; t& c; f0 b/ s6 E$ ~ @) E) B
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, [( D F& T" f& r' o* M$ sService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! S U3 J6 h8 T$ E" y! W `$ BChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# x) W6 X# c$ `7 ]& B
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
. a8 X t) c2 C& x% dChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the( V0 Y$ [6 n' z" s5 l# @
institute says.
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$ T) b) u3 [! Y- [* dSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth$ t9 w1 \- `3 {- d# X( _
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ E7 v1 \' d9 Y/ Xdeciding whether to take the class.- B# E2 O$ \1 `3 w$ m# I- I: v: Q
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
, K8 r' z6 ~" n& W( Dtold her daughter.3 W& w) A% A X
) T# d4 U! g% d2 F$ qSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite. l! d7 o t0 r% S/ \/ q# q4 X/ f
class.$ n; l; i3 M$ a
- s! i5 H* n$ c# S( X6 kAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
- h6 R) f N* y$ }) kstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- ]( {$ c" D: Y- x% S% O6 Z: e
occasional frustration./ Z- h3 ?4 M; i
# i2 ]& e) W h8 R"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; ~6 { {) r! @% w) e3 ~$ I zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
( O% p4 x2 j7 F# v( w( W, a" `/ N: ^& ~taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
0 U' @/ i3 n' ?1 r$ j+ cChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works., ?3 Y/ g' H7 @ l. a( f
7 Y' b6 S1 x% Y& T5 c"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
1 p6 t3 p7 P/ ?5 _4 Qsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
Y: ]) D! W5 S, g' Q0 g( Vas many languages as I can."9 {2 R. N! z" }1 ~
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) X0 K n) V8 W+ C/ Askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job R; R% v) o6 v0 [
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) m3 T1 Q2 ~5 I9 F
that," Ms. Freire said.# c4 h5 I: f v8 I0 z: t2 T
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program6 j3 Y4 N3 P3 H5 G0 U4 h9 w& {
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
7 l, I- y/ ~. m \school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 v3 W7 c" Q& ]3 ~6 ~
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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* s ]% ]& l0 j! e3 L- CChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 {" d" k8 [4 ^- x6 x
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American, P8 q& y3 b9 S- Q5 P) s0 N5 N
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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9 @5 }* L% ~1 e# b ?! I y"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ C$ W; T3 t/ D1 ebecause of that missing certification," he said.3 `) O9 o6 @$ ]( _( q5 Z
( Y8 d' ~2 T9 ^; G7 h; PThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
' Y) J# \1 J }& i# v+ Y hsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia% |' x- V, _/ B1 K% Q+ K5 l
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the+ V7 u) M3 z" l7 J- W, v# x V, Y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
& I: i% `0 U! c5 ?- T% M hthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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S/ X, q- S" g* S# x- ^5 w' x9 n"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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