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October 15, 2005
. D& {6 ~2 J }- dClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 d4 \9 M; M9 g8 u; U0 F9 g: N
+ R4 `0 i; h8 A) T8 X. H) y- BBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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9 A5 ]+ D! V$ K( ^4 g* @7 y/ S4 ?CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 A; M& j6 p) L. LUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
- ?# @5 R% z& t6 aSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
& x A8 n/ V) L1 A4 J8 Edangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 ~& n7 m& ], Dflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
L( K3 [/ f, Y2 H: tanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders8 J+ l7 E# z" F' b5 q
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker7 H* _! R$ @# N4 f7 c8 m! q4 L: e
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 s S$ x6 L. I* _3 Sare already choosing it over Spanish." c# Y" o: H X- o0 k5 x
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
+ s4 W3 W# L$ L! `" Vat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city; I3 b7 e6 U1 m" i
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."% ]) l5 f. I q* T5 `/ C
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
9 w/ a# O8 _3 j5 ?& ~2 Q4 ]schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
* R' S/ M2 [4 b, K& l: Yto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention5 ^3 X, n: O, B8 s% T
one of its most difficult to learn.
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8 H' z7 e- h2 I* O0 f: N8 Z7 e) LLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to3 K6 M+ `& c; E. O0 V+ Q' `
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! ]# I5 I: L b3 B+ X# ~. u
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! h# p. O. d3 }! Y3 ?5 i, }
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% B5 Y) Z3 c2 N
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- k4 i$ l3 S1 z5 u* W* H
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
4 u4 T( K7 S5 Z7 S& k6 jimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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* ?4 U9 g, _% R5 Y0 BAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
2 E2 G) L, k8 U& ~ h3 xChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
% e' e$ w. \9 ]- l( K. {7 }starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to2 M" H8 F6 a( X* b
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" [5 G9 }6 B+ y5 I* P! p: ]curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director7 }) b; m; _- T. B; R0 Y/ y
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.' Y/ r. v G& s! _/ v: C
! q7 a* s1 @5 ["Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of i# [) r. A0 u5 H
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 k( l% V* r; [, A
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
- P0 V+ V) Y9 x. Vcan."
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! x4 F) _4 @7 yThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
& ~1 K7 [# o ~2 _: L1 yelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10% C7 o/ o6 K U: w5 \4 [
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language- s) E- m5 ^6 g2 Z: H
Institute in Washington.
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2 O# o/ l0 J0 \2 F' p) D"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* ^ W/ h5 @3 P/ B
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
& M2 K7 W3 ~5 z8 Y1 K& r$ @" WMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical, P4 Q V# P. W! k4 n4 [! ?3 ~
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 N' |: f) C' s9 a' A& Aready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
; V2 O+ t: L8 o, Uchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."3 n2 z! ~1 I/ M! z8 a; |
4 a: @1 g. a& _- T* j. u% `. q. s2 [Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
: `7 g! X2 Q% [" Bsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in/ ?% G" v0 _. z% L+ C4 X: g+ G% }
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 a8 e* s9 ?5 h' o* u6 dChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or+ p! V( }% u- {( o3 E
on weekends.% e1 t( B$ U7 ~8 q4 Y3 j: v
( n1 P. Q2 ?3 d9 d& lThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public7 y9 ^0 G3 ]7 A1 g
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. w; J/ E9 d. l! c
students who are not of Chinese descent.1 u; g$ ?9 w* _5 V
3 x. ?5 r" u y" I- DMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said1 V5 Y( V. O, O5 k& e9 C; @
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- J! v3 Y) h% ccompetition.
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% x) |/ }9 b- @, {+ L7 ~: l" `: i"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
& M1 f( ~0 n; @, i* F) esaid. "There will be Chinese and English."! k+ ^+ t5 ` Z' H
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 Z( K1 x. Z2 _8 h% [
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 z3 h C& c- A5 r; P ]2 Oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 t) a6 X, |+ Q D; d$ G" g! r6 y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students1 ]4 u9 `' T2 i6 n- c; D
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to8 b7 ^/ c. ~- O2 A! t( ~
the school system last year.+ p7 k+ _9 b' L& U8 B
H5 T9 p/ @; Y0 H7 z2 y% fThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this$ p$ k, _! Q, q5 v7 t- L
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
- i5 N' K6 |% H3 Cclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
$ W+ p, `, h! K6 [% A3 wChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 S$ e }0 \9 O. t$ E- u" e
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet3 Z% q1 v) H$ `8 m5 F
on an equal playing field."
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: R+ m0 k( c. w1 pSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
8 e7 a. T8 ?+ G, |5 J+ }classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign6 G- t# N8 p* w1 _% e
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
. U9 o% M, l' Z' W6 [/ kChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
. T/ J& A4 l4 Taverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in6 t, S' Y7 D# [
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the H: T- ~/ n: j' k0 V
institute says.2 H, ]- A8 F/ K! s4 L
- W* ~. ?4 o. H- i' a2 @! GSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 e( |& M z6 A, ^9 @grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before! ^$ t5 K. \3 p2 Y) U
deciding whether to take the class.
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+ ? K. |& f8 G"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% J; \3 R }0 G0 Z+ Y. W2 ltold her daughter.
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' [+ J( k5 F! y m2 T) O( CSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
9 }0 I% j0 s# r% Nclass.$ k' `4 v+ o6 C$ S( J0 z
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are; y1 d3 @) G$ \; P* Y
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; f2 U$ M7 n4 j& v0 @. ^. o+ Z1 `occasional frustration.( A) n3 P. F/ z" T
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; h4 n: G' K R* h# B1 crecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 p. k* U( e& \
: @: c4 o3 x3 m/ `; k# e; kRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
3 Y \1 Z3 y% s3 M( P3 Y5 Mtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
1 ?% }/ ^& C% U: V" K& ^, wChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
' _5 f6 S$ Z3 s1 R9 r) l& Asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn1 G# I, d6 p p/ [# d5 \' u) ^
as many languages as I can.", I# [$ i* P' G6 B+ z% q' C! f9 F
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the0 ^: h7 ~. a8 R2 y# I3 O% ~8 c0 n
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job* D T0 M9 `* s8 O& U$ S% l
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like7 K6 j7 C4 n P B/ n$ u/ M
that," Ms. Freire said.- ]" F: ^# @" P
) H1 ]3 e R$ q$ j: FMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program B, g, q5 I' v# l" H: K
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
! G& N0 r4 Q4 n( S! Hschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
( ~/ Y" F+ o5 p8 Ktime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 j! r& s4 p$ F5 @/ ]' |% L9 W, [room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer' C( ]. z+ _7 t" U% o2 }
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American+ V8 J3 t# t" r
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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& K7 g6 Z+ g/ }1 S! O7 {"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified+ E- Y- h) Q; k& |; X
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, e' R1 G, K* _: p, L. v3 Ssaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: \& F/ D9 s2 P! R; [Society in New York.) n" B! p' u V* S, H; m
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
) ?$ s) g! B* o2 L8 g C2 ~Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 @0 n: v: V) o! T& ]the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) C: V( ~4 _2 s; h0 e2 |
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, r' f5 g* n, l3 N
own."* M- s2 V5 ^& G, m( d4 M1 N
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