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October 15, 2005
3 a/ A3 B" S) [% H/ \9 XClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 T- c% K4 A* T3 P9 [0 K5 i
8 r, H8 @. @* A! I0 BBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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" r, J0 U- M6 w( [CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the' E; l W4 A% |1 o. V- k0 p
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 d* H" z4 I& v- zSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: z" g1 W4 q6 s4 m9 G( }
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 B* l. s8 I1 d9 Gflag hang from the wall.4 `! t% _3 t9 T& v" L
6 Q$ ~' s5 o/ SOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
' O9 b) O& L, {& ]another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
4 ]4 ~4 N% B4 d# N& w( w2 e5 ]0 Fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 a6 T: m" H) G' @/ eboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students. R2 d6 w0 {9 P' u: X5 H* u/ i
are already choosing it over Spanish.# o7 P7 B# U$ l( \" S
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 l0 Y0 p- Y. z! d- ?2 w! Tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city8 H- H( K) p T/ t4 F" j
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 Y3 @2 M+ H- y1 w% t, y/ {schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings# T' c* l) r4 D' M5 R
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( \* u6 @6 Z) Hone of its most difficult to learn.; K' e5 V) X4 |0 W
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
+ }" O @: _$ r% h W0 J2 ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students0 O# R+ }+ g- k5 O+ ]3 Y
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
r! f/ S) t* ]) R5 G# U5 _Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
: U6 G5 Q9 d, ]/ U* U2 P( n5 ITennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on' f2 F$ {/ ?! O H6 J
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to5 |. m" @3 }6 O6 P, Y2 R8 Q. K* c
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.- I. ^' x) _8 _8 J
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 J' ?; W' Q; P$ y3 |- KChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country9 R: S, u' ?6 A+ [
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to6 g6 a0 @ m( o( S* u; m
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing/ ?+ r; P. c; l( B5 ^0 P# o
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director' A6 {3 U3 u& H, J
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ ]% E( @8 T( E( D+ P& g. k9 G/ Sspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education G4 g. z- e1 C" v" c
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
9 U8 {3 p. p! b+ M! f/ }2 Hcan."
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/ `' F% J& {' ?9 k' t2 }The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from5 M* r O. M2 F, i( h( X3 {- A
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 b) x0 C" `0 D( b+ f
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language9 r6 D. H9 z1 X
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
! M4 u. w1 v0 ^ b; {) _3 \% saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
8 ?" K6 O$ ^ L) H _9 c! rMcGinnis said.
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. L# M" o4 X7 Y* z"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ m5 m9 ^# U: A, V: t
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
( K8 p T/ f- Z) C" P3 Vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a0 m+ u, J; ^0 L' X: l
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."7 p5 f1 ~8 j7 y& [& ]* H
3 o3 [# n8 e0 K. nUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
' x- k5 E9 N% j& csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% N2 X, F6 T+ t* ?8 t* tcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
" g0 ^: U; x. s; t9 |Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 B D5 b5 X, g+ }0 J
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 ?# W2 j! ~; A6 x
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves8 j& a/ m( V3 o
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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' A4 K; M: N% p: L3 r2 XMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
2 H C9 a* Y# i' B# yproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the7 E( S3 P9 U$ I' Y! R" H. J; \$ W1 ?
competition. 9 \! j) E3 ? q3 x
8 \. d% Z M$ k" W2 N' s t" p"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 L1 V/ M5 x5 P) N+ d1 k# B) N* lsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
1 Y/ X7 Y! V$ s& |all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ _) z |; W6 m' E. ^( O* c' ^
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
; N( K2 q% n- Z' G# bkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 _8 A7 v) k8 Ewho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
+ l- O( Z0 H& z4 O. w5 ^* w! cthe school system last year.
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a4 p% r: g3 C8 C8 jThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, h& ?: x3 a. D4 L$ i5 `
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- E1 p: ~, d; _; q+ b
" s* P1 [; h' ^ v3 {! n; w! E& T"They have a great international experience right in their own& Q; x4 x. m. u. |; ?6 S" q
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 I. n) X1 q- ] G" U# p
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to- a; l+ d7 n( H6 d( n$ |3 {" w' K
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
% q' E4 I9 s6 E6 Z4 Y' |on an equal playing field."' B" p+ U T4 L$ @6 X
, q! y- X9 d& F5 hSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ E2 S% u+ m0 L$ m! a/ y- ]classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- r0 e. X# R) K5 y& D$ T! a
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; d; R; F5 u" s" D. `3 CChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An' a( K1 p% d0 C! e. s6 x5 `/ Z
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
3 u4 I {8 I/ x8 |Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) p4 M; k# m) Pinstitute says.4 s" E! D" f; m, h/ \/ }6 X+ x+ r
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 ?+ h* ^ |/ T0 s& Fgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before2 j7 J, J' L6 B6 j7 r$ }
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
" c# c8 O3 g) g- btold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
, F4 V! N" P3 C; h. i9 I# J& Uclass.* Q. G G4 ^) ^8 t" U
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are$ g% c- E9 |1 |: W; k
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without2 \& I Z0 J1 S% s! D
occasional frustration.
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( P$ n) H5 m9 |6 j"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a5 N, l4 o, p1 \7 o! X6 {# }
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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" D! f- v+ v1 \: J: dRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 |: h' V: Y: \- h! z1 ~5 Z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- `$ C# D5 C& K' qChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
" H. ~3 I& v) e1 Dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- n+ w, g1 D# x
as many languages as I can."6 f5 G% |7 `% n+ m }6 i" P' t
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ e; A$ H( N Y3 u4 B/ @skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 u- C! d {% W: c5 n# Nmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) J0 ?" N+ s4 J3 W
that," Ms. Freire said.6 [; t9 \. b9 ]* |; u* o7 _
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
$ a, P( c7 P' z* n: b7 C, {here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
6 K" |# C' {& T' U' dschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
- u8 P; _# }0 i4 g1 n2 Ttime from classes like physical education, music and art to make' {0 V; t1 n' W
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer3 t4 C7 f# g3 q' t* s- z# e. y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American0 U, L- ]4 d" N8 m4 q5 s# r5 n
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' o' t9 \6 N& C1 j7 A
% `# ~) N) Z, [. l"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
- L% ~( ^. o$ C' W% q; l- {because of that missing certification," he said.
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( O# H( f2 T3 wThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
) g+ G3 R# X6 s4 d: H9 P* G1 Ksaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, \1 K( p3 p, M* v( y' j
Society in New York.
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/ H* M3 r7 c! [+ @9 TSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 W9 g& V* W2 Z' G0 J8 H# ~Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from% a/ [& d. R W! h/ h" Y+ ]
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) i+ A$ V6 ]+ ]5 E
9 j1 ], M" k) E9 `% Y"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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