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October 15, 2005
2 G' Z% A) L# \$ G5 o/ S( K( QClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity4 l: Z' b# Y, v5 H2 v
" h) p( p/ d/ V! V \8 q5 |2 TBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING- \( r) H$ U1 y9 U; C) c3 U
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
, \+ t- ?- M* HUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ N4 g: K3 o* ~. x' s" Z- L
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
# ^) J( X7 I. ]dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
8 g2 v3 O& q9 J# B: e% J4 `flag hang from the wall.2 u8 L: I% @8 Y: x4 q9 Q
7 A! v3 }1 h7 V* {One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one6 m5 D; A& C% I8 U2 i
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders& `) M' ^1 U: k
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 |/ Q1 y5 |7 i8 x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. x; {, S! K$ Y/ J8 P ^* Rare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal/ L! G; a+ w C6 `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 V+ T ^9 O% ^8 f. v6 [6 Loffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."' k l: j4 G8 N6 R0 |# J
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) A' u; z, X, L8 A/ o, `# s9 w
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings7 c) Y0 g0 f2 |' j' @4 d
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% G' ]6 b+ F. x! N5 k$ P/ K wone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
/ R: s1 ?* w+ N* bpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
$ x/ G' r) J3 J @4 i. _studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.0 K- r2 J. w6 ?+ a& @; M
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
( o" R5 b' {) S( o6 p; `) `Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
+ E* M( h1 S% x$ Z6 kChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ t" ~6 ?. K" q7 B& H8 o6 [2 H
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
6 t% f( O% m# y" y/ ~* I8 S' P) F eChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country2 H. g J, Y6 X- S" y0 R ?) _4 e
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to J: a6 {: B% H* ~: U0 A
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
- _! o) J" c* Rcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 m& f( v" A9 }( U, bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.9 G% T7 d0 I( Y4 [
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# n' _* l# Y q) {6 lspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
\5 a; n! q% u/ R6 NConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# }# I3 t1 I/ Z8 \
can." 6 i* b/ g; z2 t1 [& X7 d1 y
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
2 ~" i. a* x+ _9 H* N, ]$ m0 J# pelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
5 Q8 K% N9 o, K9 V" I) lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
+ r+ j- p4 |+ P9 g1 L$ N2 m1 O* CInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
2 c; C! s) h- W) A% @- Jaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
5 z2 c9 A9 Q9 s' K2 P1 VMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical: m6 L: F+ Y; G! Z- U+ f
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ k: R. Q. c% q% {( ~
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a2 ?, O, `$ e1 k
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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6 L2 h3 ]9 }% n# R$ c4 mUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
) t9 r' i/ B! D4 T/ q( S4 Q" Ssecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: R( E3 B. V- s* I
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
a# e! |0 b8 w; Q7 T1 W2 [Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. ~+ g5 Q' @ {) m5 L, non weekends.; W3 v0 {9 I" ?: @5 A
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
/ o5 {6 U3 N, g7 x7 c# kschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
# M% B$ C* G5 }" i7 i- ^, Nstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& L8 I K& j- @/ p: G( w6 |1 Uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' `. U! [. V7 y6 K6 m8 xcompetition.
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' O. r3 y1 d- N% r"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" I1 q+ a' }0 T# a. y8 D
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 c* N- h0 C5 Z" T3 o) Sall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse* s3 E, m7 Y- r d
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from- Z' m8 `; c/ o. p
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
; j6 _) M% I" m, nwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
! U/ F2 o* M) v, @+ f4 Z2 j' pthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 j2 g$ C5 m/ F* Vyear 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 own1 ? P' w# E U" E
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
, z: `" g* v; v. q5 X* H4 `( y+ Y( f% uChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
3 V; D% l- c' E9 vhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 M" [" C2 g; q O+ L
on an equal playing field."( v: J9 H& W6 r% t6 K8 m* o$ d8 u# [
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
) c; c7 c8 A2 Vclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
# n' S5 |3 u/ R4 o/ T; {% MService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks9 b, Z K w8 e `! [" K
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
, g: N5 g0 R- Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in( T0 T6 S/ Y: S! m
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 J$ Z! O; H8 \* X
institute says.+ [: F' k% Y( I6 \7 @
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth) n! \+ L% C- C7 f1 V3 t: H
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) D/ {. u c1 H3 G" Cdeciding whether to take the class.
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# U; {- F' G4 X"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 B6 C1 v' L0 Z8 d! |8 Atold her daughter." M! P" y) Q$ `( l+ A
1 A5 y: V. v% U8 ]- oSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, d0 J' F$ j2 B1 x' y/ \ `' Z
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
/ }$ n7 t9 V6 i% E' U' w, Sstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" `$ y: @6 e$ E, @% i7 boccasional frustration.# P' X) o" R' [' r% Z
2 G5 X, z) ^& \/ g' Q1 T5 y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 [; |7 P3 [( |0 Crecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he6 B" d: o1 i- M9 z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ r5 N$ ^, h1 b: BChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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! S+ H# g6 w, v"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
7 j; c. k% D9 j3 Bsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn& A( L. _, ?- y S
as many languages as I can."
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' [7 F% A1 i3 \8 XAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the( @4 _" v5 p9 I3 h9 F
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
0 f% S* m4 g( A* `; P8 _% u- Emarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
+ S/ L8 [# k- B) ^5 \that," Ms. Freire said.
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; M$ S- `+ |2 f' l8 W0 _Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program- H+ j8 W, U( w8 J& n
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
1 l3 e8 X% ~3 v* ]' `6 a% D2 N/ b+ Pschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking8 R& F- n" o/ I+ O2 t8 ?
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make4 }0 q! j' ]# z3 l4 I2 p" v
room.. D0 X e6 v' J6 `: ~( q
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer3 S4 ^+ l2 h" D m
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
6 d1 v* y, D, k$ ocollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' L3 d. l) t0 j- x$ F
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified* P" S) c) n, }- {2 u0 I5 ^
because of that missing certification," he said.; p9 N' x* B$ O2 g; Z! N& _
6 s+ {: V# ]$ K0 a. M6 q! LThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
/ X3 K6 Y; S! N, m4 Gsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
2 C* r; A7 V% R7 M7 n2 _Society in New York.% h; R$ I0 ] i* Z
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 i4 s: R0 ~8 [9 i1 }
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from1 M' e+ n7 i1 V" {1 P, ?
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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