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October 15, 2005
# S6 C6 R: _) V" \9 ^Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( O: w# ^0 }; @' U8 l r
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING8 b0 E) z, q6 D
% c5 j5 p9 ?. U4 S2 ?! H8 h) S4 ]1 rCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- ^ q; N2 z5 [: L# UUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 T: O* x* l* D9 \
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
$ n% e P9 m9 E6 k( |/ G$ h9 z9 jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese( ] r; Q& s2 q
flag hang from the wall., v& B$ a: Y# n. l- d
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* j1 O" S* X' Ganother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders: ~+ D2 w9 c# P! e: s
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
7 ^+ K% E1 D2 H+ C# zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students% T# H# P5 T0 x; [* B* k9 m3 V
are already choosing it over Spanish.) j# x" {, V9 k) o
* S! r7 ?& V" U' X3 U4 n& b }"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
6 W) a/ `9 t& b0 f) Bat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city0 d" h) M; A1 L) `& i# B; r' |, @
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 y8 ?: b* b5 k4 F
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) K6 K" q8 e. d2 c+ [. o0 k7 S! X7 |3 L
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
8 L! Y' \9 ]+ lto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
( r/ C4 |% m- U# ^# j; y$ p# v# fone of its most difficult to learn.9 u# \& N: t1 ~. {0 Z5 [ S) b: a
8 r1 h. S9 _, A" JLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
/ c A t% M5 p6 V: _, Wpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 u) D% s4 {: v% W' z5 q% M, R1 u8 Istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. r/ z& E: V3 H; X: R8 ]+ V+ Y) `Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of6 e+ B _# E$ c
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on6 N2 l3 h% a" i4 c; X& \* M8 V
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to5 S" d$ h7 }- j: z4 M$ [
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.! I9 I( i* ]; l- y# Z
; I5 e4 {" M' _$ n6 f& bAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! R6 p0 |. s8 `( \6 B, ?Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) i2 j# D. T% A( W7 O& d
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
( }$ q$ @* A7 Q5 Q- z) s: Cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
5 `" H' B! R* m: S$ b5 hcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* _0 p z4 ]7 Q3 Z' V( f- [
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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! W: r" v; D) u0 f"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
4 c( X$ r) N& J& Qspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
# M, B) u9 A8 \6 f, p6 zConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we6 R1 z" N* A+ M/ L. ^ Q/ |# y1 c
can." 3 O9 r+ F+ u$ c
3 {6 Q% W9 k9 y* X' `/ rThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
& v" Y( B. ]7 Nelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 100 N5 p1 Z- k6 c# k
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 D! l/ [* p: v+ ~+ H# }0 s
Institute in Washington.
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& }1 i4 ]' u4 }' O" v"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages8 ?( ]0 w J% z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
0 e+ a! x" x% ]' LMcGinnis said.; ?1 n8 j: i# v; R5 K
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
" j$ M. y/ U9 n& }9 zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
- |; Y4 [3 s+ ` \9 tready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' M0 s" X9 B" G, D8 l! H8 w: Pchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."2 K5 {. Q$ p: f( z1 e" b
8 d* e6 B* v# G& XUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and( o) F( k2 W8 X
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% E' Z! [) C% d+ J0 h, O. ?cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' _( Z& m2 {) l# d$ j3 {Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ I; B, x) r: J- }1 d0 s2 Aon weekends.( g9 e9 Z5 u1 U. T4 ^0 i5 T5 k
0 i1 p& F: V* U6 b/ k2 EThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public0 ~; n+ S3 F D$ C/ {/ `* ]; Z+ o
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves5 N2 h+ k' E3 ~% ^: B
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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# S& i# A. D8 ^, EMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
: i% w+ F/ j& K! f. Y$ tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 ]5 N+ q) i% k' G# C% a7 |
competition. . V5 c5 q6 N6 S: `+ t
! U: f( _, |9 t, b"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley" r" X9 j1 k, h( A# D. S7 Q( Y8 |
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
: |+ ~+ F* ~7 Y5 T% ]8 Xall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
) u8 N, k k; J1 O9 f) |schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from; V% v9 g* e" x" \3 g
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
: J( j w$ J; k0 n+ |3 rwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to/ f' D( u# q! N" i8 l S
the school system last year.1 I/ ^: E# N% U `2 a
! M/ [5 c( z% P- oThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( d" |+ O7 O% J3 J
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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5 W. K: ^1 @, b# R3 z7 c"They have a great international experience right in their own
2 ]0 R3 Y" z! N; C+ ^, ]+ K: iclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago0 o+ g- {7 |$ d* y# O( h5 q
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 O7 e- E8 z; l* ?help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet6 X# c3 i5 j) q0 z5 Q B W7 F
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- C4 F# m4 g# v7 G' hclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- t8 @! d: A3 ]4 m" r
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks% j5 j: F4 m- U9 O) N( |
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
$ A* J0 c' V2 |! P9 saverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
) \% _/ z% ?0 k( \" N: jChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& ]& y, Z, s7 e8 v9 ^4 h- Tinstitute says.7 P- l( O$ ^6 k( s; q$ @6 o5 m
, {- l% t( r0 B9 Z6 u3 K! lSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
& F7 n" H+ S, K9 h% u; l$ tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 ~7 d6 t% Q5 l7 a& B( odeciding whether to take the class.
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; |9 i' z" R+ ]( `8 z7 I, Q"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% w/ {0 Z* V- u. `9 G1 Btold her daughter.
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0 \ k: @) v: OSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 \' v/ _ W& Q1 _0 d5 c! ?. o& Y/ r
class.
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2 K+ [ |& ?% F- h* yAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ D, v, i+ O% m8 i4 M- i; D" l/ D
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ m$ S% R8 V5 E& ~: D$ yoccasional frustration.( z1 P$ z8 _. [5 V! k
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 a4 [3 J5 D. r# Hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. T+ E3 h' i6 m: K+ j- D, n% W
+ r: x6 ]+ p5 u' KRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
3 n- u1 y- o, u/ p" @- C1 } \taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ ^" K- \7 `5 ZChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 K8 g9 r" c) h9 W: {: I2 T. Y
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul6 {/ o, ?/ q4 b; j/ r
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- o* v& k; J3 c* G( Y+ Tas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
/ i q+ N. B! x* u N7 Z" Y' G3 uskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; U8 o1 n/ z4 t7 p P' P! g* Jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" D% r; k9 ]% @7 S2 f! K6 Kthat," Ms. Freire said.) v: p6 Q; w4 ]! U
. P! ~" C9 _4 | j& |8 Y( h5 ]4 v" |Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 D+ p, n5 h* w4 M% h. b3 C
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 G' C& o- ^/ M% vschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 M1 u, k+ i; b5 H, w( S& i6 z
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
9 ^4 q, F3 l- [2 k/ iroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer* ^" M5 X [7 D) ]; A
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
; y" {6 V" X7 W3 P' jcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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G0 L4 y6 H$ ~"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
6 {( \! c: u ?! Obecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! |3 b8 Z, p5 x# l% h% |! }said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% r& `6 U( W% F/ ~8 l6 jSociety in New York.
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$ U3 @3 {) B2 \' d8 \; [+ xSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the" F! ]+ a) P4 ^ Q* U* H0 G6 C
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
9 r# L7 X: w$ g/ c) Nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.! |. V: l) a( N& Y9 a2 @
. Q& c% W, B# M1 X: S& J, j" s"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, j- @2 V" v2 }& S) X4 Z4 N2 O0 C2 i! o
own."' s/ C, v7 Y- c* C0 c1 ~2 ]
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