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October 15, 2005
1 Q* o/ u6 ?2 }/ N# DClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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* w& x' X" m* b: @By GRETCHEN RUETHLING3 a9 w. m7 y; x( M6 r4 Z
- S5 [1 \, m* q. [$ g$ XCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
' i$ L: D8 Y) [( {United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
$ S& f! u: z9 L% n; NSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; Q' X% X- [ r9 c tdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
# s/ v- h8 c$ D7 Y; k+ uflag hang from the wall.7 b. d% Y- W* a: u% G. F7 L# i+ s5 M' R( R
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
" Q( u4 O( P0 a$ zanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' p5 r4 ?0 y9 V, i0 F
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% c- z- v7 n5 U0 w9 s5 _
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students/ `0 F5 y5 o% W8 o
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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. Z! \0 A- X0 j"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal2 t; |9 Z) O& @9 n* M
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
% V( @/ l; b" }( b1 d1 Z6 f( coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' k/ I7 g, d' Uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 o: g0 _) l% N! [5 {to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
6 B1 q! b$ ?" q( ^% fone of its most difficult to learn." |1 G9 I8 g i1 u: G
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
8 A- d& y6 L8 t. Wpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& J$ F8 ^$ t+ n; m7 [2 J1 ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
6 r6 l; e- i5 T! uLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
# D* a6 @0 a3 xTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- {' Y; C' N$ m0 N8 J2 I
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
% `( o2 |4 {2 C7 n, }% Dimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.% r$ }6 b% G1 t1 p
9 ~- |* r! d. I& s" |After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement7 N8 S" Q Q, p5 V; ?: p& U
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 I* v7 x7 Q! B" b9 g$ Z8 Bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to/ W5 o0 U$ |, X) o- I* x
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# i3 o3 D4 a8 K) Z
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 o) B8 m, d! S' x0 Dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.$ ]7 Y9 r- n1 }' [( m
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of+ O+ w9 ^; G j/ x/ i
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& L3 @$ K% P8 A; f
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we3 M& D* \9 \3 \2 h `$ r
can." : x' I/ P* s! h% m9 Q: O
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, `( r' G/ Z& v9 Velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 ]# ~. R! D- byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
! r. @" a8 e/ a+ i; lInstitute in Washington." y. h; d! u* c4 M" _) \5 s: l
% }0 @# C8 {1 o5 _+ F"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages$ G8 X! V$ x M7 @
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.1 P# d- ^3 x- K; E- e% I- L
McGinnis said.
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) b* U1 y2 W% ^. a+ p# F; Z- [# h"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
( m7 [! L. V0 d1 X2 l4 ?longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be7 r) `: j3 F/ F- q
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
2 Z3 r5 f8 x, ~; q6 n! l n7 z7 Zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and( J6 r" r8 T* I+ Z; F; Q+ M
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' i+ l! U9 `8 c& X$ x; L
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
: ^7 X& e; w8 X6 ]5 f* W4 WChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
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0 R" Z7 W7 s3 c9 o" |The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% d: I8 K. ^. qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves9 \) H; O1 k9 g
students who are not of Chinese descent.. v S0 b6 Y9 B Z- F! Z
" |; ]4 x& J5 C& h% I9 s" FMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
* u" g' d% t U: l) mproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
+ d f* R5 \6 m6 \- s0 x* acompetition.
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: r* e1 j6 A! {+ u ~9 I"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
- k& a) X( i4 O O, V+ ?8 ysaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly9 z: Q+ b& E7 [- \7 ?/ O7 @
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ a, Y! r+ G0 `7 f8 Lschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
2 ^# C x* O" ekindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students# f. ], q9 Q% z5 y
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to) S( r6 d' y* T, o+ P6 k* W
the school system last year.1 H( ?) W% j" k I" A: F: m
: ^7 H# D* H* l: M7 W- }The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 a1 i5 B( \/ L7 V# Byear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; t- \) S8 i' l
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"They have a great international experience right in their own( e: B! d6 O; h+ j( ~
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago1 S2 M1 g/ r% R* \
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
; w$ w# w' M* Fhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
3 }! O. d" Z* o8 f" U1 x5 b/ e9 \on an equal playing field."
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! j0 h4 H3 [) P2 zSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
W+ t) C6 r, n) K7 W$ jclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
. D9 c; Y( a) e/ @0 e, xService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
& d2 m( c* A) @4 ~7 zChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* h$ x: p8 C, w! A! b
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
. P* y+ a% V- h; k# lChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the8 x Y2 x: [. X5 \# n" p. M
institute says.
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# a0 Z* F' M" g0 O2 X* F( J5 rSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 }! _4 C% g8 }9 d4 Ngrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
' K0 `# \3 m* A& N* Q, s9 Z5 Odeciding whether to take the class.6 U8 p# s, }* }$ E
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she8 h* ^& O! h. R; C& y. i
told her daughter.
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, y2 }8 W% h4 e8 B, xSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 M+ A2 i4 t6 R
class.! x6 R) s7 v+ c! q8 ~
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. b P; x' H4 g" o8 |! v, L- p" ~studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without4 N# t! q$ `+ K2 p
occasional frustration.# s$ B: y7 J/ g0 m4 i* s- M# v
. @& h) I( c1 w+ y" N"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a& Z A6 W$ v' W$ I* p4 q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 P1 Q( r/ Z8 d, G+ j" P) a
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
' n' k) q% w4 {: D6 D0 b" {taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with6 z* b. G% t( t$ h
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.0 ~+ S( K/ {( [$ H# E( X
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul8 @' G$ V! U0 ^1 ~' N8 c* U
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn' @7 ~3 R4 ^1 _8 _" {
as many languages as I can."5 G1 t, d$ t" p/ \
$ e" D, s# }* G: sAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the" ^- k8 E" b4 W
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job5 I2 o5 C# }1 J M( C* Z% F* B
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like1 D' F6 d! Q# l
that," Ms. Freire said.
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+ K: A0 F' B& D2 c3 N3 }6 ^/ V, oMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 R9 Q4 x) r* ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- ~) `" i- b" ~0 s9 Q/ {. rschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking( d, S3 d3 c4 h8 a o5 p
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
8 c# J3 f# l: D5 oroom.
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3 J; f, E a) YChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
a0 r8 ?6 N' v0 g8 |$ `Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American" V9 D2 w& l+ c" e m
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
# C: i0 ]$ I( [# H2 l. p6 }because of that missing certification," he said.3 Z2 i" o: S+ l$ E0 m" j
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,6 j7 G9 A( A! {# R# c
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* Z: l1 m3 H5 E& t1 C' W
Society in New York.
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\4 j& M+ I# w7 t' n) mSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the/ d* y) C( J9 X
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
: X5 ?9 f/ i* X" G6 V4 ethe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.8 {' b p; L; d
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 m; g, i7 L. q) ~8 j g0 _% F
own."
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