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October 15, 2005
' x. O# x# Z8 k; C. `, NClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: s6 H# S# B; \
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
1 V1 H K- L0 e, UUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary/ r: x, \& B w- c% D
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
& R v/ L% S+ \$ S8 b% p, `7 K Pdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese+ O& Q4 p1 D9 ?3 b" t' o
flag hang from the wall. k6 B J8 T2 R( o6 F6 n l9 M/ @7 [* `
8 a( x8 b% N' R5 [One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one) L6 O. T/ h' N r0 b# K
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* v$ x$ u( z. ~
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker' L* o6 s0 O) t8 q; M$ }% z. r$ ?! l
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
; r' R" E: a9 T9 `: P+ K# O% [. |are already choosing it over Spanish.8 M/ F* Z, n5 R! _* d
1 `7 e3 l5 h0 o4 h& O& F" L4 x"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal2 L3 l' D- ~7 v- W& \' d% M
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
( w/ N L: ?# Y a Z: yoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" y3 ]( ~* v6 R$ ^: I. s
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments, O9 e& T0 R( O
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings+ d3 x2 U; j) |0 |& y) \% B
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 T3 C2 x# O: H: b9 b$ I. F4 T
one of its most difficult to learn.
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+ C/ m* a& O. c( B& [/ wLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
# a8 [3 U: F7 W2 M$ apublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
, g) n( I* e! B. N& `. kstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
/ W: s( ]. g0 V& K! a; YLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of9 s8 F5 D" _ u- O+ h9 [/ p) |
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) [; c9 P/ H! D( h/ Y# p4 B7 Z" `Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to! U& }# a5 h, X- h/ J
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 a a1 I4 w6 D, B
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
2 [8 T6 a, v5 i' G( P" G1 u+ {. i* sChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 }5 q6 ^9 b3 Dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to+ g4 U! L; e; ]' r% I: e
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
- [6 E2 C7 Y& Ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( G+ [, K* i1 E x6 Bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.+ J7 J/ j. L3 @! ^
5 T4 _% i# T: j9 s2 P"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 x. V- {4 e1 t6 s# [" _# `8 rspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 r: _- }3 u' z+ l e0 G- x
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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6 p0 G- D @9 TThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from* M( _6 f6 s8 L8 N3 G
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: q6 U8 y8 N) Y% y& a- y1 I @years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 }; W/ C' K6 a7 P" \5 w" {( [
Institute in Washington.
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/ M a" W) c n% |) T"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages! K7 `$ ^+ d, e/ @
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
5 U; A5 f7 J1 d, j+ c3 uMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical" q8 I. w K5 Q# p& v
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: Z, k5 Z U$ G4 lready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a5 @. Y! ^$ U7 `; Y% V
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."9 t! ~% j ^( A' h9 Q# V9 J
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
" ]& t' a, v$ ^7 y8 |secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
8 K7 `. |, M8 E; p* ccities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of" N- d' t5 D' Y3 ]( a/ Q/ o3 P3 S
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or6 `; ?( P! h3 @0 b1 {3 J
on weekends.: k* Q s3 P& F4 |5 ^0 ?$ e2 x0 ]9 Y
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public( d0 C9 p1 Z6 K& H
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves* E. P: a% [/ O$ X* {
students who are not of Chinese descent.. V6 p- z; z: N% a8 D( {( v6 \
2 c' M$ T0 M" oMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said7 a3 ]% H2 p5 I0 J! r h: v
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the% H3 b ]( ?8 ]; m; t! p
competition. & T! F% G/ k2 H! K$ ~! }6 t4 S5 J
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ U) t4 [5 C u! v# L0 X
said. "There will be Chinese and English."8 F4 s9 ^* J' _( j( |2 \
* ~# R7 _$ j: ~0 LFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ I- ?7 O, _: T3 p6 J5 P
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
; x/ V6 M, G( X# lschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ a# B0 ]9 _- \& o& I8 Ckindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- w; R2 O5 A* D* s; Bwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
( ^! n0 t. u+ M/ s# ?the school system last year.$ C2 E P1 l/ E. _
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
- d2 F B+ _" Q: {: b; r$ Y3 Kyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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9 U( i8 a& Z# }; k7 k& r- v2 \"They have a great international experience right in their own( M- o, w$ a5 L5 u2 _" b) j
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago: B/ m) \, R' s9 p# b4 B! w+ s
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
# _% @0 C/ g k6 e0 nhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, h' X1 C) K/ M
on an equal playing field."0 y# S6 j! g" }4 p; }# u
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese# w6 u9 z+ y8 R6 ] O4 R) t
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
# \; V6 \3 ~3 u& H% R; s; wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! k5 p& e6 Y6 I& n& O. k# k- |0 cChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An3 M e l( u5 q$ `6 i M' j
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; I) ~9 B" z) g* e) ?' F
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
6 q1 D G+ O' E4 K, ainstitute says.9 P/ C9 y8 N$ J x
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
1 V% Y" Q6 S4 P& _9 ^. x5 {grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 w8 |8 X5 J. |/ ^deciding whether to take the class.; N$ H" M0 [# z. M9 ^
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! \# N1 j4 s9 J" C; q9 M# c$ wtold her daughter.2 p3 C' W2 K8 i. ?
% y% h2 i( h2 `2 j2 N1 TSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite- [# N1 ~) F0 h+ s: m" }1 X# A$ `
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are7 }/ H! t' ~: R" ~# N- B8 p
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without3 R4 f1 n+ D Y+ \
occasional frustration.* l" R7 Q6 ~+ V7 L6 ~+ P g
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
- i) K% o$ U8 wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.; W* Q4 H/ G6 e& t% {. Q9 n" r! [# x/ B
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 ^4 n# e1 s! w" N N9 {, E' X
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
n; ]! x; Z: F0 _& n4 B& eChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul* r+ Z1 A3 `! u% Q& N; j4 C& V% x
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn0 J& {( r( Q* w: L7 ?3 G' u
as many languages as I can."0 i: d5 G! l6 X( T) G6 C( a
; m ]( t) T9 g* j9 }$ OAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the. b! i( l7 q, Z, U6 {7 R' b2 s
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
2 A1 o0 J2 w, w( r. `/ Q- ^. Y2 ]market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
/ i0 q4 a7 t- l9 z+ Vthat," Ms. Freire said.
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3 p4 N% R* Y" H4 u* g: ?Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program# p h9 X ]3 [, K
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
4 X; x. D; c) L( ischool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: l3 Q) V6 e6 p4 ^time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
; X- X+ [1 s+ R4 e6 I( vroom.
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, H' B6 J. e3 K5 X. tChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer6 c1 e X/ w& H$ @% A
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
: A Y$ x) T3 A5 r6 j9 gcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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) G3 g7 {4 k" Q& H6 u3 i"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified. v Z2 ?6 w6 F$ k! F
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,% |& p. }0 \; u D
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ Y/ s, Q X' n: k5 Y4 q, E, E
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
( _: i8 y W& ^7 L- Y) T9 H1 _Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
1 d7 | @3 D8 V' a3 Y' ]$ U# ithe 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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