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October 15, 2005
6 }" D9 F# ?' c, X5 L" fClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity. v* I9 d, `6 }, o# ?8 [
% v- m. r7 z, @) f. P2 L4 D5 K0 [By GRETCHEN RUETHLING- L5 ` ]- Q9 q
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the5 L- I+ q: E. X" B% q( k3 x
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary$ g# u' w6 a# C* q1 O# Y, ^1 b
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: A5 i4 r# a2 a0 ^7 A% h7 }
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 U( f" _% C% W5 vflag hang from the wall.7 ~4 v( J3 i- H& m- J) I! c9 M
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one8 w7 W% g- v/ W) I
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders3 t' S) t; F$ J& t* T( {
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; F9 Z& h7 E+ n& b- L+ \* ]1 O
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 I+ ]; e2 U! ?1 p0 Q% x! b
are already choosing it over Spanish.& n. x. I. d& x1 \; G w
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& f5 z! W# U+ i4 w* D8 H1 r/ V5 C
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city+ O" F9 i9 u8 D
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( s' j2 R( {3 m: S+ a3 vschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- M4 \4 d( O4 j \8 y0 qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
0 e7 m( ~+ V% G# G( o# ?( B4 H5 mone of its most difficult to learn.
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/ G+ C3 }% E( J0 l4 w8 OLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ L: R* U0 Q: ?1 j
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 j9 o2 Y0 o9 D- ^$ X8 Mstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
$ D/ @- D4 \# p1 WLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
5 K( N3 ^' D9 O9 Q3 G* v/ e9 STennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" w6 O$ ]" j* g% wChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
/ B' i, m- e* I' Z& r$ h" R6 Iimprove 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) K. u! e1 v! |7 N
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
: C* y) [) h' Zstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: y" h* K$ f. @# V: Edevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 c( j# ^+ b* T/ q" _ ucurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director7 |$ Y: K! ?. G0 l6 s; D/ D
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board./ w8 `, u( D9 w7 W9 f" X$ |8 J
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
% u, |9 u/ r* K1 Sspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education7 U. W& \- X; \( t. i
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
0 Y: ~* h& `/ mcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from, z4 ~& e1 e" _+ y" u7 T
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10 t6 Q0 o0 }% v i& \" R
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; z+ T, X% w' F) E
Institute in Washington.
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. B% b/ @ q' {"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages2 M4 Z3 Z- Q+ K9 D% b' u
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
, |; F8 O1 Y t }McGinnis said.
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% p2 n4 O5 j1 b1 j8 X"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical8 T8 x, s7 I( W( |$ U
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be. U- H: d! ?4 P3 E
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
% w# `6 |9 J! h. ?6 |; kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 D* F3 p* O& m; Z* J7 ?
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in/ }" @$ s ]7 v# z; u
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of. X# [4 S1 X. t; V- f: m* g# `
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 l$ ^ y0 l0 k8 s6 y1 r
on weekends., T0 w* Q h" U8 ~+ Q* d+ I
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 B/ [# b: a/ m$ @( c1 v
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. i/ G8 p( b8 K* S+ C- b
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 X" Z1 s7 l( k7 a7 F0 Qproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- c5 ?' r) y9 }( L1 C, lcompetition. 4 T. h# h* h, {8 s3 R* U
. f( G5 R5 p- h/ {4 m"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
: j$ K ^. N9 G% I% Csaid. "There will be Chinese and English.") u' W6 x, ~; n4 n8 D/ E
7 z. P, e3 A8 J' Q, b5 xFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 q7 O; H: T2 a" p1 ^9 ]. C* Z- U; Oall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 g, n6 o6 s0 \. O
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ G0 [- }& B4 z4 a" z* U' _. Ikindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students# \9 c! @/ x, [% R
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ | o- x) n7 a+ v; L! z3 X/ k; y
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this. I* ^; z& u8 p
year 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 own8 @9 F5 ~* S1 ~ N0 `
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" j" d! p0 G* w6 f7 [+ ^Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 P4 @4 X: ~0 |6 U. i1 z
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
& V8 ~9 N+ ~& a6 Kon an equal playing field."2 p( ~3 l5 P9 ?7 H. [
n& t! H% W( VSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese8 |2 ]+ w1 c7 V* E9 P- K e
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
4 n9 U& W8 f$ C3 `4 B: f c/ I% t! LService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
3 P* e7 Q# o8 ]9 z6 ^1 z7 t# _Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 f% A1 Y* O- L/ J5 [3 \average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
9 O8 K7 D& R5 B3 O: M& FChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 M6 s& S& D# g! R3 {institute says.+ E2 K4 l2 T: i
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
h5 J9 y8 v2 X! C( |! [grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
n5 h( G- l' v1 L" i4 N( Tdeciding whether to take the class.
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. e0 b+ k* O) x0 W"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she2 |. X9 `' j+ R+ g; n) y( V
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite0 s; L8 H5 X, q* Q/ n
class.$ {: k+ v0 \( Y5 | y
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
5 x) P+ X% E" c7 Nstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 k# U6 v, T3 poccasional frustration.! o! A4 _2 z+ P$ d8 \3 e9 ]
3 \2 d$ C! E6 k% R& q/ G0 T"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a! F s% M$ V8 f; Y3 N9 i7 `" L" C
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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0 V$ x' R/ T( IRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he* R7 `7 n$ \5 s% t8 ~4 r/ Q6 C5 x
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ ~: C. I$ h C, f- ]) XChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul6 Y; s( |8 x4 t
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
; j- |, I! E) G! Kas many languages as I can."$ I4 i( e3 ^( t$ x
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 F( R! n) ?2 x' f$ y6 Oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 n2 j, g0 f3 u9 imarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like2 ^3 Z# E; ]# V Z8 N7 d: X
that," Ms. Freire said.1 a4 p: b$ d& Y: n0 _2 L+ [* k. F' o+ _
- _' g' Q* _4 Q3 b7 E0 r* J, VMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program& U( X. m3 C2 { Z& A4 Q8 j6 A/ C
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each2 Z+ B8 ]+ d: _- Y
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 h5 P5 L, B1 P6 v K" mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make; d/ L% C8 L8 q2 U* E; z2 w: h, g
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer& T' x% ]3 R; ]
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; q6 j0 o1 l+ Y: K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 A9 h R) T3 p' Y4 N4 m
( Y" z5 V0 o- @( w( c) f+ M, k"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 G5 j6 D g- g
because of that missing certification," he said.+ s0 V5 n$ ?; \% t' s! X
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,6 c2 ~+ r, M: r- i" {* d
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia) Q* }0 T/ m$ B
Society in New York.3 J, M# b- ?' I
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 n! m9 l# f6 M% m( M9 D! ?; C) FChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
- }1 h2 T& h9 K2 C) Lthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 ?5 {5 N% z* S. f& i
own."3 g) J6 G+ q8 }4 E, v
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