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October 15, 2005
2 @5 y" I1 L) QClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity$ H y7 H) \* E @+ @
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING* a0 I( n& h- x8 E2 O
8 i9 C* i$ ], j) g% ~3 p6 aCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 a* C9 Q w$ k$ z9 ]' qUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
. i' @1 W, ?; o* a9 tSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 F% L2 j- r( i! F; `dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
I5 Q9 L3 D8 ^- {9 X# }flag hang from the wall.8 }8 b( I. Y O( r L2 r2 X
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one+ O2 t3 ~6 L0 {! M: I& d3 L6 B
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
/ I* n c4 k# e" Hpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker% I% @2 C- k7 _
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
& [( Q6 u. b. N! o# iare already choosing it over Spanish.) Z5 d, |5 S- p1 L6 E- i. A
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal0 z. U. I: e& O0 F
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! G# R0 c, s: S: d5 }- Hoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" `3 Q* q q- ^: j9 q/ r$ i% @
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: o. P9 R3 D) y; G4 B) Mschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% k" f8 L# q @1 E( t8 B
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention f V; o* O+ i
one of its most difficult to learn.
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# ^( [# d% {" V% g( r" E0 hLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 e% h2 f' y; a: Kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 N: G7 `$ K& o* P6 R) ostudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! t& V* s! P" v6 y; c7 L' y
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
4 _( Z9 i1 @& @" L$ @8 f6 e) iTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on" k) ?$ {; W$ }
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to5 f& Q1 z7 ^2 q% E) C) v9 r# z( O2 @
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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$ V0 J+ T6 G' m7 V& O% W7 TAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement) M' \, u X5 h' p
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country8 L. q% |/ Z: I. f+ q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
. k8 Q) Y( n' v- d0 Ndevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing L( t/ ^* _: q+ h V
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* r5 j* p4 e0 W9 h
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.; x6 p; c+ m3 o* X4 b
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ B4 y' j3 O- J8 }speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 ~5 y& P! |7 H7 x8 [) L
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we- Q1 O U+ T' k) G
can."
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3 [9 v3 B2 c6 DThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from# b8 R1 {! r9 W! R
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' D2 @% g0 y% j2 Ryears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, D8 S: D$ ]5 M. ^1 ~
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages5 f; ^* G, I7 H- k+ \/ x" R
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 t" h/ V% p* x; s2 v4 N
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
9 j3 e' g$ J5 i; slongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be: {/ I- h, G* k( K2 U2 _9 R
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a" p. M$ z4 S6 a8 k8 z3 q6 ~) S+ Z! m
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") @( p" D& N: o G
9 Y* h7 g$ X/ J y/ b$ I% Z3 W* KUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and# Q2 g& N1 s; f, H# ]
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in, Z% i9 f% ~9 }0 l5 j$ {' C
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
, ?" T/ e# ]% q7 QChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or3 a- T+ o1 Q9 n: E. J5 g# s
on weekends.
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, F [8 A( j9 \3 pThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. A6 u! H4 A+ X6 o7 I
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
$ y4 Y9 W" x+ h* Z- Pstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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G% r0 g1 T7 O* M# \% P8 a; CMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said" B6 F7 B c2 C) |3 K1 S
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- u9 S) D* W2 icompetition. - K( L$ ?8 Q5 v6 N
2 ^4 A/ e+ U" V1 r"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 c! q3 B% K3 csaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly) ~& I6 r/ W" V4 }' o' N) w5 l
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse7 k7 X: @* Q9 Y5 D
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
, d7 h; b+ e( S5 J% k5 F ukindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: U) U1 ?" k- [: |* k
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 J+ M! x8 M0 H) ~& {, Y& xthe school system last year.
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# f3 F9 p, p1 a0 ]: p$ P- P7 n3 YThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
, J7 b6 d; E4 A9 V% c" U1 k& B1 t8 [9 _( ryear 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 own& O4 X' F3 d' z7 P
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) k# L. l- Q% m% p1 S: B9 |# K/ n& yChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to: ~$ {6 H( O+ ?" y! z; t8 ]& s8 t7 y
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" P2 G1 ~& {4 {. f5 F# Y% ]- j6 P
on an equal playing field."$ X m: F* x' g: I4 d
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: Z j+ H+ L/ F' ]6 n1 H! Eclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 ~9 B8 ?+ ^& Z$ @. j# [Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 H# ~2 u, X+ v- {6 a7 I
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 E5 i9 D4 g/ h' `8 s/ eaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
, D$ o4 o1 o7 sChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the, w( k; I4 Z4 A0 |+ S
institute says.# ?) R2 F- V% y4 L' l3 N6 m
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 {& ]$ ]9 g+ ]- [. ~grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 ?' w% T, X ~, ]0 i1 [" vdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
- P% K- I/ w8 B: `+ M7 j- X+ P- mtold her daughter.3 y& B q" W6 l. B3 T
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
' p: l# u0 c0 d0 C$ N eclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
6 `; I3 y1 R4 o4 Y4 |+ Jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without! _. j/ H* x8 a' t% r7 x+ U
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a: K; }4 L0 c! x# D
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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' d2 j5 W6 y# E3 \Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* B2 S& M6 R( V4 m2 N- m2 F1 [taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
. F& z! k1 {1 d6 K$ D4 wChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works. z7 l/ ^: }8 S( a7 F8 J. C- m
, y: g9 f c% J% `6 \) ^"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 r$ d) x# ^9 E6 u' m
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& c$ V) S. Y+ E& \) ias many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
! }/ B" E) {) s( Eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 o* U/ i) J( | G4 s, h) s
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
& c0 b/ x) @3 j+ i5 [that," Ms. Freire said.% W) _: a: \ G* B0 U1 v! Q# Y6 V
' a2 g R& ?$ c1 p2 k8 `( a9 NMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: o" y1 h& ]/ }" nhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
5 ^; u! V9 \2 C- m' W, rschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 C0 f ~) Y; L5 l
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' S0 _5 H9 L; `Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 M6 Q0 s5 f7 @7 E4 P
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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& k% r0 q0 r# O6 {* ]9 l ~"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
, @; L! b7 m& v9 |5 o8 ?because of that missing certification," he said.3 _- c+ o# b3 n" x
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,! D; M# `' M8 Y5 t& v6 R* c
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia1 k( a) x$ p, b9 A; P6 g7 e
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the7 @& u8 Q# ?3 s( F d# W7 Y' ]$ K9 j
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from/ O1 {" s. J. e9 ?" v3 O3 {8 V
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 L2 ~: r# v1 u2 t0 C
own."$ r. m+ }9 R0 X; w5 n. F
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