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October 15, 2005
4 L6 j" B& M2 HClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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- C3 D$ U0 J% ]By GRETCHEN RUETHLING# X0 q1 H. I7 I4 O1 s3 Q0 v# U& }
+ n1 z: n/ ~- G/ `) B5 M( zCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. G, N; G a- q$ n
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, a5 g# U8 G3 _! v; f Z8 l
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# \# Y" W2 g' f9 k* `7 h
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
% A) z5 X" }- g7 O6 q- O8 p/ Kflag hang from the wall.0 H9 v- z: d' v4 A& T
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
& @& c# j _' s* M& f; V( x+ `another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
9 ^% ~; }% }6 [3 U) c O- npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
3 J) b( D& }; u% Zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
" H9 O {/ i% w; Care already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
% N- Q E7 s+ K: J" ^% sat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- }+ ?1 z- `6 e( t- k2 boffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ d+ ]9 `% @& w! k! F: N3 hschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
$ O {) j6 e2 W" d9 Kto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
4 ?$ z8 u' b- ^' Qone of its most difficult to learn.! N& Q/ O0 q+ M0 i+ k
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
; i; Q0 X7 `' l) T+ i& U' ~public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
$ R' n. P! {$ ?0 }studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( \0 g! O/ _' C7 m) C7 g
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of: `6 p, I' S6 i8 I6 P
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 s+ Z. g& M3 U" G. }
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to! k1 _1 Y: R# V$ x% @, m" L3 G
improve 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 Placement9 Q8 Q5 z$ s: V$ t r
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country3 U7 X; n* J; W
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
$ S% ?4 D0 Y9 F& [3 d+ M Ddevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 p6 Z7 U0 {, g9 q$ \( T; y' e) k* M
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
t" h: l( ?0 C v+ g, _of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of8 t- P) H7 Q8 x
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% g9 `' ^" R8 oConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we% w6 K7 R* |. b1 t/ k
can." 7 R$ G& Z# `5 F8 @
6 e$ ]- m' Y+ X2 t( N+ j. WThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
& o3 ~5 m6 X l4 selementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 Q" G" \# }/ Syears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) X2 ], V5 j- ]4 f/ y0 F. fInstitute in Washington." L/ B' v) x2 r8 W& P0 c
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* g, F9 s) C- g7 @+ B1 X1 V
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
" u" g% m' g7 W6 J% AMcGinnis said.4 Y) Y+ B, O5 m6 c' g1 O3 A
5 d P" \0 K4 h" [; q"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# D/ v& } l( k' B! A
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be+ g5 s/ E4 p. K
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
/ }- O% ^1 K& O+ E8 ~# Zchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( ?: ]% _& A, Y7 @2 j
7 L3 T( j0 x f+ C' FUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 |) w Y6 t1 Z0 G% s
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in- ]7 W l; W, ?( k/ ^/ a
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 u9 J% _% j7 V, _0 _- sChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 ^& H' n* V; t s/ e# @% v" e$ o. H
on weekends.6 S. C+ G1 A0 n% j: c0 K0 N
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
7 P& H( ?) `' m2 n+ S% yschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) q" W2 p; A$ @& Kstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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+ X( e1 f5 F$ f* F- Y/ T" c1 CMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( Z2 P, Q# x, g% Xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
( A! a3 h! [& T6 b9 E" j& Rcompetition.
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" F: v- e! e, _& o"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ @$ t |' j& |8 }
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 r% A- {- M* O9 Eall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse: b2 V) G1 q2 J+ Z
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
! F! D9 K c8 j# V/ ukindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students9 W7 i/ b1 i, J5 F
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 Q7 S# ` Q" athe school system last year.* ]+ m9 W) A; c5 N
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, E9 D! C8 Q, o+ m" C2 l% S3 R
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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2 e0 t, C" E' N# U, R" a2 m; Y"They have a great international experience right in their own: A* t0 l9 d, F) D0 B7 U* ]
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
& R7 t+ u) x9 O, h5 p' e: v2 @% fChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 G2 X* Z0 [7 z
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
- Z' \, Z$ A. Von an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese8 u* k* R( {/ [& o
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' y' z3 Z9 ~' iService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 ]# Q) g1 d+ I+ @' DChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An5 k! x* y6 f! d- h( x
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
2 q: N8 @' s) h) h% x J3 B: bChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 U4 [" z7 M4 c. S9 c$ ^
institute says.
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: |& h9 K* x* w" ~7 v4 p4 mSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
\7 e" h6 u3 S8 W) dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- ^( X0 T/ `) j% |$ Q
deciding whether to take the class.3 b) K ^8 W7 u
4 K# X( w+ J( O"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
2 O, H- M9 s N/ g* y0 M" Z( g! wtold her daughter.
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* h9 J3 w; R# |% C% }Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 n" ?! T7 o/ c) y# P8 ?3 }8 C
class.- @; z9 J" I% c1 u
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
5 {+ o% d. n( J5 o1 K5 Bstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without% m' j( L+ T+ N ^- O# }
occasional frustration./ T7 s4 g" t6 V( C% b$ h) ?
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a, Z( X% j. `- B2 @! U
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.8 ~) F8 z$ `, c
+ w$ a5 R {! Z: |% i5 _6 tRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
$ G( j$ `; g% c$ M; ]% o! Q6 ptaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
) M/ E" S. l6 q, d4 \6 b! OChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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% ]' V# z( g5 U. v5 k( v"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul3 q& \. l5 g6 `- G/ ^9 }) Z2 M/ Y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
) Q! Z8 r$ T' G, Xas many languages as I can."# i8 m6 E% K- g& ^8 B, J
' t, n" s( a; ]% [6 q! IAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the* g0 q4 [6 c3 W g8 Y$ M5 ~9 ^9 ?
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job) M/ A1 a0 U+ Q" l: L( ~) _* ?% I
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: P0 C8 D2 D* }( Q1 M o! G
that," Ms. Freire said.3 H, h8 d' n* Z% ^5 j
" l) g f w9 l# P9 ~Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program. h" V L; E* Y- {6 B& Q
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each$ r+ i; z1 T. r3 z2 M
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking8 X' z- c, C9 w- e- U
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make. f3 }$ H! q) [6 r7 c6 U* l
room.3 s: `; _8 @' i2 R# E# C# F
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- i3 m2 a. h/ |/ p6 TChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, d: n& x! m9 X$ [ C Ccollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.: C2 t7 [: @% V8 J0 D
. ^6 E) _9 u0 b) h! X: ?, W"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
6 I& P4 { B6 Q' O, b5 l2 zbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 V7 ~; N7 o8 gsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia& a2 c0 ?3 b. |- e! z5 T- f$ y) c K
Society in New York.
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: ?. _8 x9 z* f. P2 y) y) FSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
2 `! D# F3 M9 @Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( Z( g1 \0 x7 Z+ A9 Y# hthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.( P% H0 [7 |+ q/ l7 f& v/ W3 I' ?
' `3 `# @* q% E8 r& X; X! O8 {"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 X+ f/ o0 p. j2 h8 V
own."; u# _# b8 i) L' t
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