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October 15, 2005
5 k1 d+ J7 _. `; q( w& kClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity* W3 @ K: } Q; k; f) B
, S$ t/ W+ H* j& y# v' m# }6 pBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING( S. T& _8 c& n ]6 o& c
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
5 d! |6 e( v7 j5 _/ g! `United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
' I: ?* P2 `/ k6 N9 `3 L* T9 JSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' V! l/ B. r. f: gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# V4 H. e5 c" j; r1 K3 `
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 ?$ }8 P8 ?. J; Xanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
# W! O, _2 i; L; S1 b N' d, Lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
& ]3 `/ Q" e" M- yboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students7 t' p, L+ }) Z
are already choosing it over Spanish.: k) x, g8 Y6 q# x! I% @
6 y) z- N, G' {2 ~ v$ T: S"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
' x0 L5 }* J5 x6 ^/ eat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 O# _* F" i/ c% b
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."% M$ `5 ~6 g! v8 r) m
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,! y- Q6 C6 ^/ } s7 k% c
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings. a; y) E, L: [: H$ c v6 o
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention3 H9 a b& `* U7 d. H. l
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" x$ l( w7 K$ n& F, @6 Wpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students7 b' }+ T; o! Q$ b; a7 l* ]& j
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
) ^- q6 f, O" `; R6 dLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 }" H( y5 O7 k
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on( @2 V- Q5 ~+ D
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
( q0 J5 V/ p* q; Z2 eimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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8 X* L: N" r/ [ V7 u* `" RAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
! E( o+ x- G" q# j2 C k8 l4 AChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country/ U( `. c, I. ^( a% c
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
- V6 V1 L \) ?2 D( ?, N+ ddevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
f* B. S, ^7 e. |2 jcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
X7 | w2 o4 s$ {# oof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 k+ n. {( A6 c! q& w4 H
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
2 [% X8 l0 d+ G2 c) r7 t6 u3 Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
2 Z2 j+ ^$ n1 f8 ^ sConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
w8 D% U+ U2 Q2 l. Ecan."
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' k# j( e+ ~3 G/ s: Z' L8 Z2 `4 }The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from q; L$ t: v6 E( M) a# X, k) J
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
: t7 R3 ?: g! Q+ C" p# myears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language O: H8 G/ X5 k8 ~1 W& C* z
Institute in Washington.) G8 l+ D$ m) [- b/ N
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages5 b% _5 H- _: t0 i3 P
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 s0 k% A+ l/ R' m& @% o" V
McGinnis said.7 `" V+ g0 W6 j0 l1 Y. w! L) D
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical- ?1 M9 _1 w9 E) e1 l( P& [/ l
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) ` b& [; u) T8 A2 _) S' ^0 K, \ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a" {% i4 p3 K+ r: @
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 M) Z9 m+ b' f
3 V; ]9 ]: u3 }) `* T. }Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 v- I# j$ ?* E8 [0 I8 g
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
0 |) G: c! d! J0 H- [) `cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of" j9 W; Q' }$ i3 f" A5 Y; ^" D& Q
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or/ s, t/ i+ g7 U1 G9 m
on weekends.: e/ A3 Y$ ^" w
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. E, c, Y9 e) H$ b# a
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves6 n/ A4 W/ K; N5 X0 b9 @9 }! s
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said+ c# Q s; N) E! O! h" ^' D; K
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the" M- U9 [$ [$ r: Y
competition.
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( C$ d& d& |3 G"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# y- [1 c1 u4 {& }0 Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."0 k0 Q, c# u1 y5 N- i7 ^
- K0 h8 R5 ?' N8 w3 aFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 l# l e* R/ N8 p2 e' b" eall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
* j8 R8 P& e0 T0 i/ Y- b6 t' h- j) Eschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& |' u2 {- G0 z% T8 L. J$ ]kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students. s* a V' ^* x* Y) a
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& m6 m* F) _2 l8 l+ `$ Ithe school system last year.: |/ l3 S6 o- z. `
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 t4 V! c6 {) q) A& e4 \9 Fyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.' z' }. Z( Z9 }6 @2 F$ c
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
( _1 M/ N- c/ R. G0 sclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' x: f! v3 k: x! L, ^Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
2 B" a0 @9 w% ~) Thelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
+ K& q% Z( ]' t: n3 g, U" Z7 Con an equal playing field.". {& }0 L. m' {) ~* f' V% Z6 x3 [6 _; a0 K
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese( ^: `! i4 J8 O5 T8 f
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign+ a7 G+ ?6 _+ k* @8 P2 y& G# x
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 [& k8 r: v! ] U8 W% [# N- C3 pChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# P6 v a; W& {, K
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 z J+ t8 V0 b2 p- QChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
, Y0 c6 Y8 o) n6 O7 sinstitute says.
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2 d1 e4 B4 w& i7 U) [5 pSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; t$ Q( E& v) h. \; ]0 k7 D9 l% F/ ngrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
0 F3 ?1 c R' w7 j! ^$ Zdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 u2 {* w! m: Z6 d( _) N: J
told her daughter.$ t0 Z: `% s! {* E1 g
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
, a2 v; M# X6 P3 c, nclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ Y N" y( D0 G' x* o
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 G* K4 g+ X$ z n# ?! P+ Goccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ |* S1 A" U- a- frecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.5 Q0 s; P: K i0 d5 S2 q1 m
6 C6 ?# i, ?3 H; k% o% xRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
: _+ c" h4 E1 X% p$ K2 {' S* K( L, Gtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
5 }5 h7 k( M4 M- kChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works./ s0 e' Q7 N! v+ G2 I
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# h1 K8 z' o$ hsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
s; G! [# m! a6 O/ aas many languages as I can."7 y: N1 U7 V2 K% s0 r; D
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the$ I$ X- N. d+ C! ?, _
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job1 m4 l- n8 V# H& q0 A5 T' N$ y; G
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like! U. j* I: F! V7 E m
that," Ms. Freire said.1 q' C8 N% i$ Z
1 M; U# v0 s3 p' `1 Y! J" GMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
8 N, d8 v5 U& ?here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
% B! T; d/ @! y8 x$ Aschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
( b: F( i' o/ i& X' o/ H# rtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 Q* o' T! g( K% q4 z0 } N
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
" y% W! W$ l1 P5 ^' |Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
: l9 n6 @3 i7 S# O1 x& X9 V: { Tcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.! a) T: j& @3 s9 a7 ?
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
* A, q7 J! |, u3 ?, Vbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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* _+ b# m- {! J! }, ~' v% IThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 F2 E) S/ \- m& u4 J% p5 msaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia: K( V* ?9 _% a. I
Society in New York.
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9 B( j3 b6 z" K* i( ASix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
. z2 |9 }. X5 h9 o0 ?3 L( `7 HChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: u% A6 y$ l2 {: A
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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: d n" w1 c, `9 U7 ~) N' m"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our' P4 ^% b! x& k! \2 w6 r
own."( N1 z6 T4 x5 x# K
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