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October 15, 2005
0 ^8 _) i7 x0 U' t5 {, n8 qClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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* l" A5 [, a% eBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING, A) o; e2 p% f
8 P ~# P" P: t; u5 W+ g' jCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
+ @3 z7 O- K" w6 P" j$ a. ^( EUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
2 |8 M0 f+ I/ b: g' MSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
$ R8 f+ U* M/ q I+ K- Cdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese/ m$ M# g# A+ B Z. X& X
flag hang from the wall. q! I" q2 }( q+ j# x
3 t; j; O; @. }- _* O0 c' }One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 ?5 I3 C* r: R8 Y V: I& n+ a" G- \
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders5 q9 W& X; J2 E; D& y4 {# _# l
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker( k) c; |. V4 i9 t
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! Y% Q9 O: P( T6 U* v! Iare already choosing it over Spanish.+ R z; Z5 ]9 U
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
% V0 q1 Y$ z" |( v3 B# }) |8 t+ S7 D7 zat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city5 X# @: r+ t8 [3 j
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."% y! N: ]& h% J' Q. V* r8 }) S% N
4 X" ^" M7 Z% j- k! yWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ A- z" p! n; n3 i& u9 _, e6 c+ bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
& \( U; {. Z: \" I* oto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention! y. _: ^1 D4 }' v: R5 s4 s
one of its most difficult to learn.
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" ^4 m8 f( A- JLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
5 B, {( i3 W6 F. @public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 D I+ O f3 N9 Dstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ k/ J8 C M( B/ y0 y/ u
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
( G! P% Y6 J! q' E" z- E0 }5 e5 VTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on/ U: e3 R& ?- D
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to8 h+ d2 D* ]$ D! ]
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 Placement8 Y7 v1 R/ n: ~! }: o; k9 Y
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 y* [8 e& d8 c3 T$ D2 K2 cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, L8 B$ o- b# Z1 _- Edevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 I( v$ Q' N/ J M p1 P' Q- `
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 D! ? F9 P- L/ o+ M- |- h1 g( Q
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
$ a1 e. B9 o3 L! p: ^speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! m1 q7 @- e" [% G6 {' U
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
. _$ \/ `4 H. Z9 F- f% mcan." : j3 v+ W! R* ]% ?" Z" X2 U, ^9 |+ H
" a2 v. E% S0 o, k5 I0 o w( A* K7 ]The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 ?2 i2 q; h; ?
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10% Y7 k( u# h; p3 g+ J, W- A0 T
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language% |9 n" |& [/ z
Institute in Washington.8 ~4 q- r6 j: e X7 w& d+ L
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
9 T8 j5 i& p0 e& N! Taren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ F9 L/ E( B3 c3 f- t
McGinnis said.
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2 s7 c R2 l+ [( ~. n. e"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
) I& {) @$ y! r7 O6 g8 B2 Klongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# }* r i; H1 N5 p: U# S) D
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
! q" i' [4 @, @5 l Wchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
* Y5 K, c# k3 e, U1 P! vsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in, e, \! B& a% l u
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% `* L9 f7 i c" D& |/ @1 m
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
! a" E( Q9 D7 W @, N% P5 C% c; k4 Aon weekends.
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# t' h6 ~" S9 g% B" \The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& t, ^& H8 r& T. v- |/ w; {0 A
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves$ Q- o* a8 ?' w/ I
students who are not of Chinese descent.! ^1 C% O, q) z' V+ @. s: o7 ?3 T m- r
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
]8 v1 F* Z; ~# |proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the6 k7 O! n/ W3 `$ S* ~" a- P
competition. " Y/ M9 P1 H( T7 \
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# K9 b2 W) Y, F7 K. Msaid. "There will be Chinese and English."" w, a p" H4 B8 z) ^) J
& ~$ ]9 i( H4 e- O9 n1 D1 C5 wFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly: _9 `, a$ E; S: R
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
) k; q. ~. }7 j* j0 Z/ W3 S/ [* X# I; Hschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
9 J2 ^0 |+ {1 d% G4 T: Kkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
/ v) i5 o/ S1 ^9 _! ~2 S% m9 t* Vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to! X+ P+ j* N0 x+ \% o. _$ E) `
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 W) L/ t9 Z) k6 Myear 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
4 m' w4 V5 Y0 u) W' [classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' j* L8 k$ l9 K$ g/ {8 mChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 z4 j2 p0 u; [! ]& ~
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet! d. V/ ~2 v4 Q1 G" @. _
on an equal playing field."
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: w$ K$ W! C+ \/ h: gSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
T3 k9 y H0 P3 Y4 Tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
7 `: y& ]- e. f$ c) D: j: }3 c7 mService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 H& K7 d9 d* V$ a
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
8 Z2 p6 f% Y- M5 x4 ^' S& \average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 c& h' _8 r1 SChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 N8 L% U- o2 U$ b. l0 W: q8 b5 N
institute says.
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# S7 Q$ h/ Z7 R3 g9 n& u. JSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 v- }9 ?, x0 C
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 v0 y; ?5 c4 ~8 o, n9 A& \deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she2 O; t; ^7 G9 b+ s1 l% x
told her daughter./ S6 e5 q8 w2 k5 a1 w
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# {9 i$ q Z% o0 z8 ^* r6 Y8 S
class. R( `; @% z1 \3 f8 }
" I; d9 Y Y ?7 ]) J: Z2 S& R% m8 }At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are g$ J. ?6 f# h V
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
3 c% P* T/ q! x: W4 g9 roccasional frustration.
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: m3 l6 P: v: f) Q0 J# H) C"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a& A B0 J; i2 y; x- _, {3 Q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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8 [8 |4 C7 p9 p2 ^8 URaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
: _4 q2 @) i5 i u5 ~& xtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
0 i( ?' [" v+ A/ d- U# bChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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4 ?3 J# E$ ], ` v( n- R"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 ~4 f {! S; z# H* |" W7 p& N' {6 ~9 C
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
7 d" n5 m* Z9 h4 M; E+ O4 s4 D1 |as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
% I7 S0 |9 S. s' Zskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 x9 ]1 K6 V) A8 Qmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like! f/ y" \! |, z; x
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: b ~- T( C8 [9 a2 jhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 q/ U/ f$ m; O p+ Dschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
. Z- P- I* C7 @) E, f) }( X! itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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. {1 n& p5 i. [6 ]5 A+ z; }3 d2 BChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer+ g" v% N7 Q/ q- _8 w0 \/ w3 l
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
# m0 \% L; V2 |' b2 rcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.2 B" p: z% g0 }' R4 v
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 v+ s9 ]- k5 K# b7 I
because of that missing certification," he said.# \& a- N% d& @ Q; `7 B
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,8 J1 k2 v: |: n/ L- w; V, e
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia, K) H: a n* T0 O8 ]6 m
Society in New York.
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$ z& h/ o- a. |Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 u9 n: S4 }! d! \! TChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
+ r3 l" Z6 ~4 U N* ?" @the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 \# w5 Q8 h0 H
, B- u) _* u' X4 k/ p"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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