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October 15, 2005
: m M& z8 Q7 n) TClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity; S, D+ ~, @5 l- ~
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the" C. l* {: F- f) r* P/ \0 ?6 z! F
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary6 L$ n6 V" P! y! D7 @) n
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
& l8 T) z8 W7 J' f. i9 G" Tdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
9 W. [: ^" k* q f' r3 v. Yflag hang from the wall.
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. E, x4 @8 _. v; `# NOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 }5 D6 Y$ @) V- U
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders, k) q7 G9 K1 [ k5 p/ u
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker' {8 z. P9 V9 F: |7 U/ K
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
' ^. A8 N& i* U4 K9 \: l2 U0 w) x; T8 ^are already choosing it over Spanish.& F# A W- E0 q% a7 o+ k! T
& Q) p" l3 D0 D" S; l"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal8 ^5 [6 M3 H$ H0 a2 x" ?
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
0 j8 ]+ x) l# L2 _5 moffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."' W2 H5 k$ A8 d5 |7 l+ N
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
# ?- b3 T& N( B; T1 n9 |( s$ gschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
5 \/ i; w" |: m ?to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
6 m i6 N& i/ T7 Q5 U' None of its most difficult to learn.+ d4 T3 f5 ~' w6 t( p
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
, Q, t' u( K* i4 m) o7 Bpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
( e4 T6 S( z0 w" R3 Dstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ i3 r% V( C) l. w$ B. ?( b
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 h/ k2 O5 R9 A8 ^2 A D2 V
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 e2 G- F+ u$ L: f6 hChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to* f8 X1 a6 O$ |
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 Placement
1 H9 s/ V; j8 \( X9 {Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! H( O7 K* {3 n! o8 H7 X+ cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to# g/ v5 m, Y, q7 a/ r) `5 ~
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing7 i. y" L0 y$ o/ i3 z
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
! K- [- N5 H4 H, Oof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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; O9 W" S. U) P I8 D) c2 f"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
- q. T& }: u0 P& r5 N9 W/ k/ q3 g" ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education8 h9 q1 d& h. I4 {' I X% o! T
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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! T1 R' V$ Q& h3 z- \The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from' K) W# ~. ]; P4 ?4 i3 R: G' o
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 v% _' c# b3 a. w3 ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language0 g* N' b/ l6 u
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( v$ n5 z% U1 U3 x( h3 |. j+ Caren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( Q# I; k) @0 ]* W sMcGinnis said.3 G+ \) L0 g0 Y5 d$ D0 {
# N" w5 u/ H8 T. v+ Q"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical) f) S. ?4 Y6 h
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; H$ g0 K7 {4 ]$ X, {
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a5 D' q6 e; y s3 E7 E4 v, Z
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."$ H8 n: Q% C K
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
7 ~% }2 f6 |, `% v2 c# v5 zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& D7 o G) z' h( V! {, Rcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! E+ C' W; L7 d+ O: v2 p% f5 [Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. C" [, m' | G5 V7 ]! b4 H7 E: g$ Pon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public% F/ _8 n. a2 c
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 w/ P5 F/ p2 M" R6 x/ M0 B
students who are not of Chinese descent.# I* O. j8 ]+ O2 M0 `
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 a9 x- f" }* V$ v* ^
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
! }( e* z% |* J$ e/ ]* Ucompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley+ m4 V& K" Q( @& `5 l
said. "There will be Chinese and English."" |) S( }' {1 J" |$ {/ R9 U: k+ G
& _8 C5 n9 B% o; r- S% WFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, M' @9 V" g6 m& iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' x: S" W7 b, s% L0 e/ Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
5 r4 u" R* R5 t) q0 z/ p ukindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 d7 x; e$ J4 ^
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 x0 W% h) R A& }9 } g0 ^
the school system last year.0 y" K" W* I9 ], c Q8 _
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this/ C! ~) r" N& F# ~" N
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.7 K( |& N/ ~% I% v) V t- [4 x
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 a" W0 R. v6 Jclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
% |6 O$ D' l! e- L, J8 \9 Z0 P7 EChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
1 t$ m. }3 R, [6 O2 T: Chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet3 P$ A# K" l2 |/ H& I
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' M! v: ]3 R( }/ A4 d/ m1 ~8 N
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' ]2 J2 o: `, w% B; {Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks Y, u; j& Q; {8 Q4 E
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An$ A' }+ j+ ]3 l) q
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" o0 _* _3 u5 VChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the o4 T; D. y$ g& ^6 K
institute says." f$ R/ B# D5 Y) c
' g1 R: U# h: J+ A7 ]9 P) U1 gSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth0 M9 j6 @/ k5 O# d. k* u
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
0 @' _0 ^0 B3 M. \deciding whether to take the class.! b( ^# g9 f1 d* W
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ G3 o9 u3 d4 Z) }, P, o
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
, |7 L% t+ u/ h0 m* }+ Sclass.( v( {4 [: G) w" f1 E
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
- ]4 @4 V" r$ w7 m2 v1 {studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without3 n. Q. y* {' h. X: `: {
occasional frustration.& q8 e3 W t$ |
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; B, E, e& G- @) F1 Srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he6 [& r! Y6 w6 c; {" j6 ~0 G
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! b; P P, G# Q6 q& G% p& WChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.+ w# r- M2 ^+ u1 C$ P
1 e0 U2 y* b8 N0 Y"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# H U5 Q) q6 f; \0 c. ]! Rsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn& m# ^, V8 k: ]( v; f0 s V
as many languages as I can."9 F0 X Y/ c ~
: W4 z0 t I7 O; _Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the4 t8 e, ?( S# f* G
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 n! A) m* s% e/ t0 nmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
) m- w$ K+ v; L: t# n$ Q: u+ y: \- o+ nthat," Ms. Freire said. N' u1 C$ }* X# ^; {
, P/ ?3 W- y" _( H2 O: pMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
6 _. G) n: r/ g) R& Q1 ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each, X$ d3 ]* f+ c! O
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking1 Z8 R* O( ], d7 `) ]7 G( s
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
. `2 O% ~ A- A/ broom.
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) W5 Z: K4 D- e8 ~ W$ S$ `Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 Z0 K7 T5 t! h/ YChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American% T G! j6 J- \* Z: o" R
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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, |7 I& _5 O" f) ^"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& j7 b" K! \$ p1 O: m! p6 g! N
because of that missing certification," he said.) c+ j* e/ ]$ X) z$ y
) Z2 }' N0 b# B9 V, sThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, {, {9 l2 N: A& J
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' z2 k! O' \2 p8 ~
Society in New York.
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. m% L8 G! R; o" X' Y# o2 |2 mSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
& e+ [+ s$ ?5 F; v* ?9 MChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, y8 y2 c/ _ u( d4 W) l7 U" C
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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) d' c7 V, z1 f% w"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 W2 f& ?+ t. t/ V2 Q2 L$ R
own.") M+ `3 h# I# J8 B/ N3 j& L
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