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October 15, 2005
: C$ a, F/ h" j2 Y" v9 d& l& rClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
6 G. k4 b3 N$ M2 T5 f2 v, k, R$ H
9 q! F* s$ d: H2 y5 ZBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ F, t2 s& Y) L. U' @9 t
, T. [( r- a( u3 I! sCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the/ I% F- K! }" X3 T
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary6 P! k- R3 L- _1 ]/ d! @' i
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas4 p, i- D; C; Z5 | S x" [
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& C4 k! r e* I& eflag hang from the wall.% ~) k' [6 G0 o7 f
+ u' X% N4 Y+ r# b" B' }8 NOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one1 L, v) h+ x2 O. Z* Z
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
/ t, |' I/ L8 apracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
. r; b8 B5 F6 uboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students+ m6 }' ?: m# k4 N6 e: W! M. j
are already choosing it over Spanish.' X/ P' P4 d. X8 S7 n1 L# D. B
7 j6 C* j' D) k8 C7 {8 X"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal8 T$ F6 r$ x' Y* h4 N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 e/ m, I+ n! i4 p9 Z' s
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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( x$ m5 a8 R9 j7 q5 d7 vWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments," ?6 U6 y7 {% Y* `4 z4 v% x
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" g% o$ L9 I' J1 L! r
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention: Q7 P, Y- ^) B
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
9 x( t; X1 P6 m6 n7 ~public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ {) A0 i& ?* P! J) m/ ?
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: Q3 e+ [/ s$ w- ^ X1 uLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of6 R9 c5 a. o# }0 Y1 Q4 x
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
+ g8 G7 T1 {* `4 ~1 S0 J6 m! V+ hChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; f- ?; Y: U" g* }+ T( o' rimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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, ?/ r* l" x; P. dAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement( ~' P! S" j/ K/ C: M7 f
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
5 e0 w- {; L8 v8 f1 J* |starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ `4 [9 r* X6 V
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing: `5 e4 W. [, {) p6 X
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
2 g# i! j+ ~! s8 Nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.5 Q( c, s, T* z" [; X* P
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
5 W6 t% m- y1 q: }0 E/ Ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
" ?4 Y4 Z3 Q# W, ]5 QConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
& c' d6 G4 G( D4 hcan."
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$ B% ]7 z* K& l$ @0 zThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from3 Q7 B) M$ }3 ]6 K# ?7 t
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 I, V8 x( Y; T6 }
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language. O" T# h) t/ x; H
Institute in Washington.& T1 I( O. g, [. f. A$ ?
. [! ?5 s+ D9 ^; z" M# Y# }"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages& K6 o+ A9 Q p/ I, a3 t d
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.0 N- x) g" w; e) G# z* W7 d7 t
McGinnis said.+ y8 Y! Z; R3 H& r0 [2 p2 n Z! u
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& `4 _4 V) Y$ | M% C( J: l: V2 r
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 `: P$ v. p3 l5 m6 e
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a" T& b% G. p$ w3 g K- w
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". b$ J; r! x' o- J/ Y
; _* T$ V# g7 d* R+ Z0 A5 F2 n6 {Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 x9 O) y" g$ D
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in& ~/ F' `6 q+ D& V
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of! L; X5 s) D" k
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or0 T1 D5 O2 b3 `6 m" p' A9 k3 d
on weekends.6 r6 ?2 y7 j6 ~: a6 O8 g6 O
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
- U4 H* l. F( r9 i z% ?( U" a# qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves t6 \" j" Y& S& g1 y. o
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
+ J+ S7 m; w5 d' C/ nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' u/ E4 U5 C% Y+ kcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' Y2 K$ Q& G6 z& ~said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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: M" x- ~' _7 z, R" s9 xFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ ~5 G9 Y, q/ V8 H3 y0 [
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' q% Z; b+ Z1 B9 Wschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 p: ~8 T2 [) U
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students" \$ p3 v, S, ~: T- @
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 x" p3 q$ p8 Y h8 Uthe school system last year.
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4 Z$ D& e1 O/ k' [8 a: wThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 m9 i# E/ \! N j- w! Cyear 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' h O; k+ ]7 X, j1 ?' Z; O
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago3 W. @: M8 s/ D
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. Q g+ ]4 G" {1 Z) x8 t ahelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet$ l( Q% d' F/ w# Z: G
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese7 ]& F' z6 g0 f
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign/ C" X7 C2 ]1 _3 F5 n) K
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks c1 N7 P) x2 y1 A
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
- P0 {- R6 V/ x* E9 aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 _* |; \9 a$ C+ O$ Z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 Y* t: H. i5 ^6 L) }4 H3 }' v# Oinstitute says.' `% \. o* @$ j8 S% @4 i* \$ k
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth8 D. r/ J8 ]7 F2 j3 M
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
. {1 q, x- @, a9 F1 h* `, ^deciding whether to take the class.* [2 S7 e, ]4 [+ m" _) n, a
) s g5 c) Z7 v) u% f"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she, j3 k! u' p! Y' `" k
told her daughter.
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) I( n2 a3 ^ `, K8 ~# M' k) ESahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite; m O" q! f) V* m' C5 k+ J5 _% J
class. \1 V4 d: t$ P
% M% d; {9 d) \0 S! RAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
! h. ?+ j& {) O o/ ?& G* u) X# I5 Mstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 ?; `% R5 P4 [% M Woccasional frustration.
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* D V+ C& | p9 Y5 Q3 C"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
- j j0 O$ U4 }recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he" i$ W$ u9 g5 p+ ?, d+ A( P+ i
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
4 G2 x, N8 N( pChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.$ Y' j- m8 {" L" d1 @
& \- N# [+ H' x* E- J9 c, {"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ y/ u) q) [* R9 z0 ?5 e1 H
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn7 C: ~5 T: B9 f& w# \
as many languages as I can."3 L. s; I0 w0 o! x( X9 [
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
5 V6 T8 B6 M2 ^3 f9 {, h3 ^0 H f: gskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
* L' b' Y% P) H. m' Z% T! Fmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 ~$ f/ U& {% L& F" d/ a
that," Ms. Freire said. y" ^ U' u1 e* Q3 m
0 i; E' K5 _* q y$ p$ gMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program' s/ ?- {( L( O; [! m8 p5 S
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
$ {" s* S0 b1 oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
: i* v; I4 K' C" U9 ?, Otime from classes like physical education, music and art to make; a3 | Y1 @% M1 O# l s7 ]5 m% U
room.0 x/ I' K I* O" P
7 Z' ?7 F! `. Z3 N* ?3 }+ u5 J. V \& [Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) O% G6 ^, N+ K) lChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
$ W6 a2 d; D" N1 d. p2 H) Ycollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified( l- D3 a+ A0 @$ o& |8 p& R
because of that missing certification," he said.( a( j& X( \# N) l
8 B) g- J( B) J2 DThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
4 @( O; X, I* f1 \; O9 Isaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia2 m) a) X; l6 H3 i
Society in New York.( j" b% N D9 p9 M
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
) Z) R% z. j4 n3 H! LChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: c- T2 @3 r5 C: d' K9 q$ b
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) U4 e, |$ t& o& S$ `1 V$ I! o
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
( ~6 f( e& ?+ ^own."' ^# _( M4 y9 G3 W
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