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October 15, 2005
6 v5 a \- Y1 z/ T H! V+ ]Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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4 Z8 j# H0 I$ D3 b g; m) @By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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( _% q9 I& ~, ]) J+ n' VCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
. O2 K5 \/ S' |) BUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary* k N% G w) I( m
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; p/ X* S, R5 x% B! Jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
5 f+ i! a9 `" c& t. [flag hang from the wall.
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2 m C& E4 M, d9 cOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 k* a2 `+ c3 {another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders j) L: Q; m& Q( A! q
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
* F+ W) T+ Y5 k& S% Z& V, t9 Eboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students I9 Q6 w/ M$ h
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 S. F# c" f" ?4 }/ t5 fat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 v! j/ S$ a. b0 z2 p2 Boffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."( B; M, M9 ]. @' k7 r: ]5 y
4 F* M% ?0 q5 I0 N* [With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ O' ]1 v. W4 x! x6 A0 ]- wschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' N7 \3 `4 d k6 ]* G
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* M0 J) h) ]% |3 v' D! \; _one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to* `) u% Y: D4 B0 ]4 v2 P
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* Z& N4 y+ S; }studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! c2 A; x" ]2 o. a, a, l1 j6 H$ R+ h
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 e7 V: R4 F) I6 Q5 `8 i( G
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
f& x5 R2 g: X, H' ^Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" a" D$ ?; k9 a/ R! h- wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.& y2 J) j; p1 h p+ S
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 \0 U" M; d" F4 F* n
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country1 ?2 }; n- |* V \
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
" \: D: b$ [- @6 p! ?develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# P; h) {* A0 l: H) Y+ U3 ^
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 d$ @$ H! K; X. E5 I1 }5 vof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- I/ ^/ j3 q1 Q4 h9 N2 }
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
8 ?" _/ n3 { k" z# B- t2 tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education# e% p1 S4 K5 a6 E$ \
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 U8 A/ n- d. _$ \can."
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& v2 Y( h! Z2 H1 u4 M6 QThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from7 l/ e$ p* b- `$ L8 C
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 102 `, \' S: Y5 R8 r) P6 y8 E9 u- U
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language q" G* p( C* s5 I
Institute in Washington.- o( W* L; M5 _
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages3 }; H; C% d7 b" f. u$ z1 z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.9 x1 L, j% o" q; ^- k( Q
McGinnis said.9 F. q6 N/ H7 y, j9 v
/ K1 B% e' r. v( K* G"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; S* \6 p9 c8 K: w
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be! d( y- R( h( g0 H! m3 {6 h4 {! }
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
5 r: I9 y/ v2 [% Achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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3 S, F5 g; f0 d1 E7 uUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 k! x! z3 w! K% k1 T) w, @5 Y
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in* {7 G2 R) g% ^1 C* p. J
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 K& G* `- S8 M6 @, W5 F% y6 u0 IChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
3 q( c4 `9 q0 z+ L* D( j* ], }) A: `on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public- n) y1 L3 p. b: Q
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
! C, o4 ^+ C7 S. M. j- |students who are not of Chinese descent.) i5 T4 b$ n3 c" i& T" X$ X
! U# S8 n; t6 Q/ S% l: k1 ZMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; u3 ~ i A" U( Xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
* J* Y/ ^% T( T* d, _* J. P( Bcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley) H/ g9 N5 N, H# \4 q3 c3 ^6 P. C T
said. "There will be Chinese and English."0 h* ~' c4 t/ v+ S- \1 `
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly9 ^( ?$ p: T7 y$ q, e5 d3 a# W H
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
3 h7 B0 d; V8 ]7 Y7 ^/ B/ g# @5 uschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 \# |) u* q. v
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 E8 n: p* u! w
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to+ X# J; y; e6 Y8 c+ y
the school system last year." `/ z/ Y/ D+ z1 {" M$ o' W
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
5 }+ N+ O W0 [$ L& Hyear 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
- }% n+ i+ @8 F/ B0 B3 l. ^classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
! _: c* u: T L9 ~& G `' m/ JChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
j+ n) s- q( I9 ?help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet& R" P W7 ~. J. w& n
on an equal playing field."
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% g0 R3 P0 `8 Y! R3 Q' MSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese7 y: {+ ?" ]6 \( i) x: s; e1 A
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign2 v. |/ D! l( z0 U( v
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
, Y8 R4 U) Q, g9 }/ I: _4 FChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
# ]5 Z' i9 X, R6 ]: j6 e2 G$ p9 Kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
* l; S2 I" |9 @2 I7 ]6 `; @Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
' }4 L* ^& N. q; Uinstitute says.
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7 ?( v$ ^* ?/ e4 c) jSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth* G8 \% `+ {7 f9 T* R* U. R
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
5 N+ r# |7 G; o: v/ ]; Odeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
0 B& P0 s# f& B* q# y5 y% Xtold her daughter.* \/ z( ?' P8 a6 V- i: Q/ a: h
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ W. v/ j7 m' e) n( j- a# p0 |( l
class.
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" l0 T, [5 T y: P; E# `# W* w' x! nAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
+ J, ]. `) n. W5 u6 dstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
; l7 \. }% ]' g3 ~occasional frustration.
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% }2 D6 ~, B, @0 R8 ]3 T"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a0 q+ s1 d3 a2 G) t
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
! w, X& e' o$ m0 b2 }3 B6 jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
; C0 b: O0 V+ o5 z6 f4 R+ x* b YChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.8 ^0 m: T% H6 M' v* y0 o& r7 _
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul8 M! T! J0 Q2 z) L
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
' N- x, F$ j0 ~8 {: u, x9 T2 jas many languages as I can."
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7 Q2 |8 R! F- g$ K4 L- vAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( T8 Y% L1 {' Jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ j$ U0 s' A$ O8 F0 Y* L w4 ^
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
% C" w1 b' e$ Q( q1 ?that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program+ n: h2 R0 p6 S8 ~& U
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
9 ^" ^# n3 g; o7 Oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 z" o* A' N, p; c( ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make# K9 S6 Y3 r& ] D/ h0 g& |' Y6 H
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer1 q) r. A6 Q( s0 _
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
( f; R. J- D+ Q2 n% Fcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( K. ^3 D& O+ O
2 P6 [# u3 [: E. l"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified# P8 p: _& ^9 ^5 q+ u
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,! B7 W, F6 v7 x- z/ K
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia7 N1 M3 ~# P8 j: {
Society in New York.
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. ~' E) E6 l! a5 `3 kSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 C2 \( v$ c9 q8 B+ Y' [3 H( b3 _/ XChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
: p2 ~& q2 d `& d2 J$ gthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our8 Q8 O1 U: w9 e; q: t' v
own.") m2 u+ C8 H5 i' Y. M4 P
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