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October 15, 2005
: W& Y. i: w" P, wClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity6 d+ J( ?. g- V! e/ F
D, X6 R. v( m. G' M( o7 B/ WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING; V) D* b! w% I# Q* j" L' g# J
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the' P$ R' M+ K7 V/ {4 C; B
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 P/ x4 p9 D5 h- C4 E/ ?$ `, T5 N$ z- KSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
3 w2 O* D' }: F, g. T2 kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 q B. t( C) a" h5 Z; Mflag hang from the wall.6 | S- d1 y* e
8 h$ e7 H7 H M% Y& [- F) eOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 k: I" b: }# h. qanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders. ]- z2 J3 _7 E0 J- C" Y( S
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
* L- C2 z' x# `, L8 X; cboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students( B' d2 t5 q' Z3 P5 f6 o
are already choosing it over Spanish.4 @! @! u8 [# O" o* |& K$ l
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
$ Z D) M2 u( w! N: eat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. W& I* z( e. g. _offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
9 B5 S* S6 U t# Aschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings( h6 C' W1 ?5 \
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 u+ h- R6 p3 _5 Fone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to7 z5 Y) e* S3 Q% G
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- z. k9 {. o& tstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
; M3 C! _, q b8 P6 j" Q0 F; G( w6 YLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of& i+ q' K6 `' u+ K" F3 Z
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- j* A$ Y/ w3 S2 P/ c1 DChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
- ^! S& I( {3 {) Y$ pimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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- ^. V5 ^ I5 K8 d: B( @8 nAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement, h h. J6 w% {5 @; O2 y6 Y
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; j3 C7 H3 |! Q3 M8 y
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to- E0 N/ H# L& a/ X: Q
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
/ o, r+ C2 y' ]( b/ d/ Ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ e5 }+ L) j: ^; \& @of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- k6 c7 v q* h
& x' t9 ]. U* w"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
3 J2 B2 `1 i5 Zspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
H- V( X7 ?0 wConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
. g+ C3 w9 ~2 d$ u. U3 Gcan." # b( |. U! b# G: m9 b- ~6 \
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 X' r" v5 W7 d* O" {9 Q$ z* Z' eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 107 T2 D! G% a5 q/ U* |
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language1 {9 [: O7 c; M* G% h% x
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages/ E& ~& J5 {+ p6 l
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.1 f0 Z+ O' A& [' e- l$ z
McGinnis said.+ C- I& m. \7 s) N: ~
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' f* F7 y4 }/ r
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 p+ h( l% ?" L1 y1 i% {" b/ P( lready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# `. Y" g$ `. d9 ?# K& w% S3 W
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."2 V% X4 c. z. A/ ?( `4 v( w0 q
! p, w8 e( A2 O2 R8 C+ M4 ^3 U8 dUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
' k6 B) |! N+ J% G1 _7 ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in5 ]4 H% N" u* _* m6 z
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
r) g% \: j. C: b3 fChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 c7 n( p4 f* y9 }on weekends. P6 w4 i6 H+ ^/ c4 t) X
( Z7 Q) a2 ~( ?) f# ~( vThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# ~0 J& d+ C$ Q* ]
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
. p( U4 n Y; F. h$ M( v' Gstudents who are not of Chinese descent. N% x t S! i" h0 C z$ m* z" t
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" H8 U2 I$ w& j* ~/ v: ]7 uproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' h& u* F) x+ ~) t( icompetition. : `9 J1 o6 s) Q0 Q ?
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 F) `- p, [/ O
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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- G5 ]/ y. v. `From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly8 Z" p6 t+ l4 {7 `) `/ t" r' B
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse) X& ]7 ^& w/ M. {+ f
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( s) h& {& L/ v# s
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students4 `/ F/ Q& T/ u% ]! ?5 l
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& ]& H" F9 X2 q/ R2 K9 [
the school system last year.
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5 J! g/ ?. _: T* LThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this6 Y2 B" }3 H% z8 h5 Y+ Q K
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year./ k- o4 ?- G" b; Z& q6 b2 r7 d
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"They have a great international experience right in their own; g- o4 V0 H1 H0 B& l! n y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
; q7 J% B! t/ p, M0 hChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' l! f' O7 d/ y; i4 |. whelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 N2 z" ^& b6 ^! r5 d) U
on an equal playing field."$ D* N Q& C$ T! x: f* f+ X3 b) y
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese/ J3 J% y. P2 I( T: V0 Q, ]* Z
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
5 _4 c" L' Y B2 {1 I" hService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 y# x p/ G: j8 {4 x
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( u3 f! s4 ~4 k3 |( j$ T3 r: haverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- U! @( C) v1 B- a1 BChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
% C6 _/ G3 B' \- z; B* iinstitute says.
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! d* T4 j( @ wSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth8 [0 n- B- `' P' i/ o. Z) {
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
2 W; |( q7 m2 |- [! gdeciding whether to take the class.
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0 ^7 G: D! i# X4 a"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
- r6 C" J. b" Y* [) }0 [told her daughter.
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4 Y. ^( _3 ^$ \' G$ O+ l$ ]% MSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# M) l$ y6 e2 M8 K: g- ~
class.
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7 e$ _: y6 f1 A7 U M2 mAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are# s% }/ N7 {/ Q/ L
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
7 A+ S: e2 b( @( E0 Koccasional frustration.3 V3 x* L, ^$ X% z" ^
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a% y# t6 ~' t& `3 B! q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class./ J$ }: ~5 F; V, A0 n( K% S9 V
( n8 e% A L: L# r `Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* u7 K# e9 _8 wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
4 u' {3 t( {- t K V, BChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
6 C& d" F; ^' N- bsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn3 P9 n9 L& p0 E# r2 I
as many languages as I can."
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0 w1 I4 y6 R b r5 [& NAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 X% _) @ K" x% Xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 o2 g1 o' [& ~' }# V+ Vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: b, { M A7 k) ]% l
that," Ms. Freire said." A+ T( U$ T8 `4 r# R: `
1 t( a2 V! |: Q/ K9 U3 \5 [5 PMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program' {9 o# L1 X+ X+ b- S5 K
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each1 I+ j) g! K% \3 R
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking& W @7 M9 I8 y3 w2 r
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make( c2 g% T0 `( D4 X& B5 T+ t
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer, o% i+ f- |: ^5 Q$ T
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American" a, j9 p) c/ K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 J, _1 E9 ]; u* k$ M
' R/ f/ p, a H! y- p. z5 v"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
0 K* _( \" W% D9 c3 Y- nbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,3 R; R% e7 L1 q. N: H; H8 N' ^) }
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
. x' S1 X9 h/ o/ uSociety in New York.. m$ o/ n+ F: W }5 B& m9 l7 q0 @* W
* y. Z% K7 }$ t/ H' d% lSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* a9 u, e* U( f2 M0 J3 V. z
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
7 x3 Z0 ^ ]1 x& bthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.5 y) \9 d9 r' U# s$ n
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
( R6 Z8 Y4 e7 Jown."
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