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October 15, 2005
2 U6 D1 f; S! p% I& V) \% _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity; P) K( `- g2 F: Z
1 S7 O! S8 @# jBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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$ H6 c* e. n/ s VCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 V; Z4 t5 R) j1 nUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. b+ Z4 R4 g" M: a
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' f; x; O9 L+ Y/ g5 Pdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese( V( u& F# l: H i5 a1 H7 Y
flag hang from the wall.1 s3 g6 F9 _4 h1 S6 K
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
V. |5 X( q) d$ Lanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders- H7 O) b. _3 R. z6 ]8 [0 y
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
O, z% ^+ v( o- I+ B. tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
" n( \2 @6 `" ~* ~% c# jare already choosing it over Spanish.8 k9 o* U' u- d- N3 n2 T4 @
( x5 j1 w: O& K v9 A, T6 E3 ?"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
6 V7 {) x; _2 V+ ]at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 u, v$ i2 c3 V* |4 Noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."; E; J7 ^# [, n! R( n1 |- Z
- [4 L/ P, A( dWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments," H3 l) l U1 {& Y* v! j
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) O! O9 }+ Q9 x# O \
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 W4 S' n; G, r- A9 b: C/ {6 w( C
one of its most difficult to learn./ L5 Z7 b, A! r% C! u& H, [
- x9 Z9 {; k1 y+ XLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
. w- h# y; V& l/ f" L" c0 kpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students/ A& \4 D$ f# p. m( j' {) J: K# G
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# T$ ?: k% t$ l6 LLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
4 @" b/ A+ a0 G3 c9 y# l3 pTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 p4 l7 \" X0 [. L' ]2 BChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to B. B4 A% _4 n' C: G5 O& R, v/ o
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.3 L6 ]- N0 T- j3 b4 j! w) p& D! a" J
7 w0 D7 [% X b; j2 R. rAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement, n) Q( T: ?: w/ m) T6 I
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
* u/ L7 b# f) s4 Bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to: T9 [# w$ \, F
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing7 Z f5 {* z8 c4 v' W" ^# K2 ~
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 Z; Q1 `2 `) S( f0 Q- G% M3 ?, O7 @
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. q+ P& k* a5 i$ D
9 p- C4 |4 i6 t k; l6 B; a& H"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" s% [ M8 K5 A' R3 N& o6 R
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
3 j/ w; r; O ZConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
5 M$ @' D0 B# @) i3 H% K6 @) d- scan."
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& ~+ }# J3 Y2 W2 C! S, p V. U0 lThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
4 ~6 ^6 p+ M9 N. r4 Melementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" E+ c% L0 [- W
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language$ s1 h4 c: v! C+ q8 ^
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" \5 a( J( A* B- I8 |
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
3 h2 X* H* b, F" FMcGinnis said.# d: V" _5 S0 u: c
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
7 ?- e X1 H( D# Ylongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be* E$ H n: [ u; B& W' K
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a; D4 Y$ R0 G" _5 p1 S
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and& M1 x2 P9 T( L1 p) O
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
s1 f4 j: t# gcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
1 [4 ]1 s% y. E; C4 Z H: x qChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 c3 `9 J- i' Y9 H7 Z$ @on weekends.
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& `" P5 z( P: l0 r" vThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public9 ^5 ?, k' t, J8 y& ^/ r
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
' t4 y# g( I/ ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.$ @2 }. `1 J& v- C& _
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 `' E$ }+ v* ]* T0 R+ R4 b* c
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 A1 s6 {' b( f3 R" jcompetition.
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, m# t* M) Y+ |3 r/ r4 i"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley q6 L k4 q0 Y
said. "There will be Chinese and English.", B' m% s0 n( u( H$ _. o- L( M7 L
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly( k6 i; F7 O& F
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse$ m' C( s2 t0 S3 o0 \' V' m
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- ?3 C6 j( p1 W6 I( ~: gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 z0 H' F# C( T, o
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
' y6 H" }- Y, G) {8 qthe school system last year.& T. }* v, Y- M" e- K' a# a n
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
( W, R- R3 }' u9 s" Qyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.0 X; }7 k/ c- _ y# E
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 d; y2 f A) v; D5 b3 |* L* g$ ]* _classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago/ V4 @) B/ A- O3 G' O- m
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to* G8 T. z, ]7 x8 h2 J! [
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet! h# k9 N! C7 {$ d) I7 b
on an equal playing field."
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$ q$ W5 m2 I0 o1 NSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese: l) _9 `. L) ~3 x: m4 R0 o% o
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
) L3 d: A- k2 }% zService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 T c" p1 K) F5 y1 G
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An7 H4 a/ s- g P) l0 c ^$ X. E
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
* W* `% l9 k/ D5 O' TChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the1 ?) l% L3 M( G3 M9 G' K( v" E! w
institute says.
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, d( A# u! G! N+ e& u7 xSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
$ W- e p3 e9 ^8 tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: N; l+ |: i; {2 v9 n: o, m0 n
deciding whether to take the class.$ P, C/ w2 T, u( I. ?" X
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she2 s- B2 B4 E* \3 c2 h$ C
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite. j6 ?3 ?$ d! X0 K1 W+ I
class.' F. D1 K% ~7 l7 |1 r% B1 A
! W2 A% `. w( P6 _6 bAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are6 b" ?. N7 r. l
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: P+ I+ {5 p' S$ `8 b
occasional frustration.3 H) F' z4 X# H4 N6 ^
( ?6 |8 ~2 \6 |"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, i+ g2 p; \2 ?7 T! |recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.2 n B0 i3 _/ ?# c5 Z
) { D' a3 }- X. ~Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' m; N* Q9 u8 `
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with2 m5 P, c7 {3 o1 B2 J- _! |
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.5 u, k# n/ p9 P. Y
2 L! `% \1 k* g6 P4 q# f! n: v"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul5 Q0 U3 G, K1 U# y% I# y) ^4 U" O
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
9 c. ~& J, q& c% T. ~as many languages as I can."- `# @) C* O' U: d8 y S
3 ? d: }# F5 @' w$ n4 HAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the e6 \- x2 k8 Z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job3 W+ a* ]6 [3 n2 B+ _% U; E! E9 c( z' H
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like0 m d+ m8 R- L; y+ p
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program2 p" c! Q. b# Q
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each, g& I" l8 g0 e& p+ D( V
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 Q+ s- D; V2 \* I$ E% q! |7 etime from classes like physical education, music and art to make# A& X. X+ z5 I4 F* W
room." t1 D+ Z$ E. x5 j
* M+ I6 _# i# n( U9 g* ~' TChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" w7 _0 X9 S! m
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
3 N/ h# `9 m% F+ W# scollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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& k3 {' @( L) _4 }% E& N/ Y"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified3 |. i2 E3 h$ H4 O) ] b
because of that missing certification," he said.
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3 m6 |1 x: P5 D2 B; `! d. V' sThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
8 G6 p! `+ W% Z: [- \9 {; {said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
* _7 B; g4 |% B6 x# ESociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the R4 U: p0 u; B
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: h2 s, J' g) D- {) S) ]
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our* ?9 [* w/ u1 y; K( J6 z; h
own."- ~$ b: z( v( ^7 ^
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