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October 15, 2005
4 ~" T, A8 G) ^* }: d8 S, U2 |Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( l5 _5 K# T( c
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING' _' l3 J5 q, t
/ Y; J% c8 O) t, ^$ i2 {CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the- a9 z4 x0 m2 U) i) D( y& C9 K* N
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary6 x9 _+ q/ s3 u
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
+ j6 Z; b% R, Udangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese3 }' k6 ?5 Y$ H$ J* O0 v
flag hang from the wall.
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+ l6 P6 `- |# P7 Z6 nOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
6 X: o0 a+ S6 Wanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
6 J4 {' h ]# }! C9 F4 w; Xpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
, L- W/ @7 C9 Y7 R. ~& V* dboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* W5 n+ Z6 g( `7 ~/ E
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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. ?% X% ~( T4 n) i5 w; q"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 S) |3 k+ D8 I7 y; ?6 zat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
, T* B) U# t; [7 U8 Boffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
% [, E9 n: c% i0 ^3 s) O. U0 mschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! r" }. P/ K$ N. cto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
0 ]5 S, G/ f# v* M( S5 r% |3 t6 ]) Hone of its most difficult to learn.
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* q) B1 m& H; ]! c# YLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 N3 Y/ z, n U5 \1 _6 u
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
% e" O$ O1 i6 v+ g) F$ ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
3 R+ H, T: V6 z9 i1 Y3 h! X& P: u9 ILieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of4 r: I2 D# ~4 a3 o( A
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on, W& O* j' ^) G& }$ s! T! S5 X1 l' k
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ E* c$ }' C2 W0 y+ u
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.# d; S5 s) ]1 c3 c! Y% o/ j& Y. r% }
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement, O! u& Y$ i+ |4 o6 Z, q
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; S1 |; U4 y% e
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
5 x" Z, o3 X0 j7 e( m }* ]4 \5 edevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 {& I; ?9 h) Y& d1 fcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 U5 O1 j- `- `; l+ C: g9 v jof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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& @$ Q* I0 j. _' r/ u; k$ ?# R- _2 \"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
3 c/ h$ T4 C2 |7 mspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education' M5 R4 _7 a+ Z0 W, K
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we6 Y# Q& p$ k- r4 E! H; N) @' a
can." . j! l. _3 y% c& `# Q4 {
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from t6 {1 l6 e7 f" _: x7 x p& P$ J
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
- J0 M% J5 }9 \$ vyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language$ u" J8 f- R% L$ _
Institute in Washington." Z/ F4 |: W$ G% E1 O1 p) D7 E0 i6 }
5 Q6 _, E. {6 B3 h"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
2 L8 E \. E% [aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.& A5 q g' h& F1 Q8 K
McGinnis said. c4 X) \8 @2 L: X9 k" h4 @
8 ~. v" S/ B5 _- P. @, B# h"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
6 \+ {) b9 a: v* Llongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 m% g- f& p, v, H- l5 N0 G* X4 Eready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# g* e/ N; T. b2 l: K
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ I- }) }( u4 }% d7 n) o
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( @. ^( ~: i) g! C; \2 t8 f: e+ Gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 P9 ^, Y, `) u3 j1 m% kcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of3 _$ }1 _" h5 k4 F6 w2 S
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
1 X. ]7 g/ O7 Qon weekends." a1 H; |! q _: V; S
" c" {! k% {0 f' K* X& n1 BThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public0 P- I6 f# U9 f* t/ {% A# r
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. R, \( G/ X" t0 R' L' `
students who are not of Chinese descent.! q; t, ^; {2 t$ B; A$ F4 d2 Z4 s6 N
1 ?6 ~' B7 }/ [! Q CMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ [1 o. L8 B& c& l$ T! h; U
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
# Z) t/ q8 o( m) w8 l6 I9 V! ^7 `competition. 6 @. C+ O. V; ^/ R0 T' ^
4 U- N7 K1 C4 W8 m& r; e"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 p* [" u! W+ t
said. "There will be Chinese and English."0 z, n2 k$ P$ x
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 q8 N$ K! m" @5 ^7 c2 N( nall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 {5 @( i% D$ Y2 k
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
) \5 T, E& f8 i; j$ Wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students% l0 f" i" {- a! C( A) [7 r
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to9 D2 O+ u% x. f# u8 X* A
the school system last year.$ Y8 [" R) }+ m9 W' w, ^6 u
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this% X7 q. \% @& f5 u8 w8 o
year 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: B; R. J6 u# Y- Y0 M2 g9 w/ x
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago0 V1 d3 @9 Z u$ s0 {, [0 u. r0 s
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 ~1 S' K0 E- x7 f- Y1 t0 \
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
9 A8 |, H" e( }/ Q; P+ s9 |* @. oon an equal playing field."3 y7 a6 N: ` F: S! H
; e: I7 T2 W- e2 D" u$ g& S4 ASome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese- f0 t8 p& W- Z+ b* o5 c( \
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign }# _- }8 Q/ Y' T+ @
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
" B% T/ {: ~$ R0 }( l4 ]- \Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An r( N. O: K' `
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
( G, q( s/ f* ~8 y/ d6 QChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the8 V( z, C* ?4 Y% E( |; n6 m& n, w
institute says.
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* L2 K* Q& s9 L9 k1 [5 MSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% w8 i0 f: B) d5 U
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
: j; o# C# P) F; a0 p% @, f6 R' U' d. adeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
7 w! J; d& D' F( o/ [* ^told her daughter.4 k) ^. P2 L2 I. E! \& ~: w
3 t9 g2 J) o% S- W; E* lSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 _% T' \+ K( X4 G3 F# m( b/ ~9 b
class.
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! r9 k% K* |% g: qAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ Q, C; L! v: y+ N
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without* G9 V% N* I# }) J$ F
occasional frustration.
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3 E6 n* a. i% g"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a% }5 ~: f7 p8 d' ^
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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0 B- E. Y3 q0 `4 B3 {Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 o/ P+ x2 L! S9 l( d8 y1 I
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
) ^# `- |. D8 q" A; [8 K5 b# E! \/ oChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.* K$ q/ x8 t' `# ?% R) T
( R9 L0 |& q8 h"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
" y7 R+ s5 E4 K: y$ a$ x$ F' }$ jsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% m# f( K- L, U- N/ t8 Ias many languages as I can."" `3 R, q$ \3 a; t' u9 E' x: w
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
& v+ {. D) J; fskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job. A* M6 u9 l. w
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ U# F9 ?. w$ y0 y' ]6 V. ^, k7 B
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" H6 [, E6 c; n. B! b3 ]7 I( ?here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
& S( O& H+ }; f8 n0 aschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
9 Q2 W1 h* C( C% F! ]9 \time from classes like physical education, music and art to make+ o7 W. r3 w. @ x0 Q& k$ U
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
- W7 x# G8 |9 g$ {: u1 GChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
3 |5 g; [2 X s& O5 Jcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said., V7 `9 }3 d0 J9 H! z# P
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified o4 e- Q3 b/ X
because of that missing certification," he said.
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7 T! _- b# r7 NThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ x( T. w0 {, ?' t7 r( [said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; n. w9 i# X" ~5 }
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
6 o& C1 n% h7 S9 F) f: Z: j* fChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from7 q0 c* {4 X/ v) f% \5 w
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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& `+ F# f% ^9 y4 m4 ?8 j8 O"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
% y2 L( \$ K7 V s4 P$ D; Down."
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