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October 15, 2005
4 m" v1 O+ h4 }Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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- g( v1 A3 a5 K" S' K9 ~By GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ z$ T- R/ S7 Y( V! }) {- {( L
/ i6 b3 R, M- u2 J% |* P PCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the3 q ^) d0 ]- R) I7 p7 R& i
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, s; z' A$ k0 i. X
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas2 I+ [* O& q4 b5 F
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese0 o- n* V2 {( ~+ V/ N, t
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
' ^- u/ [% {- Ganother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) A1 b: b0 X2 s
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 s3 u* x5 P" W" R9 W2 x( b$ D8 X" x9 _
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
& l% O/ d+ R( w. Oare already choosing it over Spanish.: ~8 d* F! i [/ c, i4 T+ i5 R
` q/ U9 ]- ]8 W0 u7 t"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
. C! ?& r8 \# hat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city6 e2 Q8 p* g9 R( m$ b* r
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."3 ^& h2 u {6 }' a' b
% @& {/ [5 s+ [0 a9 O; JWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
4 Y$ C& @) e9 e$ _, b! sschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 l4 X1 V9 f" cto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 S$ r3 t! U' I, ?2 W6 o* C8 m) v3 G
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
g6 M+ P+ ~( O4 s3 Rpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 ]1 X7 @* B$ Z3 d1 `
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
" b/ V) ~- G7 Y* FLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of$ Z: C$ l$ A1 }% h& J& D
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ r- ~/ Y6 K' oChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
3 ^. B& E8 ^$ Q) l9 P* u9 _" e% {improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.) `5 H1 ~2 s, p; x* C) U& B- n6 E
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement: }7 f7 r! b% C+ C. R5 s2 ]
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 d7 l( t% a8 `: ]3 hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to; Q1 Z i# S n9 X: M- L: Z" e
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. `, d: u2 W+ {8 Q6 Z1 u; z. H) g
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director5 T+ p* L$ g* `' j$ u9 h" N
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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& p5 X% n1 `! b* m3 Z% {$ y"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! M: W7 E' Y4 z+ A/ U) Z+ Bspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
) c+ D9 G/ P0 r9 u! a) F& R( MConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we% ^0 }* O9 l# J8 w% ^+ z# q
can." , L- ^; l5 Z0 g9 l
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from8 A' L$ }- p, H# A4 q
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10, O! ]' g0 D" Z, X- X
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
u; g0 }+ d4 T. o4 S9 wInstitute in Washington.
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3 K1 m0 w8 z4 b" H1 H. u"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages/ x; X( b% P J: c- k
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
P/ L! [4 H, O3 f1 [4 Z% P# N& {% yMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
' b8 `# H5 y: D1 c( |; r# Alongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
6 U3 r, a+ O. _* @! I# e7 p9 _6 Vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
& k8 Q6 r8 @/ U9 fchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
* `+ ?, f0 [, q$ s, R, }2 d& Msecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
7 p% N: M" _7 M ]cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 I' p1 E! R. X0 _' `* WChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or& A# Y D+ _& S$ v. E8 N
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& A4 p1 J/ t4 ~/ Y* ~- y$ {
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- w5 r. B: b _students who are not of Chinese descent.2 O, X; R% e; V4 I" l$ A1 D7 W
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said5 Q+ v+ D* T: \# {0 p2 c
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the3 B$ h4 J ^1 H. t5 Z
competition. % P# q4 A9 W6 |9 r! {
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
4 G) R# w/ v% \% Q" ?! ]& a! zsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."" ~' J* @ w2 b/ G+ D) ~& p1 s
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
/ x# o) i2 e0 I+ rall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse$ i( {' ], \* ~
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& H% A* f% N. r [kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ i; a r) o8 Lwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
$ x. R5 l$ O- g% V( zthe school system last year.
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; N s" P1 q# R8 QThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this/ _ w7 C; S4 B, y
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year., i$ S7 P1 V; i
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"They have a great international experience right in their own( z; `. n3 n! Q5 O
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
( A* c% T# m: Y; ~. wChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 N! s$ B1 }8 l
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet* H4 f3 V, i5 q8 t N2 q4 y
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese1 m1 T) l i8 `
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
: U1 x6 @4 v+ e' L, j2 T1 i. QService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
- x+ e/ ~7 T3 V/ B) J+ T6 Y# e) t5 g0 xChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An% B+ n% I7 X3 p, s3 u
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 H1 h) ?' L. J; d
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 `# o4 a% j% e! Y( iinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
w' Y0 Z$ |& k+ F& @grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before, o0 f+ F8 C: \: i6 l5 }/ O% _) d
deciding whether to take the class.
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# }4 L6 ^7 H# H( A"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 o; _' X) ^/ R: ^: Ltold her daughter.- g) |5 R* Y7 ?0 {
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# D F2 R8 E: D% T- m/ Tclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 J% `% _8 p( h
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
7 Y6 b3 @9 s$ v! ]# Koccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. c2 V& e2 l: o* g- O/ X! y' ^
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.; g/ \: {; c/ p, j8 x' k: Q
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
$ _. v3 w* z7 o# p" o% v4 W) Dtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with# c5 T% E' ]4 I R( `% B1 g
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works. J, ^8 U. o" u: v. C
1 y" O i4 Z( T7 \"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul7 X. B2 _ W1 }% t0 x: y' s
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- m# J1 _: a2 ?
as many languages as I can."
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4 P8 l/ r' ^7 P& _0 ^Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
& q+ @0 X* N& x* Lskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
0 ]( J L3 y! Imarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ B4 B4 ~# `/ v* g/ u \
that," Ms. Freire said. [; G3 w6 d9 U4 }2 d6 [3 O
# H5 S8 V# M. U# E% qMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program ~8 A L: d- L- _% Z, |& v
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' p. D7 \- U7 j+ \2 E- \school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking, r0 N% R& T5 E7 W( o9 B
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make- T+ f. P' Z* M
room." x( t( U! o' l7 d0 D) v
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
7 J& i7 U- Q$ S3 fChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
6 Z, x* O2 V3 v( Jcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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. y5 [% J p2 ^3 Q5 M2 w"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified w9 c' V$ Y3 D, P/ \, W0 a
because of that missing certification," he said.: J7 O- @2 _. z3 X7 S2 K2 }
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
& `) ^; r p! @. k i+ V$ X: qsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* f0 K5 a# o- F1 O8 ~& g5 Z
Society in New York.7 b* g5 {' Q$ o4 m( f. V
" p4 K1 W* R% ?% n8 l1 V- W) YSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the5 W& o$ j' {' f8 M8 l4 `* C' u
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( B6 p7 `' y+ c' q1 ~the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; {& b6 Z4 v# ?9 P& A
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 ?' V# g+ d7 A/ R
own."
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