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October 15, 2005
) X$ ^1 E( a+ Y z1 h4 A- LClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity, k8 V- g( e( W$ y V
5 E; E- j9 k T% DBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING, G' }! ^; R) {4 L x, ]" T
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
/ n" T5 T- Z& ?, K/ Z. y+ fUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
# z- N4 {& a/ |6 ESchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ R5 @# G. a6 I# F
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! {2 V" D ^+ L$ j& V: Y
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 D' T" x$ \2 N% t6 Ganother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! x* r# J+ Z2 y1 ?; X/ Z$ i
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
! T9 T8 H7 K2 F+ xboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 V2 F4 [6 }9 j& U* b
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal) W( ? U5 }+ s9 \8 @
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
2 ?8 A" Y/ \* N! s B8 Y: I% Voffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
" b' p+ L+ R' X: `schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
1 V0 I/ u9 D9 ~( i- g3 o, hto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention/ b: A% r$ n4 k7 ]; i* w
one of its most difficult to learn.0 o% H" X- b4 Z4 C0 Z5 j; Y& ~
. ^. J( |. S0 i, N+ BLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 e/ Z* h4 r& J# P5 c
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students. ?6 ~7 E$ C; k9 b7 d
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.0 w5 m! Y' V o/ j# X
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of! ?4 u) U& W6 @3 [
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& ^; N- B( l! q
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to- [$ y7 p, T# l" x( U
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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5 e$ \; L0 Y/ EAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
5 a3 }9 m2 O' `- u% kChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country* I f6 H( z. i, r9 x! v
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ Q+ [: i# B% e
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( S i/ I( r9 Z1 W
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director2 M2 |2 A4 B- B" |$ t" F
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.6 B- Y+ `% T8 z6 T7 ]6 w) J( Z
( I( `3 T3 e) B6 |& D"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 a% O- V, [' C5 U6 {7 y
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education, O' t0 ?+ U2 b1 ? m
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we0 V) Y9 P( a' y
can." . K8 p0 i3 O8 f* K9 ` m
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
( @% Y2 i# f% A1 b0 ^elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 @) [& s$ S, U% x G3 [$ o' u
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language& o* B6 v3 Q+ e
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
$ B# q; Y" S! O& K) taren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 o4 a3 e2 K: v; r7 u* H1 a
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
' {; ?* r& ]5 v) R6 m7 ^( i: L+ G6 ylongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
# r) z0 I+ ^8 E. r6 m; G sready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* c& R, ^- D- F
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."5 W: d; _! Z& a
4 d$ y9 y- C3 U+ FUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
7 I$ R0 A/ o" Ksecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in8 W* V3 W# ]0 T8 x) o0 i
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
0 O& q* G) j ^+ O) @5 N0 SChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
o& T4 p( g2 p* z5 Y/ B& }on weekends.
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+ `9 n4 e5 z# }/ d5 {The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* S4 p7 V( K5 ]1 O, [( ^5 I9 B
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
E* p6 i1 J" d9 x0 istudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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' k7 Z% T/ Y8 `5 b- S% O/ WMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said% K; C- G6 l- Y9 g$ r
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* E' [6 S# Q9 [! y' O* @
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# P. l6 T& B: E8 _5 E! J' Ysaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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# ]' Q; |) R6 K$ z( t KFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly1 K8 C% n2 Q" [ }* R2 G
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 s; Z: y. M8 f& n
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from4 A' q0 l; {. P0 a
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 {' e9 l) P, _. P' y8 ?4 S
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
; e) U! s) H$ J4 Q' v/ ^& \* ithe school system last year.# L6 y' \# c/ Y9 G+ q2 |, V0 ^
& J S% [, N' aThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( \5 m5 ]+ K' t0 N
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.7 g% m1 q; `4 L2 p
/ j# s+ Q0 W4 }' P& d3 i7 @. s"They have a great international experience right in their own
) J# i1 m% x' B- X7 t) qclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago7 g0 `/ O8 ], G5 Q
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) l9 y0 @. o: i1 u. Z4 C
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" B ~; x; y3 K6 @% h; X9 f
on an equal playing field."
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& v8 |" C$ T3 e" }Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
1 Q1 D. u1 G0 ^% \2 Yclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ c. U# @) U6 H1 U& @8 v0 [" }Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
. i7 K: x* A2 j* DChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
7 X# u1 [" H5 |' M# }( Vaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, r+ ]6 J4 `! N, p
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. v1 t6 D! g1 F1 I3 [8 Rinstitute says.' Z: o6 n( b, \6 C2 e! B. e
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: e, ]9 _! N1 d3 ^
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
+ A& |+ x8 i6 m5 {3 Zdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 B+ f' D! \8 }/ e, Xtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
, l( p# ~, o; T" S% l% E5 uclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
`2 m3 ?7 P' q6 ~" b: M1 R$ p/ Vstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without2 y3 R- ~0 c- T6 a$ g1 Q
occasional frustration.8 {/ g5 B! L& k, f# o
5 b: A- |- j$ v! l"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. f+ f- X% y3 v/ G; v8 o
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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: |& O1 h! o" ?9 y, gRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he, ~7 Y o/ k) Y% u& |5 t6 n
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with' _- m% v0 O/ r& @6 u
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.$ {( o/ O) R7 o9 B4 |. k6 V
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
* H3 s& i0 e9 \said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" c) i- o% \3 K% `2 t/ b" F3 zas many languages as I can."/ T: ]' d4 i" A8 n7 H! J0 Z2 D
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the9 ?) {9 {- @ k0 ~7 H
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
' M! l5 h; P6 Umarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 J4 w8 q& Y) v$ o( {! {: @
that," Ms. Freire said.
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* |7 [' G' _% e7 JMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program' ^5 j4 n! b; g5 ?6 t; E
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each2 D8 A! M% c7 @8 A. S9 B& ?" x( k
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 _2 ]/ l) d$ d5 H; b4 O7 ^
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) M$ z* x. v5 {6 SChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
2 r8 x, [4 Q* l3 {college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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; o- ?& G6 U" N M"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& M2 V, o+ E$ W. {9 \
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 E6 h1 L# H( B$ } E% \said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
+ F4 t! I9 T9 G1 C% aSociety in New York.1 [- l& I% h' H. N, v2 K2 H
8 x8 ~& N! e* _ N. v$ z: k; eSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, R4 ]% M0 i% r
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
5 a2 L4 L1 V5 othe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 [0 G# t$ V: X% l& ]! m& W" w! c! z) E( \
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
. Z" S+ r/ l5 {0 e5 _own."
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